Word Accent
MOZART REQUIEM September 5 2024
These notes are based on Joyce Wright’s (alto) notes from at least one of our previous performance seasons…Joyce answered my call for someone to remind me what we have done in the past, my scores all being “in flammis acribus.” Joyce, the model singer, writes into her score every instruction given to the choir, and then sings performances from memory! I have added a few things to Joyce’s notes and changed a few things, as I revisited the Requiem. I’ve written some preliminary notes, as new insights come to me. Any errors in these notes are mine.
Emphases are also because of the TENSION-resolution— DISSONANCE-consonance—that are the fabric of the musical language of the Classic Era. This omnipresent DOMINANT-tonic relationship is about dominant chords asking to be resolved. This strong weak relationship, both in macro key structures from movement to movement and in micro chord progressions including secondary dominants (and sevenths that are dominant surrogates)— is the inner fuel of the Classic style. It is the single most important ingredient in the formal structure and unfolding of a work’s musical ideas.
Along with this tension-resolution dance, goes phrasing and punctuation; in this aspect, the language of sound is directly analogous to the language of words. Periodic phrases carry the music in logical, organized, often symmetrical units. We may not see punctuation, but we surely hear it.
At the end of a phrase, the cadence, lit. the falling point (usually of the upper voice). Again, Mozart uncannily elicits such delicious meat from the four formulaic cadences.
And, because Mozart is Mozart, he takes what is the standard stuff of composition, the common musical parlance for all composers of the Classic Style and infuses it with a pictorial quality to its depiction of or representation of or transformation into music of human experience; his music’s expressiveness sometimes rousing, sometimes heart-rending and going to the quick. Ever the opera composer, his knack for the pathos, the bathos, the humor, the surprise, the reassurance, the fear and trembling, the supplications all are heard in the most beautifully musical rendition of these qualities.
And, in the Requiem, Mozart also brings us into the realm of the deeply interior, the religious or spiritual life, and the contemplation of death and of the possibility or promise of eternal life. Passages in the Requiem have an other-worldly quality, which we as a choir want to portray in our sound.
Now a bit of technical stuff to get us going in our music making so that the music lives:
If you are not at ease with Italianate Latin pronunciation, consult the Pronunciation Guide in Singer Resources or an online guide in which you can hear as well as see the correct pronunciation. Once you start with this, it becomes enticingly MU-sical and SA-tisfying.
Syllable emphasis is inherent in Latin language pronunciation, just as it is in any spoken language. With Mozart’s music, there is complete synchronicity between the accented and unaccented syllables of the text and the musical synchronous accented and unaccented beats.
We have no way of writing emphases to show the degree of emphasis, but in music, that shading can be exquisite. Also, almost no emphasis, text or musical, appears out of nowhere, unless the composer wants to make a dramatic point. And always the emphasis is in the context of a phrase and that phrase’s overall dynamics. So we will arrive at every important syllable and, then we will leave it; here we are in the wonderfully swimmy world of hairpin crescendi and diminuendi, in an always alive tapestry of subtle dynamics and tempi.
An entering part is more important than a continuing part; if you are singing a continuing part, give way a little for the new protagonist, no matter the dynamic level.
A moving part is more interesting or important than a held part; if you are holding, give way a little to give the moving part a chance to be heard.
Held notes really are never held; they are often spun forward to the next note, or they are retreating.
Dynamics, as a basic acoustic thing, are amounts of sound, or volume, p, f, <, >, etc.
More interestingly, dynamics are also mood-conveyors. Especially with timbre—the quality of the sound. Dynamics and timbre together make for a rich palette of suggestibility, from which we can draw to paint musical mood and meaning. Again, Mozart being Mozart, the representation of human emotions takes on a vivid, even pictorial quality.
Mostly, commas in the text are observed in singing with small breaks in the sound.
And now to Joyce’s lengthy list. Mark any or all of it into your score.
DO-mi-ne = O-bvi-ous
< is such a puny little sign but we use it for crescendo of all sizes.
Likewise, > diminuendo.
You see the shortfalls in trying to portray the subtleties of sound in a printed medium…
The music ain’t on the page,
Tis in you!
REQUIEM Schirmer P4
M 11,13,14 DO-mine
M 15 Decrescendo on tua
M 16 < tua lu-ceat
M 26-27 AU of “audi”
M 29-30 > me-am
M31 CA of caro and VE of veniet
M 41-42-43 DO of dona > to na
M 43 ATB rich, present, front of stage
M 43 slight break: et / lux
M 44 and 45 PE <tua>
> E-is
M 46 breaks: e-is / et / lux per PE <tua>
KYRIE Schirmer P 9
Crispy K on every Kyrie and on every Ch(K)riste in the movement
Kyrie e LE-ison <>
Every KY-ri-e: energize the dotted rhythm
M 2-4 LEH
Difference between e-LEI-(still EH)-son and e-LE-i-son
M 34,35, 35, 37 Intensify every change of accidental. Rock and roll!
M 37 son / e – le
M46, 48 tap bell-like on pitches on-beat
M 49 Final so-nuh
The rest in this measure is full of meaning: We are waiting….for mercy
M 52 Crescendo into son
M 52 Enjoy the absence of the 3rd of the chord, 3 tonics (D, 1 dominant A)-an antique device, like a gothic cathedral, filled with awe.
DIES IRAE Schirmer P 15
M 1 and 2 Di-es
M 8 BI-lla
M 10 Crescendo thru Quantus
M 12, 15 TU-rus
M 12 do not cut off “rus”, hold
M 13 Crescendo thru QUA-ndo
M 18 -19 dis-CUS-su -< rus >
M 22 Note: SCARY
M 24 Piano, then Forte before the I-lah
M 25-27 solvet SAE-clum in fa- VI-<la>
M 29 sy-BI-lla
M 31 Note: Legato
M 31-33 Crescendo thru QUA-ntus
M 35,36 ven-TU-rus
M 37-38 CU-ncta STRI-cte
M 40 fu-SU-rus
M41, 45 < quantus tremor est fu-TU-rus
M 42 start mp and <
M 46 start mf and <
M 50 Note: Forte
M 54 and 57 K on the Cuncta
M 65 Cut off rus precisely on 2
REX TREMENDAE Schirmer P 25
M 3 Every Rex is RRRREX! with rolled R
M 3,4,5 Three Rex’s grow in intensity
M5 Letter U French overture grandeur, pomp, ceremonial.
M 6 – 7 REX tre-ME-ndae-MA-je-STA-tis REX
NOT double dotted
M7-10 now double dot to sync with the orchestra
3 canons: between A+S, T+B, and upper and lower strings
M 12-15 3 canons: between T+B, A+S, and upper and lower strings
M 11 REX-tre-ME/ndae MA
M 14 sal-vas-GRA-tis
M 15 rex (fermata) tre-men/dae ma/ je
M 16 qui sal-VA-ndos
M 17 GRA-tis
M 18,19 in contrast to the prior grandeur: now piano, interior, personal, pleading
M 21 spin pie-TA----- >tis
CONFUTATIS Schirmer P 36
M1-5 Single dot as printed, NOT double dot, but sixteenth always leads to the following quarter note
M 7 Letter A from heaven, no vibrato
M 27 breaks: SU-pplex / et / ae
M 29 a-CLI->nis
M 32, 38 Spin the long notes
M 39 FI->nis
M 40 HOLD the drama in the rests.
The last chord is the dominant of the Lachrymosa
LACRYMOSA Schirmer P 41
The teardrop or sighing motif permeates the “tearful” movement, both in descending form, and inverted, sometimes even more poignant.
M 5 pianissimo, < la cro MO sa>
M 7 start piano and cresc to forte m 8, so graduated steps for each dotted quarter louder than the previous; pp, p, mp, mf, f
M 8 (h)o-mo-RE-us …(h) is never pronounced in Latin
M 9 Sotto voce is more interior than p.
M 11 Forte QUA- re-SUR-get
M 15 (H)u ic / ER go
M 16 PA / rce / DE / us
M 18 crescendo to DO
M 22 <is>
M 23 <em>
M 27 Altos: C# first be is “re” of requiem; plz add in the syllable
M 27 into 28 > em
M 30 Spin the dotted whole note on A-in each part, then >men
The movement is in d minor, but it ends on a D major chord, a Baroque device or practice known as the Tierce de Picardy (the Picardian third, after the theorist who wrote about it). It is an optimistic gesture, to end a minor movement on a major chord. Altos, the major third, F sharp is yours, to make shimmer through the other voices of the chord, like a ray of sunlight.
DOMINE JESU Schirmer P 44
M 1 Note: piano
M 1 JE-su
M 3 glo-RI-ae, rex glor-RI-ae
M 4 LI-ber-A-nimas
M 5 <de>
M 7 <rum>
M 11 Break: et / de profundo
M 17 and 20 <nis>
M 23 ab-SOR-be-e-at
M 24 TAR-ta-rus, ne CA-dant
M 25 CA-dant
M 30 Note piano
M 44 Letter O Quam olim Abrahae
A German dance in 4, with emphases on 1 and 3.
Except M 66, Letter S, legato and fluid
A-bra-hae (ae = eh)
Pro-mi-SI-sti
E-jus
Final measure Tierce de Picardy, and a g minor section ends on major. Tenors have the third of the chord to relish.
HOSTIAS Schirmer P 52
M 2 Piano for gentle and lilting, somewhere between a waltz and a landler, with light, lifting third beats.
M 3-5 lead to:
M 6 DO-mi->ne
M 7 TI-bi
M 8 DO-<mine>
M 9 LAU-dis o FE-ri-mus
M 9 – 10 decrescendo thru
M12 SU-sci (shi)-pe
M 15 final quarter change to eighth note to clear the phrase for the orchestra
M 19 MO-ri-am
M 23 Forte, then subito piano at M 24/3.
M 27 Simile: subito forte
M 36 a-ni-MA-bus, I-llis
M 40 (h))O-di-e
M 46 Fac / E-as
52,53 VI-tam
M 53 >tam phrase end
SANCTUS Schirmer P 59
M 1 SA-nctus Note
M 4 DO-mi-nus DE-us
M 7 COE-li pronounced like celli
M 11 a - light, phrase end
M 19 Osanna in D; 26 mm
A DANCE, and a flirty one.
Bass starts
M 19 and 25 o-SA-nna
M 29-30 ek-CEL (shell)– then crescendo until >sis
M 36 Ek-SHEH-lsis
BENEDICTUS Schirmer P 61
M 54/3 Osanna in B flat; 21 mm
Tenor starts.
AGNUS DEI Schirmer P 68
M 2 Choir forte
M 4 <i>
M 5 spin/crescendo the TO-l
M 6-7 pe-CCA- ta
Break slightly before the cc (“K”) to articulate it more than just one c
M 8 Crescendo thru “mu---ndi”
M 11 Note: piano assai, inward, pleading
M 12 – 13 Crescendo thru
M 14 <em>
M 18-19 DE- crescendo to <i>
M 21 <lis>
M 23 – 24 Crescendo thru MU-----ndi
M 35-36 DE- crescendo to <i>
M 37 spin and crescendo “tol -----”
M 44-45 crescendo “qui” to decrescendo <em>
M 46 ATB Wait for sopranos
M 48-51 spin and crescendo “teh-----rnam”
LUX AETERNA Schirmer P 71 same music as Requiem M 19
M 8 Note: “sob, weep!”
M 8 Lux-ae-TER-na
M 10-11 E-IS DO-mi-<ne>
M 11 and 12 cum SAN-ctis
M 13 TER-num
M 14 <es>
M 26 and 27 PE-tu-a
M 28 crescendo thru et-lux-per
M 29 <pe> tu a
M 29-30 crescendo thru lu-ce-at-e-<is>
M 31 Cum Sanctis same music as Kyrie
M 32 cum / sanc/tis TU is in AE
M 47 Kum SAN (both C’s)
M 72 Note: BIG FINISH!!
M 72 and 73 KUM sanctis
M 81 Forte: Spin PI----us / ES! Take no prisoners!
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