Mozart Requiem: Requiem Aeternam—with video chat

Movement I Requiem Aeternam Fireside video chat 2

Requiem Mass, an illustration by Augustus Welby Pugin (1812-1852), English architect and artist, and father of the Gothic revival. Pugin is most famous for designing the "Big Ben" Clock Tower and the interior of the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. A convert to Catholicism, he expended much of his energies to rebuild the Catholic Church in England, recently emancipated after centuries of suppression. In less than two decades. Pugin raised up dozens of Gothic revival churches, including the first Catholic cathedral built in the realm since the Reformation. He designed stained-glass windows, chalices, vestments, and other ecclesiastical furnishings, and wrote several books, including a tract advocating the restoration of Gregorian chant. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_Pugin https://modernmedievalism.blogspot.com/2016/04/requiem-aeternam.html

Movement I Requiem Aeternam—Adagio, d minor, 48 mm    

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,      

Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord,

et lux perpetua luceat eis.

and let perpetual light shine upon them.

Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion,

A hymn befits thee, O God in Zion,

et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem.

and to Thee a vow shall be fulfilled in Jerusalem.

Exaudi orationem meam,                          

 Hear my prayer,

ad te omnis caro veniet.                       

for unto Thee all flesh shall come.

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,

 Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord,

et lux perpetua luceat eis.

And light perpetual shine on them.           

 The first movement opens with an orchestral introduction: The strings, lower then upper, form a slow processional, over which a lyrical melody unfolds, counterpointed, first in the melancholy bassoon, emphasized by the ruminative basset horns (a dark relative of the clarinet), and emphasized by the second bassoon.

Also in counterpoint, the choir sings:

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine.

Eternal rest grant them, Lord.

To emphasize their request for redemption, the choir turns to sturdy unison chords, and asks:

et lux perpetua luceat  eis.

And let perpetual light shine on them.

The soprano soloist sings this text from a Medieval antiphon (a short chant or verse that is sung or recited in response, or as a refrain, in Christian rituals):

Te decet hymnus in Sion

Sung praise honors you in Zion

et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem.

And a votive offering will be given you in Jerusalem.

And the choir returns with the appeal:

Exaudi orationem meam.

Hear my prayer.

Ad te omnis caro veniet.

To you all flesh will come.

Then the choir repeats the opening text and fugal subject:

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine.

Eternal rest grant them, Lord.

But now, a countersubject—fluid and beseeching—emphasizes:

dona eis, Domine.

grant them, Lord.

 The request for eternal light is made once again, again in chordal texture, but this time soprano calls are answered by by the lower three voices,:

et lux perpetua luceat  eis.

And let perpetual light shine on them.    

Structure                                    

1.    Orchestral introduction (a mini-overture)

a.    Mm. 1-5: Theme enters contrapuntally and stretto, overlapping:

b.    1st Bassoon, 2 bassett horns, 2nd bassoon

c.     On D (tonic) , A (dominant), D (ascending) and then lowest entry again on D, confirming the tonic.

2.    M 7: Trombones announce choir

3.    M 8: The choir enters fugally and stretto:

a.    with the theme of the woodwinds at the opening now a fugal subject.

b.    entries on 2nd and 4th beats of mm.

c.     stretto

d.    B T A S

e.    on D A D A

4.    Letter B m 15 “et lux perpetua”

Unison rhythm

Homophonic/chordal

And insistently staying on or near one pitch in each part.

5.    M 21 Sop solo: a medieval antiphon

An antiphon is a short chant or verse sung in a Christian ritual, often as a refrain, before or after a psalm or canticle.

The word antiphon comes from the Greek antiphonon, which means "sounding against", "responsive sound", "singing opposite", or "alternate chant". Early Christian churches adopted the practice of antiphonal singing from Hebrew worship. St. Ambrose introduced it to the West in the 4th century. Usually  based on texts from the Psalms or Scripture but can also be composed freely. The text of an antiphon often relates to the meaning of the psalm or the feast day. Primarily  used in the canonical hours, or divine office. In the early Church, the introit, offertory, and communion of the Mass also consisted of antiphons and psalm verses. 

6.    Letter C m 26: Restless orchestral dotted rhythms set up the urgent context for the ATB’s urgent “exaudi orationem” (hear my prayer).

7.    Notice the soprano line that is different from ATB: It is the soprano solo melody from mm 21and 22.

8.    Letter D m 34: the first fugue subject is now paired with a second fugal subject

a.    B+A;      T+S;     A+T;   S+B

b.    On D+A; A+E;   G+D;   F+C              

c.     the second subject always a fifth from the first

d.    This second subject is melodically the same as mm. 20-21, the strings, dolce, intro to and support of the solo sop.