Caballero, Eduardo
Vincent Rone
Music 15 Tuesday 8:00am
Paper Assignment #1
November 6, 2008
Paper Assignment #1
A Requiem is a service in church that is common when a person passes away. During the Classical period a lot of artists composed music for these services- this song being one of them. The genre is a Requiem and it was definitely composed in the Classical music period, because even though it captures the spiritual nature of the Renaissance, it has instruments that accompany the melody. With its graceful harmony, perfect structure, and beautiful use of dynamics, this masterpiece can only add up the famous talent of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
The form of this piece is theme with a few variations, since the theme tends to have short absences, and is regularly played throughout the whole movement. It is first introduced by the strings, probably the violin and viola. Then at (0:28) seconds the pitch deepens and it continues to vary as such. The pitch slowly continues to ascend until (1:00) minute where it reaches a high point. Even in sections like those, the theme is still played regularly until the end.
Mozart uses homophonic texture from beginning to end. It starts off with the instruments establishing the principle melody at (0:18) seconds, and then the SATB choir introducing the accompanying melody. He keeps the melodic behavior the same without switching it up too much. The sopranos and tenors sing most of the song, with a few short passages sung by the altos/bass’s. In some sections you can hear the altos/bass softly singing.
The performing mediums are mainly the string instruments which I believe include violins, violas, and cellos. In moments of intense emotion (0:54) you can hear the timpani (drums), trumpets, and bassoons being played. Since the string family is better at playing more sorrowful tones, they are dominant throughout the song. It is not until moments where emotion erupts that the rest of the instruments are introduced to...