becoming

On April 02 2006, the Trinity Choir performed Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor. Unlike any other performance before — even at the time of Mozart, this one is performed with the "completed" score!

By "completed" of course I mean it is now reconstructed and "completed" by someone else other than Mozart. The Great Mass in C Minor was originally left in fragments in 1783. Mozart never finished it on time before his own wedding. Later in his life, he used some of the materials and put them in his cantata K469, Davidde penitente, but scholars agreed that the scope and form of the later can hardly represent the final thoughts on the music of the Mass which he originally set out.

This performance is based on the edition completed by Robert D. Levin. His discussion on the reconstruction can be found in the program notes.

The whole concert is online. Can you see and listen to it here.

"It has been rightly said that [the Grand Mass] is the only work that stands between the B Minor Mass of Bach and the D Major Mass of Beethoven."
— Alfred Einstein, author of Mozart, His Character, His Work.

I was always hoping that I can celebrate Mozart’s 250th birthday by attending a concert. Specifically, I hope I can attend a live performance of Requiem. Believe me, I even search for concerts offered as far as Buffalo!

And finally, I come across this. Oh, (I think) my prayer has been answered — especially the fact that it is free!

By the way, anyone interested? 

(Top: The last 2 pages of Lacrimosa, the very last section which Mozart finished through the eighth measure, and the motivic portions of instrumentation added before he died.)

Today marks the 250th birthday of 18th-century composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Jim has been blogging on Mozart for a while, I think he should be voted as the #1 "living" [see Jim’s comment] fan of Mozart in blogdom.

As for me, I will be listening to his K.626 throughout the day to remember this great composer. By the way, Requiem is the second piece of music which I own most recordings on. The first remains to be J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations.

So which recording of K.626 am I listening right now? It is the 1977’s recording performed by ASMF with N. Marriner conudcting. In my opinion, this is the best (Beyer’s edition) among them all. ASMF & Marriner are perfect! 

And no matter how historically inaccurate is Amadeus, it is still one of my favorite movies of all times! 

And how could I end this post without a quote from Barth:

"….because [Mozart] had heard, and causes those who have ears to hear, even today, what we shall not see until the end of time—the whole context of Providence." — Karl Barth