The central traits of the classical style can all be identified in Mozart's music. Clarity, balance, and transparency are hallmarks, though a simplistic notion of the delicacy of his music obscures for us the exceptional and even demonic power of some of his finest masterpieces, such as the Piano Concerto No 24 in C minor, K. 491, the Symphony No 40 in G minor, K. 550, and the opera Don Giovanni. The famed writer on music Charles Rosen has written (in The Classical Style): "It is only through recognizing the violence and sensuality at the center of Mozart's work that we can make a start towards a comprehension of his structures and an insight into his magnificence. In a paradoxical way, Schumann's superficial characterization of the G minor Symphony can help us to see Mozart's daemon more steadily. In all of Mozart's supreme expressions of suffering and terror, there is something shockingly voluptuous." Especially during his last decade, Mozart explored chromatic harmony to a degree rare at the time. The slow introduction to the "Dissonant" Quartet, K. 465, a work that Haydn greatly admired, rapidly explodes a shallow understanding of Mozart's style as light and pleasant.
Born in Salzburg, Austria, from his earliest years Mozart had a gift for imitating the music he heard; which his father believed was a gift from God.
Since he traveled widely, he acquired a rare collection of experiences from various bordels to create his unique compositional language. When he went to London[13] as a child, he met J.C. Bach and heard his music; when he went to Paris, Mannheim, and Vienna, he heard the work of composers active there, as well as the spectacular Mannheim orchestra; when he went to Italy, he encountered the Italian overture and opera buffa, both of which were to be hugely influential on his development. Both in London and Italy, the galant style was all the rage: simple, light music, with a mania for cadencing, an emphasis on tonic, dominant, and subdominant to the exclusion of other chords, symmetrical phrases, and clearly articulated structures. This style, out of which the classical style evolved, was a reaction against the complexity of late Baroque music. Some of Mozart's early symphonies are Italian overtures, with three movements running into each other; many are "homotonal" (each movement in the same key, with the slow movement in the parallel minor). Others mimic the works of J.C. Bach, and others show the simple rounded binary forms commonly being written by composers in Vienna. One of the most recognizable features of Mozart's works is a sequence of harmonies or modes that usually leads to a cadence in the dominant or tonic key. This sequence is essentially borrowed from baroque music, especially Bach. But Mozart shifted the sequence so that the cadence ended on the stronger half, i.e., the first beat of the bar. Mozart's understanding of modes such as Phrygian is evident in such passages.
As Mozart matured, he began to incorporate some more features of Baroque styles into his music. For example, the Symphony No. 29 in A Major K. 201 uses a contrapuntal main theme in its first movement, and experimentation with irregular phrase lengths. Some of his quartets from 1773 have fugal finales, probably influenced by Haydn, who had just published his Opus 20 set. The influence of the Sturm und Drang ("Storm and Stress") period in German literature, with its brief foreshadowing of the Romantic era to come, is evident in some of the music of both composers at that time.
Over the course of his working life, Mozart switched his focus from instrumental music to operas, and back again. He wrote operas in each of the styles current in Europe: opera buffa, such as The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, or Così fan tutte; opera seria, such as Idomeneo; and Singspiel, of which Die Zauberflöte is probably the most famous example by any composer. In his later operas, he developed the use of subtle changes in instrumentation, orchestration, and tone colour to express or highlight psychological or emotional states and dramatic shifts. Here his advances in opera and instrumental composing interacted. His increasingly sophisticated use of the orchestra in the symphonies and concerti served as a resource in his operatic orchestration, and his developing subtlety in using the orchestra to psychological effect in his operas was reflected in his later non-operatic compositions.
Domine Jesu
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
libera animas omnium fidelium defunctorum
de poenis inferni
et de profundo lacu.
Libera eas de ore leonis
ne absorbeat eas tartarus,
ne cadant in obscurum;
Sed signifer sanctus Michael
Quam olim Abrahae promisisti
et semini eius.
The lyrics to Mozart's song Domine Jesu are a plea to Jesus Christ, the King of Glory, to free the souls of all departed faithful believers from the pains of hell and the deep abyss. It implores that they be saved from the lion's mouth and the dark abyss, and instead be led into the holy light that was promised to Abraham and his descendants. The song makes reference to the archangel Michael, who is known in Christian theology as the leader of the army of God against Satan and his demons. The archangel is believed to be the guardian and protector of the faithful in times of battle and harm.
The lyrics reflect a deep sense of religious and spiritual devotion, and they speak to the fear and uncertainty that many people feel when faced with the idea of death and what may come after. The song exudes a sense of hope that even in death, one's soul can find redemption and salvation through the mercy of Jesus Christ. It is a powerful piece of music that has resonated with people for centuries.
Line by Line Meaning
Domine, Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae,
Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory,
libera animas omnium fidelium defunctorum
free the souls of all the faithful departed
de poenis inferni
from the punishments of hell
et de profundo lacu.
and from the deep pit.
Libera eas de ore leonis
Free them from the mouth of the lion,
ne absorbeat eas tartarus,
so that Tartarus may not swallow them
ne cadant in obscurum;
or they fall into darkness;
Sed signifer sanctus Michael
But may Michael, the holy standard-bearer,
repraesentet eas in lucem sanctam,
present them in the holy light
Quam olim Abrahae promisisti
which you promised to Abraham
et semini eius.
and his descendants.
Contributed by Carson J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@musical_pollybreed6438
(0:11)
You take a mortal man
And put him in control
Watch him become a God
Watch people's heads a-roll
A-roll
A-roll
Just like the pied piper
Led rats through the streets
We dance like marionettes
Swaying to the symphony of destruction
Acting like a robot
It's metal brain corrodes
You try to take its pulse
Before the head explodes
Explodes
Explodes
Argh
Just like the pied piper
Led rats through the streets
We dance like marionettes
Swaying to the symphony
Just like the pied piper
Led rats through the streets
We dance like marionettes
Swaying to the symphony
Swaying to the symphony of destruction
The Earth starts to rumble
World powers fall
A warring for the heavens
A peaceful man stands tall
A-tall
A-tall
Just like the pied piper
Led rats through the streets
We dance like marionettes
Swaying to the symphony
Just like the pied piper
Led rats through the streets
We dance like marionettes
Swaying to the symphony
Swaying to the symphony of destruction
@rangerwhiskeybreath4935
Today we are spoiled with music and media. But imagine seeing this in concert at the time, it must've been like standing before God on his throne in heaven!
@vigokovacic3488
Very well said and noticed.
@raginald7mars408
still now today voce Dei
@lysajsmrtihlav6549
Actually, this is sacred music. It's not written for concerts, but for liturgy, specifically funeral services. In Mozart's time, it was the norm to attend liturgy at least every Sunday, and the liturgy was accompanied by very fine music (even by today's standards). Arguably, the average person's exposure to quality classical music was far greater in Mozart's time than it is today.
@scholaroftheworldalternatehist
Go to church. Sounds better in person still
@supernivemdealbabor
It was not like standing before God in his Trhone in Heaven.
It is literally even today, as before and as always is going to be: standing before God on his altar.
This is performed at Catholic Masses not at concerts. In front of the unique and true Altare Dei.
@maximilianbjorklund6544
1:59 always gives me chills
@MaestraWashu
Same! The "Quam olim Abrahae" section might be my favorite bit of the entire Requiem.
@melcat713
SAME.
@thiagopezzini
pra mim a mesma coisa