Born in Salzburg, then in the Holy Roman Empire and currently in Austria, Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. His father took him on a grand tour of Europe and then three trips to Italy. At 17, he was a musician at the Salzburg court but grew restless and traveled in search of a better position.
While visiting Vienna in 1781, Mozart was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He stayed in Vienna, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During his final years there, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas. His Requiem was largely unfinished by the time of his death at the age of 35, the circumstances of which are uncertain and much mythologized.
Hostias
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
laudis offerimus
tu suscipe pro animabus illis,
quarum hodie memoriam facimus.
Fac eas, Domine, de morte
transire ad vitam.
Quam olim Abrahae promisisti
et semine eius.
The lyrics to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's song "Hostias" are a plea to the Lord, offering up prayers and sacrifices for the souls being remembered. The song is a call for the Lord to receive these sacrifices and prayers, and to allow the souls being remembered to pass from death into eternal life, as promised to Abraham and his descendants. The lyrics reflect a common theme in religious music, that of offering praise and worship to a higher power, and asking for guidance and blessings in return.
Mozart's "Hostias" was written as part of the Requiem Mass in D minor, a Latin mass for the dead. The Requiem Mass was commissioned by an anonymous patron in 1791, and was left unfinished at Mozart's death later that year. The "Hostias" movement, along with the rest of the Requiem Mass, has become one of Mozart's most famous and revered works. The language and themes of the Requiem Mass have made it a staple of choral repertoire for centuries, and it continues to be performed in churches and concert halls around the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Hostias et preces tibi, Domine
We offer you sacrifices and prayers, O Lord.
laudis offerimus
We offer you praise.
tu suscipe pro animabus illis,
Accept them for the sake of their souls,
quarum hodie memoriam facimus.
Whose memory we celebrate today.
Fac eas, Domine, de morte
Grant them, O Lord, to pass from death
transire ad vitam.
To life, as you promised long ago to Abraham and his descendants.
Contributed by Violet H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@calebwhymark1789
To think this is the last song Mozart heard as he lay on his death bed…really brings it home
@maitrejeanseke561
Merci de vos séquences musicales Mozart.
@Wosiewose
1:52 to 2:10 - really struck me as an alto singing this, both the text and the music - not sure why but it really hit home. Every time I think of someone I know that has died, this is the part I come back to. "Make it so for them, Lord! from death to life to transition." (my translation - not a really good one, but pretty literal)
@DaviSilva-oc7iv
I think it's "make them transition from death to life"
@glogordcreativo6000
Me encanta esta canción
@lucianoiovino304
Che meraviglia! Grazie
@dallasd1282
Great music good times! The second drop hits harder than anything I've ever heard!
@authenticmusic4815
Indeed
@marcelo2306
Sublime.....
@chantalou604
Quelle beauté! Les mots me manquent.