Mozart's Requiem "Amen" Fugue Sketch: Discovery and Impact on Modern Completions (Listen to R. Levin Completion)
Mozart's Requiem "Amen" Fugue Sketch: Discovery and Impact on Modern Completions
Mozart’s Requiem in D minor (K. 626) is the most famous unfinished work in the classical repertoire, completed after his death by his student, Franz Xaver Süssmayr. For over 150 years, Süssmayr’s version, which ends the Sequence (Dies Irae section) with a simple plagal cadence on "Amen," was the standard. This tradition was radically challenged by the discovery of a small, but explosive, fragment: the "Amen" Fugue sketch.
1. The Discovery: A "Scrap of Paper" (Early 1960s)
The sketch was discovered in the 1960s (often attributed to scholar Wolfgang Plath). It was found on a page containing sketches for his last opera, The Magic Flute, confirming it dates from the same final, feverish period of 1791.
- The Fragment: The sketch consists of a mere 14 bars of music, outlining the opening theme and counter-theme for a fugue on the word "Amen" in D minor. The subject is a complex, ascending and descending theme suitable for contrapuntal exploration.
- The Clues:
- Motivic Link: Scholars like Robert Levin noted that the fugue's principal subject is the main theme of the Requiem (from the Introit) in strict inversion, a clear Mozartean technique for unifying a large work.
- Structural Intent: The fragment's complexity and its positioning on the manuscript strongly suggested it was intended to conclude the Sequence (which ends with the Lacrimosa), replacing the simple four-bar cadence written by Süssmayr.
2. Süssmayr's Omission and the Structural Argument
Süssmayr's traditional completion of the Lacrimosa ends abruptly at bar 8 (where Mozart stopped composing) and concludes the movement with a simple "Amen." The existence of the fugue sketch suggests Süssmayr either overlooked this "scrap of paper" or felt unable to complete such a complex contrapuntal movement.
- The Fugue Pattern: The inclusion of an "Amen" fugue after the Lacrimosa (the last text of the Sequence) would create a deliberate Mozartean structural pattern where each major section of the Requiem culminates in a large-scale fugue:
- Introit/Kyrie: Ends with the grand double fugue on Kyrie eleison.
- Sequence/Offertory: Would have ended with the proposed Amen fugue.
- Sanctus/Benedictus: Ends with the Osanna fugue.
- Impact on the Lacrimosa: If the fugue was intended, the Lacrimosa would likely have ended on a half cadence (a dominant chord) to lead directly and dramatically into the fugue, rather than Süssmayr's conclusive final cadence.
3. Impact on Modern Completions (Since the 1980s)
The discovery of the Amen Fugue sketch in the 1960s gave new life and scholarly purpose to the question of completing the Requiem. It became the centerpiece of nearly all significant modern editions.
The New Generation of Completers
Composers like Richard Maunder, Duncan Druce, and especially Robert D. Levin incorporated the sketch, leading to major revisions of the work.
- Robert Levin (1991/1993 Completion): Levin’s widely performed and acclaimed completion used the Amen sketch to construct a fully realized, non-modulating, five-part fugue (lasting about 80 bars), thereby restoring the structural balance and grandeur that many scholars believe Mozart intended for the Sequence's conclusion.
- Rewriting the Lacrimosa: To accommodate the fugue, modern editions, especially Maunder’s and Levin's, had to rewrite the final bars of Süssmayr's Lacrimosa to create a seamless transition (a half cadence) leading into the D minor fugue.
- Reaffirming Mozart's Counterpoint: The sheer complexity suggested by the sketch reinforced the belief that Mozart intended a highly sophisticated conclusion, forcing completers to adhere more strictly to 18th-century contrapuntal rules (such as avoiding parallel fifths and octaves) than Süssmayr had.
Listen to the Robert Levin Completion
- at 19:36 the new completion of the Lacrimosa
- at 22:06 the new Amen fugue based on the sketch discovered
Conclusion: A Fragment That Changed Everything
The 14-bar Amen Fugue sketch revolutionized the Mozart Requiem. It transformed the scholarly debate from simply correcting Süssmayr's orchestration to actively reconstructing Mozart’s intended structure. By providing concrete evidence of Mozart’s late-life contrapuntal plans, the fragment allowed modern completers to create a version of the Requiem that is both dramatically satisfying and structurally consistent with the genius of its true author, making the Amen fugue one of the most significant "scraps of paper" in music history.
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