Those familiar with
Mozart’s Requiem K626 will also know
that it remained incomplete when he
died on Dec. 5th 1791. The
completion work was effected, in the
main, by his pupil Franz Xaver Süssmayr.
Despite there being
no shortage of high quality recordings
of Mozart’s Requiem, this new release
is rather appealing because it includes
an original work by Süssmayr- a
Requiem written after the death of Mozart.
Having remained in obscurity for the
past 200 years this performance of Sussmayr’s
Requiem is claimed to be its first during
that period.
A Count Walsegg, who
wished to pass it off as his own work,
written in memory of his wife, anonymously
commissioned Mozart’s Requiem K626.
In addition to it being incomplete at
the composer’s death there is little
else about which we can be sure. Beyond
these facts it is difficult to distinguish
between speculation, romantic fiction
and intriguing legend. One particular
version of the legend tells how Mozart,
mortally ill, took the messenger from
Count Walsegg to be an emissary from
the other world. His reaction was to
set about feverishly writing his own
Requiem and instructing Süssmayr
on completion details should he die
before it was finished.
Constance Mozart initially
assigned the completion to Joseph Eybler,
a pupil who had regularly visited Mozart
during his final illness, and for whom
he had a high regard. Unable to complete
the composition due to time constraints,
Eybler returned it to Constance. Several
other professionals were approached
before Süssmayr received the final
assignment.
The key pre-occupation
has always been exactly how much Süssmayr
contributed to the final Requiem, and
how authentic the work as a whole is,
in relation to Mozart’s original conception
and inspiration. The Requiem, wholly
from Süssmayr’s own pen that appears
on the present recording may shed additional
light on this question.
Given the prevailing
circumstances the Süssmayr composition
is of historical interest, but there
is nothing particularly outstanding,
compelling or significant about it,
which may well explain why it has remained
in obscurity for so long. While this
relatively short work [17:55] is competent
and well crafted, one is left with the
impression that the composer had little
creative input into the final version
of Mozart’s Requiem K626. It is highly
probable that Süssmayr had access
to original sketches by Mozart, which
were subsequently lost or destroyed.
The intriguing combination
of these works on the same new release
provides the perfect vehicle for lots
of marketing hype. That aside, the quality
of the performances generally, deserves
recognition. The St. Olaf choir is one
of America’s leading choral groups and
on the basis of this performance, it
is easy to see why.
In any recording of
this kind an intrinsic quality that
allows orchestra and choir to be audibly
separate with their own spatial position,
is highly desirable. While the St Paul
Chamber Orchestra provides a high standard
of support, in much of the recording
the orchestral sound is mixed in with
the singers. On the other hand the quality
of spatial separation is well achieved
in the recording of Mozart’s Requiem
by Christopher Hogwood [L’Oiseau Lyre
411 712-12] and doubtless is a function
of the venue and engineering choices.
Nonetheless its absence can compromise
listening enjoyment and detract from
the overall effect.
In Süssmayr’s
Requiem, the setting uses German paraphrasing
of the standard Latin text, the result
of a special contemporaneous papal dispensation
allowing the celebration of the mass
in the vernacular in certain Austrian
Duchies. For this reason those less
familiar with the Requiem format, may
find difficulty correlating comments
from the accompanying notes with specific
track listings.
Those easily agitated
by unnecessary inter-track audience
noises and clapping/ shouting by the
audience at the end of the recording,
should take a tranquilizer prior to
audition.
Despites its virtues
this disc probably will not be purchased
to replace established, favoured versions
of Mozart’s Requiem. The temptation
to hear a performance of a totally original
Requiem by Süssmayr, not performed
for the past 200 years, is one to which
many will however succumb.
Zane Turner
Full
AVIE Catalogue
Maria Jette (sop); Jennifer Larmore (mezzo);
James Taylor (tenor); Eric Owens (bass); St
Olaf Choir/Anton Armstrong; St Paul Chamber
Orchestra/Andreas Delfs 
[68:11]
