I have always been fascinated by the creative process. It amazes me that there are people who can have sound in their head and commit it to paper for musicians to read and play. The movie Amadeus is the fictional story of the relationship between two composers, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri. The whole movie is awesome. In one part, we get a peek into the compositional process as Mozart dictates a score to Salieri ...
Confutatis from Mozart's Requiem
Starting with the voices and adding in layer after layer of instrumentation and having it all work together ... simply amazing. I understand that this is a movie, but it is likely that the musical director, who happened to be Neville Marriner, provided a lot of insight.
The Confutatis is the 5th element of the Requiem. The words are:
Confutatis maledictis, flammis acribus addictis, voca me cum benedictus.
Oro supplex et acclinis, cor contritum quasi cinis, gere curam mei finis.
The English translation (courtesy of Memphis City Schools):
When the accused are confounded, and doomed to flames of woe, call me among the blessed.
I kneel with submissive heart, my contrition is like ashes, help me in my final condition.
The full version of this part of the Requiem from Marriner:
Confutatis from Mozart's Requiem - Neville Marriner
The range of emotion, sound and interplay of instruments and the incredible harmonizations are simply beautiful.
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