Mozart, W. A. (2025).
REQUIEM MASS, BASED ON THE VERSION FROM ÉVORA CATHEDRAL, PORTUGAL (J. Ricardo & R. T. de Paula, Eds.) [Musical Score]. Wessmans Musikförlag. (Original work published 1800).
A PORTUGUESE VERSION OF THE REQUIEM
The city of Évora, located in the central region of Alentejo in the south of Portugal, constitutes since ancient times, one of the most important cities in Portugal. In the historical center of this ancient town, recognized as a world heritage site by UNESCO, the famous Roman temple is found, a greater symbol of Liberalitas Julia, as named by the Romans, the astonishing medieval Cathedral and the second oldest university of the country, founded in 1559. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a period in which the kings and the court spent long seasons there, polyphonic music connected to the Cathedral had special recognition. Important composers were active here, such as Mateus de Aranda, Manuel Mendes, Duarte Lobo, Filipe de Magalhães, Manuel Cardoso, and Estevão Lopes Morago. Also in eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, this institution functioned as an important musical center. An example that confirms this continuity is the manuscript version of Mozart’s Requiem guarded and kept in the archive of the Cathedral, used as the main source of the current edition. Adapted to the »emancipated bass,« the version of mass for four voices, two bassoons, cello, double bass, and organ obligato, was adapted in Évora from the score for voices and pianoforte published, in Offenbach, by the German editor and musician Johann Anton André, in 1801. This version was circulated in printed and manuscript form in Portugal, as preserved copies in the National Library of Portugal suggest. The copies may have belonged to the Seminário Patriarcal (Patriarchal Seminar), the main institution of musical education in the eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth century in Lisbon. In 1799, Johan Anton André purchased a set of manuscripts from Constanze Mozart, the widow of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which did not include the Requiem score. In the same year, Constanze negotiated with the Leipzig-based publishers Breitkopf & Härtel to publish the score of the mass, resulting in the first complete version in 1800. Correspondence between André and Constanze reveals André’s interest in publishing the Requiem as well, using a copy based on the Breitkopf edition provided by Constanze. This led to the first version for voices and pianoforte, published in 1801, followed by a version for the voices and orchestra in 1826.
The pianoforte version shows a peculiar omission: the first eight bars lack the melodies for the bassoons and the corni de bassetto. This omission carried over to the Portuguese versions based on André’s edition. The reason for this absence is unclear. Did André’s copy lack these melodies? This seems unlikely, given the fact that the Breitkopf & Härtel, available since the summer of 1800, was used as a reference for Constanze’s copy. Nevertheless, the question remains unanswered. To address this discrepancy for modern listeners, we have added the melodies for the bassoons and corni de bassetto in the Introitus (cello and bassoons 1 and 2: measures 1-6), the Lacrimosa (bassoons 1: measures 18-21) and the Lux æterna (bassoons 1 and 2: measures 1-2; 14-15) in this performance version.
Consisting only of individual separate instrument scores, the set from Évora includes copies by two different copyists, of whom only Friar Fernando da Conceição Figueiredo could be identified. Figueiredo also occasionally worked as a cantor (bass), sub-cantor and musical director. An analysis of the calligraphy indicates that Figueiredo copied the parts for the bassoons, rabecão pequeno (cello), rabecão grande (double bass), and the voices of tiple and the bass. The contralto and the tenor parts were copied by and unidentified copyist.
The lack of more precise information prevents us from identifying who adapted the Requiem to an instrumental ensemble of two bassoons, cello, double bass, and organ, a formation seen in some of the works used by the Cathedral’s Chapel of Évora in the first decades of the nineteenth century. Could it have been the Friar Fernando da Conceição Figueiredo himself? In 1806, chapel master Francisco Ignácio Moreira created a version of the Libera me responsorial, by David Perez, for the same instrumental setting. Moreira adapted the last responsorial of the famous Mattutino dei Morti (c. 1770) for use at the faithful defunct day ceremony held in the Cathedral, adding the Kyrie and Requiescat sections. Moreira also used this ensemble in his compositions, such as the six-voice Miserere (1805) and the Invitatório de Natal (date unknown), though there is no concrete evidence he adapted Mozart’s Requiem.
We can speculate that this copy and Mozart’s mass for the defunct are associated with Figueiredo’s responsibility for directing the funeral music held in September 1916 in Monsaraz, near Évora, by Queen D. Maria.
For this version of Mozart’s Requiem, based on Évora’s manuscripts, we consulted the printed editions by Johann Anton André (1801 and 1826), as well as the Breitkopf & Härtel edition (1800) and the partially signed manuscript available in digital format. These consultations enabled us to analyze and correct notes, accidentals, rhythms, and texts, and to standardize phrases and articulations. Additionally, as a performance edition, we included the melodies for the bassoons and corni de bassetto (Introitus, Lacrimosa, and Lux æterna) from the original source.
We hope this edition sheds light on a new and interesting version of Mozart’s Requiem realized in Portugal. This masterpiece, Mozart’s swan song, continues to surprise and inspire new interpretations.
RODRIGO TEODORO DE PAULA, CESEM/University of Évora
The city of Évora, located in the central region of Alentejo in the south of Portugal, constitutes since ancient times, one of the most important cities in Portugal. In the historical center of this ancient town, recognized as a world heritage site by UNESCO, the famous Roman temple is found, a greater symbol of Liberalitas Julia, as named by the Romans, the astonishing medieval Cathedral and the second oldest university of the country, founded in 1559. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a period in which the kings and the court spent long seasons there, polyphonic music connected to the Cathedral had special recognition. Important composers were active here, such as Mateus de Aranda, Manuel Mendes, Duarte Lobo, Filipe de Magalhães, Manuel Cardoso, and Estevão Lopes Morago. Also in eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, this institution functioned as an important musical center. An example that confirms this continuity is the manuscript version of Mozart’s Requiem guarded and kept in the archive of the Cathedral, used as the main source of the current edition. Adapted to the »emancipated bass,« the version of mass for four voices, two bassoons, cello, double bass, and organ obligato, was adapted in Évora from the score for voices and pianoforte published, in Offenbach, by the German editor and musician Johann Anton André, in 1801. This version was circulated in printed and manuscript form in Portugal, as preserved copies in the National Library of Portugal suggest. The copies may have belonged to the Seminário Patriarcal (Patriarchal Seminar), the main institution of musical education in the eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth century in Lisbon. In 1799, Johan Anton André purchased a set of manuscripts from Constanze Mozart, the widow of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which did not include the Requiem score. In the same year, Constanze negotiated with the Leipzig-based publishers Breitkopf & Härtel to publish the score of the mass, resulting in the first complete version in 1800. Correspondence between André and Constanze reveals André’s interest in publishing the Requiem as well, using a copy based on the Breitkopf edition provided by Constanze. This led to the first version for voices and pianoforte, published in 1801, followed by a version for the voices and orchestra in 1826.
The pianoforte version shows a peculiar omission: the first eight bars lack the melodies for the bassoons and the corni de bassetto. This omission carried over to the Portuguese versions based on André’s edition. The reason for this absence is unclear. Did André’s copy lack these melodies? This seems unlikely, given the fact that the Breitkopf & Härtel, available since the summer of 1800, was used as a reference for Constanze’s copy. Nevertheless, the question remains unanswered. To address this discrepancy for modern listeners, we have added the melodies for the bassoons and corni de bassetto in the Introitus (cello and bassoons 1 and 2: measures 1-6), the Lacrimosa (bassoons 1: measures 18-21) and the Lux æterna (bassoons 1 and 2: measures 1-2; 14-15) in this performance version.
Consisting only of individual separate instrument scores, the set from Évora includes copies by two different copyists, of whom only Friar Fernando da Conceição Figueiredo could be identified. Figueiredo also occasionally worked as a cantor (bass), sub-cantor and musical director. An analysis of the calligraphy indicates that Figueiredo copied the parts for the bassoons, rabecão pequeno (cello), rabecão grande (double bass), and the voices of tiple and the bass. The contralto and the tenor parts were copied by and unidentified copyist.
The lack of more precise information prevents us from identifying who adapted the Requiem to an instrumental ensemble of two bassoons, cello, double bass, and organ, a formation seen in some of the works used by the Cathedral’s Chapel of Évora in the first decades of the nineteenth century. Could it have been the Friar Fernando da Conceição Figueiredo himself? In 1806, chapel master Francisco Ignácio Moreira created a version of the Libera me responsorial, by David Perez, for the same instrumental setting. Moreira adapted the last responsorial of the famous Mattutino dei Morti (c. 1770) for use at the faithful defunct day ceremony held in the Cathedral, adding the Kyrie and Requiescat sections. Moreira also used this ensemble in his compositions, such as the six-voice Miserere (1805) and the Invitatório de Natal (date unknown), though there is no concrete evidence he adapted Mozart’s Requiem.
We can speculate that this copy and Mozart’s mass for the defunct are associated with Figueiredo’s responsibility for directing the funeral music held in September 1916 in Monsaraz, near Évora, by Queen D. Maria.
For this version of Mozart’s Requiem, based on Évora’s manuscripts, we consulted the printed editions by Johann Anton André (1801 and 1826), as well as the Breitkopf & Härtel edition (1800) and the partially signed manuscript available in digital format. These consultations enabled us to analyze and correct notes, accidentals, rhythms, and texts, and to standardize phrases and articulations. Additionally, as a performance edition, we included the melodies for the bassoons and corni de bassetto (Introitus, Lacrimosa, and Lux æterna) from the original source.
We hope this edition sheds light on a new and interesting version of Mozart’s Requiem realized in Portugal. This masterpiece, Mozart’s swan song, continues to surprise and inspire new interpretations.
RODRIGO TEODORO DE PAULA, CESEM/University of Évora
