Analysis of Mozart's "Dies Irae" -- from his Requiem in d minor (@rgkmb-unofficial fundraiser)

Hello everyone! A few weeks ago, I did an analysis of Lacrymosa from Mozart's requiem. Analyzing that piece was quite fun, so I have been working on another analysis of a selection from the Mozart requiem, Dies Irae. The Mozart requiem is a magical work, and highly recommend listening to all of it (up until Lacrymosa). I plan to eventually have analyses for all of it (up until Lacrymosa), and this is the next stone in that road. Anyway, let's get into my overall finding in Die Irae!

Analysis

Form

I have realized recently that many of these movements are not going to have strict structures because Mozart is working off of where the text leads him. This piece modulates through several different keys, but I would say that the structure is an A section in d minor followed by a B section in F major. The B section modulates to a minor in which the A section is repeated. After this, Mozart modulates to c minor and (in a way) repeats the B section which modulates back to d minor. This is followed by a coda that confirms the final key as d minor. That is my VERY loose interpretation of the form of this piece.

Things I like

I am really quite fond of the accompaniment of this piece. It is quite innovative for Mozart's time, and sounds almost like something you would hear in a heavy metal piece now-a-days. It utilizes fast rhythmic material as well as powerful rhythmic material (16th notes and syncopated quarter notes). This really builds up the texture of the piece and shows just how forward thinking Mozart really was! I remember, when I first copied the choir parts, thinking about how boring some parts of this were because Mozart did not change much harmonically amongst the voices and kept them rather inactive (at times). As soon as I copied the accompaniment, I realized that it was the foundation that gave these areas so much flavor in the full picture.

Much like Lacrymosa, this pieces uses a lot of innovative harmonies as well. You can see Mozart's use of chromatic harmony throughout this piece, specifically in some of his modulations. This use of chromatic harmony fascinates me because Mozart manages to use it whilst maintaining his signature style. This skill in chromatic harmony is one of the things that I absolutely love about this piece!

Differing Analysis

When searching google to see if anyone else has made an analysis of this piece, I came across this article in Google Books. My analysis shows that I disagree with this page (100) on where the modulations actually occur. I am not going to say that they are wrong, or that I am right. I will just say that I feel that the areas where I labeled the modulations are the areas where the new key makes sense to me.

Text

Dies iræ, dies illa
Solvet sæclum in favilla,
Teste David cum Sibylla.
Quantus tremor est futurus,
Quando Judex est venturus,
Cuncta stricte discussurus!

Day of wrath and doom impending.
David's word with Sibyl's blending,
Heaven and earth in ashes ending.
Oh, what fear man's bosom rendeth,
When from heaven the Judge descendeth,
On whose sentence all dependeth.

Here is the video with my harmonic analysis of the piece:

Materials Used

Public Domain Performance by The Wiener Philharmonic (Found on IMSLP)
Public Domain Arrangement (Sheet Music) by Maurizio Machella (Found on cpdl.org)

Previous Analyses

• The Rustin High School Alma Mater by Samuel Barber (7/17/18)
• The Star Spangled Banner (Our Nation's National Anthem)(7/18/18)
• The Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa (7/19/18)
• Eternal Father, Strong to Save (The Navy Hymn) (7/20/18)
• The Heavens are Telling by Franz Joseph Haydn (9/3/18)
• Lacrymosa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (9/19/2018)
• Dies Irae by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (10/7/2018)

Closing

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The @rgkmb-unofficial account is an experimental account that is operated by Steve Palmer (@remlaps). The account's purpose is to demonstrate the viability of a fund-raising model that is based on use of the Steem block chain in the community. The account's goal for 2018 is to raise enough money to send one student on the Rustin Golden Knight Marching Band's trip from Pennsylvania to Florida in December for performances in the Citrus Parade and in Disney. For more information, see our introductory post: Introducing Steem to the Rustin Golden Knights Marching Band

Thank you for your time and attention.