Kyle Vanderburg Music in the Classical Period October23, 2010 ARTICLE SUMMARY Simon P.

Keefe, "Die Oschen am Berge: Franz Xaver Sssmayr and the Orchestration of Mozarts Requiem, K. 626" in Journal of the American Musicological Society 61, No.1 (2008): 1-65. In this article, Simon P. Keefe looks at the history of Franz Xaver Sssmayrs orchestration of the Mozart Requiem. While it is well known that Mozart did not write the Requiem in its entirety and several movements had to be orchestrated (or written entirely) by his student, Sssmayr, the extent of Sssmayrs involvement is not completely known. The work is written in such a coherent way as to not suggest the work has multiple composers, but how this was accomplished is not well-known or well-documented. For reasons unknown, Constanze Mozart was angry with Sssmayr shortly after her husbands death, and turned to others to complete the Requiem before asking him. Sssmayr eventually was asked to complete the score, taking Mozarts completed Introit and Kyrie and pairing it with his own Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei. Additionally he arranged portions of Mozarts particella score for the Sequence and Offertory, and reworked material from the Introit and Kyrie for the concluding Communio. It was this patchwork of material that eventually made up the work given to Count Walsegg in 1792. This version is also the traditional Mozart Requiem performed today. Sssmayrs work on the score has created an interesting schism in the analysis of the work. When the quality of the movements of the Requiem are considered high, theorists and musicologists point to the genius of Mozart. When the quality is deemed low, the blame goes to Sssmayr. This opinion of Sssmayrs work runs so deeply in some historians to consider the Agnus Dei (widely accepted to be Sssmayrs own work) as a fairly complete Mozart draft due to its simplicity and genius. This opinion can be partly attributed to Mozarts opinion of Sssmayr, which is unknown. While Mozart does not speak flatteringly of Sssmayr in some of his letters, it is suggested that had Mozart truly not liked Sssmayr he would not have spoken of him at all. Another example of the myth surrounding the requiem was that Sssmayr and Constanze Mozart had an affair, and Franz Xaver Sssmayr is the father of the Mozarts youngest child, Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart. These claims appear to be unfounded. Because Sssmayr may have completed the Requiem, it is unclear if it should be considered Mozarts work or not. While Sssmayr did a fine job of creating an aesthetically coherent work, it is unclear if the work should be seen as a tribute to Mozarts fine teaching of Sssmayr or if it should be seen as a work that simply has two composers. Sssmayr himself said I can only wish that I have succeeded well enough at least for connoisseurs to be able to find in it, here and there, some signs of his unforgettable teaching.