Analyzing Music: Mozart's Lacrimosa

Music is one of the greatest forms of art ever conceived. From the earliest days of banging sticks together to make a rhythm, to composing massive symphonies and orchestras in today's greatest music halls, the art of music is among the most influential and impactful art forms ever. This, in no small part, is thanks to the many great musical legends that have come and gone throughout history. Bach, Beethoven, Vivaldi, just to name a few. Today, wanted to become better at not only listening to music, but also understanding what each piece of music means. To help me, I decided to briefly study the work of the great Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and his piece Lacrimosa.

Mozart stands among the titans of European musical composers in the 17th and 18th centuries. His many famous works are known by all, even people who do not regularly consume classical music. His natural talent for playing music at an 

early age kick-started his career in the music industry, and brought the world one of the greatest artistic minds ever seen. Who better than for me to analyze than one of the greatest? The two works of his I eventually had to decide on for this analysis (if you could call it that) were between Requiem and Lacrimosa, both I instantly recognized, but had never actually known the names of (which is just the power of Mozart, I suppose). I eventually chose the latter of the two.

Lacrimosa is a beautiful piece that carries the emotion of sorrow or mourning with it. The heavenly vocals combined with the powerful horn and percussion lines, led by a string group, make this piece an unforgettable cantata (at least that's what I believe it is). I love how the sound is soft, but heavy with emotion using a calm tempo and soothing flow. Even as I write this post, I am listening to the piece on repeat, and it is not getting boring or dull to me. I can't help but believe this work tells the story of some great loss or failure that led to a time of great sadness. Overall, a very inspiring piece.

My recommendation: I love this piece, and I would recommend it to anyone, especially to those who do not listen to this type of music regularly. Also, listen to it using some surround-sound headphones or speakers, as I did. This was an overall positive experience for me, I had my doubts going in, but I am glad to have done this.