music179155% confidence

Mozart's Requiem — Original Completion Sketches

by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Reconstruction of Mozart's Requiem — Original Completion Sketches
AI-assisted reconstruction — confidence: 55%

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's sketches and drafts for the completion of his Requiem in D minor (K. 626), left unfinished at his death. The extent of Mozart's own work beyond the surviving autograph — particularly for the Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei — remains unclear due to lost sketches.

Confidence Map

Each section of this reconstruction is graded by the strength of its supporting evidence. Hover over a section to learn why.

General Description

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's sketches and drafts for the completion of his Requiem in D minor (K. 626), left unfinished at his death. The extent of Mozart's own work beyond the surviving autograph — part...

Based on 3 cited source(s) and overall exhibit confidence of 55%.

Historical Context

high

Mozart received the anonymous commission for a Requiem in July 1791 from Count Franz von Walsegg, who intended to pass it off as his own composition for his deceased wife. Mozart worked on it intensiv...

Supported by multiple scholarly references.

Circumstances of Loss

medium

Lost or destroyed during the secretive completion process by Franz Xaver Süssmayr and Constanze Mozart's management of the commission

Loss date is documented, lending credibility to the account.

High — direct evidenceMedium — reasonable inferenceSpeculative — limited evidence

The Story of Loss

Cause: Lost or destroyed during the secretive completion process by Franz Xaver Süssmayr and Constanze Mozart's management of the commission

Circumstances: After Mozart's death, his sketches and drafts passed through several hands. Constanze gave materials to multiple potential completers. Süssmayr produced the completion but was notoriously vague about which portions were Mozart's. Some sketch pages documented by early biographers have never been found.

Date of loss: 1791–1792

Historical Context

Mozart received the anonymous commission for a Requiem in July 1791 from Count Franz von Walsegg, who intended to pass it off as his own composition for his deceased wife. Mozart worked on it intensively during his final months while simultaneously composing The Magic Flute and La Clemenza di Tito. At his death on 5 December 1791, Mozart had fully orchestrated the Introit and Kyrie, and drafted vocal parts with figured bass for the Dies irae through the Hostias. Constanze Mozart, desperate to collect the remainder of the commission fee, first asked Joseph Eybler and then Franz Xaver Süssmayr to complete the work. Süssmayr claimed Mozart had given him verbal instructions, but the extent of surviving sketches he worked from — versus his own invention — has been debated for over two centuries. Several pages of sketches known to have existed are now missing.

Reconstruction Methodology

This exhibit's reconstruction was generated using AI analysis of historical records, scholarly references, and contextual evidence from the 1791 period. Each section of the reconstruction is tagged with a confidence level reflecting the strength of the underlying evidence.

Vestige reconstructions are scholarly tools, not definitive claims. They represent our best understanding given available evidence and are always presented with transparent methodology.

Cited Sources

  1. 1

    Mozart's Requiem: Historical and Analytical Studies, Documents, Score

    Christoph Wolff (1994)

  2. 2

    Requiem: Mozart's Last Word

    Maynard Solomon (1995)

  3. 3

    The Mozart Compendium: A Guide to Mozart's Life and Music

    H.C. Robbins Landon (1990)