Hollywood didn’t invent those emotions. Mozart did.

By UMS

Scene from the film Amadeus

There are certain pieces of classical music that seem to exist everywhere in pop culture, even if you don’t know their names.

You may have heard the ominous opening of Mozart’s Requiem in Amadeus, the 1984 Oscar-winning film that helped cement the mythology surrounding the composer’s final days. How about its haunting “Lacrimosa” in The Big Lebowski? Or, if you’re a Marvel fan, you may even recognize the thunderous “Dies irae” from X2: X-Men United.

The Requiem’s dramatic melodies and unmistakable choral sound are repeatedly called upon to convey everything from terror and tragedy to mystery and transcendence on the silver screen. But, there’s nothing like experiencing this music in a renowned concert hall.

On Friday, November 13, the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, the UMS Choral Union, and four outstanding soloists will come together to perform the Requiem in the magnificent acoustics of Hill Auditorium. Info & tickets

How has the Requiem’s haunting beauty captivated audiences for centuries?

A masterpiece surrounded by mystery

Mozart’s Requiem has always been accompanied by a story almost as dramatic as the music.

Commissioned anonymously in 1791, the work was left unfinished when Mozart died at just 35 years old. His student, Franz Xaver Süssmayr, ultimately completed the score using Mozart’s sketches. As Mozart’s health declined, legend has it that he became convinced he was writing the Requiem for his own funeral (a story that has contributed to the work’s enduring aura of mystery and mortality).

The reality is, of course, more complicated than the legend — but that uncertainty is part of what makes the Requiem so fascinating. It’s a work shaped by Mozart’s imagination, his final illness, the work of those who completed it after his death, and centuries of listeners who have found their own meaning in its music.

The Requiem moves between extremes: terror and tenderness, darkness and light, judgment and mercy…

The opening “Requiem aeternam” begins with an almost funereal restraint before the chorus enters.

Then comes the “Dies irae,” one of classical music’s great explosions of fear and power.

The “Confutatis” alternates between ominous male voices and luminous responses from the higher voices.

And in the “Lacrimosa,” the music seems to stop time altogether.

Many of these moments have become so familiar, that it can be easy to forget just how extraordinary they are.

From Amadeus to The Big Lebowski

Part of the Requiem’s cultural staying power comes from its remarkable cinematic life.

Miloš Forman’s Amadeus made the work central to its depiction of Mozart’s final days, intertwining the music with the film’s fictionalized account of Mozart’s relationship with Antonio Salieri. The film helped reinforce the mythology surrounding the Requiem and introduced the work to generations of moviegoers.

But the Requiem has also found some rather unexpected homes.

In The Big Lebowski, the “Lacrimosa” accompanies one of the Coen brothers’ wonderfully strange sequences, transforming Mozart’s music into part of the film’s darkly comic atmosphere.

Mozart’s music knows how to make us feel something immediately, from impending catastrophe (with the pounding rhythms of the “Dies irae”) to physical grief (the “Lacrimosa”). The grandeur of the chorus suggests something larger than any individual character or story.

Experience True Surround Sound

Hollywood didn’t invent those emotions. Mozart did.

There is a limit to what a soundtrack can convey. Hearing a great choral work live is surround sound! The Requiem was written for human voices filling a physical space, and feeling the sound of the orchestra and voices moving through the hall around you.

Yes, you may recognize Mozart’s Requiem from a movie. You may know the opening notes, the “Dies irae,” or the “Lacrimosa” without knowing exactly where you’ve heard them before. But on November 13, you can hear them in full force…and the way they absolutely were intended. Come experience it for yourself!

Buy Tickets

Starting at $36 (+ fees). $15-20 student tickets available