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

Hello everyone! Today, I decided to make an analysis of Mozart's Lacrymosa after seeing this YouTube video. Though the guy's reaction did not really impress me, the idea behind the video got me thinking. What is it about this piece that gives me chills every time I listen to it? I thought that it could be because I know that it was the last piece that Mozart every wrote, or it could be a result of the beautiful harmonic scheme that the piece has. Because of this, I decided to make an analysis of the piece in order to fully understand it. So, here is my analysis:

Analysis

Form

I really don't think this piece has a strict form. I will admit that I wasn't thinking form as I analyzed it today though. Overall, I think there are two sections, an A section and a B section. The A section seems starts in d minor and eventually modulates to F major. The B section begins where the A section ends (in F major), and it modulates back to d minor repeating the A section to end the piece. (Edit as of January 27th) After thinking about this form for a few months and talking to a friend, my best summarization of it would probably be ternary form (A-B-A). I lean more towards ternary form because the B section does not go straight into the components of the A section it seems like the B section ends and then the A section returns. At first I was thinking this was kind of rounded binary, but now I feel it is ternary.

Things I Like

I am personally quite fond of the bitter sweet feeling that this piece has. It does not sound like something lovely and peaceful, but, at the same time, it doesn't sound like something horrid and agitated. Mozart really was ingenious in his use of these elements in order to achieve that kind of sound.

I am also quite fond of the harmonic ideas presented in this piece. He utilizes chromatic motion in this that I don't typically think of when I think of Mozart.

Potential Mistake

I did notice a potential mistake in measure 11. The basses have an A-flat which I believe to be functioning as a G-sharp. The chord is functioning as a German Augmented 6th, but written differently. I think Mozart might have intentionally written this A-flat in order to illustrate the sequence going on in the bass part. However, I am quite sure it should - in a perfect world - be a G-sharp.

Text

Here is the Latin text, as well as its translation:

Lacrimosa dies illa
Qua resurget ex favilla
Judicandus homo reus.
Huic ergo parce, Deus:
Pie Jesu Domine,
Dona eis requiem. Amen.

Full of tears will be that day
When from the ashes shall arise
The guilty man to be judged;
Therefore spare him, O God,
Merciful Lord Jesus,
Grant them eternal rest. Amen. (Taken from Wikipedia)

Here is the video with my notation for the harmonic structure:

Materials Used

Public Domain Performance by The Wiener Philharmonic (Found on IMSLP)
Public Domain Arrangement (Sheet Music) by Maurizio Machella (Found on Free-scores.com)

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)
• Lacrimosa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (9/19/2018)

Closing

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