On the very eve of his death, [Mozart] had the score of the Requiem brought to his bed, and himself (it was two oclock in the afternoon) sang the alto part; Schack, the family friend, sang the soprano line, as he had always previously done, Hofer, Mozarts brother-in-law, took the tenor, Gerl, later a bass singer at the Mannheim Theater, the bass. They were at the first bars of the Lacrimosa when Mozart began to weep bitterly, laid the score on one side, and eleven hours later, at one oclock in the morning (of 5 December 1791, as is well known), departed this life. -Benedikt Schack, close friend of Mozart
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 17:00:54 +0000