Lacrymosa- 6:2

Lacrymosa- 6:2

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

When & Where: Through my feverish search to find varying digital texts for the CALTO project, I encountered a song titled “Lacrymosa.”

Level of Familiarity: This was not my first encounter with this word/ song. I actually sang this song as a choral piece in my High School Choir. However, I never knew the history behind this moving musical composition. The tone of the song is absolutely beautiful and begins with a very dark, melodramatic arrangement. At the end of the song, there is a sense of triumphant overcoming.

Definition:  According to Wikipedia.com, Lacrymosa is Latin for “weeping.”  It originally was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Vienna, in 1971. Apparently (according to Wikipedia) the composition was left unfinished at the time of Mozart’s death, and Franz Xaver Süssmayr completed the piece later. This probably explains the shifting tone from minor and very dreary sounding to triumphant sounding.

Reflective Commentary:

Although there is a very detailed history to this song and it’s creation, my interest is related to the song’s use. 

According to many historical accounts (jewishvirtuallibrary.com), the International Red Cross was allowed to visit the concentration camp of Terezin once. Their conclusion from that visit was that the “Jews were being treated all right.” This was a camp were “notable musicians, writers, artists, and leaders were put for “safer keeping.” The conditions were still very poor. According to the Jewish Virtual Library, “Of the vast majority of Czech Jews who were taken to Terezin (or Theresienstadt), 97,297 died among whom were 15,000 children.”

There is a connection between the song Lacyrmosa and Jewish Concentration camp, Terezin. When the International Red Cross made their dutiful visit to Terezin, a children’s choir sang Lacrymosa upon their arrival. The use of this song selection is very ironic in that the meaning indicates “weeping.” In a way, this song choice was a inconspicuous cry for help. It unfortunately went unnoticed.