Count Franz von Walsegg (January 17, 1763 – November 11, 1827) was an aristocrat, living in Stuppach Castle near

Gloggnitz Gloggnitz is a mountain town in the Neunkirchen district of Lower Austria, Austria. Gloggnitz is situated in the south-western part of the Vienna Basin in Lower Austria. It is surrounded by the highest mountains in Lower Austria, Mount Rax (20 ...

, who is best remembered for having commissioned a

requiem mass A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

from

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

in 1791 following the death of his twenty-year-old wife Anna (the grieving count, only 28 himself at the time, would never remarry). A

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and amateur musician, Walsegg had a penchant for commissioning works from composers of the day and then passing them off as his own in private performances. In his account of the commission of the requiem mass from Mozart, Anton Herzog states: Although Mozart died before completing the

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

Constanze Mozart Maria Constanze Cäcilia Josepha Johanna Aloysia Mozart (née Weber; 5 January 1762 – 6 March 1842) was a trained Austrian singer. She was married twice, first to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; then to Georg Nikolaus von Nissen. She and Mozart had six ...

arranged for several other composers, most notably

Franz Xaver Süssmayr Franz Xaver Süssmayr (German: ''Franz Xaver Süßmayr'', or ''Suessmayr'' in English; 1766 – September 17, 1803) was an Austrian composer and conductor. Popular in his day, he is now known primarily as the composer who completed Wolfgang Amad ...

, to complete the work in order to gain the remainder of the sum Walsegg had promised.

Notes

References

* Bernard Jacobson (1995), "Catholic with Masonic Overtones" (insert in Sacred Music, CD#18 of the Best of the Complete Mozart Edition), Philips: Germany. 1763 births 1827 deaths Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's employers and patrons {{Europe-noble-stub