The Choir of St John's College, Cambridge

Mozart was not obsessed with the idea of his
death (unlike Schubert and many of the
romantics who followed him) but as with
many in a time less healthy and more
religious than our own, it was nevertheless
part of his daily consciousness. On 4 April
1787, four years prior to the composition of
the Requiem and his own death at the age of
thirty-five, he wrote thus to his father:

"Since death, when we come to consider it closely,
is the true goal of our existence, I have formed during the last few years
such close relations with this best and truest friend of mankind
that his image is not only no longer terrifying to me
but actually soothing and consoling. I thank God for allowing me to understand
that the fact of death is the key, which unlocks
the door to true happiness. I never lie down at night
without reflecting that, young as I am, I may not live to see
another day. Yet not one among my acquaintances could say that I am
disgruntled or morose, and for this blessing
I thank my Creator daily, and wish with all my heart that
all my fellow creatures could enjoy the same."