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Austrian-German Latin for Mozart's Requiem?Date: January 31, 2010 by Dan Kreider
 Hi all,
I'm familiar with the variants of Austrian-German Latin (as compared to liturgical Latin), especially the "o" vowel and and the consonants "g" and "c" (and the vowel sound for "oe" and "ae") as defined by Jeffers.
My question: is it universally accepted that these German pronunciation variants should be used for Mozart's Requiem? I have heard different interpretations of the score, and most recordings at least pronounce the "o" as "oh" (rather than the standard "aw"). For consonants, I have heard several differing pronunciations.
Just wondering if there was a common consensus on this.
Thanks!
Dan Kreider
on January 31, 2010 9:33pm
Hi, Dan. I'd say there isn't an actual consensus on using German/Austrian pronunciation, but as an offshoot of the "authentic instrument" movement it's something a lot of people seem to be trying or playing with.
Technically I believe that there were a great many regional dialects of German, both socially-based (High Deutsch and Low Deutsch) and geographically-based, from one small kingdom to another, just as we have here in North America and as they certainly have in the UK. And IF there's a difference between the German dialect Mozart would have heard in Vienna and the one he grew up with in Salzburg, I don't think anyone has gotten all that picky yet!
But there is a different sound to the generalized German Latin as compared with the genearalized Italian Latin (both of which are liturgical, by the way!), and many feel that the sound of the language should be part of the sound of the music. That's certainly the case with Eastern European languages, which few of us study, unfortunately. I generally attempt to use Geman Latin for medieval music, but not so much for baroque or classic-romantic.
John
on February 1, 2010 4:22am
Thanks for the replies. Not what I was hoping for... =0( ...but good to know.
Thanks,
Dan
on February 1, 2010 9:57am
Such a thorny issue! To add to the many complications that my old friend John Howell brings up, there's also the question of what kind of Latin Mozart actually heard in Vienna, where the directors of music were mostly Italian. Even if we agree that he probably heard some kind of Germanic Latin in Salzburg, did he hear the same in the Viennese court?
Rick Roe brings up the other side of the issue - making the piece soound good - and I'd like to add to that thought. I use Germanic pronunciation in Carmina Burana and Bach, because it's more percussive, and it suits Carmina and most Bach well. Think of all those big leaps in the opening of Bach's Magnificat and the percussiveness of the hard g, rather than the lliquid "ny" sound of Italian Latin. Easier to sing and rhythmically more precise (and probably historically correct).
It gets more difficult for me with Mozart and Haydn, though I suppose for no good reason, and by the time I get to Beethoven's Mass in C I feel completely unsteady!
I try to use Germanic Latin with my students when it seems to be likely to be historically correct for the most part so that they learn there IS more than one kind of Latin, though when I used French Latin for Durufle you should have seen the odd looks I got!
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I think the only consensus you will find among choral conductors on this particular topic, is that there is no one, single, uniform approach, no consensus. The Mozart Requiem will sound slightly different in Hamburg, Stuttgart and Vienna, not to mention Paris, London, Rome, New York or San Antonio.
Consensus would be our desire to help our singers sound their best on the piece. We all want that. Some folks remain unconvinced regarding regional influence on the pronunciation of Latin. That's not so important, perhaps. How the end product sounds, especially to your ears, is what should be formost in thought.
Rick