Lacrimosa on the ocarina
On a 12-hole it starts E, high C, A, A. Hard, 26 notes, in A minor.
Goes up to high E, so it does not fit a 4-hole. Goes down to low A, so it does not fit a 6-hole.
Lacrimosa
Bar 1 of 6
What are the notes for the Lacrimosa?
On a 12-hole. Read left to right, a line at a time.
- E(hold)high CAAG♯restE(hold)high CAAG♯restlow Arestlow BrestCrestDrestErestF♯restGrestArest
- B♭Bhigh Chigh C♯Tricky spot:high Dhigh D♯high EErest
The Lacrimosa's main theme sighs twice on a long E that turns up to high C and falls back, then climbs step by step, slower and higher, to high E. Here are the six sung bars of the soprano line, bars 3 to 8 of the movement, in the rhythm of the 1800 first edition, moved into A minor. Bar 8 is where Mozart's own notes stop, and the climb needs a 12-hole ocarina.
How do you play the climb at the end of the Lacrimosa?
The last bar, where the climb reaches high E, the top of the tune, and then falls a whole octave to the E an octave down. On a 12-hole, the Lacrimosa goes from high E to E: you cover the left ring, left middle, left index, right index, right middle, left thumb and right thumb.
The last two bars rise by half steps, B flat, B, C, C sharp, D, D sharp, E, each held for a dotted quarter, so every note needs a new fingering. Learn them as a scale first, slowly, with no rhythm, until each half step is clean, then add the swing of 12/8: three slow pulses in each half of the bar. Blow a little firmer at each step, since the line gets louder and higher at once, and save some air for high E. The two bars before the climb are short, separate notes with rests between them, as the choir sings them; tongue each one and let the silences be heard.
Which ocarina can play the Lacrimosa?
A 6-hole ocarina cannot reach low A and low B, and a 4-hole ocarina cannot reach low A, low B, high C♯, high D, high D♯ and high E, so play the Lacrimosa in this key on a 12-hole ocarina in C. On an ocarina in G or F, use the same fingerings: the tune sounds in a different key, which is fine when you play alone. The linked chart has every fingering, and you can check your notes with a tuner such as our free ocarina tuner.
The 16 notes here, on a 12-holeHoles in words, with a picture
| Note | Holes to cover | Picture |
|---|---|---|
| E | Cover every main hole but the right ring and right pinky | |
| high C | Cover the left pinky, left thumb and right thumb | |
| A | Cover the left pinky, left middle, left index, left thumb and right thumb | |
| G♯ | Cover every main hole but the left ring, right index, right middle and right pinky | |
| low A | Cover every main hole, plus the left sub-hole and right sub-hole | |
| low B | Cover every main hole, plus the right sub-hole | |
| C | Cover every main hole | |
| D | Cover every main hole but the right pinky | |
| F♯ | Cover every main hole but the right index, right middle and right pinky | |
| G | Cover every main hole but the right index, right middle, right ring and right pinky | |
| B♭ | Cover the left pinky, left index, right ring, left thumb and right thumb | |
| B | Cover the left pinky, left index, left thumb and right thumb | |
| high C♯ | Cover the left pinky, right ring and right thumb | |
| high D | Cover the left pinky and right thumb | |
| high D♯ | Cover the left pinky and right ring | |
| high E | Cover the left pinky |
Drawn as you see it while playing: mouthpiece towards you, left hand on the left.
Did Mozart write the Lacrimosa?
Only its start. Mozart died on 5 December 1791 with his Requiem unfinished, and the Lacrimosa breaks off in his manuscript after its first eight bars; Franz Xaver Süssmayr finished it and the rest of the work for the count who had commissioned it. Our tabs follow the sopranos in Breitkopf & Härtel's first printed score of 1800, from their first note in bar 3 to the end of bar 8, where Mozart's own notes stop, moved up a fifth from D minor into A minor. The sopranos rest between the short notes of bars 5 and 6, and so do our tabs. We show the melody only. Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), the opening bars of the Lacrimosa from his unfinished Requiem, completed by Franz Xaver Süssmayr (1766-1803).