ORIGINAL LYRICS De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine; Domine, exaudi vocem meam. Fiant aures tuæ intendentes in vocem deprecationis meæ. Si iniquitates observaveris, Domine, Domine, quis sustinebit? Quia apud te propitiatio est; et propter legem tuam sustinui te, Domine. Sustinuit anima mea in verbo ejus: Speravit anima mea in Domino. A custodia matutina usque ad noctem, speret Israël in Domino. Quia apud Dominum misericordia, et copiosa apud eum redemptio. Et ipse redimet Israël ex omnibus iniquitatibus ejus. TRANSLATION From the depths, I have cried out to you, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. If you, Lord, were to mark iniquities, who, O Lord, shall stand? For with you is forgiveness; and because of your law, I stood by you, Lord. My soul has stood by his word. My soul has hoped in the Lord. From the morning watch, even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord. For with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
The movie Amadeus was slander all the way around. It portrayed Mozart as a perverted brat and Salieri as a mediocre fiend. In reality, both Mozart and Salieri were touched by the gods. What a glorious era for music!
Salieri was a very good composer quite close to be a great composer. Typically, as an Italian composer of his age, here he produces an impressive work where he doesn't work on the beautiful, powerful initial tune with the developments and modulations one can expect and desire. As a consequence, as a listener I remained both fascinated and disappointed. This "narrowness" is the gap between Salieri, Paisiello etc. on one side and Mozart and Haydn on the other.
The Ruler of the Universe creates the board, the pieces, and the rules; he makes all the rules; he may make as many moves as he likes whenever he likes; his antagonist, however, is permitted to introduce a slight inexplicable inaccuracy into each move, which necessitates further moves in correction. The Creator determines and conceals the aim of the game, and it is never clear whether the purpose of the adversary is to defeat or assist him in his unfathomable project. Apparently the adversary cannot win, but also he cannot lose so long as he can keep the game going. But he is concerned, it would seem, in preventing the development of any reasoned scheme in the game. H. G. Wells, The Undying Fire. 1919.
