Page - 96 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 05/01

new given that it is a full-blown leitmotif in Accattone. In Il Vangelo secondo Matteo it links two moments almost at opposite ends of the film. The first is in the scene with Herod and the Wise Men, when the king learns of Jesus’ birth. The second coincides with the capture of Jesus and the kiss of Judas. It is not easy to find an underlying meaning linking these two episodes, but perhaps it is precisely their relative distance, as two end moments, that offers a common theme. In both a prophecy is fulfilled, in the first case Isaiah’s regarding the birth of the Messiah, in the second case the three prophecies Jesus himself made about his capture and death (Matthew 16:21; 17:22; 20:17). As with the citations of the Old Testament, the musical theme is a marker of fulfilment. Also from Bach, in this instance the Musikalisches Opfer BWV 1 079, but in an arrangement for orchestra by Anton Webern, is “Ricercar a sei”. Webern was one of the leading pupils of Arnold Schoenberg, the theorist of the twelve-tone system. He put his master’s teachings into practice by creating the school of integral serialism. The expressive form of the passage, the fugue, is particularly well suited to the scene of the temptations in the desert. The exchanges be- tween Jesus and Satan almost follow the rhythm of the music, just as the desert view of Etna is well suited to the delicacy of “Ricercar”. This comparison returns in the second scene, where Jesus curses the barren fig tree. The tree becomes the symbol of Judas, the only interlocutor of his master for the whole scene, in whom the teaching of Jesus does not bear fruit, just like the fig tree. MOZART’S MAURERISCHE TRAUERMUSIK Moving on finally to another composer, let us look now at W. A. Mozart’s Mau- rerische Trauermusik in C minor K 477. The composer, who made no secret of being a member of the Viennese Freemasons, wrote the piece in 1785 to com- memorate two brothers of the order. It is a work that stands out from among Mozart’s other output as in a single movement it combines the tempo of a march with a Gregorian melody. The Maurerische Trauermusik is associated with the most important scenes in the whole film. The first is the baptism in the River Jordan, where Jesus ap- pears as an adult and begins his mission on earth. This first manifestation is ren- dered even more solemn by the voice – this time diegetic – that speaks from the sky, and it marks the spiritual consecration of Jesus, a transformative and transitional moment. The Mozart piece returns as the theme after the presenta- tion of the apostles, when Jesus talks about his mission, although a different passage of the work is used. The teachings concern the dangers of death and of the persecution of believers and suffering and death as temporary moments on the path to true life. A radical change of perspective is proposed, which we also find in the crucifixion and death scene. These scenes are linked by a continual 96 | Nicola Martellozzo www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/1