The Maurerische Trauermusik (or Masonic Funeral Music) in C minor

C minor

C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. The harmonic minor raises the B to B. Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with naturals and accidentals as necessary.Its key signature consists of three flats...

, K. 477 (K. 479a), for orchestra, is a piece composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...

 in 1785 in his capacity as a member of the Freemasons

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

. According to Mozart's own catalogue, the piece was composed in July 1785. It was performed during a Masonic service held on 17 November 1785 in memory of two of Mozart's Masonic brethren, Duke Georg August of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Duke George Augustus of Mecklenburg

Duke George Augustus of Mecklenburg was a member of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and a German sailor and soldier.-Early life:...

 and Count Franz Esterházy von Galántha, members of the Viennese

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 aristocracy. The instrumental version of the Maurerische Trauermusik received its premiere later, in a concert on 9 December 1785.

The Maurerische Trauermusik is unusual in other respects, including its use of the Gregorian chant

Gregorian chant

Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...

 tonus peregrinus, and its inclusion of the basset horn (the latter trait due to fellow Freemason Vincent Springer playing the instrument at the premiere).