Mozart : Religious but “in a different way”

So the spirit of Freemasonry was very close to him for a long time ... but in the way the spirit of a religion can be very close to the thought of a man in the months and years before his conversion. It is the works of the last seven years of his life that will bear witness to the fruits of this "conversion", to the depth and intensity of his life as a Mason. Was this conversion reflected in his life? The care with which his correspondence has been largely withheld since December 1784 suggests the contrary. The dishonesty or the foolishness of the witnesses certainly made the documents disappear, but, if the biography admits its relative powerlessness, it is then necessary to refer to the documents[2] which remain, its music and in particular "The magic flute / Die Zaubeflöte" (cf. next episode)

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Its rise was rapid but by no means exceptional for the time. He was promoted to the rank of companion in the Lodge « Zur wahren Eintracht » (True Concord) on January 7, 1785 and was elevated to the position of Master before April 22 of the same year. This lodge was founded when Mozart moved to Vienna when Emperor Joseph was just beginning to implement his program of reforms inspired by the philosophy of the Enlightenment.
 
On December 4, 1791, "at midnight, Mozart sat up on his bed, his eyes statics, then he leaned his head against the wall and seemed to fall asleep again"[3]. On December 5 at 0:55 am, misery with its procession of deprivation, anxiety and overwork ended its work. At thirty-five years, ten months and eight days, Mozart's heart ceased to beat. The death certificate reads: "acute military fever". The body is put in a coffin according to the Masonic ritual (black hooded coat).
 

The Freemasons of Vienna as a whole realize the loss they have just suffered. At a meeting of « Zur Neugekrönten Hoffnung » the (New Crowned Hope) lodge, the Grand Master delivers Mozart's eulogy: "It pleased the Eternal Architect of the universe to tear from our fraternal chain one of our most loved and deserving members. Who has not known him? Who has not esteemed him? Who did not love him, our worthy brother Mozart? ... The untimely death of Mozart remains an irreparable loss for art ... Fairness demands that we remember his skill for the art; just as we must not forget to bring a legitimate offering to his excellent heart ... He was a good husband, a good father, a friend for his friends, a brother for his brothers, and he only lacked wealth to make people happy, hundreds according to the wish of his heart”.  

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The controversy over Mozart's last moments seems irrelevant, as mentions Philippe Sollers: "According to Sophie Haibel[4], priests would have refused to come to assist him (bad reputation, masonry….). Religious, not religious? The question does not make any sense. Religious in a different way that's for sure. Just listen to what he wrote about the Requiem: no one has ever done better forever and ever"

But it must be acknowledged that Mozart himself, during the last 7 years of his life, has turned away from church music in favor of Freemasonry music. Apart from the Ave verum corpus (K. 618 Baden June 1791) and from the parts of the Requiem he composed, Mozart's last religious work is the Mass in C minor (K. 427) composed from 1782 to 1783. For 8 years, Mozart has not written church music. This does not mean that he does not express religious feelings when he composes religious music ... He has kept deep inside him feelings which remain in tune with religious sensitivity ... He did not believe them incompatible with the rest of himself or especially with his Masonic convictions.