FROM a practical point of view, Mozart's "Don Giovanni" did no more
than his "Figaro" towards improving his position in Vienna. His painful
pecuniary circumstances may be gathered from his letters to Puchberg
in June, 1788. A glance at the catalogue of his compositions after his
return from Prague is sufficient to indicate the fact of their having
been produced at the pleasure of pupils or patrons:--
1787. December 11. Lied, "Die kleine Spinnerin" (531 K.).
1788. January 3. Allegro and andante for pianoforte in F major (533 K.).
January 14, 23, 27. Tänze (534-536 K.).
February 24. Pianoforte concerto in D major (537 K., part 20). March
4. Air for Madame Lange, "Ah se in ciel" (538 K.). March 5. Teutsches
Kriegslied for Baumann (539 K.).
March 19. Adagio for pianoforte, B minor (540 K.).
March 24, 28, 30. Pieces for insertion in "Don Giovanni" (525, 527, 528
K.).
In May. Arietta for Signor Albertarelli, "Un bacio di mano" in the opera
of "Le Gelosie Fortunate" (541 K.).
June 22. Terzet for piano, violin, and violoncello, E major (542 K.).
{OFFICIAL AND OCCASIONAL WORKS.}
(216)
1788. June 26. Symphony, E flat major (543 K.).
A short march for violin, flute, viola, horn, and violoncello, in D
major, unknown (544 K.).
A short pianoforte sonata for beginners in C major (545 K.).
A short adagio for two violins, viola, and bass, to a fugue in C minor
(546 K.).
July 10. Short pianoforte sonata for beginners, with violin, F major
(547 K.).
July 14. Terzet for piano, violin, and violoncello, in C major (548 K.).
July 16. Canzonette a 2 soprani e basso, "Più non si trovano" (549 K.).
July 25. Symphony in G minor (550 K.).
August 10. Symphony in C major (551 K.).
August 11. Ein Lied beim Auszug ins Feld, unknown (552 K.).[1]
September 2. Eight four-part and two three-part Canoni (553-562 K.).
September 27. Divertimento for violin, viola, and violoncello, in E flat
major (563 K.).
October 27. Terzet for piano, violin, and violoncello, in G major (564
K.).
October 30, December 6, December 24. Tänze (565, 567, 568 K.).
1789. January. German air, "Ohne Zwang aus freiem Triebe" (569 K.).
February. Pianoforte sonata in B flat major (570 K.).
February 21. Tänze (571 K.).
The symphonies in E flat major, G minor, and C major, written in the
three summer months of 1788, show that the inner strength was not
slumbering; but Mozart's appointment as chamber-composer to the Emperor
gave him no impulse to composition, and his official duties were
limited to the preparation of music for the masked balls in the imperial
Redoutensale.[2]
These Redoutensale are situated in the wing of the Hof-burg, which forms
the right side of the Josephsplatz, and originally contained a theatre,
where, upon festive occasions, operas and ballets were performed before
the court; after the erection of the Burgtheater, in 1752, the old
Hoftheater was
{MASKED BALLS.}
(217)
converted into the large and small Redoutensaal now existing, and
concerts, balls, and other entertainments given there. The balls were
masked, and took place on every Carnival Sunday, on Shrove-Tuesday, and
on the three last days of Carnival. Joseph II. favoured them as a means
of drawing different classes together, and frequently appeared at them
with his court; all ranks mixed freely, and considerable license was
allowed. The usual dances were minuets, country dances, and waltzes,
in the last of which only the lower classes joined, on account of the
crowding--just as is the case in "Don Giovanni" (p. 163). The
management of the Redoute was generally in the same hands as that of the
Opera-Theatre, the two being farmed out together. The court monopolised
the Opera-Theatre in 1778 and the Kàrnthnerthortheater in 1785, and kept
the control over them until August, 1794. Thus it came about that the
court theatrical-director ordered the dance music, and although the
pay was only a few ducats for a set of dances, the services of good
composers were claimed for the purpose; Haydn, Eybler, Gyrowetz, Hummel,
and Beethoven all composed for the Redoute, as well as Mozart.[3] During
the years succeeding his appointment--1788, 1789, 1791--Mozart composed
a number of different dances for the masked balls:--
1788. January 14. Country dance "Das Donnerwetter" (534 K.).
January 23. Country dance, "Die Bataille" (535 K.).
January 27. Six waltzes (536 K.).
October 30. Two country dances (565 K.).
December 6. Six waltzes (567 K.).
December 24. Twelve minuets (568 K.).
1789. February 21. Six waltzes (571 K.).
December. Twelve minuets (585 K.).
Twelve waltzes. N.B.--A country dance, "Der Sieg vom Helden Coburg"
(against the Turks, October, 1789) (586, 587 K.).
1791. January 23. Six minuets for the Redoute (599 K.).
January 29. Siz waltzes (600 K.).
February 5. Four minuets and four waltzes (601, 602 K.).
Two country dances. (603 K.).
{OFFICIAL AND OCCASIONAL WORKS.}
(218)
1791. February 12. Two minuets and two waltzes (604, 605 K.).
February 28. Country dance, "II. Trionfo delle Donne" (607 K.).
March 6. Country dance, "Die Leyer" (610 K.).[4]
Waltz with Leyer-trio (611 K.).[5]
No dances are chronicled in 1790, the illness and subsequent death of
the Emperor (February 20) having doubtless put a temporary stop to such
entertainments. Those in the list are for the most part composed for
full orchestra, and those with which I am acquainted make no claim to be
considered otherwise than as actual dance music, with pleasing melodies
and fresh rhythm--innocent recreations, betraying the master's hand in
touches here and there.[6] As the only musical task imposed upon him
by virtue of his office, they might well give rise to his bitter remark
that his salary was too high for what he did, too low for what he could
do (Vol. II., p. 276).
A commission more worthy his fame was intrusted to him by Van Swieten,
who, having brought with him from Berlin an enthusiastic admiration for
Handel's oratorios, sought to introduce them in Vienna. He not only gave
frequent concerts at his residence in the Renngasse, for the exclusive
performance of classical music, but he arranged grand performances of
Handel's oratorios, supported by all the vocal and instrumental forces
at his command. He induced several art-loving noblemen (among them the
Princes Schwarzen-berg, Lobkowitz, and Dietrichstein, Counts Appony,
Batthiany, Franz Esterhazy, &c.) to cover by a subscription the cost of
these performances. They took place generally in
{ARRANGEMENT OF HANDEL'S ORATORIOS.}
(219)
the great hall of the Court Library (of which Van Swieten was chief
director); sometimes at the palace of one or other of the patrons, and
always in the afternoon, by daylight. There was no charge for admission,
the audience being invited guests. The performances were arranged
according to circumstances, taking place generally in the spring, before
the nobility left Vienna for their country estates. The performers were
principally members of the Court-Kapelle and of the operatic orchestra,
and the preparation was undertaken entirely by Van Swieten, in whose
house the rehearsals took place. He himself arranged "Athalia," and very
probably also "The Choice of Hercules," for a performance after Mozart's
death. The conductorship was at first intrusted to Joseph Starzer, who
had arranged "Judas Maccabæus";[7] after his death, on April 22,
1787, Mozart took his place, and young Joseph Weigl accompanied on the
pianoforte.[8]
"Acisand Galatea" was first performed, Mozart's arrangement of it
appearing in his own catalogue, in November, 1788; Caroline Pichler
retained in her old age a lively recollection of the impression made on
her by this performance.[9] It was followed by the "Messiah," in March,
1789.[10] Great expectations were excited by this oratorio, by reason
of the magnificent performances of it which had been given at the London
Handel festivals in 1784 and 1785,[11] at the cathedral
{OFFICIAL AND OCCASIONAL WORKS.}
(220)
in Berlin, by Hiller, on May 19, 1786 (with Italian words),[12] at the
University Church in Leipzig,[13] on November 3,1786, and May 11,1787,
and at Breslau[14] on May 30,1788. Finally, in July, 1790, Mozart
arranged the "Ode for St. Cecilia's Day" and the "Feast of Alexander."
It was considered necessary, in order not to distract the attention of
the public by the unusual effects of Handel's orchestra, to modify
the instrumentation.[15] Even Hiller remarks (Nachricht, p. 14), "Many
improvements may be made in Handel's compositions by the employment of
the wind instruments, according to the fashion of the present day. In
the whole of the 'Messiah,' Handel appears never to have thought of the
oboes, flutes, or French horns, all of which are so often employed to
heighten or strengthen the effect in our present orchestras. I need not
remark that the alterations must be made with care and discretion." But
he went far beyond these "innocent" views; he shortened and altered the
composition itself, especially in the airs and recitatives, and wrote
"an entirely new score, as far as may be what Handel would himself have
written at the present day" (Betracht-ungen, p. 16). He was convinced
that "only a pedantic lover of old fashions, or a pedantic contemner
of what is good in the new ones" would find fault with this proceeding
(Betracht-ungen, p. 18). The object with which Mozart undertook to
rearrange the instrumentation of Handel's works was the strengthening
and enriching of the orchestra to enable it to dispense with the organ
or harpsichord, to which the working-out of the harmonies had originally
been intrusted. This was principally effected by the introduction of
wind
{ARRANGEMENT OF HANDEL'S ORATORIOS.}
(221)
instruments. Mozart's autograph scores of "Acis and Galatea" (566 K.),
of "The Ode for St. Cecilia's Day" (592 K.),[16] and of the "Feast of
Alexander" (591 K.),[17] preserved in the Royal Library in Berlin, show
how he set about his task. The voice parts and stringed instruments have
been transferred to his score, and left as Handel wrote them, with the
exception that where Handel has provided a violin part, Mozart
employs the second violin and viola to fill in the harmonies. The wind
instruments have been altogether omitted by the copyist in order
to leave Mozart free play. Wherever Handel has employed them
characteristically, they are so preserved, but when, as often happens,
the oboes are the sole representatives of the wind instruments, Mozart
has proceeded independently, sometimes replacing them by other single
instruments, frequently clarinets--flutes only very occasionally,
sometimes introducing the whole body of wind instruments. This he does
also in some places where Handel has not even employed oboes, if it is
needed to give force or fulness to the whole.
The frequent introduction of the clarinets replaced the full and
powerful organ tones, but without any express imitation of that
particular sound-effect by Mozart. The whole character of the
instrumentation was necessarily modified, and even the portions which
were literally
{OFFICIAL AND OCCASIONAL WORKS.}
(222)
transcribed from Handel's original have a very different effect in their
altered surroundings. Mozart has proceeded quite as independently in
dealing with the harpsichord parts. Not content with filling in the
prescribed or suggested harmonies and regulating the due succession of
chords, he has also made an independent disposition of the middle
parts and given them free movement. The subjects employed by Handel are
further developed, and sometimes a new motif has occurred to him as
an enlivenment to the accompaniment, in which case the additional wind
instruments are employed to advantage. The harpsichord is treated, in
the main, as might be expected from a first-rate organist of that time,
and it is difficult at the present day to reproduce what so much depends
upon the free co-operation of the performer.[18] The objection
which may be raised against the alteration and partial remodelling of
a carefully thought-out and finished work by a strange hand is
unanswerable. The most loving and intelligent treatment cannot avoid
inequality and incongruity; compared with what has been literally
transmitted, every modification reflects, both in kind and degree, the
individual learning and taste of the adapter. On the whole, however,
Mozart's arrangements evince the greatest reverence for Handel, combined
with a masterly use of all available resources, and they afford a
proof as interesting as it is instructive of the study which Mozart had
bestowed upon Handel, of the spirit in which he undertook his task, and
of his thorough and delicate apprehension of foreign creations.
Mozart had heard the "Messiah" in 1777 at Mannheim, but apparently it
had made no more lasting impression upon him than upon the public. Now,
however, he approached the masterpiece with far other predilections,
and the adaptation opened to him many points of interest. The three
oratorios already mentioned were so moderate in length as to be suited
for performance entire, but the greatly
{THE "MESSIAH."}
(223)
disproportionate length of the "Messiah" made its curtailment a
necessary part of its adaptation (572 K.). Several pieces were omitted,
and others were shortened; but a proof that other and more important
alterations were contemplated is afforded by a letter from Van Swieten
to Mozart (March 21, 1789), given by Niemetschek (p. 46): "Your idea
of turning the words of the unimpassioned air into a recitative is
excellent; and in case you should not have retained the words, I have
copied and now send them to you. The musician who is able to adapt and
to amplify Handel's work so reverently and so judiciously, that on
the one side he satisfies modern taste, and on the other preserves the
integrity of his subject, has appreciated the great master's work, has
penetrated to the source of his inspiration, and will doubtless draw
from the same well himself. It is thus that I regard what you have
accomplished, and I need not therefore again assure you of my entire
confidence, but only beg you to let me have the recitative as soon as
possible." Nevertheless, this idea, judging from the published score,
was not carried out. In the arrangement of the orchestra, Mozart has
gone further than in the previous works. Sometimes there has been an
external necessity for altering even characteristic instrumentation,
as in the air, "The trumpet shall sound" (No. 44). There were no solo
trumpeters such as existed in Handel's time, and an attempt was made to
preserve the effect as far as possible by rearrangement. He has altered,
however, even without such occasion as this, and many instances of
instrumental arrangement might be cited as far transgressing the bounds
within which interference with a work of art is justifiable.[19]
In themselves these same portions are admirable alike in their
sound-effects and musical treatment, and in the delicate discrimination
with which Mozart has made his additions appear as the natural
development of Handel's ideas; we can see how the fascination of
continuing the weaving of the threads from the master's hands has
tempted
{OFFICIAL AND OCCASIONAL WORKS.}
(224)
him to overstep the boundary. In doing so, however, the connection of
the parts has been lost, and the unity of the whole has been disturbed.
One of the most remarkable examples is the air, "The people that walked
in darkness," in which the wind instruments added by Mozart are foreign
to Handel's purpose, but nevertheless of very fine effect, and certainly
not deserving of the reproach of "doleful sound-painting" ("betrübter
Malerei").[20] It was to be expected that Mozart's adaptation should
attract both praise[21] and blame,[22] while those, such as Rochlitz[23]
and Zelter,[24] who went deeper into the subject found much that was
excellent and also much that was faulty in the work, at the same time
that they gave due consideration to the occasion that called it forth
and the design with which it was undertaken.
It must not be forgotten that these adaptations were undertaken by
Mozart solely for Van Swieten's performances, and that his individual
taste and the exigences of the representation must have exercised
considerable influence upon them. He must certainly not be credited with
the wish to improve upon Handel;[25] his intention has rather been so to
popularise his works as to bring them home to the
{ADAPTATIONS OF EARLIER WORKS.}
(225)
public, without altering any of the more important parts. That the
adaptations should have been published and accepted as regular improved
editions of the original was not his fault, though he has often had to
do penance for it. It must be remembered also that the historic theory
which holds that every work of art should be carefully preserved in the
form wherein its author has embodied it was then non-existent.
The majority of compositions have been directly the result of
circumstances determining the direction of the artist's energies; they
laboured for the future while seeking to satisfy the present. They
therefore made free use of their works for subsequent elaboration,
altering what was needful, and adapting them to the particular occasions
on which they were performed by means of additions, omissions, and
alterations. The same freedom was thought allowable with the works of
other masters, especially those of an earlier time, so that the public
might the more easily and comfortably enjoy what was set before it. A
knowledge of what was then thought excusable in this direction[26] will
serve to increase our respect for the artistic spirit in which Mozart
performed his task.[27] The scientific and historic ideas which have
permeated the cultivation of our times require the enjoyment of a work
of art to be founded upon historical insight and appreciation, and to
this end it must be represented exactly as the artist has produced it.
But this principle, true as it is in itself, can only be applied with
considerable practical limitations, and it is doubtful how far the
general public is capable of apprehending and approving it; in any case
it is much to be desired that the fashion in such matters should not be
set by pedants.[28]
FOOTNOTES OF CHAPTER XXXIX.
[Footnote 1: Wien. Ztg., 1789, No. 69, Anh., advertises Frûhlingslied and
Kriegslied by Mozart.]
[Footnote 2: In the grand pasticcio arranged by Da Ponte, "L'Ape Musicale," a
couple of airs by Mozart are inserted (Wien. Ztg., 1789, No. 23, Anh.).]
[Footnote 3: I owe these particulars to the courtesy of Sonnleithner.]
[Footnote 4: Wien. Ztg., 1791, No. 44, Anh., announces thirteen German
waltzes, thirteen trios and coda, among which are the "Leyer" and
"Schlittenlahrt."]
[Footnote 5: André's Catalogue includes, besides five minuets signed "Di
Wolfgango Amadeo Mozart, Vienna, 1784" (461 K.), and the Prague
"Teutschen" (509 K.) already mentioned (Vol. III., p. 125), several
other dances, certainly belonging to an earlier date. Printed and
written collections of dances in the most varied arrangements have been
circulated under Mozart's name, although of very doubtful authenticity.]
[Footnote 6: Under Mozart's name an "Anleitung soviel Walzer oder Schleifer
mit zwei Wurfeln zu componiren, soviel man will, ohne musikalisch zu
verstehen," was published in four languages by Hammel (Amsterdam, Berlin
and elsewhere). I am not aware whether he had any share in it.]
[Footnote 7: The often-expressed opinion that Mozart arranged "Judas Maccabæus"
(A. M. Z., XXII., p. 30) has been corrected by Sonnleithner (Cäcilia,
XVIII., p. 242). "Judas Maccabæus" was performed as early as 1779, at
the Concert for the Pensionsinstitut (Wien. Mus. Ztg., 1842, p. 70).]
[Footnote 8: These particulars, communicated to me by Sonnleithner, rest partly
on the testimony of the University Apparitor, Joh. Schönauer, who had
assisted at these performances as a boy.]
[Footnote 9: Car. Pichler, Denkw., IV., p. 21. Schönauer said that Mozart gave
a benefit performance of "Acis and Galatea" in Jahn's Hall, at which
Mdlle. Cavalieri, Adamberger, and Gsur sang the solo parts.]
[Footnote 10: Carpani mentions a performance of the "Messiah" in the
Schwarzenberg Palace; perhaps a later one (Hayd., p. 64).]
[Footnote 11: Burney's "Nachricht," translated by Eschenburg (Berlin, 1785). The
first time there were over 500, the second time over 660 performers. In
consequence of this the "Messiah" was performed in Copenhagen in March,
1786. (Cramer, Mag. f. Mus., II., p. 960.)]
[Footnote 12: J. A. Hiller, Nachricht von der Auftuhrung des Händelschen Messias
(Berlin, 1786, 4), with Hiller's portrait. There were about 300
performers.]
[Footnote 13: This again gave rise to some explanatory pamphlets from Hiller:
Fragment aus Handel's Messias; Ueber Alt und Neu in der Musik; Der
Messias von Handel nebst angehängten Betrachtungen darûber. On this
occasion there were more than 200 performers; the enthusiasm of the
audience was great, as was testified by a then youthful member of it
(Reichardt's Mus. Ztg., I., p. 126. Cf. Rochlitz, Für Freunde der Tonk.,
I., p. 22. A. M. Z., XXX., p. 491).]
[Footnote 14: Hiller gave explanatory comments on the words. They were published
in the Schles. Provinzial-Blätter, 1788, p. 549. Particulars are given
by Baumgart, Abh. d. Schles. Ges. Phil. hist. Abth., 1862, I., p. 46.]
[Footnote 15: The pastoral, "Acis and Galatea," was composed by Handel at Cannons
in 1720 (Chrysander, Handel, I., p. 479).]
[Footnote 16: In pursuance of an old custom of celebrating St. Cecilia's Day by
music, a musical society had been founded in London, which instituted
a grand performance on that day; the music and words were expressly
written for the occasion, and the praise of music formed the subject. A
long list of celebrated poems and compositions by the first masters was
the result. W. H. Husk (An Account of the Musical Celebrations on St.
Cecilia's Day, London, 1857. Chrysander, Handel, II., p. 412. Pohl.
Mozart u. Haydn in London, p. 12). Dryden's Song for St. Cecilia's Day,
"From harmony, from heavenly harmony, this universal frame began," was
written in 1687, and set to music by Draghi; Handel composed the same
poem in the autumn of 1739. (Chrysander, Handel, II., p. 430.)]
[Footnote 17: Dryden's "Alexander's Feast" was written in 1697, and performed
with Jer. Clark's music. Handel composed it in 1736; at the second
performance in 1737, a duet and chorus, the words by Newburgh Hamilton,
were added, but are not included in Mozart's arrangement. (Chrysander,
Handel, II., p. 413).]
[Footnote 18: The excellent pianoforte arrangement, which is published by the
German Handel Society with the score of "Acis and Galatea," shows
throughout a similar working-out and arrangement.]
[Footnote 19: Mozart is not answerable for all that stands in the printed score.
The air, "If God is for us" (No. 48), with bassoon accompaniment, is, as
Baumgarten has proved (Niederrh. Mus. Ztg., 1862, No. 5, p. 35), taken
from Hiller's arrangement.]
[Footnote 20: Thibaut, Ueb. Reinheit d. Tonk., p. 66.]
[Footnote 21: In Fr. Th. Mann's musik. Taschenb. for 1805, we read (p. 3): "Der
genielle Mozart erhob jene bis zur Manier getriebene Simplicitat, jene
lang-weilige ermüdende Leere durch Ausfullung der Begleitung. Göttliche
Zierden sind es, die Mozart aus der Fülle seiner Harmonie hier zusetzte,
die aber bei diesem fur solche Schönheit unorganisirten Werk so isolirt
stehen, dass sie einen zweiten Bestandtheil ausmachen!"]
[Footnote 22: A notice from Hamburg (Reichardt's Mus. Ztg., I., p. 197) says
of Mozart's arrangement: "Michel Angelo's Gemälde muss kein David
über-malen wollen." Setzte doch Handel zu Mozart's Opern keine Orgel u.
s. w. oder vielmehr strich keine--weg"; whereupon Reichardt remarks that the
omitted word is illegible in the "esteemed correspondent's" handwriting.]
[Footnote 23: Jen. Allg. Litt. Ztg., 1804, I., p. 601. Rochlitz names himself as
the author of the detailed review (Fur Freunde der Tonk., I., p. 259).
Cf. A. M. Z., IX., p. 476; XV., p. 428; XXIX., p. 692.]
[Footnote 24: Reichardt's Mus. Ztg., I., p. 41. Zelter, who owns to this review
to Goethe (Briefw., II., p. 302; III., p. 418), used to perform the
"Messiah" in Mozart's version, with alterations and omissions (Berl.
Allg. Mus. Ztg., 1824, p. 427).]
[Footnote 25: Cf. Parke, Mus. Mem., II., 76.]
[Footnote 26: Thus Hiller not only rearranged the instrumentation of Pergolese's
"Stabat Mater," but adapted it partially as a four-part chorus; J. A.
Schulze turned six instrumental adagios, by J. Haydn, into a cantata,
"Der Versöhnungstod," for chorus and orchestra. And how was Mozart's
church music treated! (App. 2.)]
[Footnote 27: Gerber undertook, in all seriousness, to perform the choruses of
the "Messiah" in Mozart's version, but to have all the airs recomposed
by approved composers (A. M. Z., XX., p. 832).]
[Footnote 28: The conclusion to Gluck's overture to "Iphigenie in Aulis," which
has been, without proof, ascribed to Mozart, is, according to Marx
(Gluck, II., p. 71), by J. P. Schmidt.]
===
MOZART 40
BY DAVID WIDGER