THE accession of Leopold II. to the Imperial throne (March 13, 1790) was
not an event of good omen for music and the opera. Up to the month of
July he had not entered the theatre, nor had any private concerts, nor
{MOZART'S POSITION AT COURT, 1790.}
(275)
displayed any sort of partiality for music; his consort, the Empress
Louise, visited the opera and laid claim to some musical knowledge,
although she expressed herself dissatisfied with the state of music
in Vienna; the young princes, too, were instructed in music.[1] The
difference between Joseph and his successor in point of taste was very
soon manifested by the reintroduction of ballets, and by the favour
bestowed on opera seria as well as opera buffa. It was rumoured that
a new court theatre was to be built, in which the boxes were to
be arranged for card-playing, and that Salieri had determined in
consequence to resign his post, which was to be filled by Cimarosa.[2]
Those individuals who had enjoyed the esteem of Joseph had little favour
to hope for from Leopold; a fact which soon became evident in matters
theatrical. Count Rosenberg was removed from the management, which was
intrusted to Count Ugarte;[3] Da Ponte and Madame Ferraresi fell
into disfavour;[4] Salieri thought it advisable to retire from the
conductorship of the opera, and his place was filled by Jos. Weigl,
"that the master might be reverenced in the pupil."[5] Mozart had stood
too high in the favour of Joseph to be able to expect much from Leopold
II.; his candidature for the post of second kapellmeister was as little
successful as his request to be honoured with the musical instruction
of the princes. Proof positive of the low esteem in which he was held
by the court was afforded to him on the occasion of the visit of King
Ferdinand of Naples, who came to Vienna (September 14) with his Queen,
Caroline, to celebrate the marriages of his daughters, Maria Theresa and
Louise, with the Archdukes Francis and Ferdinand. Ferdinand's
{LABOUR AND POVERTY.}
(276)
two passions were music and the chase;[6] and the instrument which he
most affected was the lute. In his honour a new opera by Weigl ("La
Cafetiera Bizarra") was performed (September 15);[7] the Emperor made
his first appearance at the opera with King Ferdinand, when Salieri's
"Axur" was played (September 21); in honour of the weddings, open table
was held in the great Redoutensaal, and a concert performed in the
gallery under Salieri's direction, in which Cavalieri and Calvesi and
the brothers Stadler took part, and a symphony by Haydn was performed
which the King knew by heart, and sang out loud as it was played; Haydn
was introduced to him, invited to Naples, and honoured with commands for
compositions;[8] and all this time Mozart remained unnoticed, and was
not even summoned to play before the King of Naples, a neglect which
wounded him deeply. His condition was painful in the extreme; his
wife's delicate health showed no signs of improving; and as his expenses
increased his income gradually diminished. In May he had only two
pupils, and was obliged to appeal to his friends to assist him in
raising the number to eight. His continual and pressing embarrassments
exhausted even the resources of his ever-generous friend Puchberg, and
he was obliged to apply to money-lenders, and to embark in speculations
which did but hasten his financial ruin (Vol. II., p. 301). The weight
of these cares crippled his energies for work, as he himself complains,
and no period of his life is so poor in artistic production as this
year. His own catalogue contains, after the completion of "Cosi fan
Tutte" in January, 1790, only:--
May. Quartet for two violins, viola and violoncello in B flat major (589
K.).
June. Quartet in F major (590 K.).
July. Handel's "Cecilia" and "Alexander's Feast," arranged (591, 592
K.).
{EXPEDITION TO FRANKFORT, 1790.}
(277)
In the hope of improving his circumstances, Mozart resumed his plan of
taking a professional tour; the coronation of Leopold II. in Frankfort,
on October 9, attracted a large number of strangers to that city, and
seemed to render it a favourable place for the experiment. Salieri, as
court kapellmeister,[9] Ign. Umlauf as his deputy, and fifteen chamber
musicians, were sent to Frankfort among the retinue of the Emperor.[10]
Mozart was not included among the number, and thus was deprived of the
advantage of the imperial patronage. On September 23 he set off, after
pawning his silver plate to defray the expenses of his journey (Vol.
II., p. 301) in company with his brother-in-law, the violinist Hofer,
whom he took with him out of compassion, and with the intention of
sharing the expected profits together; they travelled in their own
carriage, and, arriving in Frankfort on the 23rd, had considerable
difficulty in finding a lodging, owing to the overflow of strangers
into the town. On October 14, at noon, Mozart gave a concert in the
Stadt-theater.[11] The contrabassist Ludwig, long since dead, who took
part in the concert, used to tell how the piano stood upon the stage,
and how during the rehearsal the restless, agile little man was
continually leaping over the prompter's box into the orchestra to chat
in a friendly way with the various performers, and then climb back again
on to the stage. Mozart's own compositions were exclusively performed
at this concert; he played the concertos in F major (459 K.) and D major
(537 K.). Margarethe Hamel, afterwards Frau Schick, was the vocalist,
and so charmed Mozart by her voice and delivery that he is said to have
exclaimed repeatedly: "I never wish to hear any other singing
{LABOUR AND POVERTY.}
(278)
than this."[12] It is also said that he played a pianoforte concerto as
a duet with old "Papa Beecké" (Vol. I., pp. 151,368), whom he met again
here.[13] He acquaints his wife with the friendly reception accorded
him, and tradition has it that he struck up a friendship with the
concertmeister Hoffmann, and generally spent the evening with him
at Gran's tavern in the Bleidenstrasse. Hesse became acquainted in
Frankfort, as he tells us,[14] with an old superannuated organist of the
Katharinenkirche, who in 1790 had been the pupil of his predecessor; the
old man said:--
One Sunday, after service, Mozart came into the choir at St Katharine's,
and begged the old organist to allow him to play something. He seated
himself on the stool and gave the reins to his fancy, when the organist
suddenly pushed him off the stool in the rudest manner, and said to the
pupil standing by: "Mark that last modulation which Herr Mozart made;
how can he profess to be a musician and commit such grave offences
against correct composition?"
The pupil had remembered the modulation, and Hesse thought it a fine
one, and not even unusual.
From Frankfort Mozart proceeded to Mayence. Here rumour assigned him a
touching love intrigue, which was supposed to have suggested the
song "Io ti lascio," the said song having been in reality composed by
Gottfried von Jacquin in Vienna, and not by Mozart at all (Vol. II.,
p. 361). On his way back to Frankfort, Mozart stayed at Mannheim, and
renewed the memory of former days with as many of the old friends as
still survived. He arrived just in time for the first performance of his
"Figaro," which took place on October 24. The actor Backhaus notes in
his Tagebuch der Mann-heimer Schaubühne: "I got into great disgrace with
Mozart. I was standing at the door while our rehearsal was going on. He
came and asked me about it, and whether he might hear it. I took him for
a little journeyman tailor, and refused to let him in. 'You will surely
allow Kapellmeister Mozart to hear the rehearsal?' So I was in a scrape
most decidedly."[15]
{RETURN JOURNEY TO VIENNA, 1790.}
(279)
The late organist of the Trinitatiskirche, Schultz, delighted as an
octogenarian to recall how Mozart, who visited his father and played the
organ with him, censured the slow tempi of the Kapellmeister Fränzel at
the rehearsal in the theatre, and gave it himself with more animation.
Otherwise, Mozart pronounced himself highly satisfied with the cast and
the performance.[16]
At Munich, where Mozart arrived on October 29, and took up his quarters
with his old friend Albert,[17] he found still more of the old set, and
his letters to his wife show the pleasure he took in their society. Here
at last he had the gratification of being requested by the Elector to
play at the concert which was given at court to the King of Naples,
who was staying at Munich for two days[18] on his return journey from
Frankfort. "Highly creditable to the Vienna court," he writes, "that the
King should hear me in a foreign country." Shortly after Mozart's return
to Vienna Salomon arrived from London, and made what might at that time
be considered brilliant proposals to Haydn to accompany him to England,
and produce that series of compositions for the Philharmonic Society
which were destined to lay the foundation of Haydn's fame and
prosperity. Salomon made repeated propositions to Mozart also to
undertake the journey to London under similar conditions, as soon as
Haydn should return. It was with a heavy heart that Mozart bade adieu to
his dear "Papa Haydn," the only artist in Vienna who really understood
him and wished him well.
It may safely be asserted that Mozart did not return to Vienna with a
full purse, nor did his other financial operations secure for him that
for which he so touchingly expresses to his wife his ardent longing:
a mind free from anxiety, and permission to work--only to work. He did
work, though,
{LABOUR AND POVERTY.}
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after his return, and the last year of his life displays an activity
which passes belief. His own list contains:--
1790. December. A quintet for two violins, two violas, and violoncello D
major (593 K.).
1791. January 5. A pianoforte concerto, B flat major (595 K.).
January 14. Three German songs (596 K.).
January 23, 29; February 5, 12, 28; March 6. Dances (599-607, 609-611
K.).
March 3. A piece for clockwork, in F minor (608 K.).
March 8. A bass air with obbligato double-bass, for Hrn. Görl and
Pischlberger, "Per questa bella mano" (612 K.). Variations for the piano
on the song "Ein Weib ist das herrlichste Ding" (613 K.).
April 12. A quintet for two violins, two violas, and violoncello, in E
flat major (614 K.).
April 20. Final chorus in the opera "Le Gelosie Villane," by Sarti, for
amateurs, "Viviamo felici in dolce contento" (615 K., unknown).
May 4. Andante for a waltz on a small barrel-organ, in F major (616 K.).
May 23. Adagio and Rondo for harmonica, flute, oboe, viola and
violoncello in C minor (617 K.).
June 18. In Baden "Aveverum corpus" (618 K.).
July. A short German cantata for solo voice and pianoforte, "Die ihr des
unermesslichen Weltalls Schopfer" (619 K.).
A glance at this catalogue is sufficient to prove that he wrote whatever
he was requested, either by commission or to please his friends.
For his own playing, no doubt at a concert, he wrote the pianoforte
concerto in B flat major, which like most of the compositions of this
period, is distinguished by its mild and earnest tone and charming
euphony. The two fine quintets for stringed instruments were written "at
the earnest solicitation of a musical friend" (Vol. III., p. 18) who
was no doubt acquainted with Mozart's poor circumstances, and wished
to afford him a worthy opportunity of turning his art to account. The
spirit in which Mozart undertook commissions which were often of a very
subordinate nature may be best seen in his composition for a mechanical
timepiece which was ordered by Count Deym for Müller's art-collection,
then attracting great attention. The serious temper which it displays,
and
{BADEN, 1791--STOLL.}
(281)
the thoroughly technical treatment of the composition, betray no
evidence of a work merely done to order. Another occasional composition
is the beautiful chorus with stringed quartet accompaniment, "Ave verum
corpus." Mozart's wife was staying at Baden for the waters in the summer
of 1790, and again in 1791, in company with her sister Sophie. There
Mozart became acquainted with the schoolmaster and choirmaster Stoll, an
ardent admirer, who took pleasure in making himself useful to Mozart
and his wife. That Stoll could appreciate the fun of Mozart, in his
unrestrained moods, is shown by the superscription of a note (July 12,
1791)--
Liebster Stoll!
Bester Knoll!
Grösster Schroll!
Bist Stemvoll!
Gelt das Moll!
Thut dir wohl!
or by his assurance in another letter: "This is the stupidest letter
which I ever wrote in my life; but it is just fitted for you." On the
other hand, Mozart was of use to him with his compositions, and lent
him, among others, his Masses in B flat major (275 K.) and C major (317
K.) for performance. On one of these occasions the soprano singer turned
obstinate, and would not obey Mozart's directions. He sent her away, and
gave the part to his little favourite, Antonia Huber, a child of ten or
eleven years old, who was often with her brother-in-law Stoll and met
Mozart at his house. He practised with the child for a week, and her
industry and attention were so great that she performed her part to
admiration, and was rewarded by Mozart with "Brav, Tonerl, recht brav!"
together with a kiss and a ducat. He used to say to her, "Tonerl, make
haste and grow big, and I will take you with me to Vienna."[19] The "Ave
verum corpus" was no doubt composed at Stoll's suggestion during one
of these visits to Baden. It bears tokens of haste, but is so full of
childlike piety, winning simplicity, and entrancing harmony,
{LABOUR AND POVERTY.}
(282)
that one seems for the moment transported from all earthly doubts and
cares into a region of heavenly calm and peace.
A very different impression is made by the bass air with obbligato
double-bass, composed by Mozart for two professional friends. The
celebrated double-bass player, Pischlberger, was in Schikaneder's
orchestra, and Gerl and his wife (formerly Mdlle. Reisinger) sang at
the same theatre. Contemporaries affirmed that the very pretty and
attractive woman had completely entangled Mozart in her coils. Be that
as it may, this composition was the cause of a connection between Mozart
and Schikaneder which was fertile in results to the former.
Emanuel Schikaneder was born in poor circumstances at Regensburg
in 1751. He was obliged as a boy to earn his living as a wandering
musician, and in 1773 was so inspired by the performances of a wandering
troupe of actors at Augsburg that he joined them. He afterwards married
Eleonore Artim, the adopted daughter of his manager, and undertook the
management. He had considerable skill and audacity, not only as an actor
and singer, but also as a dramatic poet. His company visited by turns
Inspruck, Laibach, Gratz,[20] Pressburg, Pesth, and Salzburg, where he
had become acquainted with the Mozarts in 1780, and had suggested some
compositions to Wolfgang (Vol. II., p. 102). His want of refinement in
the choice of means of attraction is sufficiently proved by his having
on one occasion at Salzburg, when "Agnes Bernauer" was performed, made
the public announcement: "The Vidame will this day be thrown over the
bridge "--which concession to the moral feelings of his audience was
duly made the same evening.[21] He acquired a considerable competence,
but an unlucky speculation in Pressburg ruined him. He had written a
piece in which a goose played the principal part, and all the others
were cocks and hens. The expenses for scenery and costumes were very
great, and, as it was a complete failure, his finances were
{SCHIKANEDER.}
(283)
irretrievably injured. In November, 1784, he gained access for his
company to the stage of the Karnthnerthortheater in Vienna, where he
gave German operas and plays, at which the Emperor was occasionally
present.[22] He appeared on April 1, 1785, in the part of Schwindel in
Gluck's "Pil-grimmen von Mecca"; but attempting greater parts in serious
drama, he was hissed off the stage, and in February, 1786, was forced
to leave Vienna.[23] He then took the town theatre in Regensburg, and
endeavoured to satisfy the taste of the populace for low comedy; but
this did not last long, and in the summer of 1787 he threw up the
undertaking[24] and returned to Vienna. His wife had in the meantime
remained at the theatre in the "Freihause auf der Wieden,"[25] and
had taken the management of it from Friedel. This now passed into
Schikaneder's hands, and in these confined premises--little better than
a barn--he succeeded in delighting the Viennese public with performances
expressly designed to attract them, especially comic operas, of which
many were highly successful.[26] What he wanted in cultivation (he could
barely write or reckon) he made up for in sound mother-wit, practical
experience, and knowledge of stage routine. His audacity was equal to
his frivolity, and he found a way out of every dilemma. He was addicted
to sensual gratification, a parasite and a spendthrift; and in spite of
his large income was often hard pressed by his creditors.[27]
During one of these periods of embarrassment, in the spring of 1791[28]
(May 7 is given as the date), he had recourse
{LABOUR AND POVERTY.}
(284)
to Mozart, with whom he had renewed the old acquaintance, and
representing to him that he was lost unless he could produce an opera
of great attractive power, he assured him that he had discovered an
excellent magic subject for an opera, which Mozart was just the man to
compose. Mozart's irresistible inclination for operatic composition, his
natural good-nature and regard for a brother Freemason, and, as it was
said, the influence of Madame Gerl, all combined to induce him to make
the attempt: "If we make a fiasco, I cannot help it, for I never wrote
a magic opera in my life." Schikaneder gave him the first sketch of the
"Zauberflöte," and, knowing how difficult it was to bring Mozart to the
point of writing, he arranged a little garden-house in the courtyard of
the Freihaus for his use, so as to keep him under his own eye. Here, and
in Josephsdorf, on the Kahlenberg (where his room in the casino is
still shown),[29] Mozart wrote the greater part of the "Zauberflöte";
Schikaneder was at hand to discuss points of detail, to make necessary
alterations, and above all to have his own part written to his mind. He
had a poor bass voice, was uncultivated, but not unmusical, and could
execute his songs in a dashing and effective manner. He knew perfectly
in what consisted his best effects, and insisted on having simple,
popular melodies, which Mozart was compliant enough to go on altering
until Schikaneder was satisfied. The song "Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen,"
after many attempts, was, it is said, suggested by a melody hummed
by Schikaneder himself. It has been remarked that the beginning is
identical with the seventh and eighth lines of Scandelli's (d. 1580)
chorale, "Nun lob mein Seel den Herren"--[See Page Image] is sung to the
same melody[30]--a sure proof of its popularity. The duets "Bei Männern
welche Liebe fühlen," and
{COMPOSITION OF THE "ZAUBERFLOTE."}
(285)
"Papageno" were repeatedly rearranged in deference to Schika-neder's
wish. His want of any hesitation in the matter is proved by the
following note from him, preserved by Al. Fuchs in his collection:--
Dear Wolfgang,--Herewith I return your "Pa-Pa-Pa-," which I like fairly
well. It will do, at any rate. We shall meet this evening at the usual
place.--Yours, E. Schikaneder.
But Schikaneder took care to keep his composer in good humour by
frequent invitations to his table; where both eating and drinking were
of the best, and by introductions to the jovial and free-living society
in which he himself moved, and which also included A. Stadler, the man
who so shamefully abused Mozart's good nature (Vol. II., p. 309). The
pressure of external circumstances, of growing domestic troubles, and
the bitter feeling of failure and disappointed hope, combined with
his own excitable nature to cause Mozart to seek for distraction and
forgetfulness in the whirl of a pleasure-loving life. His wife was at
Baden, where his youngest son Wolfgang was born on July 26; her absence
deprived his home life of any comfort, and drove him to take refuge
among his theatrical friends. Folly and dissipation were the inevitable
accompaniments of such an existence, and these soon reached the public
ear, combining with the exaggerated accounts current of the loose life
led by Schikaneder and his associates to cover Mozart's name for several
months with an amount of obloquy beyond what he deserved (Vol. II., p.
270). While the "Zauberflöte" was in course of composition, Da Ponte,
who was obliged to leave Vienna, tried to persuade Mozart to accompany
him to London, and there take an active part in the production of
Italian opera. Mozart turned a favourable ear to the project, but
demanded a delay of six months for the completion and performance of his
opera, to which Da Ponte could not agree.[31] In July, 1791, the
work was so far advanced that he was able to insert the opera in his
catalogue as virtually complete; the rehearsals had begun as
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soon as the voices and bass parts were ready, the working-out of the
instrumentation being left, as usual, to the last.
It was at this juncture that Mozart received an unexpected commission in
a very singular manner.[32] A stranger, a tall, thin grave-looking
man, dressed from head to foot in grey, and calculated from his very
appearance to make a striking and weird impression, presented him one
day with an anonymous letter begging him with many flattering allusions
to his accomplishments as an artist to name his price for composing a
Requiem, and the shortest time in which he could undertake to complete
it. Mozart acquainted his wife with the circumstance, and assured her
that it gave him great satisfaction, since he had long wished to try his
powers once more on this species of composition, and to produce a work
that both friends and foes might admire and study after his death. The
innovations in church music introduced by the Emperor Joseph had been
swept away by his successor, and the services of the Church were once
more performed after the old fashion. Mozart was anxious therefore
to impress upon the Emperor Leopold II., as the supreme arbiter, his
familiarity with the orthodox church style, and the present seemed a
favourable opportunity for the purpose. After consultation with his
wife he announced his readiness to undertake the commission, but without
fixing a term for its completion, and naming as his price 50 (some say
100) ducats; whereupon the messenger again appeared, paid the stipulated
sum, and promised an addition on the delivery of the finished work.
Mozart was enjoined to compose the Requiem according to his own will and
pleasure, and to make
{COMMISSION FOR THE REQUIEM.}
(287)
no endeavour to discover his mysterious patron, an endeavour which would
certainly prove in vain.
It is now proved beyond doubt that Count Franz von Wal-segg of Stuppach
was the patron in question, and that he ordered the Requiem in memory
of his late wife, Anna Edlen von Flammberg; the mysterious messenger was
his steward Leutgeb, whose personal appearance has been described to
me by Grillparzer. Count Walsegg was a zealous lover of music, a good
flautist, and a moderately good violoncello-player; he had quartet
parties every Tuesday and Thursday, and theatrical performances every
Sunday, in which his family and retainers took active part. But he was
also ambitious to figure as a composer. He used to order quartets from
different composers, always anonymously and with the offer of handsome
payment;[33] these he would then copy with his own hand, and have the
parts written out from this score. After performance he would set the
players to guess the composer; they, fully aware of the mystification,
invariably flattered his weakness by guessing himself, and he with a
deprecating smile would tacitly admit the imputation. This explains the
mysterious origin of the Requiem. He rewrote Mozart's score, gave
the parts to be copied from his duplicate (with the title of "Requiem
composto del Conte Walsegg"), and himself directed the performance of it
on December 14, 1793.
Before Mozart had set himself in earnest to this task, he received in
the middle of August a fresh commission which brooked of no delay. A
festival opera was to be performed at the approaching coronation
of Leopold II. as King of Bohemia in Prague. The subject chosen was
Metastasio's "Clemenza di Tito," and again it was the people of Prague
who made good the deficiencies of the Viennese: the States called upon
Mozart to compose the opera. For reasons which do not appear their
decision was so long delayed that there remained only a few weeks for
the composition and rehearsal
{LABOUR AND POVERTY.}
(288)
of the opera. After making all preliminary arrangements, Mozart set
out for Prague. As he was in the act of stepping into the
travelling-carriage with his wife, the mysterious messenger appeared,
and touching his wife on the arm, asked how it would fare with the
Requiem now. Mozart excused himself by alleging the necessity of his
present journey, and the impossibility of acquainting his unknown patron
with it, and promised that it should be his first work on his return
if the delay were granted him; with this the messenger declared himself
satisfied.
Mozart worked at his opera during the journey, making sketches in the
carriage, and working them out at the inn where they stopped for the
night. He must have intended the part of Sextus to be taken by a tenor,
for in two sketches of the duets with Vitellia (i) and Annius (3) Sextus
is a tenor, which of course necessitated a plan and treatment altogether
different. He cannot have received definite instructions as to the cast
of the opera until he was in Prague; but then he set to work with so
much ardour that in the course of eighteen days the opera was finished
and in rehearsal.[34] He called in the assistance of a young composer
named Franz Süssmayr, one of his pupils, who is said to have written the
secco recitatives; what makes this the more probable is the fact that in
the original score there is no secco recitative at all. But the further
assertion that Süssmayr composed the airs for Servilia, Annius, and
Publius, and arranged the instrumentation of some other pieces,[35]
is disproved by the existence of almost all the numbers in Mozart's
handwriting.[36]
{FIRST PERFORMANCE OF "TITUS," 1791.}
(289)
The opera was performed with great magnificence[37] on September 6,
the coronation day, after the banquet, before the royal family and
an invited audience, in the National Theatre.[38] The cast was as
follows:--[See Page Image]
The Empress is said to have expressed herself very disdainfully
concerning the "porcheria" of German music; and it is certain that
the first performance of "Titus" was far from being a success.[39]
Niemetschek is of opinion (p. 112) that the public were too excited
by the gorgeous coronation festivities to be disposed to listen to
the calmer beauties of Mozart's music. Mozart, accustomed to find
consolation for so much slighting indifference in the enthusiastic
applause of the Prague audiences, was thoroughly cast down by his
failure; the more so as he was unwell when he arrived, and his
indisposition had been increased by his extraordinary exertions. He was
continually taking medicine and looked pale and depressed, although, as
Niemetschek says, his gaiety shone forth bright as ever in the congenial
society of his Prague friends; at his parting from the familiar circle
he was so overcome as to shed tears.[40]
{LABOUR AND POVERTY.}
(290)
If it be true that "Cosi fan Tutte" is in all essential points an
opera buffa, it is no less certain that "Titus" may take its stand as a
veritable opera seria. Metastasio wrote "La Clemenza di Tito" in 1734,
and it was performed with Caldara's music on the name-day of Charles
VI.; it was subsequently set to music by several distinguished
composers.[41] It is true that the public taste had so far altered that
it was scarcely feasible to present it in its original form; but the
improvements in the libretto, made by Caterino Mazzola, the Saxon court
poet,[42] did not affect the character of the opera in any important
degree. The principal change was the compression of the original three
acts into two, and the omission of a not very happy episode, in which
Annius, by a change of mantle, is taken for the guilty person. The
course of the plot is thereby simplified; but it would be impossible by
means of alterations to endow it with any lively dramatic interest. Nor
is it rich in good musical situations; of all the characters Vitellia is
the only one who displays the least passion; and the excessive amount
of virtue and generosity depicted affords no field either for musical or
dramatic interest. Further condensations were made of the numerous and,
for the most part, rhetorically sententious solo airs, and ensemble
movements were introduced at suitable points. This was accomplished
with all possible deference to the original design and to Metastasio's
verses, so that the character and colouring proper to a court festival
piece was well preserved.[43] The following is a brief abstract of the
plot:--(23); the duets (1, 3, 7), terzets (10, 14,18), the quintet (12),
sestet (26), and the chorus (15); they retain for the most part
Metastasio's ideas, and often his verses and turns of expression.
{PLOT OF "TITUS."}
(291)
Vitellia, daughter of Vitellius, who has been deposed by Vespasian,
has nourished the hope of a union with Titus, but finding herself
disappointed, she wishes young Sextus, who is passionately in love with
her, to form a conspiracy against his friend Titus, and by his overthrow
to gain her hand. At the beginning of the opera she is urging her
wavering lover to action, when Annius brings the unexpected tidings that
Titus has banished his mistress Berenice from Rome. He entreats Sextus
to obtain the consent of Titus to his union with Servilia, the sister of
Sextus, who willingly promises his aid. After a magnificent assembly of
the people, in which the generosity of Titus is publicly displayed, the
Emperor himself demands from Sextus the hand of his sister Servilia;
Sextus is confused and silent, but Annius, by his generous praise of the
virtues and beauty of Servilia, strengthens the Emperor in his decision.
Servilia, however, informed by Annius of the honour in store for her,
assures him of her unalterable love, and, hastening to Titus, confesses
to him the whole truth, whereupon he generously resigns her, and unites
her to Annius. Vitellia, incensed to the highest degree by the proposed
elevation of Servilia, directs Sextus and his coconspirators to proceed
at once to action. He obeys, but has scarcely left her presence, when
Publius, leader of her body-guard, enters, and summons her to the palace
to bestow her hand upon Titus; she hastens to the palace in the utmost
dismay and consternation. There is a general encounter in front of
the capitol, which has been set on fire by the conspirators; great
excitement prevails, and turns to grief and horror at the tidings
brought by Sextus of the death of the Emperor, whom he believes himself
to have slain.
In the second act, Sextus, a prey to remorse, confesses his guilt to
Annius, who counsels flight, and is supported by Vitellia with an eye
to her own safety; Publius enters and arrests Sextus on the testimony of
some imprisoned conspirators. At a meeting of the senators, who bewail
the death of Titus, the latter steps forth from among the people, throws
off the disguise in which he had saved himself, and is recognised amid
general rejoicings.[44] He knows that Sextus intended to assassinate
him, and has been condemned to death by the senate, but summoning him
to his presence, he offers him a free pardon in return for a full
confession. Sextus, unwilling to inculpate Vitellia, maintains an
obstinate silence, and Titus finally ratifies the sentence of death.
Vitellia yields to the entreaties of Servilia to intercede with the
Emperor for Sextus, renounces her hopes, and resolves to save him by
confessing her own guilt. All being prepared in the amphitheatre for the
execution of Sextus, it is about to take place, when Vitellia rushes in,
and denounces herself as the originator of the revolt; Titus pardons her
a well as Sextus and the conspirators; all present extol his clemency.
{LABOUR AND POVERTY.}
(292)
Both the plot and the characters are absolutely devoid of dramatic
interest. The abstract goodness of Titus, who is ready on every occasion
to pardon and to yield, rouses no sympathy,[45] and is dramatically
mischievous in its effects, since it destroys any sort of suspense.
Publius, Annius and Servilia are mere props in the plot, characters
without any individuality. Sextus is a purely passive instrument,
wavering between love and remorse, without force or decision. We should
sympathise with him if his love for Vitellia were returned, and if a
healthy passion gave an impulse to his crime; but his weakness, which
prevents his being aware that he is only the instrument of her selfish
passion, deprives him of all sympathy, while Vitellia repels us by her
barefaced ambition, to which she is ready to sacrifice every sentiment
and every duty; her remorse comes too late to appear anything but
a dissonance leading to the inevitable conclusion of the plot. This
internal weakness in the characters is emphasised by Metastasio's
poetical treatment of the plot. His dainty style was specially suited
for court poetry and its corresponding musical expression, and his
dexterity in the handling of the accepted forms of composition made his
task a comparatively easy one. But even without taking into account
the revolution which had taken place in the drama, we may judge from
"Figaro" and "Don Giovanni" that what in Metastasio's time was of
advantage to the composer had now become fetters binding him to forms
and dogmas which were virtually obsolete. We find traces throughout of
the opera seria, which Mozart had abandoned long ago, but which he was
constrained here to resume. Metastasio's graceful daintiness of style,
too, was even more injurious in the taste it encouraged for mere
amusement of the trifling kind that was looked for at the opera at that
time, giving an unseemly effeminacy of tone to the opera seria, and
running an equal risk of degenerating into mere trifling or empty
pomp and show. If, in addition to this, it be remembered that Mozart's
express directions were to compose an occasional, a festival opera, for
which two singers had
{TITUS OVERTURE--ENSEMBLES.}
(293)
been summoned from Italy, and would demand to be shown at their best,
and that he composed the opera against time, and struggling with
illness, it will scarcely be expected that an unqualified success should
follow such a combination of untoward circumstances. The character of
a brilliant festal piece is at once suggested by the overture, which
begins appropriately by a solemn intrada, with a long-drawn climax.
The first bars recall the overture to "Idomeneo," which, however, in
earnestness and dignity of tone, and originality of invention, far
surpasses that to "Titus." The second theme so announced falls short of
expectation, being weak and trifling,[46] and even the subject selected
for harmonic contrapuntal treatment--[See Page Image] skilful and
brilliant as the treatment is, has in itself no special interest,
so that when the prelude recurs to form an effective conclusion, the
principal impression remaining is one of brilliant display.
The march (4) and the choruses (5, 24) as well as the finale (26)
_Sestetto con coro_, in which short solo passages alternate with the
chorus, maintain this festive character. They are brilliant and flowing,
pleasing and melodious, and answer for their purpose and the situation
without laying claim to original invention or characterisation. Only the
chorus with which Titus is received before he pronounces judgment upon
Sextus (24) has a fine expression of solemn dignity, suggested not so
much by the words, which are trivial enough, as by the character of the
situation. It was a happy touch to make the chorus, after the unexpected
deliverance of Titus (15), express delight, not with jubilant outcries,
but with the suppressed joy of bewildered amazement. Nevertheless this
chorus is too light and fugitive for the situation.
{LABOUR AND POVERTY.}
(294)
The tenor part of Titus displays most clearly the influence of the old
opera seria, Metastasio's words, consisting of general axioms, being
retained for all his three airs (6, 8, 20). The two first are short and
melodious, but not deeply suggestive;[47] the last retains the old
aria form with a long middle movement and return to the first allegro,
together with bravura passages quite in the old style. The report that
the tenor Baglione found that Mozart and not an Italian composer
had been engaged to write the opera, and that they quarrelled in
consequence,[48] is the more improbable since Baglione was the same
singer for whom Mozart had written Don Ottavio.
Servilia's air (2) indicated, after the old style, with tempo di
menuetto, the two airs for Annius (13, 17)[49] and that for Publius
(16), are all both in design and treatment proper to secondary parts,
without musical significance or individual characterisation. The main
weight, therefore, fell according to custom upon the two prime donne,
who played Sextus and Vitellia. The fact that the parts of the lovers,
Sextus and Annius, were soprano, was an objectionable relic of the old
opera seria, and that Sextus should have been played by a female and
not a male soprano was a progress indeed for humanity, but not for the
drama. True characterisation is impossible when a woman in man's clothes
plays the lover, and the case is not improved by the weak, womanish
character of Sextus. His passion for Vitellia becomes a thing contrary
to nature, and the deeper the dramatic conception of the part the more
repulsively does this appear. Of necessity, therefore, vocal execution
comes to the foreground. The first air of Sextus, "Parto I" (9), fails
at once in dramatic interest from his having already repeatedly assured
Vitellia of his blind obedience, if she will only bestow upon
{TITUS--SEXTUS.}
(295)
him one glance of love. The musical design and working-out are those of
a grand bravura air. Tenderness, tinged with only an occasional dash of
heroism, prevails throughout the two movements (adagio 3-4 and allegro
4-4). An obbligato clarinet goes with the voice, and the strictly
concertante treatment of this instrument gives its chief interest to
the musical working-out of the song. Considered as a concert air
which treats the given situation only as a general foundation for
the development of musical forces, it is of extraordinary beauty, the
melodies being noble and expressive, the sound-effects of the voice and
clarinet admirable, and the only concessions to brilliancy of effect the
triplet passages and the long-drawn-out conclusion.
The second air (19) is more definitely characterised by the situation.
Sextus, having with difficulty withstood Titus's friendly entreaties,
is overpowered by his feelings when the Emperor turns coldly away, and
leaves him to be led to death. This air is also in two movements; Sextus
expresses his grief for the loss of Titus's confidence in an adagio, and
his despair at the death awaiting him in an allegro. Metastasio's text
expressed only the latter feeling, and Mazzola formed the first part
of the air out of the words of the dialogue.[50] The expression of the
first movement is fervent and true, and the softness characterising
it belongs to the character and the situation; the second movement
expresses a certain amount of passion in some parts, but is as a whole
wanting in energy, and its chief motif, even for a female Sextus, is
too soft and tender. Schaul adduces as a proof of Mozart's frequent sins
against good sense that Sextus, tortured by remorse, should express
his agony to Titus in a rondo.[51] "If it were a rondo by Pleyel or
Clementi," remarks C. M. von Weber in answer,[52] "it might indeed
produce a ludicrous effect; but let the critic only note the heartfelt
fervour of the song, the depth and beauty of expression in such places
as 'pur saresti men
{LABOUR AND POVERTY.}
(296)
severo, se vedesti questo cor, and all such petty fault-finding will
cease to be heard." Mozart had originally sketched another allegro,
the first bars of which, still existing in autograph, are rather more
decided in character:--[See Page Image]
The page ends here, and the present allegro is begun on a fresh one;
it cannot be determined whether the first allegro was finished or only
commenced, but in any case the instrumentation was not worked out.
Vitellia is the only character in the opera displaying anything like
passion or strength of feeling. The singer Maria Marchetti (b. 1767),
married to the tenor Fantozzi in 1788, had acquired great renown in
Italy and Milan, whence she was summoned to Prague; she possessed a
fine, full voice, and excellent execution and action, enhanced by a
pleasing exterior and dignified bearing.[53] In her first air (2) there
is indeed no passion, Metastasio's words, consisting of frigid
moral observations, scarcely allowing of any characteristic musical
expression. The air is divided into the traditional two movements,
neither of them distinguished by originality,
{TITUS--VITELLIA.}
(297)
and even the bravura part is insignificant; the whole effect is so dry
and commonplace as involuntarily to suggest Süssmayr. Vitellia's
second air, on the contrary (22, 23), is the gem of the opera, and
incontestably one of the most beautiful songs ever written. At the
decisive moment Vitellia rises to the resolution of renouncing her
dearest hopes, of sacrificing her very life to the nobler instincts
of her soul, which have too long been made to yield to her ambitious
striving after false greatness.
The musical characterisation grasps this situation, and develops from it
a psychological picture complete in itself, and only loosely connected
with the earlier conception of Vitellia's character in the opera. The
song seems thus to be detached from the framework of the opera, and
to belong rather to the province of concert music. This idea is
strengthened by the design, treatment, and compass of the two movements,
as well as by the introduction of the obbligato basset-horn, which
is treated so as to accord with the voice part, without any brilliant
bravura.[54] Every element of the song is blended into such perfect
unity, such charm of melody, such beauty of musical form; the sharp
contrasts of the different motifs are so admirably expressive of the
general character of which they form the details, and the whole work is
so permeated by the breath of poetic genius, that our satisfaction in
contemplating a perfect work of art leads us to forget how it stands
forth as something foreign to the context.
Even the introductory recitative is a masterpiece of telling expression,
and in the air itself the noble beauty of the different motifs is tinged
with a sadness amounting to gloom, but so sublime as to inspire the same
emotions with which we gaze at the Niobe. The ensembles with which the
opera is provided are only in part of any dramatic significance, and
where this is wanting the musical interest also suffers; the duets
especially are not important either in length or
{LABOUR AND POVERTY.}
(298)
substance. Passing over the duettino (3) between Sextus and Annius,
which became popular owing to its easy and pleasing tone, but which in
no way corresponds to the character of an heroic opera, we may notice
the first duet between Sextus and Vitellia as better defined, especially
in the first movement; although even here the wish to attract is very
apparent, and gains quite the upper hand in the triplet passages and
easy imitations of the allegro. An expression of tender feeling is
more appropriate to the short duet between Annius and Servilia, and the
loveliness of the music makes up for the absence of tragic seriousness.
The three terzets are better placed, and more suitable to their dramatic
situations, but even they fail to elicit dramatic contrasts by giving to
each character an equal and characteristic share in the piece. Thus, in
the first terzet, Vitellia alone is inspired with lively emotion, Annius
and Publius being mere passive spectators. It is at the moment When she
has dispatched Sextus to the murder of Titus that she is informed of the
Emperor's choice of her as his consort; in vain she strives to recall
Sextus, she feels that she herself is the destroyer of her happiness.
An agitated violin passage, with rapid changes of harmony intensified
by suspensions, expresses the excitement and consternation to which she
gives vent in detached and broken exclamations; but the calm observation
of the two others--
Ah, come un gran contento,
Come confonde un cor!--
chills the expression of Vitellia's emotion, so that the combination
of the voices, instead of producing a climax as it ought, weakens the
passion of the movement and prevents its rising to more than a
momentary prominence. The second terzet (14) was suggested by an air
of Metastasio, "Se mai senti spirarti sul volto," which was a favourite
subject with the old composers.[55] It begins with the tender
{TITUS--ENSEMBLES.}
(299)
farewell of Sextus to Vitellia, stricken with shame and dismay. This
contrast would have made an excellent opportunity for musical effect if
Publius had supplied the connecting link by the addition of a new and
important element in the situation; instead of this, he remains a mere
passive spectator, and does not increase the pathos of the situation at
all. Sextus gives the tone here, as Vitellia in the previous terzet, and
the tender softness of his farewell scarcely allows expression to the
true significance of the situation; otherwise, however, this terzet is
superior to the first in the freer development of the voice parts.'" The
third terzet (18) has a beautiful and expressive first movement, but its
second movement is too slight in design and too little worked out for
its situation.
The opera contains one movement, however, altogether worthy of Mozart,
and this is the first finale. It is true that even this is far from
possessing the greatness of design or the wealth of elaboration of the
finales of the earlier operas; it does not pretend to be more than a
representation of the situation; but it is earnest and weighty in
tone, and possesses features of unsurpassed loveliness. The finale is
introduced by a soliloquy for Sextus, in which he pours out the doubt
and self-reproach which torture his mind; an unaccompanied recitative
expresses this condition with an amount of truth and energy elsewhere
entirely wanting to the part of Sextus. When he sees the capitol in
flames, and is convinced that his repentance comes too late, he becomes
more collected, and the quintet begins with his finely expressed wish
to save Titus or to die with him; then he has to evade the questions of
Annius, who hurries in full of sympathy--Servilia, Publius, and Vitellia
enter in quick succession, full of anxiety and horror; a characteristic
orchestral motif gives the clue to the development of the movement, and
the separate exclamations of the invisible chorus interposed in rising,
dissonant chords, form the pivots on which the progressive harmonies
turn; the re-entry of Sextus brings the symmetrically constructed
movement to a close. A short recitative, in which Sextus announces the
assassination of Titus, leads into the andante, which ends
{LABOUR AND POVERTY.}
(300)
the finale. All present are united in one feeling of sorrow and horror
at the crime which has been committed, and the chorus has approached
near enough to join in lamentation with the solo voices; the impression
thus produced is dignified and beautiful in the extreme. Here we may
perceive to what a height opera seria was capable of rising by a liberal
development of its original elements; but unfortunately this movement
is the only one of the kind in "Titus." A backward glance of comparison
upon "Idomeneo"[56] results to the advantage of the earlier opera in
many and important points. It is true that the conventional forms of
the opera seria are there more strictly preserved, but a fresh vigorous
effort is at the same time made to give them meaning and substance,
and pass their narrow bounds wherever possible,. while in "Titus" the
composer has been content to compromise the matter by preserving the
semblance of form, but no more. Thus forms intended to be largely
treated, such as the division into two movements, are often so lightly
and vaguely treated as to lose all dramatic interest, and still more
marked is the tendency of the tragic and serious conception of the opera
to degenerate into mere pleasing gracefulness. The advantages of the
later work in a freer and easier flow of melody, in a more mature and
cultivated taste, were more than counterbalanced by the loss of
depth and force of musical construction, a loss which is all the more
perceptible from the grandeur of the background afforded by a subject
taken from the Roman imperial age, which even in Metas-tasio's
adaptation was not wholly obscured, and under happier circumstances
would have sufficed to inspire Mozart to a nobler creation. The
treatment of the orchestra is indicative of the whole tone of the opera,
displaying occasionally the full splendour with which Mozart has endowed
it, and raising and supporting the musical representation wherever it
attains to dramatic significance, but for the most part not going beyond
an easy accompaniment of the voices.
{CRITICISMS ON "TITUS."}
(301)
In brilliancy and delicacy of orchestral treatment "Titus" can sustain
no comparison with "Idomeneo," or even with "Cosi fan Tutte."
Opinions on this opera were widely diverse. According to Niemetschek
(p. 111) "Titus" ranks from an aesthetic and artistic point of view as
Mozart's most perfect work:--
Mozart mentally grasped the simplicity, the quiet dignity of the
character of Titus and of the whole plot, and embodied them in his
composition. Every part, even the very moderate instrumental parts, bear
this stamp, and combine into perfect unity.
He is of opinion that full maturity of taste is nowhere more finely
displayed than in this opera (p. 105), which is also the best example of
Mozart's admirable dramatic characterisation (p. 72). An article showing
the shortcomings of Metastasio's libretto praises the excellence of the
musical characterisation which endows Titus with the character of gentle
amiability, Vitellia with force and dignified purity, and the friendship
between Sextus and Annius with quite an ideal tenderness.[57] Schaul, on
the contrary (Brief üb. d. Gesch-mack, p. 59), maintains that with the
exception of a few pieces the opera is so dry and tiresome that it might
rather be taken for the first attempt of budding talent than for
the product of a mature mind. He quotes the criticism of an Italian,
considered one of the best judges in Naples, that flashes of genius
shone out here and there in the more serious airs, which showed what
Mozart would have been capable of under happier guidance. "Titus" was
criticised in Berlin, in 1796, with the greatest harshness and
severity in two articles which excited indignation on account of
their disrespectful tone, although the blame bestowed was not without
foundation.[58] With a juster regard to circumstances Rochlitz
says:[59]--
{DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE.}
(302)
Being only human, he was constrained either to produce an altogether
mediocre work, or one of which the principal movements were very good,
and the minor ones light and easy, and suited to the taste of the
multitude; with right judgment he chose the latter.
It was perhaps this accommodation of the music to the taste of the
public, and the concessions made to the popular love of gorgeous scenery
and spectacular effects, which gained for "Titus" an enduring place on
the German stage, although it was never received with the same favour as
"Don Giovanni," "Figaro," and the "Zauberflöte." The opera was
produced for the first time in London in 1806 for the benefit of Madame
Billington, being the first of Mozart's operas performed in England;[60]
it was given successfully in Paris in 1816,[61] and in Milan at the
Teatro Rè in the following year.[62]
FOOTNOTES OF CHAPTER XLII.
[Footnote 1: Mus. Corresp., 1790, p. 30.]
[Footnote 2: Mus. Wochenbl., p. 15. Cf. Lange, Selbstbiogr., p. 167.]
[Footnote 3: Muller, Abschied, p. 286.]
[Footnote 4: Da Ponte, Mem., I., 2, p. 114.]
[Footnote 5: Mosel, Salieri, p. 138. Mus. Wochenbl., p. 62. Leopold's most severe
remarks upon Salieri are quoted by Da Ponte (Mem., II., p. 135):
"So tutte le sue cabale e so quelle della Cavalieri. É un egoista
insopportabile, che non vorrebbe che piacessero nel mio teatro che le
sue opere e la sua bella; egli non è solo nemico vostro, ma lo è di
tutti i maestri di capella, di tutte le cantanti."]
[Footnote 6: An official table was published, showing that during the King's stay
in the imperial dominions, from September 3,1790, to March 18,1791, he
followed the chase thirty-seven times, and himself shot 4,110 head of
game (Wien. Ztg., 1791, No. 29).]
[Footnote 7: Wien. Ztg., 1790, No. 75, Anh.]
[Footnote 8: Mus. Corresp., 1790, p. 145. Griesinger, Biogr. Not., p. 36.]
[Footnote 9: Mus. Corresp., 1790, p. 146. Mosel, Salieri, p. 138.]
[Footnote 10: Wahl-und Krönungs-Diarium, 2 Anh., p. 5.]
[Footnote 11: In the Councillors and Deputy-Councillor's Register for the
imperial town of Frankfort on the election and coronation of the Emperor
Leopold II., is the following entry (p. 400): "Mittwoch, 13 October,
1790. Als vorkame, dass der Kayseri. Conzert-Meister Mozart um die
Erlaubniss nachsuche Morgen Vor-mittag im Stadtschauspielhaus ein
Concert geben zu dörfen: sol le man ohne Consequenz auf andere Falle
hierunter willfahren." I am indebted for this, as for other information,
to my friend W. Speyer.]
[Footnote 12: Lewezow, Leben und Kunst der Frau Schick, p. 14.]
[Footnote 13: Lipowsky, Baier. Mus. Lex., p. 16.]
[Footnote 14: Breslau Ztg., 1855, No. 240, p. 1366.]
[Footnote 15: Nohl, Musik. Skizzenb., p. 190.]
[Footnote 16: Koffka, Iffland und Dalberg, p. 185.]
[Footnote 17: So it is stated in the Kurfürsl. gnädigst privil., Münchner
Wochen-und Anzeigeblatt, 1790, No. 44.]
[Footnote 18: According to the Kurfürstl. gnädigst privil. Münchner Ztg., 1790,
Nos. 173-175, the arrival of the King of Naples, on November 4, was
celebrated by a court gala and concert, and on the following day by a
court hunt, and a theatrical performance and supper.]
[Footnote 19: The story rests on the authority of Tonerl herself, now Frau
Haradauer of Graz (Wien. Fremdenbl., January 22, 1856).]
[Footnote 20: At this place he had a performance of "Count Waltron" upon the
ramparts, in a camp of 200 tents (Wien. Ztg., 1782, No. 68).]
[Footnote 21: Berliner Litt. u. Theat. Ztg., 1783, I., p. 94.]
[Footnote 22: Wien. Ztg., 1784, No. 102, Anh.]
[Footnote 23: Müller, Abschied, p. 273. Berl. Litt. und Theat. Ztg., 1785, I., p.
304.]
[Footnote 24: Mettenleiter, Musikgesch. d. Stadt Regensburg, p. 265.]
[Footnote 25: Hormayr, Wien., VI., p. 75. Castelli, Memoiren, I., p. 46.]
[Footnote 26: Journal der Moden, 1790, p. 149. Theaterkal., 1789, p. 202. Cf.
Varn-hagen, Denkw., VIII., p. 57.]
[Footnote 27: Seyfried gives this description, which can scarcely be exaggerated,
since it has an apologetic tendency (N. Zeitschr. fur Mus., XII., p.
380). Schikaneder died in poverty, and insane, 1812 (Südd. Mus. Ztg.,
1860, p. 21).]
[Footnote 28: Treitschke gives many particulars of the composition and first
performance of the "Zauberflöte" (Orpheus, Mus. Taschenb., 1841, p. 242)
in the Illustr. Familienbuch des österr. Lloyd (1852, II., p. xig), and
in the Monatsschrift fur Theater und Musik (September 1857, p. 444);
valuable old traditions are paixed with demonstrable falsehoods.]
[Footnote 29: Allg. Wiener Mus. Ztg., 1841, p. 128.]
[Footnote 30: C. F. Becker, N. Ztschr. fur Mus., XII., p. 112.]
[Footnote 31: Da Ponte, Mem., I., 2, p. 124.]
[Footnote 32: The story of the Requiem is familiar in all its details, and has
been deprived of every trace of mystery or uncertainty. Niemetschek's
simple account (p. 40), and Rochlitz's more highly coloured one (A. M.
Z., I., pp. 149, 177), are both founded on statements by Frau Mozart.
Full light has been thrown on the other side by the communications of
the musicians J. Zawrzel (André, Vorber. zu Mozarts Requiem, Cäcilia,
VI., p. 212), Krüchten (Cäcilia, VI., p. 217), Herzog (Köchel,
Recensionen, 1854, No. 48, p. 753), who were all acquainted with Count
Walsegg, and are trustworthy on the whole, although they differ from
each other in matters of detail. Some facts, which it was thought
unadvisable to publish, were vouched for to me in Vienna by A. Schmid
and Al. Fuchs.]
[Footnote 33: Niemetschek (p. 52) saw a short note from the Unknown, in which
Mozart is urged to send the Requiem, and to name a sum for which he
would undertake to supply annually a certain number of quartets.]
[Footnote 34: The entry in the Autograph Catalogue is as follows: "September 5
(performed in Prague, September 6), La Clemenza di Tito, opera seria in
due atti, per I' incoronazione di sua Maestà l' imperatore Leopoldo II.,
ridotta a vera opera dal Sgre Mazzoli, poeta di sua A. S. l' Elettore di
Sassonia--24 pezzi." (In the printed score there are twenty-six pieces,
not counting the overture; but the obbligato recitatives are counted
separately here, and not in the original score.)]
[Footnote 35: Seyfried, Càcilia, IV., p. 295.]
[Footnote 36: Nothing is omitted but the duettino (3) (which, however, is
included in "A Revised Copy of Mozart's Original," by Abbe Stadler) and
the accompanied recitative (25).]
[Footnote 37: The first three scenes were by P. Travaglia, in the service of
Prince Ester-hazy, the fourth was by Preising of Coblenz, and the
costumes were by Chérubin Babbini of Mantua.]
[Footnote 38: J. Debrois, Urkunde uber die Krönung Sr. Maj. des Königs von
Bohmen, Leopolds II., p. no.]
[Footnote 39: Musik. Wochenbl., pp. 70, 94.]
[Footnote 40: According to an anecdote in the Bohemia (1856, No. 23, p. 122)
there was in Prague an old harpist named Hoffman, a familiar figure in
every coffee-house. Mozart had him up in his room when he was living at
the "Neuwirthshaus" (now "Der goldene Engel"), and played an air to him
on the pianoforte, desiring him to improvise variations upon it. This he
did, to Mozart's satisfaction. Ever after, this theme was the show-piece
of the harpist, and he would never play it except by special desire;
then he would go off into reminiscences of Mozart, and nothing would
shake his firm persuasion that the great man must be a native of
Bohemia.]
[Footnote 41: It was composed, among others, by Leon. Leo, 1735; by Hasse, 1737;
by Jomelli; by Perez, 1749; by Gluck, 1751; by Jos. Scarlatti, 1760; by
Nau-mann, 1769.]
[Footnote 42: It would be ascribing to Mozart a merit to which he has no claim
to credit him with the reconstruction of the libretto (A. M. Z., I., p.
151. Cäcilia, XX., p. 191).]
[Footnote 43: The numbers taken unaltered from Metastasio are: 2,5, 6, 8,
9,11,16, 20, 21, 25, and the obbligato recitatives, n, 17, 22, 24. Those
for which new words were written are the songs for Annius (13, 17), for
Sextus (19), and for Vitellia]
[Footnote 44: This scene is all Mazzola's invention, but it does not form one of
the longer ensemble movements.]
[Footnote 45: Zelter, Briefw. m. Goethe, III., p. 26.]
[Footnote 46: Curiously enough this very motif has become a type for a long list
of overtures and symphonies by Mozart's immediate successors, and
may even be recognised in Beethoven's first symphony and Prometheus
overture.]
[Footnote 47: The second air (8) is apparently of later composition, for it is
not included in the consecutive numbering, and the score is written
on the same paper as the march (3), the obbligato recitative, and the
overture, all composed after the completion of the other pieces, which
are written on one kind of paper.]
[Footnote 48: Seyfried, Càcilia, XX., p. 193.]
[Footnote 49: The second air (17), with Mazzola's words, was inserted
subsequently, and numbered 13 1/2.]
[Footnote 50: The ritomello is added on a separate page by a copyist; so is
the concluding ritornello. Probably the air originally passed into an
accompanied recitative for Titus, which is not preserved.]
[Footnote 51: Schaul, Briefe üb. d. Geschmack, p. 51.]
[Footnote 52: C. M. von Weber, Lebensbild, III., p. 4.]
[Footnote 53: Gerber, N. Lex., II., p. 75. Cf. A. M. Z., IV., p. 318. Reichardt,
Mus. Ztg., 1805, I., p. 112. In a notice from Berlin of the year 1799 it
is described as a caricature (A. M. Z., I., p. 348).]
[Footnote 54: The fact that the clarinet and basset-horn alone were employed as
obbligato instruments, and that with an evident supposition of great
proficiency, would lead to the inference that Stadler had come to Prague
for the coronation.]
[Footnote 55: A striking organ point in Gluck's composition gave rise to much
debate; he employed it afterwards in "Iphigenie en Tauride," in the last
air of the second act (Schmid, Gluck, pp. 48, 353).]
[Footnote 56: The alleged reminiscence in the first finale in "Titus" of the
great scene in "Idomeneo" (24) (A. M. Z., I., pp. 54, 152) is not
supported by a closer examination.]
[Footnote 57: A. M. Z., IV., p. 822.]
[Footnote 58: Deutschland, I., p. 269; II., p. 363. Reichardt, to whom this
article was ascribed (Mus. Ztg., 1805, I., p. 6), declared that the
criticism on Mozart's arrangement of the "Messiah," which had been
attributed to Reichardt, was no more by him than many other reviews of
Mozart's works for which he had been attacked during many years past
with great acrimony.]
[Footnote 59: A. M. Z., I., p. 154.]
[Footnote 60: Reichardt, Mus. Ztg., II., p. 123. Parke, Mus. Mem., II., p. 3.
Pohl, Mozart u. Haydn in London, p. 145.]
[Footnote 61: A. M. Z., XVIII., p. 463.]
[Footnote 62: A. M. Z., XIX., pp. 174, 190.]
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MOZART 43
BY DAVID WIDGER