FIRST among the group of friends in intercourse with whom Mozart found
entertainment and refreshment of the highest kind, must be named the
Countess Thun, _née_ Uhlefeld. She was one of the musical ladies who
took him under their protection from the first, and it was she more
especially who introduced him in Vienna, and furthered his advancement
by every means in her power. The prominent position which was hers more
in virtue of her cultivation and amiability than of her rank and wealth,
pointed her out as
{COUNTESS THUN.}
(353)
a fitting protectress for genius. She was one of the few ladies with
whom the Emperor Joseph continued in later years on a footing of
intimacy, and he took leave of her in a touching letter from his
death-bed.[1] Music had the place of honour in her entertainments.
She played the pianoforte herself with "that grace, lightness, and
_délicatesse_ to which no fingers but a woman's can aspire," as Burney
says;[2] he was delighted with her gay, natural manners, her witty
sallies, and her pleasant irony, as well as with her taste, knowledge,
and serious interest in all things musical.[3] Her favourite composer at
that time (1772) was Beecké (Vol. I., p. 367), who mentions to Dalberg
having composed in 1785 a sonata for three pianofortes for the Countess
Thun and her daughters.
Reichardt also, whom she took under her protection on his arrival in
Vienna in 1783, extols her as the most intellectual and most charming
woman in Vienna, and adds that her musical receptions were frequented
both by the Emperor and the Archduke Maximilian.[4] Georg Forster
became her enthusiastic admirer during his stay in Vienna in, 1784. He
enumerates in a letter to Heyne[5] the distinguished men whose favour
and patronage he enjoyed, and we recognise among them many of Mozart's
friends and patrons. Such were the good old Counsellor von Born, Baron
Otto von Gemmingen--the intimate friend of Van Swieten, who had come to
Vienna in the summer of 1782[6]--the old Councillor von Spielmann[7]--a
man of learning and at the same time
{SOCIAL INTERCOURSE.}
(354)
more deeply versed in the affairs of the department of Prince Kaunitz
than any other statesman--the great minister Kaunitz himself (Vol. II.,
p. 212), good, simple Count Cobenzl (Vol. II., p. 173), Field-Marshal
Haddik, "a splendid old soldier, plain and plump,"[8] and to this list
Forster adds the name of the Countess Thun, "the most virtuous and
enlightened woman of Vienna." He gives a more particular account of his
intercourse with her to Thérèse Heyne:--
You cannot imagine how condescending and friendly every one is. One
scarcely remembers that one is among persons of high rank, and one feels
quite on the footing of an intimate friend. This is especially my case
with the Countess Thun, the most charming woman in the world, and her
three graces of daughters, each of them an angel in her own way. The
Countess is the best mother that I know; the children are all innocence,
joyful as the morning light, and full of natural sense and wit, at which
I wonder in silence, just as I wonder at the sense and wit of a certain
maid on the Leine. This charming family combine the most refined
discourse, and the most extensive reading and liberal knowledge, with
a pure, heartfelt religion, free from all superstition, the religion
of gentle and innocent hearts familiar with the secrets of nature and
creation. Almost every evening between nine and ten, these [above-named]
people assemble at the Countess Thun's, and enjoy brilliant conversation
or music, either clavier-playing, or German or Italian singing;
sometimes, when the humour seizes them, they dance.
We can well imagine how completely Mozart felt himself at home in this
circle; Prince Karl Lichnowsky, his friend and pupil, was the Countess
Thun's son-in-law.
Greiner's house was another in which learning was honoured and
cherished, and which formed a meeting-point for all celebrities.
Greiner's daughter, Caroline Pichler, an admirable pianiste,[9] thus
describes it:[10]--
Besides the poets Denis, Leon, Haschka, Alxinger, Blumauer, &c., whose
names were then famous, our house was frequented by men of severer
science. No foreign scholar or artist visited Vienna without bringing
introductions to Haschka or to my parents themselves. Thus we
entertained the celebrated traveller Georg Forster, Professors Meiners
and Spittler, Becker, Gögking, the actor Schroder, and many
{MARIANNE MARTINEZ.}
(355)
musicians and composers such as Paesiello and Cimarosa; I need not say
that our native artists, Mozart, Haydn, Salieri, the brothers Hickl,
Füger, and others were frequent guests.
The house of the Martinez brother and sister, which has become by
association a true temple of the muses for the Viennese, was another
rendezvous for musicians, Metastasio, on his arrival at Vienna in 1730,
took up his residence with Nicolai Martinez, Master of the Ceremonies to
the Apostolic Nuncio, and remained with him until his death in 1782. He
became the intimate friend of the family, and carefully superintended
the education of the children. One of the daughters, Marianne (born
about 1740), by reason of her talent, and her lively, pleasant manners,
attracted his special attention.[11] Through his instruction she
became well versed in the Italian, French, and English languages and
literature, and in all the branches of a liberal education. Nor was
this all; Metastasio perceived that she possessed considerable musical
talent, and took care that she should receive a thorough musical
education. Joseph Haydn, who, on being dismissed from the Kapellhaus a
penniless young man, had taken a miserable garret in the same house, was
engaged to give Marianne lessons in playing and singing, for which he
was boarded free for three years by way of payment,[12] a more important
result for him being that he thus became acquainted with Porpora,
who interested himself in Marianne's education out of friendship for
Metastasio. Afterwards, under the careful guidance of Bono and of
Metastasio himself, she developed gifts as a singer, player, and
composer which excited general admiration,[13] and won applause from
Hasse.[14] In 1773 she was made a member of the Philharmonic Academy at
Bologna,[15] and afterwards received a "Dictor-diplom" both from
Bologna and Pavia; in 1782 her oratorio "Isaaco" was performed at the
"Societätsconcert."[16] She
{SOCIAL INTERCOURSE.}
(356)
lived with her brother (Imperial librarian) after the death of
Metastasio, whose property she inherited;[17] she gave receptions, which
were frequented by all the intellectual and musical celebrities of the
day.[18] Kelly, who brought an introduction to her, declared that,
in spite of her advanced age, she retained all the animation and
cheerfulness of youth, and was pleasant and talkative. He says that
Mozart (who had been warmly received by Metastasio on his early visits
to Vienna) was very intimate with her, and that he had heard them play
duets of her composition at her musical parties.[19]
One of the most distinguished musical dilettanti of the day at Vienna
was the Geheimrath Bernh. von Keess (d. 1795). This "well-known lover of
music and patron of musicians" took the amateur concerts in the Augarten
(Vol. II., p. 284, note 47) under his protection, and possessed a rare
and costly collection of musical objects.[20] He gave private concerts
twice a week in his own house, as Gyrowetz relates:[21]--
The best virtuosi in Vienna, and the first composers, such as Jos.
Haydn, Mozart, Dittersdorf, Hoffmeister, Albrechtsberger, Giamovichi,
Ac., assembled at these concerts. Haydn's symphonies were performed
there, Mozart used generally to play the pianoforte, and Giamovichi,
the most celebrated violin virtuoso of the day,[22] usually played
a concerto; the lady of the house sang. It happened one evening that
Mozart was late in arriving, and they waited for him to begin, because
he had promised to bring with him a song for the lady of the house.
One servant after another was sent to find him, and at last he was
discovered in a tavern; the messenger begged him to come at once, as
all the company was waiting to hear the new song. Mozart thereupon
recollected that he had not written a note of it. He sent the messenger
for a sheet of music paper, and set to work in the tavern to compose
the song. When it was finished he went his way to the concert, where
the company were waiting for him with great impatience. After a little
gentle reproach for his delay he was most affectionately received; the
lady of the house sang the new song, a little nervously, it is true, but
it was enthusiastically received and applauded.
{MOZART AS A VIRTUOSO.}
(357)
Mozart's boyish fancy of only playing before connoisseurs naturally
disappeared as he grew older and more sensible. He took pleasure in
playing to all who took pleasure in hearing him, and was so far from
the affectation of requiring to be pressed, that many persons of rank in
Vienna reproached him with being too ready to play to anybody who
asked him. One requirement, indeed, he made which seems difficult of
attainment in musical society, viz., the silence and attention of his
audience. "Nothing irritated him so much," says Niemetschek (p. 88),
"as restlessness, noise, or talking over music. On such occasions the
usually gentle, courteous man completely lost patience, and expressed
his annoyance without reserve. He has been known to rise in the middle
of his playing, and leave an inattentive audience." In some cases his
satirical humour led him to show his disgust in other ways.[23] When he
was playing to real musicians and connoisseurs he was indefatigable.[24]
After his concert in Leipzig, where he had alternately played and
conducted, he said to the good old violin-player Berger: "I have only
just got warm. Come home with me, and I will play you something
worthy of an artist's ears." And after a hasty supper, his ideas and
imaginations streamed from the instrument till close on midnight. Then
suddenly springing up, as his manner was, he cried: "Now, what do you
think of that? You have heard Mozart after his own fashion; something
less will do for the others."[25]
The family with whom Mozart appeared most completely at home in Vienna
was that of the celebrated botanist Freih. von Jacquin. We have an
attractive description of it (1844) from Caroline Pichler, who was
intimate there from her youth:[26]--
This family had for sixty or seventy years been a shining light in the
scientific world, both in and out of Vienna, and their house was visited
by many for the sake of the pleasant social intercourse there to be
enjoyed. While the learned, or would-be learned, paid their respects to
{SOCIAL INTERCOURSE.}
(358)
the famous father and his worthy son, Jos. Frz. v. Jacquin,[27] the
more youthful assembled round the younger son Gottfried, whose lively
intellect, striking talent for music, and charming voice made him
the centre of the gay circle, together with his sister Franziska, the
still-surviving Frau von Lagusius. On Wednesday evenings--which from
time immemorial, were dedicated by the family to society, even in winter
when the Jacquins lived in the Botanic Gardens[28]--learned talk went
on in the father's room, while we young people chattered, joked,
made music, played games, and entertained ourselves entirely to our
satisfaction.
How thoroughly happy and at home Mozart was with this family may be seen
from a letter to Gottr. von Jacquin, written in the full glow of his
happiness at the brilliant reception he had met with in Prague (January
14,1787):[29]--
At last I am fortunate enough to find a moment in which to inquire after
your dear parents, and all the Jacquin family. I can only hope and pray
that you are all as well and happy as we two are. I can assure you,
however, that (although we have been received here with extreme
politeness and all possible honour, and Prague is really a handsome,
pleasant city) I long very much for Vienna, and most particularly for
_your_ house. When I reflect that after my return I shall enjoy the
pleasure of your society again for a short time, and then perhaps lose
it for ever, I feel to its full extent the friendship and esteem which
I bear to your whole family. Now farewell! Present my respects to your
revered parents, and embrace your brother for me. I kiss your sister's
hand a thousand times. But now it is time I close, is it not? Long ago,
you will think. Write to me soon, very soon; if you are too lazy to do
it yourself, send for Salmann, and dictate a letter to him; but it never
comes straight from the heart unless you write yourself. Well--I shall
see whether you are as much my friend as I am, and always shall be,
yours.
During his second stay in Prague Mozart acquaints his friend with the
good reception of "Don Giovanni" (November 4, 1787),[30] and adds:--
{GOTTFR. V. JACQUIN--BRIDI.}
(359)
I wish that all my friends (especially Bridi and you) could be here just
for one evening to participate in my pleasure.
And then he ends in his mocking way:--
My great grandfather used to say to his wife, my great grandmother, and
she to her daughter my grandmother, and she again to her daughter, my
mother, and she finally to her daughter, my dear sister, that it was a
great art to be able to speak well and fully, but that it was perhaps a
still greater art to know when to leave off speaking. I will, therefore,
now follow the advice of my sister due to our mother, grandmother, and
great grandmother, and bring my moral reflections and my letter to a
close together.
And when, to his "delighted surprise," he received a second letter from
Jacquin, he answers in a postscript:--
Can it be that neither your dear parents, nor your sisters and brother
keep me in remembrance? That is incredible! I put it down to your
forgetfulness, my friend, and I flatter myself that I may safely do so.
Gius. Ant. Bridi, of whom Mozart speaks in the above letter, was a young
merchant of Roveredo, who was a favourite in musical circles[31]
alike for his fine, well-trained tenor voice, and for his amiable
character.[32] On the production of "Idomeneo" at the Auersperg theatre,
he took a part, probably that of Idomeneo.[33] He too enjoyed, as he
afterwards gratefully recorded, Mozart's friendship and confidence.[34]
Gottfried von Jacquin wrote the following characteristic words in
Mozart's album (April n, 1787):--
Genius without heart is a chimera--for it is not intellect alone, not
imagination, not even the two combined which make genius--love! love!
love! is the soul of genius.
He was endeared to Mozart by his musical talent and sympathy. A memorial
of their friendship exists in the song composed for Jacquin on March 23,
1787: "Mentre di lascio, o figlia," from Paesiello's "Disfatta di Dario"
(513 K., part 9). A comparison of this with the song composed
{SOCIAL INTERCOURSE.}
(360)
for Fischer shows how well Mozart understood the art of adapting himself
to given conditions. There is no presupposition here of such a compass
and flexibility of voice, nor of such force of passion as give the
earlier song its original stamp; all that is required is a bass voice of
moderate compass and no great depth, a certain volubility of voice, and
a considerable amount of feeling and cultivation. The situation excludes
any expression of violent emotion, and moderates the sentiment without
rendering it less hearty; we are called on to sympathise with the sorrow
of a father taking leave of his daughter at a moment pregnant with fate,
not with that of a youth parting from his beloved. Here again external
conditions have been utilised in the production of a song which is
worthy by its beauty of form and grace of expression to take a high
rank among others of its class.[35] Mozart composed other songs for his
friend and his friend's family; ballads, for instance, for particular
occasions and friends. Concerning one of these, he writes: "If the song
_en question_ is to be a test of my friendship, have no more doubt on
the subject, here it is. But I hope that you do not need the song to
convince you of my friendship" (Prague, November 4, 1787). Another,
"Erzeugt von heisser Phantasie" (520 K.) is inscribed: "Den 26 Mai,
1787, in Hrn. Gottfried von Jacquin's Zimmer, Landstrasse." Several
charming little canzonetti for two sopranos and a bass, with Italian
words, were also written for this circle, Mozart indicates one of them,
"Più non si trovano" (549 K.), under date July 16, 1788, and there are
five other nottumi of the kind existing in autograph, viz.: "Luci cari
luci belle" (346 K.); "Ecco quel fiero istante," by Metastasio (436 K.);
"Mi lagnero tacendo," by Metastasio (437 K.); "Se lontan
{GOTTFR. V. JACQUIN AND MOZART.}
(361)
ben mio tu sei" (438 K.), "Due pupille amabili" (439 K.). To these
exists in Mozart's handwriting wind-instrument accompaniment, for two
clarinets and a basset-horn, or three basset-homs, a combination
often employed by Mozart, apparently without any special reason. The
accompaniment may be dispensed with, the canzonetti being properly
intended for the voices alone. They are extremely simple, but full
of grace and charm, and betray the master in their harmonic turns and
disposition of parts. It may be inferred that these compositions were
primarily intended for the Jacquin family, from the fact that several of
them passed as the composition of Gottfr. von Jacquin in Vienna, as
was the case with more than one solo song concerning whose authenticity
there can be no doubt. Mozart set little store by such occasional
compositions; they passed from hand to hand, and as Jacquin himself
composed songs, which were put in circulation from his house, some of
Mozart's might easily, without any fault on his part, be ascribed to
him. As a set-off to these, the bass song, "Io ti lascio, o cara,
addio" (245 K. Anh.), composed by Jacquin, is to this day included among
Mozart's works. In the "Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung," where it was
first printed, it was expressly stated that the original was in Mozart's
handwriting, and was written by him in a few minutes, as he took leave
of a lady friend; the scene was afterwards variously laid at Prague and
Mayence, and elaborated into a love episode. But in a letter to Hartel
(May 25, 1799), Mozart's widow protested against the genuineness both of
the song and of the story, and emphatically asserted, supported by the
Abbé Stadler, that the song was composed by Gottfr. von Jacquin as a
farewell to the Countess Hatzfeld, and that Mozart put the accompaniment
to it. The song contains Mozart-like phrases, but no characteristic
touches of his genius.
Kelly relates that he composed Metastasio's "Grazie agi' inganni tuoi,"
that Mozart was pleased with the simple melody, and wrote variations
upon it.[36] These do not exist, but we have a sketch by Mozart in which
Kelly's melody,
{SOCIAL INTERCOURSE.}
(362)
with some slight improvements, and a new middle phrase, is arranged
for two soprano voices and a bass, with a wind instrument accompaniment
(flute, two clarinets, horns and bassoons) no doubt for some special
occasion (532 K.).
Concerted songs of this kind were then a favourite pastime in musical
circles; they were often comic, and sometimes coarse. No one will doubt
that Mozart was always ready for this species of fun, and his comic
"Bandl-Terzett" (441 K.) was known, not only among his Vienna friends,[37]
but far and wide among lovers of music and fun. Mozart had made his wife
a present of a new belt ribbon which she wished to wear one day when
she was going for a walk with Jacquin. Not finding it she called to her
husband: "Liebes Mandl, wo ists Bandl?" (Where is the belt, my dear?)
They both looked for it in vain till Jacquin joined them and found it.
But he refused to give it up, held it high in the air, and being a
very tall man, the Mozarts, both little, strove in vain to reach it.
Entreaties, laughter, scolding, were all in vain, till at last the dog
ran barking between Jacquin's legs. Then he gave up the ribbon, and
declared that the scene would make a good comic terzet. Mozart took the
hint, wrote the words in the Vienna dialect (which is essential for the
comic effect), and sent the terzet to Jacquin.[38] Well sung, it never
fails of its effect. A four-part pendant to the terzet "Caro mio Druck
und Schluck," was in the possession of Mozart's widow, as she informed
Hartel (May 25, 1799); it seems to have been a canon with a comic bass
part (Anh. 5 K.).
Canons were in special favour at the social gatherings of
{CANONS.}
(363)
which we have been speaking. It may always be taken for granted that
children and persons of slight musical cultivation will take peculiar
pleasure in this severest form of musical mechanism, if the persistent
regularity with which each part pursues its independent course is
combined with a general effect of harmony and satisfaction. For the
enlightened few, the interest arises from such a skilful handling
of forms confined within the strictest rules as shall emphasise
epigrammatic points in the most vivid and telling manner. So in poetry,
the sonnet, the triolet, and other similar forms serve by their very
limitations to emphasise the conceits which they express. The same sort
of contrast, produced without departing from a strict adherence to rule,
forms the chief effect of the canon. The sharp definition of its various
parts gives it abundance of means for accentuating particular points,
aided by their constant recurrence in different positions and different
lights. The canon, therefore, is the _epigrammatic_ form of music, the
most suitable vehicle for a moral sentence or a witty phrase, and it is
capable of expressing alike the most serious and the most comic ideas.
It requires, indeed, the firm hand of a master so to triumph over
the difficulties of the form as to produce not only a masterpiece of
counterpoint for the satisfaction of the learned, but also a melodious
self-sufficing vocal piece, whose most studied difficulties shall leave
the impression of lucky accidents. The greatest masters seem to have
turned for recreation to the composition of canons,[39] and even grave
men like Padre Martini[40] and Michael Haydn[41] did not disdain to
write comic canons. Mozart cultivated the style, and a long list may be
placed under his name. In the "Oeuvres" (XV., XVI.) two two-part, nine
three-part, nine four-part, and one six-part.
{SOCIAL INTERCOURSE.}
(364)
canons are printed; but they are certainly not all genuine. In the
Thematic Catalogue, the following are noted as composed by Mozart:--
XV.
1. Difficile Iectu [Nimm ists gleich warm] three-part (559 K.).
2. Caro bell' idol, three-part (562 K.).
5. Ave Maria, four-part (554 K.).
6. Lacrimoso son io, four-part (555 K.). XVI.
1. O du eselhafter [Gähnst du Fauler], four-part (560 K.).
2. Alleluja, four-part (553 K.).
3. Grechtelseng [Allés Fleisch], four-part (556 K.).
4. Gemma in Prater [Allés ist eitel], four-part (558 K.).
6. Bona nox [Gute Nacht], four-part (561 K.).!!!
Besides these there must have been four more published from Mozart's
autograph, for the widow writes (November 30, 1799) that she has
sent thirteen canons in the original. But of these one (XV. 12) "O
wunderschon" (227 K.) was by W. Byrd (d. 1623), published by Mattheson
(Vollk. Kapellm. p. 409), and only copied by Mozart, and the same may
have been the case with others. We recognise Mozart with some certainty
in:--
XV. 4. L. m. d. A. r. s. [Nichts labt. mich mehr.], four-part (233 K.).
XVI. 5. Lieber Freistadler, lieber Gaulimauli [Wer nicht liebt], four-part
(232 K.).
7. L. m. i. A. [Lasst uns froh sein], six-part (231 K.).
9. [Lass immer] two-part (410 K.). But this canon exists in Mozart's
handwriting as an adagio for two basset-homs with a bassoon, perhaps as
an accompaniment to a vocal piece.
Concerning the others I can speak with no certainty; but those which are
well authenticated seem to me by far the finest. Some genuine canons by
Mozart are omitted from this collection, such as the four-part
canon, called in the Thematic Catalogue "Nascoso" (557 K.), which is
particularly fine.[42] There are serious canons,[43] cheerful canons,[44]
and an overwhelming majority of comic canons. The words
{CANONS.}
(365)
to these last were generally his own; they are almost always in the
Vienna dialect, and not a few of them are too coarse for publication,
although they are preserved in verbal tradition. The original words of
two of the most authentic may serve as an example of the rest:--
Grechtelseng, grechtelseng, wir gehn in Prater. In Prater? itzt, lass
nach, i lass mi nit stimma. Ei bei Leib. Ei ja wohl. Mi bringst nit
aussi! Was blauscht der? was blauscht der? Itzt halts Maul, i gieb dir a
Tetschen! (556 K.).
Gemma in Proda, gemma in d' Hetz, gemma in Kasperl. Der Kasperl ist
krank, der Bar ist verreckt, was that ma in der Hetz drausst, in Prater
giebts Gelsen und Haufen von Dreck (558 K.).
The fun consisted essentially in the dialogue form and colloquial
expressions of the text--as will be evident to all who compare the newly
substituted versions, which, unexceptionable and correct as they are,
neutralise the whole comic effect--of the canons. Mozart's mastery of
form and his wonderful power of transforming everything he attempted
into a complete and well-rounded work of art, are displayed in all the
canons without exception; each one contains the clear expression of
a particular mood, together with a melodious beauty, so thoroughly
consistent with the form in which they are embodied as to appear
inseparable from it. Finding eight four-part and two three-part canons
under one date (September 2, 1788) in the Thematic Catalogue, we may
be inclined to imagine that Mozart was seized with a sort of periodical
canon-fever; but it is more probable that some circumstance led to his
noting on that day all the works of the kind that he had either in hand
or in prospect. No doubt most of them were composed on the spur of
the moment, as we know was the case with two among the list. The
tenor singer, Joh. Nepomuk Peierl, "a man of refinement," according
to Schroder,[45] who had sung with his wife for several years at the
Salzburg theatre, paid a short visit to Vienna in 1785, and became
acquainted with Mozart. He had a peculiar pronunciation which often made
him the subject of raillery, and Mozart made it the
{SOCIAL INTERCOURSE.}
(366)
text for a three-part canon of wonderfully comic effect.[46] This was
scarcely ended when the singers turned over the leaf, and began another
four-part canon (560 K.) on the words: "O du eselhafter Peierl! o du
peirlischer Esel! du bist so faul als wie ein Gaul, der weder Kopf
noch Haxen hat, mit dir ist gar nichts anzufangen, ich seh dich noch am
Galgen hangen; du dummer Gaul! du bist so faul! du dummer
Peierl bist so faul als wie ein Gaul; O lieber Freundverzeihe mir!
Nepomuk! Peierl! verzeihe mir!"[47] There is nothing particularly
refined or amusing about the jest except the very excellent and
effective canon. This was so highly applauded that it was employed
on other occasions with more emphatic invectives, addressed to other
individuals.[48] Mozart's marvellous gift of improvisation, showing
itself in this form among others, is illustrated by an anecdote vouched
for by Rochlitz. The evening before Mozart left Leipzig for Berlin,
whence he intended to return in a few days, he supped with the Precentor
Doles, with whom he was very intimate. His entertainers, melancholy at
the prospect of parting, begged for a few lines of his writing by way of
remembrance. Mozart was in a merry mood, laughed at their "whining," and
declared he would rather go to bed than write music. At last he took a
sheet of note-paper, tore it in half, sat down and wrote--at the most
for five or six minutes. Then he handed one-half to the son, the other
to the father. On one page was a three-part canon in long notes without
words, and when sung very melancholy and melodious. On the second page
was also a three-part canon without words, but in quavers, and full of
drollery. When they had discovered
{THE MUSIKALISCHE SPASS.}
(367)
that the two might be sung together, Mozart wrote to the first the
words, "Lebet wohl, wir sehn uns wieder!" To the second, "Heult noch gar
wie alte Weiber"--and so they were sung.[49] Unhappily this double canon
is not preserved.
Many comic compositions of this kind are ascribed to Mozart wrongly or
on insufficient grounds.[50] One most diverting example of his love of
humour exists in the "Musikalische Spass," as he calls it himself--the
"Bauem-symphonie," as it is sometimes designated--which was probably
written for a special occasion on June 11, 1787; owing, no doubt, to
pressure of time it was only partially scored. Ignorant composers and
unskilful performers are ridiculed together in this piece, which is
in the form of a divertimento (Vol. I., p. 303) in four movements for
string quartet and two horns. The ridicule of the players is very broad,
as, for instance, when the horns, where they should come in solo in the
minuet, play actual wrong notes, or when the first violin at the close
of a long cadenza, consisting of a number of trivial disconnected
passages, finishes off with an ascending scale, and goes at least half a
tone too high. But the most amazing confusion occurs at the end,
where, in the midst of a fanfare in F major for the horns, the stringed
instruments strike in one after another, each in a different key. A
semitone higher or lower is treated as a matter of small importance,
thirds are carried on even where they are out of place; but sometimes,
when a part seems to come in too soon, or when nothing but accompaniment
is heard for several bars, as if the principal parts were pausing
too long, or when at a particular point a note occurs which sounds
excruciatingly false, it is only by the context that we can be assured
that no actual mistake has happened, and that the composer does not
deserve to be hissed on his own
{SOCIAL INTERCOURSE.}
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account. This is repeatedly the case also in the plan and treatment of
the movements as a whole; they are after the usual pattern, turns and
passages occur of the customary kind, with here and there a striking
modulation, but there is a complete lack of power to grasp or carry out
an idea; two or three bars bring each effort to an end, and there is a
constant recurrence to the traditional formula of the closing cadence.
The attempt after thematic elaboration in the finale is very ludicrous;
it is as though the composer had heard of such a thing, and strove to
imitate it in a few phrases, greatly to his own satisfaction. The art is
most remarkable whereby the pretended ignorance never becomes wearisome,
and the audience is kept in suspense throughout. The effect rests partly
on the shrewd conception of what is truly comic in ignorant pretension
(for nowhere is irony more dangerous than in music, the impression of
discord being one difficult of control), partly on the perfect mastery
of the instruments displayed by the composer.[51]
Among the compositions resulting mainly at least from friendship or
social circumstances may be included the songs or ballads (Lieder) of
which we have already noticed some examples.[52] In Vienna and South
Germany the "Lied" was far from having attained, at that time, the
importance it afterwards possessed. Even in social circles, classical
and, therefore so far as song was concerned, Italian music predominated,
and aspiring dilettanti sought exclusively for songs which should
display their artistic cultivation. Dilettantism was then just beginning
to bear sway, especially over the pianoforte, and its dominion speedily
extended to vocal music, where the "Lied" became its peculiar form
of expression. In North Germany the state of affairs was somewhat
different. Italian opera in Dresden and Berlin was too isolated to
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(369)
have much influence; the want of practised singers had caused the
cultivation of the operetta, which fell back on the confined form and
simple expression of the "Lied," and in its turn raised the "Lied,"
which had lingered only in taverns[53] and the domestic circle, to
higher significance and cultivation. Weisse expressly declared that
his operas were intended to incite the Germans to social song. Nor had
earlier and greater composers, such as Telemann, Graun, Ph. Em. Bach,
and others, disdained to compose ballads, or odes as they were then
called, for domestic practice. In Berlin this tendency was especially
active, and Marpurg, in his "Critical Letters," treats of the musical
ode ("Chanson, Strophenlied") historically and aesthetically, and
appends a long list of examples. The influence of the operetta upon the
development of the 44 Lied" is unmistakable. It was something more than
chance which caused the simultaneous rise of German lyric poetry in many
parts of North Germany, which produced such lyric poets as Weisse, Uz,
Gleim, Hagedom, Jacobi, &c., and the "Dichterbund" of Gottingen, with
Hiller as their special composer. Klopstock had little to do with the
movement. His odes have found composers, especially (not to mention
Reefe) Gluck, who followed his principles in keeping close to the words
of the poet, and aiming at declamatory effect.[54] He was followed by
Reichardt, a warm admirer of Klopstock,[55] who wrote an essay on the
composition of Klopstock's odes.[56] But they had little influence, and
the musical treatment of lyrical poetry received its chief impulse when
Herder awoke the taste for national songs, and Goethe produced genuine
German lyric poems: Reichardt[57] and Schulz[58] were the two composers
who felt
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this impulse most strongly, and mainly strove for the development of the
German ballad in its own simple popular style.
But this phase of musical influence had, in Mozart's day, hardly
penetrated to Vienna. Hofmann, Steffan, Beecké, Haydn, and others had
indeed composed Lieder, but they laid claim to nothing higher than the
amusement of social circles; the words are generally of mediocre merit,
and the music so simple as to make it evident that the song did not
intend to intrude into good society. Mozart only occasionally composed
Lieder.[59] He was in the habit, as his wife writes to Hartel, of
writing down in a book kept for the purpose any poem which he admired,
or which incited him to composition; but his reading was not extensive,
and there was little to attract him in Vienna at that time. He had his
own opinions on this subject as on others, and we are struck with his
remarks in a letter to his father (December 23,1782):--
I am at work upon a very difficult matter, viz., the setting of an ode
on Gibraltar, by Denis.[60] But it is a secret, for a Hungarian lady
wishes to surprise Denis with it. The ode is dignified--fine, if you
like--but too pompous and exaggerated for my taste. How can it be
otherwise? Truth and moderation are hardly known and never valued
nowadays. If a thing is to succeed it must either be so easy that a
hackney-coach-man could imitate it, or so incomprehensible that, just
because they do not understand it, everybody is ready to praise it.
Every competent critic will endorse Mozart's opinion on Denis's ode;[61]
but how many then in Vienna were as independent and candid in their
judgment on the favourite poet as the young composer? A facsimile of
Mozart's hasty sketch of part of this ode is taken from the archives of
the Mozarteum at Salzburg. Whether the ode was ever finished I do not
know.
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(371)
We may gather that Mozart's Lieder were the result of occasional
impulses, from the fact that they occur at long intervals, and that he
usually wrote several at one time. On May 7, 1785, he composed three
poems by Weisse; on the autograph (472-474, K.) is noted, "Weisse,
erster Band, p. 18,14,29"; Weisse's lyrical poems (Leipzig, 1772)
formed part of Mozart's modest library. The year 1787, however, was most
fruitful, owing doubtless to his constant intercourse with Jacquin; we
find four in May (517-520, K.), two on June 24 (523, 524, K.), two at
Prague on November 6 (529, 530, K.), and another on December 11 (531
K.). Then there is a pause until January 14, 1791, when three ballads
(596-598, K.) were composed, according to Nissen, for a children's
publication.[62] Mozart published but few of these compositions;[63]
they generally remained in the possession of those for whom they were
written, and were circulated in MS. copies, which explains why many
were attributed to him which he never wrote, while some of his own
composition were attributed to others.[64] The greater number of them
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are true "Strophenlieder," such as the ballads from Campe's
"Kinderbibliothek" (595, 598, K.), to which also belongs the ballad for
little Fritz's birthday (529 K.), to which very unsuitable words have
been adapted. These are all manifestly easy and simple, and possess the
same charm from the mouths of children as "Komm lieber Mai." Hagedom's
little song, "Zu meiner Zeit bestand noch Recht und Bil-ligkeit" (517
K.), is jestingly treated; Mozart himself has written over it, "A little
through the nose," to emphasise the proper comic delivery. The
quality which distinguishes these songs from the majority of those
contemporary with them is not so much their perfect form and finish,
their attractive melodies, or their harmonious delicacy (though these
exist in full measure) as their vivid expression of a poetic mood, be it
cheerful, earnest, or passionate. The poems of Hagedorn, Weisse, Jacobi,
Overbeck, Hölty, Miller, Claudius, and others whose names are unknown,
seem to us little calculated to stir the poetical productivity of the
composer; and the passionate expression and forcible accentuation of
some of the songs strike us as being almost in opposition to the words
of the poem. Look only at the close of the second song, "Zufriedenheit"
(473 K.), "Und angenehm ist selbst mein Schmerz, wenn ich vor Liebe
weine"; or the words in the "Betragenen Welt" (474 K.), "Eswird ein
prachtig Fest vollzogen, bald hinkt die Reue hinterdrein." We must
not leave out of account, however, that the standpoint of literary
cultivation accepted by Mozart and his contemporaries had its own
conceptions and standard of poetic representation;[65] a perhaps not
very distant future will doubtless feel equal wonder at some of the
poems set to music in our own day. It is more important to note Mozart's
exposition of his own poetic nature, which led him to grasp and embody,
not so much the words and the form, as the animating idea of the poem
before him. Therefore
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it is that he gives us in his music a depth and truth of emotion which
are wanting in the words. Take, for example, the first song by Weisse,
"Der Zauberer." Divest it of the pastoral costume, which is strange
to us, and of the tame, somewhat clumsy expression, and retain the
situation of a young girl awaking to her first consciousness of love
with timid amazement. This we shall find in Mozart's composition;
certainly not in Weisse's shepherdess.
In one song of passionate and sorrowful expression--"Trennung und
Wiedervereinigung," by Jacobi--two verses, in which the sentiment is
considerably modified, have a fresh setting, and the first melody recurs
only at the close. Others have each verse the same. One of these is
the song "An Chloë" (524 K.), perhaps the best known and liked of all
Mozart's pleasant, easy melodies; but it is the least significant and
song-like of any, being formed after the manner of Italian canzonetti.
"Abendempfindung" (523 K.) is more original and finer in its expression
of emotion and in its form, which appears to yield to its changing
moods, but is in reality both finished and well defined; "Unglückliche
Liebe" (520 K.) is passionate and almost dramatic, a definite situation
being indicated by the poet in the superscription: "Als Louise die
Briefe ihres ungetreuen Liebhabers verbrannte."
But the crown of all the songs, by virtue of its touching expression of
emotion and its charming perfection of form, is unquestionably Goethe's
"Veilchen" (476 K.).[66] In other songs we discern musical genius
divining and bringing to light the poetic germ which lies hidden in the
words; here we have the impression made upon Mozart by true poetry.
It may seem remarkable that so simple a lyrical poem should have been
treated by Mozart as a romance, giving a certain amount of dramatic
detail to the little story; and yet it must not be overlooked that the
masterly touch which repeats the closing words: "Das arme Veilchen! es
war ein herzigs
{VAN SWIETEN AND CLASSICAL MUSIC.}
(374)
Veilchen!" fully reasserts a genuine lyric element.[67] A tendency
to dramatic effect was inherent in Mozart's nature as an artist, and
Goethe's clear and plastic presentation of a simple image, true in every
feature, could not fail to impress him deeply. The poem must have fallen
into his hands by some accident; had he known others of them, he would
certainly have preferred them to Weisse's. Why did he not seek them out?
He does not seem to have sought out any poems for composition, but took
what came, and Goethe had scarcely penetrated to the circle in which he
lived. Had the springtime of German poetry been opened before his day,
what inspirations might he not have drawn from its source!
Mozart's labours as a song composer are not by any means on a level with
those in the other branches of his art, although even here his artistic
nature could not fail to make itself felt. Beethoven followed him
closely in his manner of song-writing, and walked steadily to the last
in the path indicated by Mozart.
FOOTNOTES OF CHAPTER XXIX.
[Footnote 1: Besides the Countess Thun, these were the Princesses Liechtenstein,
Schwarzenburg, Lobkowitz. Kelly, Reminisc., I., p. 209. Car. Pichler,
Denk-würd., I., p. 141. Hormayr, Gesch. Wiens., V., p. 94. Vehse, Gesch.
des Osterr. Hofes, VIII., p. 304.]
[Footnote 2: Burney, Reise, II., p. 160. She told him that she had formerly
played much better, but that she had borne six children, each of whom
had carried away something of her musical power.]
[Footnote 3: Burney, pp. 188, 215.]
[Footnote 4: A. M. Z., XV., p. 668. Schletterer, Reichardt, p. 327.]
[Footnote 5: G. Forster, Sämm. Schr., VII., p. 272.]
[Footnote 6: Meyer, L. Schroder, I., p. 380.]
[Footnote 7: He possessed a house with a beautiful garden, on the high road. At a
concert there given, Nicolai admired the promising pianoforte-playing
of Spielmann's little daughter, who had been instructed by her talented
mother (Reise, IV., p. 554; cf. üI., p. 37, 291).]
[Footnote 8: G. Forster, Sämmtl. Schr., VII., p. 269.]
[Footnote 9: Jahrb. d. Tonk., 1796, pp. 19, 70.]
[Footnote 10: Car. Pichler, Denkw., I., p. 92.]
[Footnote 11: Cristini, Vita di Metastasio, p. 206.]
[Footnote 12: Griesinger, Biogr. Not., p. 13. Carpani, Le Haydine, p. 86.]
[Footnote 13: Barney, Reise, II., pp. 181, 227, 254. Jahrb. d. Tonk., 1796, p.
41.]
[Footnote 14: Barney, Reise, II., p. 260.]
[Footnote 15: Mancini, Rifl. Prat, sul Canto Fig., p. 229.]
[Footnote 16: Wiener Musikzeitg., 1842, p. 70.]
[Footnote 17: Cristini, Vita di Metastasio, p. 211.]
[Footnote 18: Jahrb. d. Tonk., 1796, p. 71.]
[Footnote 19: Kelly, Reminisc., I., p. 252.]
[Footnote 20: Wien. Ztg., 1796, No. 29.]
[Footnote 21: Gyrowetz, Selbtsbiogr., p. 9. Cf. Nohl, Musikerbr., pp.
116,136,145.]
[Footnote 22: Dittersdorf (Selbstbiogr., p. 233) is of this opinion.]
[Footnote 23: Rochlitz gives a comical example (A. M. Z., I., p. 49).]
[Footnote 24: Niemetschek, p. 95.]
[Footnote 25: Rochlitz, A. M. ft, XIV., p. 106. Fur Freunde der Tonkunst, üI., p.
222.]
[Footnote 26: Car. Pichler, Denkw., I., p. 179.]
[Footnote 27: On April 24,1787, he wrote in Mozart's album: "Tibi qui
possis blandus auritas fidibus canons, ducere quercus in amicitiæ
tesseram.--Jos. Franc, a Jacquin."]
[Footnote 28: The Botanic Garden was laid out by Maria Theresa, in the suburbs
(Nicolai, Reise, III., p. 34); Mozart lived in the neighbourhood, which
facilitated his intercourse with the Jacquins.]
[Footnote 29: Wien. Zeitschr., 1842, No. 79, p. 627.]
[Footnote 30: Wien. Zeitschr., 1842, No. 79, p. 625.]
[Footnote 31: Jahrb. d. Tonk., 1796, p..10. Reichardt, Reise n. Wien, I., p. 466.]
[Footnote 32: He was Kelly's companion on a visit to Haydn (Reminisc., I., p.
221).]
[Footnote 33: A. M. Z., XXVI., p. 92.]
[Footnote 34: Brevi Notizie int. ad ale. compositori di musica (Rover., 1827), p.
51.]
[Footnote 35: It is illustrative of Mozart's way of working that at the place
where a very bold and striking harmony occurs in the otherwise simple
air, the bass is figured in the transcription--[See Page Image] as if he
wished to assure himself of the effect of the harmonic succession.]
[Footnote 36: Kelly, Reminisc., I., p. 226.]
[Footnote 37: Mozart writes to Gottfr. von Jacquin (Prague, February 14,1787):
"You may be sure that we managed to get up a little quatuor in
_caritatis camera_, and the 'schöne Bandl hammera." Allusions are also
made to it in his letters to his wife.]
[Footnote 38: I was informed in Vienna that Mozart's widow related the
circumstance in this way, only Van Swieten was erroneously substituted
for Jacquin. A fragment of the original score (with quartet
accompaniment) gives the names of Constanze, Mozart and Jacquin as
singers. In the short preliminary notice to the published "Terzett"
(Ouvres, V., 8), the detail was omitted as unnecessary to be made
public. A quintet which appeared in Vienna in 1856, as Canto a 5 voci
di Mozart, "Oh, come lieto in seno" (244 Anh. K.), is from Ant.
Cartellieri's opera, "Il Segreto," composed in 1804 (Bohemia, 1860, No.
50, p. 448).]
[Footnote 39: Jos. Haydn hung his rooms round with forty-six canons of his own
composition, framed and glazed (Griesinger, Biogr. Notizen, p. 97.
Carpani, Le Haydine, p. 121. Cf. Biogr. Skizze von Mich. Haydn, p. 29).]
[Footnote 40: His _canoni bernesche_ were, according to Carpani (Le Haydine, p.
113), widely disseminated.]
[Footnote 41: Neukomm informed me that a canon by Mich. Haydn, ascribed to
Mozart, was composed in Salzburg with reference to a particular person;
another of his comic canons, suggested by the joking rhymes of the
organ-builder Egedacher in Salzburg, is given in facsimile in the
Cäcilia (XVI., p. 212).]
[Footnote 42: One, known as "Im grab ists finster," is very doubtful, and one
mentioned by Zelter (Briefw., II., p. 128); "Hätts nit gedacht das
Fischgraten so stechen thaten," is by Wenzel Müller.]
[Footnote 43: Especially 553, 554 K.]
[Footnote 44: Especially 555, 562 K., and the above-mentioned "Nascoso" (557 K.).]
[Footnote 45: Meyer, L. Schroder, II., 1, p. 81.]
[Footnote 46: 559 K.: "Décile lectu mihi Mars et jonicu" (the last word is so
managed that it becomes cujoni in singing).]
[Footnote 47: The leaf on which Mozart has hurriedly written down the two canons
is given in facsimile in the Cäcilia (I., p. 179), where a more detailed
account of them is also to be found. The time may be conjectured from
the information which Lipowsky (Baiersches Musik-Lexicon, p. 239) gives
about Peierl.]
[Footnote 48: It appears in the Thematic Catalogue as: "O du eselhafter Martin,"
and is generally known as such. André, and afterwards Prof. Dehn, of
Berlin, possessed this canon in Mozart's handwriting, but with _Jacob,
Jacobisch_ substituted throughout for Martin, Martinsch; and in this way
the quizzing may have been extended to several persons.]
[Footnote 49: A. M. Z., üI., p. 450.]
[Footnote 50: I will only mention the three-part comic or "schoolmaster" mass
which goes under Mozart's and also under Haydn's name; Carpani asserts
(Le Haydine, p. 112) that it is by Aumann, an Augustine monk of St.
Florian, and a learned musician. He also says that it was formerly
customary in Vienna to perform this kind of comic music on St. Cecilia's
Day, at musical parties.]
[Footnote 51: An anonymous quartet "for people who know their notes, and who,
without moving their fingers, only move their bows up and down the
open strings," published with the title "Neugebornes musikalisches
Gleichheitskind" (Prague: Haas), and ascribed to Mozart by the Breslauer
Zeitung (1855 No. 170, p. 1090), with a very unlikely anecdote, is but a
dull affair.]
[Footnote 52: Reissmann, Das deutsche Lied in seiner histor. entwickelung, p.
77. K. E. Schneider, Das musikalische Lied in geschichtl. Entwickelung,
III., p. 195.]
[Footnote 53: Sacred songs do not come within the scope of this observation.]
[Footnote 54: W. H. Riehl, Gluck als Liedercomponist (Augsb. Ahg. Ztg., 1861.
Beil. Echo, 1862, No. 1-3).]
[Footnote 55: A. M. Z., XVI., p. 22. Schletterer, Reichardt, pp. 157, 164.]
[Footnote 56: Musik. Kunstmagazin, I., p. 22.]
[Footnote 57: Reichardt drew attention in 1782 (Musik. Kunstmagazin, I., p. 3)
to the national songs, to which the composer ought to turn for materials
(Cf. Schletterer, Reichardt, I., p. 408).]
[Footnote 58: The first collection of national songs by J. A. P. Schulz appeared
in Berlin, 1782. The character indicated by the title is more definitely
stated in the preface.]
[Footnote 59: Schneider gives a criticism of Mozart as a song-writer (Das
musikal. Lied, III., p. 282).]
[Footnote 60: The news of the repulse of the Spaniards by the English at the
siege of Gibraltar, in 1782, excited the greatest enthusiasm in Vienna,
where sympathy was entirely on the side of the English. Mozart wrote to
his father (October 19, 1782): "I have, indeed, heard the news of
the English victory, to my great delight, for you know that I am an
arch-Englishman!"]
[Footnote 61: Wiener Realzeitg., 1782, p. 765. Retzer, Nachlese zu Sineds Liedern
(Wien, 1784), p. 84.]
[Footnote 62: Three songs (390-392 K.), date unknown, were, judging by the
handwriting, composed early in the Vienna period, if not before Mozart
left Salzburg.]
[Footnote 63: Das Lied der Freiheit (506 K.) appeared in the Wiener Musenalmanach
for 1786. Besides this, so far as I am aware, no songs of Mozart
appeared in his lifetime, except the "Veilchen" (476 K.) and "Trennung
und Wieder-vereinigung" (519 K.), with the title, "Zwei Deutsche Arien
zum Singen beim Klavier in Musik gesetzt von Herr Kapellmeister Mozart"
(Wien bei Artaria, 1790); perhaps, also, "An Chloë" (524 K.) and
"Abendempfindung" (523 K.) (with the same title).]
[Footnote 64: Soon after Mozart's death, many songs, genuine and unauthentic,
appeared singly or in collections. A professedly complete collection,
entitled: "Sämmt-liche Lieder und Gesänge beim Fortepiano von Kapellm.
W. A. Mozart" (Berlin: Rellstab), contains thirty-three songs, of which
only five are genuine (Cf. A. M. Z., I., p. 744). The collection in the
fifth volume of the "Oeuvres" (Breit-kopf and Härtel) is supported
by the authority of the widow, and is thoroughly to be relied on;
it contains, exclusive of compositions not strictly belonging to
our category, twenty-one songs, properly so-called. Of these, the
"Gesellen-reise" (468 K.) and two other Freemasons' songs (483, 484, K.)
were originally written with organ accompaniments: the "Zufriedenheit"
(349 K.), and an unpublished "Komm liebe Zitter" (351 K., composed "1780
fur Herr Lang") with accompaniment for the mandoline. A "Wiegenlied"
with pianoforte accompaniment, "Schlafe mein Prinzchen" (350 K.), was
published subsequently by Nissen (Nachtrag).]
[Footnote 65: Reichardt regrets that his "Lieder geselliger Freude " (1796) can
include none of the compositions of "men so highly esteemed as Haydn,
Mozart, and Dittersdorf," on account of the coarseness of the words
(Vol. I., p. vüi.).]
[Footnote 66: The facsimile of the song, after the original in the possession of
my friend Wilh. Speyer, of Frankfort, is appended to this work.]
[Footnote 67: A reviewer in the Musik Realzeitung (1790, p. 1), extolling the
"Trennungslied," and the "Veilchen," remarks on the taste and delicate
feeling they display, and adds: "Very striking is the treatment of the
words at the close of the song, the pathetic repetition of 'Das arme
Veilchen! es war ein herzigs Veilchen I Cf. Reissmann, "Das deutsche
Lied," p. 146.]