CHAPTER XXXIX. OFFICIAL AND OCCASIONAL WORKS.
FROM a practical point of view, Mozart's "Don Giovanni" did no more than his "Figaro" towards improving his position in Vienna. His painful pecuniary circumstances may be gathered from his letters to Puchberg in June, 1788. A glance at the catalogue of his compositions after his return from Prague is sufficient to indicate the fact of their having been produced at the pleasure of pupils or patrons:—
1787. December 11. Lied, "Die kleine Spinnerin" (531 K.).
1788. January 3. Allegro and andante for pianoforte in F major (533 K.).
January 14, 23, 27. Tänze (534-536 K.).
February 24. Pianoforte concerto in D major (537 K., part 20). March 4. Air for Madame Lange, "Ah se in ciel" (538 K.). March 5. Teutsches Kriegslied for Baumann (539 K.).
March 19. Adagio for pianoforte, B minor (540 K.).
March 24, 28, 30. Pieces for insertion in "Don Giovanni" (525, 527, 528 K.).
In May. Arietta for Signor Albertarelli, "Un bacio di mano" in the opera of "Le Gelosie Fortunate" (541 K.).
June 22. Terzet for piano, violin, and violoncello, E major (542 K.). OFFICIAL AND OCCASIONAL WORKS. 1788. June 26. Symphony, E flat major (543 K.).
A short march for violin, flute, viola, horn, and violoncello, in D major, unknown (544 K.).
A short pianoforte sonata for beginners in C major (545 K.).
A short adagio for two violins, viola, and bass, to a fugue in C minor (546 K.).
July 10. Short pianoforte sonata for beginners, with violin, F major (547 K.).
July 14. Terzet for piano, violin, and violoncello, in C major (548 K.).
July 16. Canzonette a 2 soprani e basso, "Più non si trovano" (549 K.).
July 25. Symphony in G minor (550 K.).
August 10. Symphony in C major (551 K.).
August 11. Ein Lied beim Auszug ins Feld, unknown (552 K.).[ 1 ]
September 2. Eight four-part and two three-part Canoni (553-562 K.).
September 27. Divertimento for violin, viola, and violoncello, in E flat major (563 K.).
October 27. Terzet for piano, violin, and violoncello, in G major (564 K.).
October 30, December 6, December 24. Tänze (565, 567, 568 K.).
1789. January. German air, "Ohne Zwang aus freiem Triebe" (569 K.).
February. Pianoforte sonata in B flat major (570 K.).
February 21. Tänze (571 K.).
The symphonies in E flat major, G minor, and C major, written in the three summer months of 1788, show that the inner strength was not slumbering; but Mozart's appointment as chamber-composer to the Emperor gave him no impulse to composition, and his official duties were limited to the preparation of music for the masked balls in the imperial Redoutensale.[ 2 ]
These Redoutensale are situated in the wing of the Hof-burg, which forms the right side of the Josephsplatz, and originally contained a theatre, where, upon festive occasions, operas and ballets were performed before the court; after the erection of the Burgtheater, in 1752, the old Hoftheater was MASKED BALLS. converted into the large and small Redoutensaal now existing, and concerts, balls, and other entertainments given there. The balls were masked, and took place on every Carnival Sunday, on Shrove-Tuesday, and on the three last days of Carnival. Joseph II. favoured them as a means of drawing different classes together, and frequently appeared at them with his court; all ranks mixed freely, and considerable license was allowed. The usual dances were minuets, country dances, and waltzes, in the last of which only the lower classes joined, on account of the crowding—just as is the case in "Don Giovanni" (p. 163). The management of the Redoute was generally in the same hands as that of the Opera-Theatre, the two being farmed out together. The court monopolised the Opera-Theatre in 1778 and the Kàrnthnerthortheater in 1785, and kept the control over them until August, 1794. Thus it came about that the court theatrical-director ordered the dance music, and although the pay was only a few ducats for a set of dances, the services of good composers were claimed for the purpose; Haydn, Eybler, Gyrowetz, Hummel, and Beethoven all composed for the Redoute, as well as Mozart.[ 3 ] During the years succeeding his appointment—1788, 1789, 1791—Mozart composed a number of different dances for the masked balls:—
1788. January 14. Country dance "Das Donnerwetter" (534 K.).
January 23. Country dance, "Die Bataille" (535 K.).
January 27. Six waltzes (536 K.).
October 30. Two country dances (565 K.).
December 6. Six waltzes (567 K.).
December 24. Twelve minuets (568 K.).
1789. February 21. Six waltzes (571 K.).
December. Twelve minuets (585 K.).
Twelve waltzes. N.B.—A country dance, "Der Sieg vom Helden Coburg" (against the Turks, October, 1789) (586, 587 K.).
1791. January 23. Six minuets for the Redoute (599 K.).
January 29. Siz waltzes (600 K.).
February 5. Four minuets and four waltzes (601, 602 K.).
Two country dances. (603 K.).
OFFICIAL AND OCCASIONAL WORKS.
1791. February 12. Two minuets and two waltzes (604, 605 K.).
February 28. Country dance, "II. Trionfo delle Donne" (607 K.).
March 6. Country dance, "Die Leyer" (610 K.).[ 4 ]
Waltz with Leyer-trio (611 K.).[ 5 ]
No dances are chronicled in 1790, the illness and subsequent death of the Emperor (February 20) having doubtless put a temporary stop to such entertainments. Those in the list are for the most part composed for full orchestra, and those with which I am acquainted make no claim to be considered otherwise than as actual dance music, with pleasing melodies and fresh rhythm—innocent recreations, betraying the master's hand in touches here and there.[ 6 ] As the only musical task imposed upon him by virtue of his office, they might well give rise to his bitter remark that his salary was too high for what he did, too low for what he could do (Vol. II., p. 276).
A commission more worthy his fame was intrusted to him by Van Swieten, who, having brought with him from Berlin an enthusiastic admiration for Handel's oratorios, sought to introduce them in Vienna. He not only gave frequent concerts at his residence in the Renngasse, for the exclusive performance of classical music, but he arranged grand performances of Handel's oratorios, supported by all the vocal and instrumental forces at his command. He induced several art-loving noblemen (among them the Princes Schwarzen-berg, Lobkowitz, and Dietrichstein, Counts Appony, Batthiany, Franz Esterhazy, &c.) to cover by a subscription the cost of these performances. They took place generally in ARRANGEMENT OF HANDEL'S ORATORIOS. the great hall of the Court Library (of which Van Swieten was chief director); sometimes at the palace of one or other of the patrons, and always in the afternoon, by daylight. There was no charge for admission, the audience being invited guests. The performances were arranged according to circumstances, taking place generally in the spring, before the nobility left Vienna for their country estates. The performers were principally members of the Court-Kapelle and of the operatic orchestra, and the preparation was undertaken entirely by Van Swieten, in whose house the rehearsals took place. He himself arranged "Athalia," and very probably also "The Choice of Hercules," for a performance after Mozart's death. The conductorship was at first intrusted to Joseph Starzer, who had arranged "Judas Maccabæus";[ 7 ] after his death, on April 22, 1787, Mozart took his place, and young Joseph Weigl accompanied on the pianoforte.[ 8 ]
"Acisand Galatea" was first performed, Mozart's arrangement of it appearing in his own catalogue, in November, 1788; Caroline Pichler retained in her old age a lively recollection of the impression made on her by this performance.[ 9 ] It was followed by the "Messiah," in March, 1789.[ 10 ] Great expectations were excited by this oratorio, by reason of the magnificent performances of it which had been given at the London Handel festivals in 1784 and 1785,[ 11 ] at the cathedral OFFICIAL AND OCCASIONAL WORKS. in Berlin, by Hiller, on May 19, 1786 (with Italian words),[ 12 ] at the University Church in Leipzig,[ 13 ] on November 3,1786, and May 11,1787, and at Breslau[ 14 ] on May 30,1788. Finally, in July, 1790, Mozart arranged the "Ode for St. Cecilia's Day" and the "Feast of Alexander." It was considered necessary, in order not to distract the attention of the public by the unusual effects of Handel's orchestra, to modify the instrumentation.[ 15 ] Even Hiller remarks (Nachricht, p. 14), "Many improvements may be made in Handel's compositions by the employment of the wind instruments, according to the fashion of the present day. In the whole of the 'Messiah,' Handel appears never to have thought of the oboes, flutes, or French horns, all of which are so often employed to heighten or strengthen the effect in our present orchestras. I need not remark that the alterations must be made with care and discretion." But he went far beyond these "innocent" views; he shortened and altered the composition itself, especially in the airs and recitatives, and wrote "an entirely new score, as far as may be what Handel would himself have written at the present day" (Betracht-ungen, p. 16). He was convinced that "only a pedantic lover of old fashions, or a pedantic contemner of what is good in the new ones" would find fault with this proceeding (Betracht-ungen, p. 18). The object with which Mozart undertook to rearrange the instrumentation of Handel's works was the strengthening and enriching of the orchestra to enable it to dispense with the organ or harpsichord, to which the working-out of the harmonies had originally been intrusted. This was principally effected by the introduction of wind ARRANGEMENT OF HANDEL'S ORATORIOS. instruments. Mozart's autograph scores of "Acis and Galatea" (566 K.), of "The Ode for St. Cecilia's Day" (592 K.),[ 16 ] and of the "Feast of Alexander" (591 K.),[ 17 ] preserved in the Royal Library in Berlin, show how he set about his task. The voice parts and stringed instruments have been transferred to his score, and left as Handel wrote them, with the exception that where Handel has provided a violin part, Mozart employs the second violin and viola to fill in the harmonies. The wind instruments have been altogether omitted by the copyist in order to leave Mozart free play. Wherever Handel has employed them characteristically, they are so preserved, but when, as often happens, the oboes are the sole representatives of the wind instruments, Mozart has proceeded independently, sometimes replacing them by other single instruments, frequently clarinets—flutes only very occasionally, sometimes introducing the whole body of wind instruments. This he does also in some places where Handel has not even employed oboes, if it is needed to give force or fulness to the whole.
The frequent introduction of the clarinets replaced the full and powerful organ tones, but without any express imitation of that particular sound-effect by Mozart. The whole character of the instrumentation was necessarily modified, and even the portions which were literally OFFICIAL AND OCCASIONAL WORKS. transcribed from Handel's original have a very different effect in their altered surroundings. Mozart has proceeded quite as independently in dealing with the harpsichord parts. Not content with filling in the prescribed or suggested harmonies and regulating the due succession of chords, he has also made an independent disposition of the middle parts and given them free movement. The subjects employed by Handel are further developed, and sometimes a new motif has occurred to him as an enlivenment to the accompaniment, in which case the additional wind instruments are employed to advantage. The harpsichord is treated, in the main, as might be expected from a first-rate organist of that time, and it is difficult at the present day to reproduce what so much depends upon the free co-operation of the performer.[ 18 ] The objection which may be raised against the alteration and partial remodelling of a carefully thought-out and finished work by a strange hand is unanswerable. The most loving and intelligent treatment cannot avoid inequality and incongruity; compared with what has been literally transmitted, every modification reflects, both in kind and degree, the individual learning and taste of the adapter. On the whole, however, Mozart's arrangements evince the greatest reverence for Handel, combined with a masterly use of all available resources, and they afford a proof as interesting as it is instructive of the study which Mozart had bestowed upon Handel, of the spirit in which he undertook his task, and of his thorough and delicate apprehension of foreign creations.
Mozart had heard the "Messiah" in 1777 at Mannheim, but apparently it had made no more lasting impression upon him than upon the public. Now, however, he approached the masterpiece with far other predilections, and the adaptation opened to him many points of interest. The three oratorios already mentioned were so moderate in length as to be suited for performance entire, but the greatly THE "MESSIAH." disproportionate length of the "Messiah" made its curtailment a necessary part of its adaptation (572 K.). Several pieces were omitted, and others were shortened; but a proof that other and more important alterations were contemplated is afforded by a letter from Van Swieten to Mozart (March 21, 1789), given by Niemetschek (p. 46): "Your idea of turning the words of the unimpassioned air into a recitative is excellent; and in case you should not have retained the words, I have copied and now send them to you. The musician who is able to adapt and to amplify Handel's work so reverently and so judiciously, that on the one side he satisfies modern taste, and on the other preserves the integrity of his subject, has appreciated the great master's work, has penetrated to the source of his inspiration, and will doubtless draw from the same well himself. It is thus that I regard what you have accomplished, and I need not therefore again assure you of my entire confidence, but only beg you to let me have the recitative as soon as possible." Nevertheless, this idea, judging from the published score, was not carried out. In the arrangement of the orchestra, Mozart has gone further than in the previous works. Sometimes there has been an external necessity for altering even characteristic instrumentation, as in the air, "The trumpet shall sound" (No. 44). There were no solo trumpeters such as existed in Handel's time, and an attempt was made to preserve the effect as far as possible by rearrangement. He has altered, however, even without such occasion as this, and many instances of instrumental arrangement might be cited as far transgressing the bounds within which interference with a work of art is justifiable.[ 19 ] In themselves these same portions are admirable alike in their sound-effects and musical treatment, and in the delicate discrimination with which Mozart has made his additions appear as the natural development of Handel's ideas; we can see how the fascination of continuing the weaving of the threads from the master's hands has tempted OFFICIAL AND OCCASIONAL WORKS. him to overstep the boundary. In doing so, however, the connection of the parts has been lost, and the unity of the whole has been disturbed. One of the most remarkable examples is the air, "The people that walked in darkness," in which the wind instruments added by Mozart are foreign to Handel's purpose, but nevertheless of very fine effect, and certainly not deserving of the reproach of "doleful sound-painting" ("betrübter Malerei").[ 20 ] It was to be expected that Mozart's adaptation should attract both praise[ 21 ] and blame,[ 22 ] while those, such as Rochlitz[ 23 ] and Zelter,[ 24 ] who went deeper into the subject found much that was excellent and also much that was faulty in the work, at the same time that they gave due consideration to the occasion that called it forth and the design with which it was undertaken.
It must not be forgotten that these adaptations were undertaken by Mozart solely for Van Swieten's performances, and that his individual taste and the exigences of the representation must have exercised considerable influence upon them. He must certainly not be credited with the wish to improve upon Handel;[ 25 ] his intention has rather been so to popularise his works as to bring them home to the ADAPTATIONS OF EARLIER WORKS. public, without altering any of the more important parts. That the adaptations should have been published and accepted as regular improved editions of the original was not his fault, though he has often had to do penance for it. It must be remembered also that the historic theory which holds that every work of art should be carefully preserved in the form wherein its author has embodied it was then non-existent.
The majority of compositions have been directly the result of circumstances determining the direction of the artist's energies; they laboured for the future while seeking to satisfy the present. They therefore made free use of their works for subsequent elaboration, altering what was needful, and adapting them to the particular occasions on which they were performed by means of additions, omissions, and alterations. The same freedom was thought allowable with the works of other masters, especially those of an earlier time, so that the public might the more easily and comfortably enjoy what was set before it. A knowledge of what was then thought excusable in this direction[ 26 ] will serve to increase our respect for the artistic spirit in which Mozart performed his task.[ 27 ] The scientific and historic ideas which have permeated the cultivation of our times require the enjoyment of a work of art to be founded upon historical insight and appreciation, and to this end it must be represented exactly as the artist has produced it. But this principle, true as it is in itself, can only be applied with considerable practical limitations, and it is doubtful how far the general public is capable of apprehending and approving it; in any case it is much to be desired that the fashion in such matters should not be set by pedants.[ 28 ]