The most distinguished tenor singer in Mannheim, after Raaff, was his pupil Frz. Hartig (b. 1750).[ 47 ]
Church music in Mannheim did not stand on the same high level as the opera.[ 48 ] Schubart complains that little attention was paid to the true church style, that the old masses were despised, and new ones introduced in the most effeminate and mincing operatic style. Even Holzbauer's sacred compositions were far inferior to his operas.[ 49 ] Mozart heard a mass by Holzbauer, "written twenty-six years ago, but very good," as he writes to his father (November 4, 1777); "he writes well, in good church style, with fine passages for the voices and instruments." Notwithstanding, he was far from pleased with the Mannheim church music on the whole, and did not care, as he writes in the same letter, to have one of his own masses performed there:—
Why? On account of their brevity? No, for everything here is short. On account of their church style? Not at all; but only because, under present circumstances, it is necessary to write principally for the instruments, since nothing more wretched than the vocal department can be conceived. Six soprani, six alti, six tenori, and six bassi to twenty violins and twelve basses stand just in the proportion of 0 to 1, do they not, Herr Bullinger? They have only two male sopranos, and both old—just dying out. The soprano prefers singing the alto part, because his upper notes are gone. The few boys that they have are wretched, and the tenors and basses are like singers at a funeral.
The organ was still worse provided for, and Mozart pours out the full measure of his scorn on the two court organists:—
They have two organists here, for whose sake alone it would be worth taking the journey to Mannheim. I had a good opportunity of hearing them, for it is the custom here to omit the Benedictus, and for the organist to go on playing instead. The first time I heard the second organist, and the next time the first; but I have a better opinion of the second than of the first. When I heard him I asked, "Who is at the organ?" "Our second organist." "He plays wretchedly." When I MANNHEIM. heard the other I asked, "Who is that?" "Our first organist." "He plays more wretchedly still." I suppose if they were shaken up together the result would be something worse still. It makes one die of laughing to see them. The second goes to the organ like a child to the mud; he shows his trade in his face. The first wears spectacles. I stood at the organ and watched him for the sake of instruction. He lifts his hands high up at every note. His tour de force is the use of the sext stop; but he oftener uses the quint, or the octave stop. He often playfully lets fall the right hand, and plays only with the left. In a word, he does as he likes; he is so far completely master of his instrument.
But Mannheim was distinguished most particularly for its instrumental music, the orchestra being unanimously considered the finest in Europe. It was more numerous and better appointed, especially as to wind instruments, than was customary at the time.[ 50 ] It was here that Mozart first became acquainted with the clarinet as an orchestral instrument. "Oh, if we only had clarinetti!" he writes (December 3, 1778). "You cannot think what a splendid effect a symphony makes with flutes, oboes, and clarinets."[ 51 ]
Burney had only one fault to find, a fault common to all orchestras of the day, viz., the occasionally defective intonation of the wind instruments.[ 52 ] The Mannheim orchestra was not only well-appointed and strong, but uniform and certain in execution, with delicate gradations of tone until then THE MANNHEIM ORCHESTRA. unknown.[ 53 ] Piano and forte were rendered in the most varied degrees; crescendo and diminuendo were first invented at Mannheim, and for a long time other orchestras made no attempt at imitation;[ 54 ] other means, too, such as the skilful blending of the wind and stringed instruments,[ 55 ] were made the most of to produce a well-arranged, finely gradationed whole.
The excellence of the Mannheim orchestra—whose performances excited as much admiration among contemporaries[ 56 ] as those of the Paris orchestra under Habeneck's conductor-ship in our own time—gained for it the honour of taking a regular share in the Elector's concerts (p. 288).[ 57 ] The band contained some of the first artists and virtuosi of the day, such as Cannabich, Toeschi, Cramer, Stamitz, and Frànzel among the violins, Wendling as a flute-player, Le Brun and Ramm as oboists, Ritter as bassoonist, and Lang as hom-player. But its fame rested chiefly on the excellent discipline of the orchestra, which, among so many first-rate artists, it was no easy task to maintain.[ 58 ] The kapellmeister at the time of Mozart's visit was Christian Cannabich (1731-1798), who had succeeded Stamitz in 1775. His compositions were doubtless overrated by his contemporaries; but he was admirable as a solo violinist, and still better as an MANNHEIM. orchestral leader, besides being an excellent teacher. The majority of the violinists in the Mannheim orchestra had issued from his school, and to this was mainly owing the uniformity of their execution and delivery. Cannabich, who was more of an organiser than an originator, had experimented with every condition and device for producing instrumental effects, and he laid special stress on technical perfection of execution, in order to insure good tutti players. Uniting, as he did, intelligence and a genius for direction[ 59 ] to "a true German heart,"[ 60 ] and a moral and temperate life, he possessed the confidence and esteem of his musicians, and was therefore the better able to bring their performances to the highest excellence.
The many-sidedness of musical performances in Mannheim had helped to form a very original taste, and Karl Theodor himself was careful to encourage composers and virtuosi of all kinds.[ 61 ] The groundwork, both of thought and instruction, was Italian certainly; but the fact that the care of musical affairs was intrusted to German musicians, had an influence of its own, even before the national element had asserted its supremacy in Germany. French influence, too, made itself felt side by side with the Italian; the connection maintained by the Elector Palatine with the court of Versailles was profitable in every way to his musicians. Finally, the partiality for instrumental music which we have already noted must have tended to give an independent impulse to musical production in Mannheim.
His stay in a town so thoroughly and genuinely musical,[ 62 ] must have had a more abiding effect upon Mozart than was exercised by Salzburg, Augsburg, or even Munich. He came to Mannheim at a time when the minds of men were full of fresh and eager aspirations after artistic and literary CHR. DANNER. excellence; and fortunately for him the interest was mainly centred on his own peculiar province—the drama. We cannot imagine, however, that he was dazzled or abashed by the wealth of musical knowledge, or by the accomplishments of the noted musicians with whom he came in contact; his confidence in his own powers preserved him from any feeling of constraint or distrust. At first he was surprised at the small amount of attention which his presence excited. On the day after his arrival he made the acquaintance of the violinist, Chr. Danner (b. 1745), and went with him to rehearsal.[ 63 ] "I thought that I should not be able to keep from laughing, when I was introduced to people. Some of them, who knew me per renommée, were polite and respectful; but the rest, who did not know anything of me, stared at me in the most ludicrous manner. They think because I am little and young that there can be nothing great or old in me; but they shall soon see." Mozart always resented, even in later years, any reference to his small stature and unimposing appearance, even when it was made by way of contrast to his great performances.
