On March 8, 1766, they travelled back to the Hague, to assist at the festivities given in honour of the Prince of Orange, who came of age on that day. Wolfgang was ordered to compose six sonatas for piano and violin for the Princess of Weilburg, which were printed with a dedication (26 to 31, K.). In addition, he wrote several songs for the same princess, and other "trifles," which were also printed, among them pianoforte variations on an air composed for the occasion (24 K.), and upon another air, "which is sung, played, and whistled all over Holland." This was the song, "Wilhelmus von Nassau,"[40] written and composed by Philipp von Mamix (d. 1598), on the Prince of Orange (d. 1584), which soon spread far and wide[41] and became the national song of Holland. Mattheson cites it as an instance of a national war-song, which had inspired a whole people to great deeds, and had played an important part in the war and in the celebration of peace, in 1749.[42] For one concert, Wolfgang composed an orchestral piece after the manner of a "Concerto grosso," in which a clavier obbligato was introduced with the other instruments and called it a "Galimathias musicum." Sketches for this in Wolfgang's handwriting, with his father's corrections here and there, have FIRST JOURNEY. been preserved (32 K).[43] After an easy andante, which serves as an introduction, come thirteen movements, generally only in two parts, varying both in measure and time. There is a variety of instrumentation unmistakably present, and the horns are specially favoured; there is one passage which imitates the bagpipes.
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The whole winds up with an elaborate movement on the first part of the national song—
which is partly fugued, partly worked out in a free imitation, showing, as one might expect, the uncertain hand of a boy. But it is plain that he was considered as an established composer. His father's talent, too, met with flattering recognition; his Violin Method was translated into Dutch, and dedicated to the Prince of Orange on his accession.[44] The publisher brought it to Leopold Mozart, accompanied by the organist, who invited Wolfgang to play on the great organ at Haarlem, which he did on the following day. At length they travelled by way of Mechlin to Paris, where they arrived on May 10, and established themselves in a lodging provided by their friend Grimm. The progress made both by Wolfgang and his sister was acknowledged by all; but the public are more easily excited by the phenomenal performances of an infant prodigy than by the incomparably more important development of an extraordinary genius, and the interest in the children does not appear to have been so great as on their former visit. Nevertheless, they played repeatedly at Versailles; the Princess of Orleans, afterwards Duchess of Condé, thought herself honoured in presenting Wolfgang with a little rondo for piano and violin of her own composition.[45] Prince Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand von Braunschweig, the Braunschweig Achilles, as Winckelmann calls him,[46] who PARIS, SWITZERLAND, 1766. had won his laurels in the seven years' war, sought them out in Paris. "He is pleasant, handsome, and amiable," writes L. Mozart, "and as soon as I went in, he asked me if I were the author of the Violin School." He had not only intelligence and good taste in music, but played the violin himself so well "that he might have made his fortune by it."[47] He said of Wolfgang that many a kapellmeister had lived and died without having learnt as much as the boy knew now. He entered into competition with the most distinguished artists on the organ, the piano, or in improvisation, and either came off victor or with abundant honour. On June 12, he composed a little Kyrie for four voices with stringed accompaniment (33 K), that is precise and simple, but in style and form, and in the purity of its melody, approaches nearer to the Mozart of after life than any other composition of his boyhood.
Leaving Paris on July 9 they obeyed the summons of the Prince of Condé to Dijon, where the Estates of Burgundy were assembled. Next they stayed a month at Lyons, and made the acquaintance of a certain Meurikofer, a merchant, who was never tired of the joke of making Wolfgang sing an Italian song with spectacles on his nose. At Ghent, where they found everything in confusion, they made no stay; at Lausanne they remained five days at the request of several distinguished persons, especially of Prince Louis of Wurtemberg, brother of Duke Charles; they were a week at Berne, and a fortnight at Zurich; guests of the Gessner family, from whom they received much kindness, and parted with regret. Among other books presented to them as keepsakes, Salomon Gessner gave them a copy of his works, with the following inscription:—
Accept this gift, dear friends, in the same friendly spirit in which I offer it. May it preserve my memory fresh among you. May you, venerable parents, long enjoy the sight of the happiness of your children wherein consists the most precious fruit of their education; may they be as happy as their merit is extraordinary! In the tenderest youth FIRST JOURNEY. they are an honour to their country and the admiration of the world. Happy parents! happy children! Never forget the friend whose esteem and love for you will never be less lively than at this moment.
Salomo Gesner.
Zurich, August 3, 1766.
Taking Winterthur and Schafhausen by the way, they journeyed to Donaueschingen, where they were expected by Prince Joseph Wenzeslaus von Fürstenberg. They remained here twelve days, and played every evening from five to nine o'clock, always producing some novelty; they were richly rewarded by the Prince, who was moved to tears at their departure. At Biberach, Count Fugger von Babenhausen arranged an organ competition between Wolfgang and Sixtus Bachmann, who was two years older than Wolfgang, and had attracted great admiration by his musical performances. "Each tried his utmost to surpass the other, and the competition increased the fame of both."[48] Then they went by way of Ulm, Günzburg, and Dillingen to Munich. Arriving here on November 8, they dined with the Elector on the following day. Wolfgang sat next to him and composed a piece in pencil, taking for theme a few bars which the Elector hummed to him; this piece he played after dinner to the astonishment of all the party.
An indisposition with which Wolfgang was here seized seems to have put a stop to a journey to Regensburg which had been planned, and about the end of November, 1766, the Mozart family re-entered Salzburg.