An unsuspected wealth of fresh resources was brought to light by the "Biographie W. A. Mozarts," by G. N. v. Nissen. Leipzig, 1828 (with an appendix). In order to estimate this book justly, and to make a right use of it, it is necessary to ascertain how and whence it proceeded, a task of considerably more difficulty than merely mocking and railing at it.
Nissen, who came to Vienna, after Mozart's death, as a Danish diplomatist, became acquainted with his widow, and interested himself in her unprotected condition. He had a great turn for business matters, and was fond of arranging papers, writing letters, and even copying, without understanding what it was that he was occupied about. He therefore willingly undertook to put Mozart's effects in order, to assist the widow in all her business arrangements, and to carry on her correspondence. A long series of letters which he wrote in her name show him to have been a well-meaning, sensible man, somewhat over-circumstantial in his style of writing. After his marriage with Mozart's widow he felt it his duty to labour with the same conscientious care for his memory as he had formerly done for his property, and he employed the leisure of his remaining years, which were spent at Salzburg, in carrying out this design.
We ought to own ourselves deeply indebted to him, for without his care the most important documents and traditions would have been hopelessly lost. Mozart's sister was then living at Salzburg; her recollections, and those of his wife, afforded an abundance of characteristic traits, and the carefully preserved papers and family correspondence, were a rich mine of authentic documents.
Besides a number of separate deeds, letters, and memoranda, he had at his disposal: Leopold Mozart's letters to Hagenauer during the journey to Vienna (September, 1762, to January, 1763); during the great journey (from June, 1763, to November, 1766); during the Vienna journey (September, 1767, to December, 1768); letters both of the father and son to their family during the Italian journey (December, 1769, to March, 1771; from August 13, 1771, to December, 1771; from October, 1772, to March, 1773); from Vienna (July, 1773, to September, 1773); from Munich (December, 1774, to March, 1775); Wolfgang's and his mother's letters home, together with the answers of Leopold and his daughter during the journey to Paris (September, 1777, to January, 1779); Wolfgang's correspondence with his father and sister during his journey to Munich and residence in Vienna. Wolfgang's letters come down to 1784, his father's to 1781.
Nissen possessed both the industry and the goodwill to turn these treasures to account; unhappily these qualities do not suffice for such an undertaking. Not to mention that he has no idea of adaptation or of description, he had neither taste nor cultivation in music, nor tact to distinguish what was trivial from what was important; nor was he capable of accurately conveying an idea. Having had at my service a portion of the documents made use of by him, I have been able to check him, and to form an idea of his mode of proceeding. He is never dishonest, never alters with intent to deceive; but he deals with his documents in the most summary manner possible. He seldom gives them entire, but only so much of them as he considers of interest. Unfortunately he is no judge either of what is musically important nor psychologically interesting, and thus his selection is often singularly unhappy. He was influenced, too, by consideration for distinguished living personages, and by the prejudices of his wife, who naturally wished many family circumstances to remain untouched; his sins, however, are always those of omission. But silence, by obscuring the connection of events, and by concealing the motives of actions, may be as prejudicial as actual LIFE OF MOZART. misstatement to historical accuracy, and the sufferer by a too tender consideration for the feelings of others is invariably the person whose character it is attempted to depict. Fortunately, for the most important years of Mozart's life from 1777 onwards, I have been able myself to make use of the family correspondence; you will see what a different conception I have thereby been enabled to form of this period. It is of less importance, but nevertheless a drawback, that Nissen has thought good to alter the details of style and expression in many of the letters. Neither father nor son were in need of such emendations, both writing clearly and shrewdly, and with an individuality all their own; but even were this not the case, and Nissen the man (which he was not) to correct their defects, such an effacement of individual character would remain altogether inexcusable.
Had Nissen confined himself to the publication of the letters and extracts, together with such information as he could gather from Mozart's wife and sister, or from other credible witnesses, he would have done posterity important service. But in attempting more than this he verified the saying of Hesiod that "the whole is less than the part." Many manuscripts, newspapers, journals, &c., treating of Mozart's professional doings, had been preserved among the family archives; not content with these, Nissen has taken incredible pains to collect whatever else had been written concerning Mozart; he has then copied out all that appeared to him important, and has arranged these extracts categorically as seemed to him good, putting together, for instance, all that related to one particular work; finally, he has huddled together these heterogeneous fragments without design, connection, or explanation. If this confused and ill-proportioned mass is to be made use of at all, it must be separated into its component parts, and these must be restored to their proper place and connection; it may fairly be taken for granted that where any idea or judgment is expressed, Nissen is not speaking in his own person. He has, however, simplified the task of restoring each fragment to its proper position by a catalogue of the INTRODUCTION. writings in which Mozart is mentioned; and although some documents made use of by him have since disappeared,
I have been able in almost every case to discover his authorities. In most cases these are of little value; but among much that is worthless, there are here and there communications resting on family traditions, which Nissen has tacitly appropriated with but slight alterations; it is undoubtedly desirable to be able to appeal to the original in such cases, but for the most part they speak for themselves, and are seldom of importance.
The statements I have made were necessary for the proper use of Nissen's work; but you must not, therefore, imagine that I am unjust towards him. True the mass of printed matter is enough to drive one to absolute despair; but when it is remembered that a large proportion of the documents he embodies have since dissappeared, we must be grateful to the man who has enabled us to take so comprehensive a glance into an artist's life, and who has laboured with unselfish reverence for Mozart's memory, while a succeeding generation did not think it worth while even to preserve the documents which Nissen made use of.
It must not be lost sight of either, that Nissen did not see his work through the press; he died on March 24, 1826, before it was put in hand, and it is quite possible that he would have improved it in many ways upon final revision.