Wolfgang Amadé Mozart - The Compleat Mozart (Neal Zaslaw)
Instrumental music
Dances
Background and overview
Mozart was involved with dance music and dancing at every stage of his life. The first pieces he learned at the harpsichord as an infant were minuets, as were many of his earliest attempts at composition. He, his family, and his friends all loved dancing, which they did at home as well as at parties and balls, especially during carnival, the festive season between Christmas and Lent. The house in which the Mozart family lived in Salzburg from 1773 had a large room, the dancing-master’s room, in which they held rehearsals, concerts, and dances.
Mozart’s dances range from the informality of Ländlers, Alpine folkdances that were the forerunner of the waltz, to the popularity of German dances and contredanses, descended from English country dances, to the old-fashioned formality of minuets, to the brilliance of formal ballets choreographed for professional dancers in the theater.
N.Z.
The dances fall into three main chronological groups: works of his childhood and youth until 1778, written for various Salzburg festivities and simply scored; the ballet Les petits riens, 1778, and the ballets for Lucio Silla, 1772, and for Idomeneo, 1780-81; and finally, the most important group, the dances written for the Redoutensaal, the famous ballroom that still stands in Vienna, once the scene of carnival balls that were patronized by the Emperor and attended by people of all classes. These last dances owe their existence to Mozart’s appointment on December 7, 1787, as k. k. Kammerkompositeur (Royal Imperial Chamber Composer); they were mostly composed for the carnivals of 1789 and 1791 – that is, after the last three symphonies (K. 543, 550, and 551). Here Mozart evolves within the set eight-measure periods a rich and subtle scoring of a kind not found anywhere else in his music. Whoever would know Mozart, must hear this music.
E.S.
K6 33B Untitled Piece [Contredanse] in F major
Origin: Zurich, October 1766
Scoring: piano? orchestra?
On the return home from London, via The Hague and Paris, the Mozart family paused in Zurich to give a concert. Wolfgang scrawled this short binary piece on the back of a handbill advertising the concert, perhaps as an impromptu demonstration of his talent. It consists of a melody and bass line notated in piano score. In modern times it has been orchestrated and performed.
W.C.
K2 65a 7 Minuets (K6 61b)
Origin: Salzburg, January 26, 1769
Scoring: 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: G, D, A, F, C, G, D
These are the first minuets Mozart wrote for dancing, only for strings but full of interest. Oddly enough, they depart frequently from the inevitable eight-measure periods of the later dances, and they vary greatly in mood. They are, moreover, the only of Mozart’s Salzburg dances to have been precisely dated by the composer.
E.S.
K3 61g/II Minuet in C major
Origin: Salzburg, early 1769
Scoring: piano? orchestra?
Mozart wrote this minuet on the back of a single sheet on which he wrote the Symphonic Minuet in A major, K. 61g/I (see the note on p. 173). The Trio is almost identical with that of the orchestral minuet K. 104, No. 1, probably written about two years later (see below). Thus it seems possible that the dance was originally conceived for orchestra.
E.S.
K. 94 Minuet in D major (K6 73h)
Origin: Salzburg, 1769
Scoring: piano? orchestra?
This minuet, without trio, exists only in piano score, but it could not have been intended for key board for it contains some unplayable tenths. The manuscript is in the hand of Leopold Mozart, but the music might well be genuine Mozart.
E.S.
K. 123 Contredanse in B flat major (K6 73g)
Origin: Rome, April 13 or 14, 1770
Scoring: 2 oboes, 2 horns, 2 violins, basso
In April 1770 Leopold Mozart arrived in Rome with his son. “After luncheon we went to St. Peter’s”, he proudly wrote home, “... and actually stood near the Pope”. Leopold continued in his leisurely way about the weather, acquaintances, and digestive powders, concluding with greetings from Wolfgang, who is feeling fine and “encloses a Contredanse”. K. 123 is this very dance. This tiny piece is a jewel of unusual perfection, a sort of child’s view of Handel, utterly disarming in its innocence.
E.S.
K. 122 Minuet in E flat major (K6 73t)
Origin: Bologna, August 1770
Scoring: 2 oboes, 2 horns, 2 violins, basso
During the Mozarts’ first tour to Italy, both Wolfgang’s and Leopold’s letters contain occasional references to dance music being sent home. One of these is the contredanse K. 123 (see above). Another, a minuet “danced by Monsieur Pick” (Carlo de Picq) on stage in Milan, is mentioned in a letter of April 1770, but the music is not preserved. In the same vein, the short minuet K. 122 appears to have been included in a letter of August 1770, to judge from a postscript remark in Leopold’s hand on the autograph manuscript, but its origin and purpose are unknown. Since, like K. 123, it lacks a viola part, it was presumably intended for the ballroom rather than the stage or concert hall.
W.C.
K. 104 6 Minuets (K6 61e)
Origin: Salzburg, late 1770 or early 1771
Scoring: 2 oboes (1 doubling piccolo), 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: C, F, C, A*, G, G [*without trio]
The first two minuets of K. 104 are practically identical to two by Michael Haydn which were almost certainly written earlier. The manuscript of K. 104 is in Mozart’s own hand, so it is clear that he did not hesitate to “borrow” these compositions. We know from Mozart’s letters to his sister in these years that he was always interested in Haydn’s latest dances.
E.S.
K. 103 19 Minuets (K6 61d)
Origin: Salzburg, early summer 1772
Scoring: 2 oboes (doubling flutes), 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: C, G, D, F, C, A*, D, F, C, G, F, C, G, Bb, Bb, E*, A*, D*, G* [*without trio]
These pieces were written hurriedly; this is certain from the writing, from four consecutive fifths (grammatical errors which were rare in Mozart), and from his general habit in composing music of this kind. Originally Mozart composed twenty minuets, but he seems to have grouped and regrouped them on three occasions. The first twelve finally emerged in the present order, but his intentions for the rest remain unknown.
E.S.
K. 164 6 Minuets (K6 130a)
Origin: Salzburg, June 1772
Scoring: 2 oboes (1 doubling flute), 2 horns (doubling trumpets), 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: D, D, D, G, G, G
In this set there are three minuets in D with oboes and trumpets, then three in G with oboes and horns, while each trio is for strings, the flute being almost constantly in octaves with the first violins. Some of the dances may well have been borrowed from Michael Haydn (see note on K. 104 on p. 218), but in their simple way they are beautifully written.
E.S.
K. 176 16 Minuets
Origin: Salzburg, December 1773
Scoring: 2 oboes (doubling flutes), bassoon, 2 horns (doubling trumpets), 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: C, G, Eb*, Bb*, F, D, A, C, G, Bb*, F, D, G, F, C, D [*without trio]
In the minuets K. 176 we find again the tuneful charm and rich colors of the earlier sets but little change toward the elaborate wind writing of later years, except that the oboes and horns occasionally have an obbligato part and the bassoon sometimes moves independently of the bass. Eleven of these minuets also exist in an original piano arrangement.
E.S.
K. 101 4 Contredanses, “Serenade” (K6 250a)
Origin: Salzburg, early 1776?
Scoring: 2 oboes (1 doubling flute), bassoon, 2 horns, 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: F, G, D, F
Formerly thought to have been composed in 1769, this set is now placed in the first half of 1776 in Salzburg. Except for the first sixteen measures, the first violin part is in the hand of Leopold Mozart, who also wrote “Ständchen” at the head of the manuscript, with the result that for years this set of dances was classified among the serenades. Suspicions are aroused that Leopold was in fact the composer of this music. However, the middle two dances are included with two others in a piano score in Mozart’s hand probably written at about the same time (see K6 269b below); though this is only fragmentary, it may be taken as an indication for accepting Nos. 2 and 3 as being Wolfgang’s.
E.S.
K6 269b 4 Contredanses
Origin: Salzburg, early 1776?
Scoring: piano? orchestra?
Keys of Dances: G, G, C, D
These dances in piano score were discovered in Czechoslovakia in 1956. Unfortunately only the first page of the set, containing No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 (incomplete), and the last page with No. 12 were found. Nos. 2 and 12 are Nos. 2 and 3 of K. 101, but Nos. 1 and 3 are certainly also reduced from orchestral score. No. 1 is based on the same folksong as the G major section of the Finale of the violin concerto, K. 218, the first eight measures being practically identical.
E.S.
K. 267 4 Contredanses (K6 271c)
Origin: Salzburg, early 1777
Scoring: 2 oboes (1 doubling flute), bassoon, 2 horns, 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: G, Eb, A, D
These were probably written for the Salzburg carnival in February 1777, Mozart’s last untroubled year at home before the journey to Mannheim and Paris. These four pieces have a slightly archaic character that is not characteristically Mozartean. The first is a gigue with jolly horn calls, the next two are gavottes – one more tender, the other more brisk – the last a running 2/4 Allegro, full of melodic invention.
E.S.
K2 315a 8 Minuets (K6 315g)
Origin: Salzburg, late 1778
Scoring: piano? orchestra?
Keys of Dances: C, G, D, C, F, D, A, G
These eight minuets for key board are doubtless a reduction from an orchestral score. The melody of the Trio of No. 4 is also that of the slow movement of the piano concerto K. 414. In fact, it had started life as the slow movement of J. C. Bach’s Sinfonia for the 1763 London revival of Baldassare Galuppi’s La calamità de’cuori. The trio to No. 8 is on a separate manuscript and may not belong to the set at all.
E.S.
K. 363 3 Minuets
Origin: Vienna or Salzburg, c. 1782 to 1783?
Scoring: 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets and timpani, 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: D, Bb, D [all without trios]
The purpose of these three minuets without trios and the date of their composition are unknown. To judge from the handwriting and watermarks of his undated manuscript, Mozart may have written them – along with part of K. 463 (see below) – during his 1783 visit to Salzburg, perhaps with the upcoming Viennese carnival season in mind.
E.S.
K. 463 2 Minuets with Contredanses, “Quadrilles” (K6 448c)
Origin: Salzburg or Vienna, late 1783 or early 1784
Scoring: 2 oboes, bassoon, 2 horns, 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: F, Bb [both minuets without trio]
In each piece a slow stately minuet (Mozart himself wrote “Menuetto cantabile Adagio” over the second) of only eight measures introduces a lively contredanse and is repeated at the end. Mozart’s biographer and his widow’s second husband, Georg Nikolaus Nissen, wrote on the autograph manuscript “Two quadrilles”, referring to the two contredanses. This must have been an anachronistic assumption on his part, however, as the quadrille as a way of dancing the contredanse did not come into being before the beginning of the nineteenth century.
From manuscript evidence, it appears likely that Mozart prepared these dances – like those of K. 363 (see above) and K. 610, 461 and 462 (see below) – for the 1784 carnival season in Vienna, perhaps while visiting Salzburg in the second half of 1783.
E.S.
K. 610 Contredanse in G major, “Les filles malicieuses”
Origin: Vienna? 1782-84?
Scoring: 2 oboes,2 horns, 2 violins, basso
The cryptic title of this graceful little contredanse eludes explanation: who are the “spiteful young ladies?” Likewise, Mozart’s manuscript eludes precise dating, but it appears to come from about the same time as the three minuets, K. 363 – perhaps during his visit to Salzburg in the fall of 1783. The piece turns up (without its title) on two later occasions as well: (1) reorchestrated as the last of the five Contredanses, K. 609, of about 1787-88, and (2) paired with the German Dance in G major, K. 611, as entered in Mozart’s catalogue under March 6, 1791 (see the note for K. 611 below). Thus the seemingly ephemeral little work enjoyed surprising longevity, due either to public favor or to Mozart’s own fondness for it.
W.C.
K. 461 6 Minuets (K6 448a)
Origin: Vienna, early 1784
Scoring: 2 oboes (doubling flutes), 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: C, Eb, G, Bb, F, D* [*without trio]
Presumably composed just before Mozart began to keep the catalog of his works, these were to have been the usual set of six minuets, but the last one remained a fragment of eight measures. Though we are not yet among the great dances of the last years, there are many subtle touches of orchestration not found in earlier dances.
E.S.
K. 462 6 Contredanses (K6 448b)
Origin: Vienna, January 1784
Scoring: 2 violins, (2 oboes, 2 horns added later), basso
Keys of Dances: C, Eb, Bb, D, Bb, F
The scoring was originally only for strings, the wind parts being written on a separate sheet. These pieces consist of two, three, or four eight-measure sections with repeats, each entire dance being played twice.
E.S.
K. 509 6 German Dances
Origin: Prague, February 6, 1787
Scoring: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets and timpani, 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: D, G, Eb, F, A, C
Perhaps the happiest times in Mozart’s late troubled years were his first two visits to Prague. The first lasted from mid-January to mid-February, 1787. Georg Nikolaus Nissen tells the story that we owe the only composition of this month to the cunning of Count Johann von Pachta. Knowing Mozart’s delight in parties, he invited him to his palace an hour before the other guests. On arrival the astonished composer was led into a study where he was served – instead of dinner – pen, ink, and paper. At the end of the hour he presented his host with a set of dances. This story must be about the “6 Tedeschi”, K. 509, dated February 6, 1787. Alone among his German dances, these are in 3/8 notation, one-to-a-measure rhythm, and probably danced as a waltz. The six dances are joined together by modulating interludes; they conclude with a brilliant coda.
E.S.
K. 609 5 Contredanses
Origin: Vienna, 1787 to 1788
Scoring: flute, side drum (in Nos. 3, 4), 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: C, Eb, D, C, G
The first dance is a delightful version of Figaro’s “Non piu andrai”, still a famous tune in Vienna after four and a half years. No. 3 is a Ländler with three trios, although probably done as a group dance in the manner of the contredanse.
E.S.
K. 534 Contredanse in D major, “Das Donnerwetter”
Origin: Vienna, January 14, 1788
Scoring: piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 horns, side drum, 2 violins, basso
On December 7, 1787, Mozart was appointed Royal Imperial Chamber Composer and he at once began composing dances for the coming carnival festivities in the Redoutensaal. Mozart entered this dance in his catalogue on January 14, 1788. “The Thunderstorm” is a vivid little sketch to join the other programmatic contredanses K. 535, 587, 607, and 610.
E.S.
K. 535 Contredanse in C major, “La Bataille”
Origin: Vienna, January 23, 1788
Scoring: piccolo, 2 clarinets, bassoon, trumpet, side drum, 2 violins, basso
Composed in Vienna on January 23, 1788, this contredanse was announced in the Wiener Zeitung as “The Siege of Belgrade”. Thus, Mozart forecast Emperor Joseph II’s campaign against the Turks, which began unexpectedly as late as February. Belgrade did not fall to the Imperial armies under General Laudon until October of the following year. In the coda of “The Battle”, to provide warlike sound effects, the basses are to be struck with the bow.
E.S.
K. 536 6 German Dances
Origin: Vienna, January 27, 1788
Scoring: piccolo (doubling flute), 2 oboes (doubling flutes and clarinets), 2 bassoons, 2 trumpets (doubling horns) and timpani, 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: C, G, Bb, D, F, F
The wind instruments, while not being, strictly speaking, obligatory, are the salt and pepper of this music. The opening of No. 1 is simply a translation into 3/4 of the beginning of the contredanse “La Bataille” (K. 535), written four days before and itself probably based on a traditional song or march. In fact the timpani-roll in the dance is a reminder of that very innocent battle.
E.S.
K. 567 6 German Dances
Origin: Vienna, December 6, 1788
Scoring: piccolo (doubling flute), 2 oboes (doubling flutes and clarinets}, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets and timpani (doubling side drum), 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: Bb, Eb, G, D, A, C
Though not quite as lively as the Prague dances, K. 509, these have a popular, rustic quality and quite a strong Bohemian character – as in the syncopations of the opening melody. Among the varied effects there is the Ländler No. 5 with its Turkish trio (A minor with percussion). Mozart composed these dances to go with the previous set in the following order: K. 536, 1-5, K. 567, 1-5, K. 536, 6, and K. 567, 6.
E.S.
K. 568 12 Minuets
Origin: Vienna, December 24, 1788
Scoring: 2 flutes (doubling piccolos), 2 oboes (doubling clarinets), 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets and timpani, 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: C, F, Bb, Eb, G, D, A, F, Bb, D, G, C
The twelve minuets lack the codas of the foregoing German Dances with their Mannheim crescendos, but they are well worth attending to for many orchestral efforts not found elsewhere in Mozart’s music. The double concerto for flute and bassoon which forms the trio of No. 5 is one of the most remarkable passages. Note too the “Spanish” trio of No. 6, and the solos for clarinet, oboe, and piccolo.
E.S.
K. 571 6 German Dances
Origin: Vienna, February 21, 1789
Scoring: 2 flutes (1 doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (doubling clarinets), 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets and timpani, 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: D, A, C, G, Bb, D
Mozart is beginning to develop the remarkable scoring of his late dances. Note especially the military campaign of the trio of No. 3, the bubbling wind runs in imitation in No. 4, and the light conversation piece which makes up its trio with a comic chromaticism so characteristic of this set.
E.S.
K. 585 12 Minuets
Origin: Vienna, December 1789
Scoring: 2 flutes (1 doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (doubling clarinets), 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets and timpani, 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: D, F, Bb, Eb, G, C, A, F, Bb, Eb, G, D
Each dance has its own special interest – the frankly rather displeasing discords in No. 4, the rich, romantic scoring of No. 7, the way in which horns and woodwind take charge in No. 8, No. 11 with its Mendelssohnian wind accompaniment, No. 12 exuberant in the Minuet and full of yearning in the Trio – each dance having a figuration, color, or mood not found anywhere else.
E.S.
K. 586 12 German Dances
Origin: Vienna, December 1789
Scoring: 2 flutes (1 doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (doubling clarinets), 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets and timpani, tambourine, cymbals, 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: C, G, Bb, F, A, D, G, Eb, B, F, A, C
There is no lack of variety in these highly imaginative compositions – though every dance consists identically of two eight-measure periods. Certain features of orchestration unusual in Mozart’s music may be noted: the high horn parts, the bassoons doubling the violin melodies, the timpani rolls, the country fiddler’s effect, and the “Spanish” trio of No. 5.
E.S.
K. 587 Contredanse in C major, “Der Sieg vom Helden Koburg”
Origin: Vienna, December 1789
Scoring: flute, oboe, bassoon, trumpet, 2 violins, basso
None of Mozart’s “military” music is more delightful than “Our Hero Coburg’s Victory”. It is a musical tribute to the decisive victory gained by Fieldmarshal Prince Koburg-Saalfeld (or Coburg-Saalfeld) with his Austrian army and Russian allies over the Turks at Martinesti in Rumania on September 22, 1789. There is a folk-tune opening a section in the minor to indicate “here be Turks”, (though oddly enough no “Turkish music” as they called percussion), constant alarums by the trumpet, and excursions by unusually resourceful wind instruments.
E.S.
K. 106 Overture and 3 Contredanses (K6 588a)
Origin: Vienna, January 1790
Scoring: 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: D, A, Bb
Mozart omitted this work from the catalogue he kept from 1784. The Overture is little more than an extended fanfare of thirty-four measures, all in D major. Each dance has four eight-measure groups, the first two or three being repeated da capo.
E.S.
K. 599 6 Minuets
Origin: Vienna, January 23, 1791
Scoring: 2 flutes (1 doubling piccolos), 2 oboes (doubling clarinets), 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets and timpani, 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: C, G, Eb, Bb, F, D
Mozart composed three sets of Minuets, K. 599, 601, and 604, as a group, comprising a total of twelve dances to be played in the same order as he wrote them. Here we meet the full wonder of the scoring of Mozart’s late dances. Each Minuet and Trio consists of two eight-measure groups, but there is extraordinary wealth of color and rhythm. The Trio of No. 6 is unique in its scoring: the strings fill in the background, but the essence consists of two measures of timpani, then bassoons, oboes, flute, and piccolo, entering canonically to build up a marvelous tapestry of sound.
E.S.
K. 600 6 German Dances
Origin: Vienna, January 29, 1791
Scoring: 2 f1utes (1 doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (doubling clarinets), 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets and timpani, 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: C, F, Bb, Eb, G, D
Mozart composed three sets of German Dances, K. 600, 602, and 605, as a group, comprising a total of thirteen dances to be played in the same order as he wrote them. This set is one of the best known today: it has a simple country style and almost childlike simplicity . In the trio of No. 5 the flute and piccolo in turn try to imitate a canary.
E.S.
K. 601 4 Minuets
Origin: Vienna, February 5, 1791
Scoring: 2 flutes (1 doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (doubling clarinets), 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets and timpani, hurdy-gurdy, 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: A, C, G, D
K. 602 4 German Dances
Origin: Vienna, February 5, 1791
Scoring: 2 flutes (1 doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (doubling clarinets), 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets and timpani, hurdy-gurdy, 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: Bb, F, C, A
K. 603 2 Contredanses
Origin: Vienna, February 5, 1791
Scoring: piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets and timpani, 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: D, Bb
All ten dances bear the date February 5, 1791, in Mozart’s catalogue, and it is not impossible that he wrote them all in one day. Unaccountably he entered the third German Dance again in his catalogue for March 6, and it therefore received the Köchel no. 611.
Among the special “joke” effects he composed in the dances of these weeks there is the hurdy-gurdy of K. 601 and 602. The hurdy-gurdy or beggar’s lyre (German Leier), having rather surprisingly survived from the Middle Ages, enjoyed a spell of popularity in the 1780’s, especially in the shepherdess games of Marie Antoinette’s court. It is a box containing two strings which are stopped (in unison) by wooden keys pushed in by the fingers of the left hand. The right hand turns a handle to rub a resined wheel against the strings. A bass string of unvarying pitch may also be brought into contact with the wheel, producing a bass drone, as in K. 602. Mozart doubtless sought, and achieved, a comic effect.
E.S.
K. 604 2 Minuets
Origin: Vienna, Febuary 12, 1791
Scoring: 2 flutes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 trumpets and timpani, 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: Bb, Eb
K. 605 3 German Dances
Origin: Vienna, February 12, 1791
Scoring: 2 flutes (1 doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns (doubling post horns), 2 trumpets and timpani, 5 sleigh bells, 2 violins, basso
Keys of Dances: D, G, C
In K. 605 Mozart depicts a sleigh ride with five sleigh bells and two post horns: the trio of No. 3 is entitled “Die Schlittenfahrt” (The Sleigh Ride). Sleigh rides, with bells jingling and post horns sounding, were a popular winter pastime of the court. The sleigh bell trio is based on an Austrian folk-tune; the delightful coda combines all the tunes and instruments of the third German Dance. While the two minuets have the mellow coloring of clarinets, rich harmonies, and flat keys, the simpler, rustic German Dances are suitably brighter, with occasional harsh chromaticism as in the Trio of No. 2.
E.S.
K. 607 Contredanse in E flat major, “Il trionfo delle donne” (K6 605a)
Origin: Vienna, February 28, 1791
Scoring: flute, oboe, bassoon, 2 horns, 2 violins, basso
The opera Il trionfo delle donne (The Triumph of Women) by Pasquale Anfossi (1727-97) was first sung in Vienna on May 15, 1786, two weeks after the premiere of Figaro. Mozart presumably uses tunes from it in this contredanse. Unfortunately the autograph is incomplete, breaking off at the end of four pages (fifty-three measures).
E.S.
K. 606 6 German Dances in B flat major, “Ländlerische”
Origin: Vienna, February 28, 1791
Scoring: 2 violins, basso (wind parts lost)
K. 606 is presumed to have been written for full orchestra like the other sets and reduced for two violins and bass. It is only the latter version that survives. From its considerable divergence from the incipit in Mozart’s own catalogue (which bears the title “6 Ländlerische”, or “ländier-like” dances) and the clumsiness of the part-writing, one may conclude that this reduction, published in 1795, is not by Mozart.
E.S.
K. 611 German Dance in C major, “Die Leierer”
Origin: Vienna, March 6, 1791
Scoring : [orchestra]
On March 6, 1791, Mozart entered in his catalogue the incipits for a pair of dances in G major: the Contredanse, K. 610, and the German Dance, K. 611. No trace survives of the dances as Mozart paired them here, but both dances exist in separate earlier versions – a fact that demonstrates the occasional unreliability of Mozart’s catalogue as a tool for dating. K. 610 was composed some eight or so years earlier; K. 611 was composed just a month earlier as the third of four German Dances, K. 602, the one with obbligato hurdy-gurdy (see the notes for K. 610 and 602 above).
Mozart’s catalogue entry reads “1 Contredanse Die Leyerer. – 1 Teutscher [German Dance] mit Leyerer Trio”. Did Mozart mean to apply the title Die Leierer (The Organ-Grinders) to the Contredanse, the German Dance, or both? Might the “organ-grinders” have had something to do with the “spiteful young ladies” of K. 610?
W.C.