Mozart could evidently compose dances very rapidly. They also tend to use a restricted harmonic vocabulary. Composition Īs Flothuis observes, Mozart's dances are generally written strictly in eight- and sixteen-bar phrases, reflecting their function as dance music. These transcriptions are usually not the work of Mozart himself. The later dances, which were commercially successful (see below) were retranscribed for other instruments such as piano so that people could play them at home. To these basic instruments a few dances add additional instruments not ordinarily found in the orchestra of Mozart's time: fife and drum, tambourine, tuned sleighbells, the hurdy-gurdy, the post horn, and the flageolet, which was the piccolo of Mozart's day. A variety of wind instruments is usually included, and often trumpets and timpani. The core instrumentation of the dances is a simplified orchestra in which there are no violas, and the bass instruments (cello and double bass) play the same line. Of the three genres, minuets predominate in Mozart's early career, the latter two types later on. They sometimes quote popular melodies for instance, K. 609 quotes the aria " Non più andrai" from Mozart's opera The Marriage of Figaro. Mozart composed contredanses as a sequence of multiple sections. Like its ancestor, it was rich in figures (individual movements and patterns) and was popular among all social classes. The contredanse was a form descended from English country dance. Problems playing this file? See media help. For an example of the German dances, see Three German Dances, K. 605. Abert notes that the coda "in most cases relates back to the final dance and frequently includes all manner of orchestral jokes". Mozart's German dances are, like the minuets, in ternary form, but normally with a coda added. The close physical contact between the dancers, together with constant spinning causing dizziness, led this dance to be attacked as immoral. It was much livelier than the minuet and to some degree resembled the waltz. The German dance ( Deutscher Tanz ) originated with the lower social classes. These minuets are usually longer, faster in tempo and less regular in their phrasing than the minuets meant for dancing. Mozart also wrote a great number of minuets intended for listening rather than dancing: they occur (usually as the third of four movements) in his symphonies, string quartets, and many other works. Mozart wrote his minuets in ternary form that is, first the minuet proper, then a contrasting trio section, followed by a return of the minuet. It was of aristocratic origin, elegant and stately. The minuet was slightly old-fashioned by Mozart's time. Mozart's dances are primarily in three genres. He generally wrote dances each year between late December and early March this reflected the scheduling of the imperial balls, which according to Abert were held "every Sunday during the carnival season, as well as on the last Thursday before Lent and on the last three days of the carnival." There are dances from 1788, 1789, and 1791 none date from 1790 because the Emperor was ill and died February 20 of that year. Mozart complied with this requirement scrupulously, composing dances in great number. This post, though largely a sinecure, had as its main duty the composition of dances for the balls held in the Redoutensälen (public ballrooms) of the Imperial Palace. įollowing his move to Vienna, the pace of dance music composition increased, as on 7 December 1787 Mozart was appointed Royal and Imperial Chamber Composer for Emperor Joseph II. Mozart continued to write dance music for various occasions during the Salzburg period of his life (up to 1781). In 1768, when Mozart was 12, his father Leopold reported that Wolfgang had composed "many minuets for all types of instrument". Mozart began writing dances when he was five years old see Nannerl Notenbuch. For a complete listing of Mozart's dances, see this list. The modern edition of the dances as published by the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe runs to about 300 total pages in score. According to the reminiscences of those who knew him, the composer himself enjoyed dancing very much he was skillful and danced often.Ībout 200 dances by Mozart are still preserved. The composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote a great deal of dance music, both for public use and as elements of larger works such as operas, quartets, and symphonies. The Grosse Redoutensaal (Grand Ballroom) of the Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna, where much of Mozart's dance music was first performed
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