Mozart and dance
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart began writing dance music when he was five years old. His earliest efforts appear in the Nannerl Notenbuch, a manuscript book his father Leopold compiled for him and his sister Maria Anna. By 1768, at age twelve, Leopold reported that Wolfgang had composed many minuets for all types of instrument. These early works spanned the Salzburg period of his life up to 1781. The composer continued to write dance music for various occasions during these formative years. He produced pieces intended literally for dancing as well as symphonic movements inspired by dance but meant for listening only.
On the 7th of December 1787 Mozart was appointed Royal and Imperial Chamber Composer for Emperor Joseph II. This post served largely as a sinecure yet carried specific duties regarding court entertainment. The main obligation required him to compose dances for balls held in the public ballrooms of the Hofburg Imperial Palace. Mozart complied with this requirement scrupulously by composing dances in great number each year between late December and early March. These months reflected the scheduling of imperial balls which occurred every Sunday during the carnival season plus on the last Thursday before Lent and the final three days of carnival. Surviving records show dances from 1788, 1789, and 1791 while none exist from 1790 because the Emperor fell ill and died February 20 of that year.
Mozart's dances fall primarily into three distinct genres: minuet, German Dance, and contredanse. The minuet remained slightly old-fashioned by his time yet retained aristocratic origins with elegant stately character. He wrote minuets in ternary form consisting first of the minuet proper then a contrasting trio section followed by return of the minuet. Many minuets intended for listening appear usually as third movements within symphonies or string quartets. These listening versions prove longer faster in tempo and less regular in phrasing than their dancing counterparts. The German Dance originated among lower social classes and proved much livelier resembling the waltz to some degree. Close physical contact between dancers combined with constant spinning caused dizziness leading critics to attack it as immoral despite its widespread popularity. Mozart's German dances follow ternary form but normally include an added coda containing orchestral jokes relating back to the final dance. Contredanses descended from English country dance and featured rich figures popular across all social classes. They composed sequences of multiple sections sometimes quoting popular melodies like K. 609 which quotes Non più andrai from The Marriage of Figaro. Minuets predominated early while later works favored the other two types.
The core instrumentation of these dances formed a simplified orchestra lacking violas entirely. Bass instruments including cello and double bass played identical lines throughout most pieces. A variety of wind instruments usually accompanied the strings alongside trumpets and timpani. Some dances added unusual instruments not ordinarily found in standard orchestras of Mozart's time. These extras included fife and drum tambourine tuned sleighbells hurdy-gurdy post horn and flageolet which served as piccolo during that era. Later commercially successful dances were retranscribed for piano so people could play them at home though such transcriptions rarely originated from Mozart himself. The composer generally wrote strictly within eight- and sixteen-bar phrases reflecting functional requirements of dance music. He also tended to use restricted harmonic vocabulary throughout his output.
Mozart could evidently compose dances with remarkable speed according to historical accounts. His biographer Georg Nikolaus von Nissen narrated an episode occurring during Mozart's visit to Prague in early 1787. Count Johann Pachta had promised to receive a set of contredanses but failed to produce them initially. The count summoned him to his home an hour before dinner providing writing materials with instructions to write immediately since performances would occur that very day. By mealtime nine dances for full orchestra stood completed in full score. Nissen elsewhere relates another tale where Mozart composed four fully orchestrated contredanses in less than half an hour maintaining similar pace. Perhaps unsurprisingly Mozart felt composition of dances lacked significant challenge stating once that his pay as imperial chamber composer was too much for what he did yet too little for what he could do.
Mozart included substantial ballet sequences at ends of several operas including Idomeneo premiered in 1781. He went against precedent writing ballet music himself rather delegating it to another composer. The Marriage of Figaro from 1786 contains crucial dance scene where Susanna passes feigned love note to Count Almaviva during fandango performance. This particular scene faced resistance from theatrical management at premiere requiring Mozart and librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte to prevail with difficulty before inclusion. Perhaps most elaborate occurs party scene ending first act of Don Giovanni from 1787 featuring guests dancing three dances simultaneously each to own interlocking rhythm. Characters receive assigned dances systematically matching social class traditional associations: nobility including Donna Anna Donna Elvira Don Ottavio plus Don Giovanni begin minuet while Zerlina receives contradanse invitation from Don Giovanni finally Leporello dances German Dance with peasant Masetto.
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Common questions
When did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart begin writing dance music?
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart began writing dance music when he was five years old. His earliest efforts appear in the Nannerl Notenbuch, a manuscript book his father Leopold compiled for him and his sister Maria Anna.
What were the specific duties of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as Royal and Imperial Chamber Composer appointed on the 7th of December 1787?
The main obligation required him to compose dances for balls held in the public ballrooms of the Hofburg Imperial Palace. He complied with this requirement scrupulously by composing dances in great number each year between late December and early March during the carnival season.
Which three distinct genres did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart primarily use for his dance compositions?
Mozart's dances fall primarily into three distinct genres: minuet, German Dance, and contredanse. Minuets predominated early while later works favored the other two types which included lively German Dances and sequences from English country dance known as contredanses.
How quickly could Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart compose dances according to historical accounts involving Count Johann Pachta in Prague?
Mozart composed nine dances for full orchestra in full score by mealtime after being summoned an hour before dinner in early 1787. Nissen elsewhere relates another tale where Mozart composed four fully orchestrated contredanses in less than half an hour maintaining similar pace.
What ballet sequences did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart include at ends of several operas starting from 1781?
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart included substantial ballet sequences at ends of several operas including Idomeneo premiered in 1781. He went against precedent writing ballet music himself rather than delegating it to another composer for works like The Marriage of Figaro from 1786 and Don Giovanni from 1787.