With the end of September they were again in Salzburg, and in December
Wolfgang wrote a quintet for stringed instruments (174 K.) and a
pianoforte Concerto in D major (175 K.), the first of the long list
after his early attempts. Almost the whole of the year 1774 was passed
quietly at home; Wolfgang wrote some important church music, two Masses
in F and D major (192,194, K.), a great litany (195 K.), two psalms
for a Vesper (193 K.), various symphonies (199-202 K.), two complete
serenatas (203, 204, K.), and an interesting divertimento (205 K.). Then
came a commission from Munich to write a comic opera for the Carnival
of 1775. It is probable that the influence of the Prince Bishop of
Chiemsee, Count Ferdinand von Zeil, an enthusiastic patron of Mozart,
had been exerted on his behalf. The Elector Maximilian III. had also
shown great interest in Mozart in former years, and on this account it
was impossible for the Archbishop of Salzburg to refuse Wolfgang leave
of absence. The Elector had a decided talent for music, which he had
cultivated by study; he composed church music, and played the bass-viol,
as Naumaun wrote to a friend, "divinely"; Burney declared he had heard
no such bass-viol-player since the celebrated Abel. The Elector's sister
also, the widowed Electress of Saxony Maria Antonia Walburga, known as
a poetess, was then on a visit to Munich; she both composed and sang
operas for which she had written the verses.[4] It followed, therefore,
{WORKS IN GERMANY.}
(148)
that much was done in Munich for orchestra and singers both in the
opera and the churches, although the performances fell short of those in
Mannheim.[5]
On December 6 Wolfgang set out with his father for Munich, where they
found a small but comfortable lodging with a _Chanoine et grand custos
de Notre Dame_; this good man showed them honour and hospitality
above their deserts, as they considered, and often sacrificed his own
convenience to theirs from sheer friendliness. The intense cold of the
journey had, in spite of precautions, brought on Wolfgang's habitual
malady, severe toothache, and he was confined to his room with a swelled
face for several days. As soon as possible they made the acquaintance
of those with whom they were to be associated, and were well received
everywhere.
The opera "La Finta Giardiniera" is very rich in airs, and Mozart,
finding a wealth of resources in Munich ready to hand, went to work more
seriously, both with the voices and the orchestra, than was customary
with an opera buffa. It is impossible to ascertain how much of the opera
he brought with him, or how much was altered or composed in Munich. The
first rehearsal did not take place till near the end of December, and
the performance was consequently postponed to January 5, 1775, so that
the singers might be more sure of their parts than could have been the
case had they played, as intended, on December 29.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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