Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots (The Obligation of the First and Foremost Command) K. 35

Every discipline has its Mount Everest, White Whale, Super Bowl, magic fairy dust ice cream sprinkles, or whichever idiom you choose to use.  It is the accomplishment where one passes from good (or even great) to master.  From what I have seemed to read, for a musician to master an opera was the greatest feat of a composer. To tame the beast, that is opera.  An 11 year old dare try. Or was pushed to try.  Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots. Young Mozart’s try in the ring. I would have liked to watch the whole thing, but I couldn’t find it anywhere.  I was able to listen to  all the music and snippets of the opera, and was surprised to hear a voice very similar to his later operas. I have no Idea how such a young person could write such beautiful music.

The music was beautiful, but it lacked what I think to be the emotional complexity of the libretto. From what I gathered (kind of an uneducated guess using Google translate and other tools), the story seems to be an internal struggle of one coming to fully accept the Christian faith.  The voices of faith compete with the blathers of worldliness.  The subject matter is rife with good emotional material that young Mozart doesn’t fully exploit.  He seems primarily concerned with making lovely music.  

As I continue to watch, I am curious to see where in his operatic history he progresses in his emotional connection with a work’s themes. What was the one opera that thrust Mozart into a master? An Opera Game changer.  Zaide is the earliest opera I have absorbed, where he has clearly grasps emotional complexities.

But, even with this work, there is some deep stuff there. In his own life, which voice won out? It seemed worldliness had a tight grasp on him. As he struggled, how did such Christian themes affect him? Were his sacred works, simply a means to make money, thus feeding worldliness? Were they tightly held virtues, he didn’t believe he was breaking? Or, did they reflect values he wanted to adhere to, but couldn’t get himself to act out?

Zaide Cantor K. 344

Brothers, Brother, be now merry

Find your couage, swallow your gripes

The Earth is cursed, we’re all doomed

Everyone, too, is wrought with strife

Let us sing

Let us laugh

You can’t make it any different

This world, this pain, doesn’t matter

No one, no where is free of pest.

(My own attempt and translation.)

 

A jovial opening with austere lyrics for a melancholy opera.  I wonder if Mozart's kin, friends, acquaintances, and wannabe therapizers, were saying similar things as written in this song. 'Hey, Wolfgang buck up. Life is miserable for everyone.' As I have said in my Zaide post, life was rough at this point in Mozart's life. He could have seen himself as a slave in his own right. But, why such happy lyric to begin the opera. Much of Mozart music seems to be an attempt to mask or cure misery. Was that what going on here? Did he write the jovial musical opening, as a means to convince himself? An 'fake it until you make it' kind of thing. Or, is it simply an ironic device? "Oh. You want me to be happy? Ok. I'll just do that then."  Or both?

K. 33b, Piece in F for keyboard, Klavierstück

I've hit a sloppy patch of pieces.  It was hard to know what to do next.  I got through all the Grand Tour works. I think.  Maybe. Sort of.  Who really knows?  So I went with K33b.  Was it a quickly doodled bit? I don't know.  I'm sure Mozart had a lot of quickly doodled musical tidbits.  This one had staying power.  In fact, it was used in the movie Amadeus.  The scene where young Mozart was touring.  If I am understanding it right, Mozart would have actually wrote it after the tour.  The movie may have got the bit wrong.  I don't know.  

Apart from the nerdy stuff, this song is a fun cheerful piece. It's full of youthful hope.  If it was written near the end of the grand tour, I could see it being a "that was fun, but thank God it is over," tune.  There is hope in it.  "I done with that crap" kind of hope.  Or, maybe I'm reading too much into the historical context.  And, relying on personal experience.  We all hit those moments after a long hard trial, or straining effort.  We think we've reached a point of smooth sailing.  The young Mozart may have reached that point.  Of course, when we look back on it, we often see our rest was only a rest, it wasn't a lifestyle changing event.  New trials, new strains come.  

This song suggests 'enjoy the rest.' 

Mozart fights for Figaro

I was thinking of the scene from Amadeus.

Mozart fights for the right to display The Marriage of Figaro.  The emperor admits he has passion.  Mozart worked hard, and some would have thought him arrogant to think it was the best Opera yet written, but… I don't know.  Sure, he writes to his tastes. So one could say he wrote the best according to his standard.   And maybe, history proved him right.  

But with any work, of any art form, it is like a child.  We love ours with a blind passion. And, we can get bitterly offended when someone attacks it.  On the other hand, what if a person is giving us solid advice on how to get your 'baby' to reach its full potential?  Which is worse?  A critical eye on one's work? Or, like the the emperor, an unwillingness to even see it? Hence a need to fight… 

So, just a strange aside: is it callous for people to hate the fact they show pictures of their children on social networks?

K. 33, Kyrie

K. 33, Kyrie

Its hard for me to get into heavy Gregorian sounding music.  K. 33 is a bit of that.   Kyrie Eleison ‘Lord have mercy’.  Why ask for mercy? And what music fits best such a plea?  Their grand tour was winding down.  Much of the family had nearly died on the trip. And, the 10-year-old boy wrote this piece.  But, it doesn’t seem the tones are a plea for mercy. The music seems, in fact, to declare, ‘God has been merciful.’ Soft and surrendered. 

If you want to hear a real music that captures real pleas for mercy, listen to the Kyrie of Mozart’s Mass in C minor.  K. 427.  That’s music of a pleading heart.

Top 5 most recognized Mozart melodies.

Everyone likes to try their luck with lists.  It's an easy concise way to say something.  Thought I'd try my luck with one.  Here what I believe to be Mozart top five most recognizable melodies.  There the ones that when I started getting in to Mozart, I said, 'Yeah. I've heard that.'

5. Symphony No. 40, Molto Allegro

I've heard this as a number of default cell rings.  I've also remember it on some old school CPU games.  

4. Piano Sonata in C, Allegro

Get any number of children's toys highlighting classical music and your likely to hear this ditty. 

3. Piano Sonata in A, Rondo alla Turca 

Another child's toy fav.  And, I hear a lot in commercials. The mystery show 'Who dunnit' had it as their theme song, and there's that 'feed the big' commercial that has a scene playing the song. 

2. Marriage of Figaro overture

The music is used quite often to express jubilation.  A Doritos a subway commercial come to mind as recent uses.  It is slathered all over the place.

1. Eine Kliene Nachtmusick, Allegro

Like Beethoven's Symphony no. 5 is to Beethoven, this work is quintessential Mozart.  Many not only know it, but link it with Mozart.  In addition, it is a classical music icon.  If someone wants to play a background piece the declares sophisticated classical, they'd likely pick this piece. (Along with Vivaldi's Four Seasons).

K. 466, Piano Concerto No. 20, A Broncos Fan Lament

Still listening, not writing much though.

What Troglodyte isn't a football fan? And, I happen to be a Broncos fan. Anyone following the recent events, can see a need for lament.  (Not that I am vainly seeking hope in a football outcome).   

I was thinking: How many people have as many career ups and downs as Mozart and Manning?  Regardless of whether either received his just reward, both will go and have gone down in history as some of the greatest in their field.  I thought it fitting to find a ditty that trebles the trials of Peyton Manning and the Broncos.

Piano Concerto No. 20.

The first movement begins at the end of the fourth quarter against the Ravens.  The orchestra opens dark.   The Broncos had chosen to kneel down with time remaining.  A looming doom declares the Ravens now have the momentum just after the Broncos had given it up. Overtime starts, the battle begins.  Manning throws an interception.  Raven's kick in double overtime.  Broncos lose. 

Enter Piano solo.

A head-hung depression. The Ravens charge through the playoffs, crushing every other team.  No other fought as hard as the Broncos.   The Brocs sigh, saying, "We'll get them next year." The music builds more and more hopeful.  Pulses of "We can do it," mixed with sighs.   The season starts.  Broncos storm through with fury.  Game after game, all the while the critics shout, "of course' Peyton can do it in the regular season.  But let's see what he does in the post season." He wins his first.  A sigh of relief.  He wins another. Their in.  Their in the Super Bowl.   The first movement ends at the precipice of the big game. 

Second movement. 

A hike for a Seattle safety.  The Broncos sigh.  "Let's calm down.  Collect ourselves." They stop them from scoring a touchdown.  5-0. That's doable.  They get the ball back, fail to score.  They keep Seattle to just a field goal again. Sigh. "Ok.  Come on. Take it easy.  It's not out of control yet."   Piano solo rattles dread, seasoned with a bit of hope.  Slowly, things unravel. Piano strikes growing  with intensity, chipping away any remaining hope.  Second half, Seattle scores on first kick-off drive.  Seattle: score after score and stop after stop. The music returns to the sighful laments.  "This is not their year." It says.  They still try, but critics and fans know it is over. 

Third movement. 

The music is celebratory, but with dark undertones.  The celebration of the enemy. Critics joking about the defeat.  The rival team celebrating.   The music suggests a few pats on the back, saying maybe next year. At first, no one's ready to think about that.   

Eventually, they slap their faces and a find the ever present optimists inside themselves… 

Well... at least, that's what the tucked-deep-optimist in me is hoping they're doing.