Mozart, Leopold

Leopold Mozart

Aria for soprano „Du wahrer Mensch und Gott“, E flat Major (1755)
Aria for tenor „So straft Herodes die Verräter“ D Major (about 1762)
Offertorium de Sanctissimo Sacramento „Parasti cor meum“, A Major (1750)
Litanae de Venerabili, C Major (ca.1768)

(b. Augsburg, 14 November 1719 – d. Salzburg, 28 May 1787)

Preface
For most people, Leopold Mozart is best remembered as the father of Wolfgang Amadeus. Historical documentation shows that such a legacy might well appeal to Leopold. He referred to Wolfgang as the “miracle which God let be born in Salzburg.”  In a letter to his son he closed with the words: “On your life depends my life.” And in a letter to his daughter Nannerl, written toward the end of his life, he wrote: “Innumerable experiences have convinced me that one cannot pay enough attention to the education of youth, on which their whole temporary and eternal welfare depends, and for which we are responsible before God.” If this attitude truly reflects the beliefs held by Leopold during his life, then his legacy should be considered a success. However, Leopold was also considered to be a talented musician in his own right during his lifetime. The scholarly consensus is that he could have developed into a composer of tremendous force had he not diverted his attention and energy to the success of his son.

Leopold Mozart was born in Augsburg on November 14, 1719. He was the son of a bookbinder Johann Georg, and attended local schools. From 1735-1736 he was enrolled at the Lyceum adjoining the Jesuit school of St. Salvator. There he performed frequently as an actor and singer, and was also recognized as an accomplished organist and violinist. In 1737, Leopold enrolled at the Salzburg Benedictine University where he studied philosophy and jurisprudence, but he was expelled in 1739 for poor attendance and indifference.

In 1740, he began his career as a professional musician as valet to one of the university’s canons, Johann Baptist, Count of Thurn-Valsassina and Taxis. Perhaps as thanks for this opportunity, Mozart dedicated his first publication, a set of six Trio Sonatas, to the count. The pieces, titled Sonate sei da chiesa e da camera, were published with copper engraving done by Mozart himself. Over the next few years, he continued to compose, producing several Passion Cantatas. These works may have led to his appointment in 1743 as fourth violinist in the court orchestra of Archbishop Leopold Anton Freiherr von Firmian. While in this post, he was also given the opportunity to teach violin and keyboard to the choirboys of the cathedral oratory. By 1758 Mozart had advanced to the post of second violinist, and in 1763 to deputy Kapellmeister. It is during this time that the works presented in this edition would have been composed.

Also during this time, Leopold married Anna Maria Pertl. Wed in 1747, they had seven children, but only two survived to adulthood:  Maria Anna (“Nannerl”, b. 1751) and Wolfgang Amadeus (b. 1756). 1756 was an important year for Leopold, not only because of the birth of his son, but also due to the publication of what many scholars believe is his most substantial contribution to the history of music: the Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule. While the impact of Leopold as a composer is debated, his fame as a pedagogue is not. The work, which was published twice more during his life, is still considered one of the finest primary source materials for understanding performance practice in the 1700s. F. W. Marpurg, famous theorist and composer, wrote of the impression the work made on Leopold’s contemporaries: “For a long time one wished for a work of this kind without daring to expect it. The thorough and skilled virtuoso, the clever and methodical pedagogue, the learned musical scholar -all these qualities, any one of which would suffice to make a man of merit, are united in this work.” Similar to Philipp Emanuel Bach’s famous Versuch über die wahre Art das Klavier zu spielen, the work strives to be a school of interpretation, based on principles frequently found in the 18th century, the furtherance of which can be clearly seen in the works of Leopold’s son. In the book, he maintains that the violin is to be, above all, the “interpreter of human feelings. The more expressive and tender the tone which a violinist produces, the greater is his art. Everything should be played in such a manner that the executant himself feels moved.” Karl Geiringer, writing in the Musical Times in 1939, remarks that “Numerous excellently worded remarks about the methods of instruction, the various failings of the virtuosos, the elements of the art of accompaniment, give proof of an uncommon, clever, clear-thinking man of refined musical taste.”

As his son grew older and proved to be talented, Leopold focused his attention on educating him and developing his talent. It is assumed to be this change in focus that resulted in his being passed up multiple times for the position of Kapellmeister. The collaboration between the elder and younger Mozart was probably considerable. For example, in Wolfgang’s sonata k6, the second minuet is an arrangement of the trio of the third movement of Leopold’s D major serenade. From 1766 to the early 1770s, Leopold served as Wolfgang’s editor and proofreader. The Mozarts embarked on many concert tours of Europe, initially with the whole family, but later just Leopold and Wolfgang. In the furtherance of his son’s career, it was not unusual to see Leopold taking part as valet, impresario, propagandist and travel organizer.

The final decade of Leopold’s life was not a peaceful one. His wife died in Paris in 1778 while accompanying Wolfgang on tour. He also found himself in the middle of a dispute between his son and the Archbishop Colloredo. Having finally achieved a resolution by securing Wolfgang a position as court and cathedral organist, he saw his efforts ultimately come to nothing when in 1781 Wolfgang left the Archbishop’s service to pursue a freelance career in Vienna. Further tension between father and son was created when Wolfgang married Constanze Weber, which Leopold did not wholly approve of. Even though their relationship remained strained, Leopold never lost sight of his love for his son or his sense of duty towards him. In 1785, on a visit to Vienna, Leopold heard the string quartet that Wolfgang had dedicated to Haydn, and received with great pride the famous comment from Haydn: “Before God and as an honest man I tell you that your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name: He has taste, and, furthermore, the most profound knowledge of composition.”

As his relationship with his son suffered, he focused more of his energy on his daughter. Nannerl was married in 1784 to Johann Baptist Franz von Berchtold zu Sonnenburg, and subsequently moved to his hometown of St. Gilgen, roughly six hours east of Salzburg. Leopold did everything he could to support her from afar. Apparently her situation was challenging, as with the marriage came five ill-educated stepchildren. Perhaps for this reason, Nannerl left her first son, born in 1785, in Salzburg, where he was raised by Leopold. There is evidence that he had hoped to raise another musical prodigy. Early on he discerned musical talent in the baby, and hands well-suited to the piano. With eager anticipation he waited for the child to turn three years old, the age when he would have begun his education. Unfortunately, this was not to be. The child, named Leopold after his grandfather, was not even two years of age when his namesake died on May 8, 1787.

While best remembered now as the father of Wolfgang, and best known during his live as the author of Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule, Leopold Mozart has not been without recognition as a composer. His works were regularly performed during his lifetime and continue to be today. His compositions possess a light and graceful character, and sometimes display his sense of humor. His orchestral pieces, especially, possess a delightful realism, as described by Geiringer: “In the ‘ Sledge-drive’ he describes with broad humour the ‘jingling of the horses’ and a ‘lady trembling with cold.’ The originality and popular touch of his humour are apparent in the beginning of the ‘Sinfonia burlesca,’ written only for violas, cellos, double-basses and bassoons, to produce an unusual effect.” Evidence of this same humor can be seen in the instrumentation of some of his symphonies, which use folk-music instruments. For example, in the Divertimento militare we find the ‘”Schwegel-pfeife” of the soldiers (a kind of Piccolo flute), in the Peasant Wedding, bagpipe and hurdy-gurdy, and in the Sledge-drive, tuned little bells.

The works presented in this edition, all of which would have been composed for sacred occasion, are more somber, though not devoid of the graceful touch that characterizes Leopold Mozart’s compositional style. Two of the pieces, the Offertorium de Sanctissimo Sacramento, and the Litaniae de Venerabili, would have been written with liturgical function in mind. Mozart composed several litanies during his life as part of his employment by the church. The Offertorium begins with a verse from Psalm 22, and is answered by the text of O Sacrum Convivium, a Latin prose honoring the Blessed Sacrament. Liturgically, this text was included as an antiphon to Magnificat in the vespers of the liturgical office on the feast of Corpus Christi. The other two works here, an aria each for soprano and tenor, are representational of the genre of sacred cantatas with which Mozart gained recognition as a composer early in his career. Both are written in Da Capo form, showing the remaining influence of Baroque ideas in cantata composition even well into the 1700s. The set of works as a whole is valuable in studying the way Leopold handled various orchestrations, as well as his writing for different solo voices and for chorus in two different languages. His choral movements show both homophonic and fugal styles, as well as dialogue between soloist and chorus. Leopold Mozart was a man who ultimately entrusted his legacy to his son, but as shown in this edition, was quite a capable composer himself.

Paul Thomson, 2016

For performance material please contact Bärenreiter, Kassel. Reprint of a copy from the Musikbibliothek der Münchner Stadtbibliothek, Munich.