Chapter XXI: Court Service in Salzburg (2)

The chorus also takes a different position in conjunction with an orchestra such as this. It is no longer the principal object in the sense of making everything else subservient to itself; but the independence of the instruments renders it freer in its own motion. Since so much was left to be rendered by the orchestra, the chorus was able to characterise what belonged essentially to it all the more sharply and strongly; and the powerful and effective orchestra called forth all the strength of the chorus that they might keep pace with each other. For this there was requisite, besides an intensified meaning in the subjects, a free and melodious treatment, which made the separate voices the foundation for the display of natural and forcible effects of sound. To satisfy these varied conditions in detail, and to unite them harmoniously into combined effect, has been Mozart's successfully executed task. Let any one place those earlier works, in which the voices supply the harmonies to a continuous violin passage and a _basso continuo_ side by side with these hymns where an independent chorus, complete in itself, is united with an equally independent and carefully arranged orchestra, so as to form a compact and solid whole, and what an extraordinary progress is apparent!

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Mozart, who executed this work with loving care, composed both choruses twice over. The first chorus, in the earlier and completely carried-out attempt, has essentially the same features as the later, only the solo parts are simpler and without the delicate accompaniment which gives them their chief charm. The voices are only altered in the details of the main portions of the chorus, but the orchestra is subjected to a thorough elaboration. At first there were no flutes, and the addition of these has given to the oboes a different position and in many ways caused a different grouping of the instruments. But, apart from this, there are so many improvements in detail that this work may be considered as a regular study in instrumentation. The difference between the two versions of the second chorus are more essential. Only the beginning and the fundamental ideas of some of the subjects in the first attempt are identical with the later elaboration. The working-out is quite different, not only much shorter, but in every respect scantier and less important; and more especially are the orchestral parts far removed from their present rich perfection. Mozart did not even finish this first attempt; it breaks off in the middle of the last passage, although only a few bars are wanting. The difference in the elaboration proves once more that the true gift of an artist consists in the unerring judgment with which, after no matter how many experiments in the process of his work, he seizes in the end on what is best for his purpose. It is instructive to follow the progress of development from the earlier ideas and attempts--in the second chorus the main features are more carefully perfected, in the first the details.

The magnificent effect of these two choruses seems to have suggested the idea of bringing the drama to an impressive close by means of another chorus. In the place of the instrumental movement which represented Pheron's death, there was introduced a short exhortation by the High Priest to fear the Divine wrath, which is taken up by the chorus, and passes into joyful trust in the protection of the Almighty.

Mozart's composition (to words provided by a Salzburg

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local poet--perhaps by Schachtner)[26] is altogether worthy of the two first hymns. The bass solo of the High Priest foreshadows the Commendatore in "Don Giovanni." The chorus which follows gives the right expression of humble reverence on the part of the bystanders; and the cheerful dignity of the conclusion is quite appropriate when we take into account that the chorus was intended for the stage and not for the church.

Another composition falling within Mozart's present residence at Salzburg is a German operetta, for which honest Schachtner provided the libretto. It was almost finished when Mozart went to Munich in November, 1780.

His father wrote (December 11, 1780) that nothing could then be done with "Schachtner's play" on account of the public mourning at Vienna. This was all the better, since "the music was not quite ready." But Wolfgang begs him (January 18, 1781) to bring with him "Schachtner's operetta." "People come to see Cannabich, with whom the hearing of such things does not come _mal ä propos_." Later on the father revived the idea of producing the operetta in Vienna, but Wolfgang answered (April 18,1781): "Nothing can be done with Schachtner's operetta, for the same reason that I have often given before. I could not contradict Stephanie; I could only say that the piece--except the long dialogues, which could easily be altered--was very good, but not suited for Vienna, where they only care for comic pieces."

There can be no doubt that this is the opera[27] in two acts, without a title, preserved in Mozart's carefully executed original score, and complete all but the overture and the conclusion (344 K.), which was published by André, with the

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suitable title of "Zaide."[28] The handwriting, style, and instrumentation, as well as some special circumstances to be presently noted, prove this beyond a doubt. The plot may be conjectured in its general features by the songs and music: [29]--

Gomaz has been betrayed into the power of the Sultan Soliman and set to servile tasks. He has won the love of Zaide, who is in the seraglio of the Sultan, but the passion of the latter for her affords little hope to the lovers. Finding Gomaz, overcome with toil, asleep in the garden, she leaves him her likeness. This leads to a declaration of their mutual love. To them attaches himself Alazim, the Sultan's favourite, and apparently the overseer of the slaves, who represents the humane and enlightened Mussulman. He procures for them Turkish dresses, and accompanies them in their flight. At the beginning of the second act we find the Sultan in violent wrath at the treachery he has just discovered. He rages against the fugitives, whom Zaram undertakes to pursue and capture. They are, in fact, soon brought back, and Soliman is not moved to clemency either by the prayers and constancy of Zaide, or by the exhortations of Alazim. In what way a happy _denouement_ is at last brought about cannot be conjectured.[30]

This serious operetta is written in the manner and after the scale of the vaudeville of the time; it does not depend upon the executive powers of the performers nor upon large expedients, and the standard throughout is a modest one. The orchestral combinations prove that it was intended for performance in Salzburg, and the treatment of the separate parts may have had reference to the available _personnel_.

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Zaide lays no claim to anything but a certain amount of fluency. The part of the Sultan requires a strong penetrating voice, but for the rest the requirements of the music are well within the compass of ordinary theatrical singers; musical feeling, and a natural, correct judgment Mozart always displays, because they were in fact a part of himself which could not be laid aside.

In the construction of the songs the traditional arrangement of the Italian aria is not closely adhered to. An effort is evident to make use of the fundamental law requiring contrasting motifs to be compacted into a whole, in developing the individuality of the characters and of the dramatic situations. Nevertheless, the influence of the old tradition is visible in many phenomena, such as the change of tempo, the long ritomelli, the division of the different motifs by regular rests, and their amplification. Yet it is no longer servile obedience to an external type, but an evident determination to evolve the form out of the given situation.

Every artist, no matter how many-sided his genius, feels his nature impelled in a certain direction in which his creative strength works freely and independently, while other paths remain strange to him or are altogether closed. Experience and cultivation go far to equalise his powers, but they are powerless to alter the original impulse. Now dramatic representation makes demands upon the artist for the satisfaction of which he must not indeed overstep the bounds of his individuality--that no man can do with impunity--but he must stretch them to their extremest limits. Here it is that he seeks aid from the poet. The latter can elevate the musician by the strength and vividness of his situation and characters, by the style and vigour of his language, while it needs but little to stimulate his musical production to activity. This aid was denied to Mozart when as a young man he first sought to write dramatic music in its true sense. The first act of the opera before us has no events except the love passages between Gomaz and Zaide, which take their peculiar tone from the mixture of pity for suffering innocence and from the danger threatening in the background. Here Mozart is quite in his element. The

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tendency and fervour of his own sentiments are involuntarily expressed; but, graceful and interesting as is this first act, the poetical expression of the words discovers nothing of the more delicate features of the music. Again, in the second act, the Sultan raging in jealousy, Zaide at first beseeching, then also furious, Alazim moralising--these are elements in the treatment of which Mozart might well look for aid from the poet. And here it was that the poet left him in the lurch altogether. We fancy ourselves in a marionette-show when the Sultan sings:--

Ich bin so bos als gut,
Ich lohne die Verdienste
Mit reichlichem Gewinnste;
Doch reizt man meine Wuth,
So hah' ich auch wohl
Waffen Das Laster zu bestrafen,
Und diese fordern Blut.

And Zaide:--

Tiger! wetze deine Klauen,
Freu' dich der erschlichnen Beut'!
Straf ein thörichtes Vertrauen
Auf verstellte Zartlichkeit!
Komm nur schneli und tödt' uns beide,
Saug' der Unschuld warmes Blut,
Reiss' das Herz vom Eingeweide
Und ersättge deine Wuth

The music totters under the weight of such words as these. The songs, which follow one after the other, are indeed well conceived and carefully executed, and even for the most part characteristic; but their characterisation is all external, and when suggested by different touches in the text it is rarely happy. There is a want of harmony and balance, as well as of impulse and warmth, so that the really beautiful separate ideas have no proportionate effect. It is remarkable that these songs are all too long, and their cadenzas are especially tedious, as if quantity was to make up for quality. Further adherence to the antiquated aria form is particularly noticeable; as if, when the musical construction no longer proceeded directly from the impulse

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of the dramatic situation, the old forms involuntarily asserted their sway. The quartet (16) in which the musical and dramatic interest is, as it were, concentrated, contrasts very favourably with the solo songs. The _dramatis personæ_ are all happily characterised; the Sultan, implacable in his anger, Gomaz seeking to console Zaide, who, in her turn, strives to purchase his life by the sacrifice of her own, and Aiazim, overcome with grief at being unable to see a way out of the complications that he himself has brought about. Here too we have a conflict of opposing emotions faithfully and accurately delineated, and all directed to one central point; it is, in fact, a situation which fulfils all the essential conditions of musical representation. Here then Mozart is in his element. The different characters are drawn with a steady hand, every emotion is definitely and accurately expressed, and the elements thus gained are employed as materials for a construction which is as faithful to the laws of musical organisation as to the requirements of the dramatic situation. The quartet thus fulfils the two essential conditions of dramatic music, and reveals itself as a consistent and harmonious piece of work, the separate motifs of which are beautiful and expressive, while the interest is kept alive by alternation and climax, and a vivid dramatic picture is produced by the artistic treatment of musical forms. The grouping of the voices in manifold variety of combination displays, as if on a ground plan, a symmetrical, well-disposed musical edifice. As they proceed they develop out of the simplest situations the most varied shades of sentiment, so that the music carries into the innermost recesses of the mind and heart what the words have merely hinted at. Even the actual musical formulas, such as the entry of the voices in imitation, produce, in the right place, such a direct and vivid effect that they appear to have been invented for the special case. As to the main conception on which the construction of the quartet rests, it might, if the violent rage of the Sultan were considered as the chief point, have been made more passionate and agitated without overstepping truth of expression; but Mozart has in preference emphasised the more fervid and reserved

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emotions of the other characters, to which the expression of anger must be subordinated. This conception has perhaps been suggested by the greater ease which it afforded for the introduction of the necessary reconciliation of the characters; partly, also, a more quiet and contained piece might appear to be of better effect after so many lively and agitated songs; it is certain, however, that it was the conception most in accordance with Mozart's nature as an artist.

Equally in accord with the situation, but not by any means so deep and expressive, is the terzet (8) which brings the first act to a conclusion. In this there is no conflict of sentiment; Zaide, Gomaz and Alazim are happy in the feeling of mutual love and friendship, and in the hope of a speedy deliverance; the fear lest their plan of escape should fail casts only a passing shadow on their cheerful frame of mind.[31] The music therefore expresses content and happiness with great tenderness and the purest melody, especially in the first movement. The duet between Zaide and Gomaz (5), whose love is not a stormy passion, but the devotion of two noble beings, expresses in the most delightful manner the purity and openness of a happy affection.

There are not wanting, either such delicate features of detail as characterise the genuine musical dramatist. For instance, in Gomaz' song (6), when he is divided between gratitude to Alazim and impatience to hasten to Zaide, there is charming humour in his confusion, particularly at the words "doch ich muss dich schnell verlassen," and "lass dich küssen, lass dich drücken," which in no way interferes with the more serious sentiment of the song as a whole. The union of humour and sentiment at the close is excellent. While the accompaniment continues the last subject, Gomaz, who had rushed off in hot haste, turns back, and sings once more with heartfelt emotion: "Herr und Freund, wie dank' ich dir!" There is a pretty touch in Osmin's air (11) where the purely musical return to the theme is used to express recurring bursts of hearty laughter.

The workmanship of the opera, both as regards the

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treatment of the voices and of the orchestra, is, as might be expected, thorough and sure. The orchestra deserves special notice. We find only the instruments in use at Salzburg, and the wind instruments are sparingly employed. The flutes and oboes generally alternate, but they are together and in conjunction with bassoons and horns in the quartet(16) and in one of the Sultan's airs (12); trumpets and drums are only used in the Sultan's raging scene (9). Many songs (1, 11, 13) are accompanied by stringed instruments alone. The hand of a master is recognisable throughout, in the life and movement which we follow with unflagging interest, in the force and beauty of the sound effects, and in the delicacy of the lights and shades. Many touches recall later works of Mozart; but these for the most part consist in turns of expression, in the treatment of the accompaniment, &c. One decided reminiscence is not without interest. The quartet is introduced by a short passage for the wind instruments, which recurs several times in the course of the piece, whereupon the voices enter as follows:--[See Page Image]

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where it appears in the song of Constanze, "Traurigkeit ward mir zum Loose" (10) in the following form:--[See Page Imge]

The alternate rendering of the subject by the voices and accompaniment, and the alternation between the wind instruments, give it a new charm; and it is not without intention that the instrumentation here is less full than in the former case.

One peculiarity of this operetta is the introduction of melodrama. J. J. Rousseau, in his production of "Pygmalion" at Lyons in 1770 and Paris in 1775, gave the first example of a dramatic piece in which spoken dialogue was interspersed with music in the nature of obbligato recitatives.[32] The attempt thus to render music effective as a means of dramatic expression was successful, although the critics raised objections to the union of music and speech.[33]

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Independently of Rousseau's experiment, it had occurred to Brandes in 1772 at Weimar to adapt Gerstenberg's cantate "Ariadne" as a melodrama for his wife, who was an excellent actress, but no musician. Schweitzer undertook the composition, but owing to the interruption caused by his "Alceste" he did not finish it.[34] When Brandes removed to Gotha in 1775, he transferred "Ariadne" to Georg Benda, with whose music it was then produced.[35] The extraordinary success it met with suggested to Gotter the idea of writing the melodrama "Medea" for Madame Seyler, the rival of Madame Brandes; this also was composed by Benda.[36] The success of the melodramas was universal and extraordinary.[37] Critics might object to the principle as they pleased,[38] the public was not to be reasoned out of its enthusiasm, which was shared even by many connoisseurs.[39] That the success wras mainly due to Benda's expressive music, which all joined in praising, admits of no doubt, and none of his successors have been able to produce a similar effect.[40]

Mozart's idea of substituting melodrama for accompanied recitative in German opera was a kindred one (Vol. II., p. 74), and the same idea is evident in other directions.[41] It is put into practice in "Zaide." Two important monologues are melodramatically treated; one by Gomaz at the beginning of the first, and another by Soliman at the beginning of

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the second act.[42] Benda's composition has evidently been taken as a model; the music in short periods, often only in detached chords, follows each turn of the monologue, and seeks to give expression to the lightest shades of sentiment. The musical treatment is essentially different from that of obbligato recitative, where the independent instrumental passages are connected partly by the recitative itself, which is always sung, partly by the harmonies of the accompaniment; in the melodrama, on the other hand, every passage, even the smallest, is treated as distinctly apart. In the recitatives, again, which are sung, the lighter shades of sentiment may be rendered by cadence, rhythm, or harmony, without the intervention of any instrumental passages. In the melodrama this is impossible, and in order to accentuate details, the continuity of the dialogue must be sacrificed; another decided and almost inevitable drawback is the dependence upon details for characterisation, which is thereby often out of proportion. In this way, spoken dialogue loses its chief means of effect--that is, its continuity of idea--while nothing is gained for musical unity, which ought to make up for all deficiencies by the steady maintenance of a sustained mood. For, impelled as Mozart might be by his nature to gather into a whole the shattered members of this musical representation by means of rhythmical combinations and harmonic progressions, this was only possible to a limited degree, and musical construction in its proper sense can only exist in those few places where the music is independent of the melodrama. The main point, however, cannot be denied, which is that the words and the music are not here so blended that each part is richly repaid for what it sacrifices by its union with the other, but that each is continually asserting itself in opposition to the other, so that both are in fact the losers. To

[42] It is particularly to be regretted that the original words for these melodramatic scenes have not been printed. The alterations in Soliman's monologue are not so essential, but Gomaz's monologue is entirely transformed. In the original text he was absorbed by his unpleasant position; when he prays for refreshing slumber, and the music represents his repeated starting up from rest, the altered version puts love-ravings for Zaide into his mouth.

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this may be added the great difficulty of satisfying the requirements of music, together with those of declamatory speech, and of filling the pauses with suitable gestures and movements, the amount of histrionic art necessary being rarely possessed by singers. Benda's melodramas were written for distinguished actresses, whose forte lay in their declamation and action; the situations were selected with this view, the dialogue was constructed in accordance with it; in fact, each scene was self-contained, not incorporated as a component part of a greater whole. Objections of this kind must have acted upon Mozart at a later time; at all events, he never again employed melodrama, not even in the "Zauberflote," when the occasion seemed ready to hand. It was nevertheless often introduced into operas--and partially also into plays--with very good effect. But the effect relies chiefly either on the material impressions of sound or upon the delicate and intellectual treatment of the musical interludes, suggesting familiar ideas, sentiments, or fancies, which exist in the minds of the speakers, though they are incapable of expression in speech.[43] These are certainly admirable points in their place, but they can scarcely serve as organising principles in a work of art; the melodrama must be content to take its place as a subordinate and connecting member if it is to have its true effect.

Mozart never took up this opera again, and he was right. It could only have been rendered fit for the stage by complete reconstruction. The first act, however graceful the music may be, has too little variety in its treatment and tone to gain favour on the stage; the second is, as we have seen, barely tolerable. After the composition of the "Entführung," "Zaide" was heard of no more, partly on account of the similarity of subject and accessories, partly because it was so far surpassed in every respect that it could not fail to fall henceforth into oblivion.[44]

FOOTNOTES OF CHAPTER XXI.

[Footnote 1: The minuet movement in symphonies was not liked in Salzburg. The minuet of the Symphony in B flat major was written later (to judge by the handwriting) for a performance in Vienna, and appended on a separate leaf. Mozart began a minuet to the C major symphony, but only finished the first part, and crossed it out in the score. The effort not to make the symphony too long is evident throughout, and especially in the non-repetition of the first movement, although it is completely detached.]

[Footnote 2: The first movement (Adagio, Allegro con spirito), the Andantino and the Finale are (not quite correctly) printed as an independent symphony. (Breit-kopf and Härtel, 7.)]

[Footnote 3: André possessed a careful copy of these two pieces, inscribed by Mozart "Sinfonia Concertante," as if for their special performance at a concert in Vienna, March 20,1783.]

[Footnote 4: The customary attempt to give a peculiar charm to the trio of the minuet by means of unusual instrumentation is here apparent in the solos for the flute in the first trio and for the horn in the second. In Mozart's autograph score the flute part is left blank: was the player to improvise?]

[Footnote 5: I do not know André's authority for his assertion that it was composed in 1780, but it appears to me to be justified. Mozart sends from Vienna (June 27, 1781) for "The Sonata ä quatre mains in B, and the two Concertos for two claviers," and he writes later on that he had played the Concerto ä duo with Frl. Auemhammer at a concert (November 24, 1781). Two clarinets were added to the original accompaniment, on a flyleaf, for this performance. The second concerto which is mentioned is no doubt that originally written for three claviers, and afterwards for two (p. 331).]

[Footnote 6: The Credo as far as the "Et in spiritum" was afterwards laid aside; it was in 3-4, with the doubtful superscription, "Tempo di ciacconna."]

[Footnote 7: The Dixit and Magnificat of the first vesper is in C major, Confitebor in E minor, Beatus vir in B flat major, Laudate pueri in F major, Laudate Dominum in A flat major. The Dixit and Magnificat of the second vesper are also in C major, Confitebor in E flat major, Beatus vir in G major, Laudate pueri in D minor, Laudate Dominum in F major.]

[Footnote 8: The accompaniment consists, besides the organ (which is only once obbligato), of two violins and bass, trumpets and drums (these last only in the Dixit and Magnificat), and trombones in unison with the choir. The tenors invariably go with the bass; but, a rare occurrence, the violoncello is frequently distinct from the double-bass. Once a very simple solo for the bassoon, _ad libitum_, occurs.]

[Footnote 9: The simple but sometimes independent accompaniment, especially of the violins, is very beautiful, and heightens the effect, as it does in the Mass.]

[Footnote 10: In the second vesper a long triplet passage is given to the solo soprano at the words "Cornu eius exaltabitur," but nothing further comes of it.]

[Footnote 11: Printed as an offertory, "Amavit eus Dominus" (Vienna: Diabelli).]

[Footnote 12: Printed as an offertory, "Sancti et justi" (Vienna: Diabelli).]

[Footnote 13: Wolfgang had promised to compose an aria for him, but had not done so when he was summoned to Munich for "Idomeneo", reproached by his father, he found time in the full swing of his work at "Idomeneo" to write this aria and send it to Salzburg (November 22,1780).]

[Footnote 14: The Wien. Ztg. (1786, No. 31) contains an obituary notice. Cf. Gervinus, Gesch. d. Poet. Nat. Litt., IV., p. 590.]

[Footnote 15: Published in Vienna, 1774, Frankfort, 1775, and in Freih. von Gebler's Theatralischen Werken (Prague and Dresden 1772), III., p. 305.]

[Footnote 16: Confirmed by an expression of Mozart to his father, written from Vienna (February 15, 1783): "I am really sorry that I cannot make use of the music to "Thamos." The piece, having failed here, is destined to be never again performed. If it were, it would be solely on account of the music, and that is scarcely likely. It is certainly a pity!" Mozart gave his music, in 1786, to the needy theatrical manager Bulla, who made a good profit by it (Nissen, p. 685); "König Thamos" was given the same year in Berlin (Teichmann's Litt. Nachl., p. 40). The whole composition was successfully performed at Frankfort in the winter of 1865, with a connecting poem by Gisb. von Vincke.]

[Footnote 17: Cf. Schmid, Nekrolog, 1., p. 363.]

[Footnote 18: Lessing, Hamb. Dramat. St., 26 (Werke, VI., p. 115).]

[Footnote 19: Betracht. d. Mannh. Tonsch., I., p. 313; III., p. 253.]

[Footnote 20: "Haydn's _entr'actes_ (to 'Zaire') are really fine," writes L. Mozart (October 6, 1777). "One of them was an arioso with variations for violon-celli, flutes, oboe, &c., and next after a _piano_ variation came one with Turkish music so suddenly and unexpectedly that all the women started, and there was a general titter. Between the fourth and fifth acts was a cantabile with recitatives for the English horn, and then the arioso again, which accorded very well with the sadness of the preceding scene and with the following act."]

[Footnote 21: It might be supposed that the overture before mentioned (Vol. II., p. 86) was intended for this play, and the date of the composition agrees with this supposition. But the paper differs from that of the other instrumental movements, and Mozart was exact and careful in these matters. Something also of the solemn dignity characteristic of the choruses might be looked for in an overture to "König Thamos"; in other respects it is not unsuitable.]

[Footnote 22: The usual Salzburg orchestra is kept in view for these movements: strings, oboes, bassoons, and horns; and for the three entr'actes (I., IV., V.), trumpets and drums.]

[Footnote 23: Wieland enthusiastically praises the completed drama (Auswahl, Denkw., Briefe, II., pp. 14, 26). Soon afterwards (p. 27) he wished the conclusion altered, and complained that the virtuous people were unreal, and the wicked ones veritable demons. Ramier, Sulzer, Thümmel, also spoke highly in praise of "König Thamos" (Schlegel, Deutsch. Mus., IV., pp. 139, 153, 159). It was at once translated into French (Wieland, Auswahl. Denkw. Briefe, II., p. 30), and into Italian in 1780, by J. S. von Berghoff, secretary to Prince Colloredo. A handsomely bound copy of this translation is preserved with Mozart's score; it was probably sent to the Archbishop, and Mozart may have thought of adapting his choruses to the Italian version.]

[Footnote 24: Schweitzer professed to discern in the composer to the choruses which Gebler sent to Ramier and Wieland a beginner of great promise. That this talented beginner was not Mozart (although he was in Vienna in the summer of 1773) no one who casts a glance over the choruses will for a moment doubt. "Two choruses to the play of 'Thamos' by Mozart, scored for the piano by C. Zulehner," were published by Simrock, in Bonn, and are certainly not genuine. The fact that Mozart was known to have written an anonymous composition for the stage no doubt caused this one to be attributed to him.]

[Footnote 25: Gebler was Grand Master of the district lodge, "zum neuen Bund," in 1784 (Lewis, Gesch. d. Freimaurerei in Oesterreich, p. 162).]

[Footnote 26: This concluding chorus is wanting in Gebler's works, and in the Italian translation thus proving its Salzburg origin.]

[Footnote 27: As early as 1799 the following inquiry was made in the Intelligenz-Blatt of the A. M. Z., II., p. 21: "Among Mozart's posthumous works has been found a German vaudeville, written apparently in 1778 or 1779; it is without a title, and contains the following characters: Gomaz, Zaide, Sultan, Zaram, Soliman, Osmin, &c. Any person acquainted with the title of this work, or with the fact of its having been printed, is requested to communicate with the editor of this paper." The inquiry appears to have remained unanswered.]

[Footnote 28: "Zaide," Oper in zwei Acten von W. A. Mozart. Score (and pianoforte arrangement). Offenbach: Joh. André. André has added an overture and a closing chorus for the purpose of performance, to which there can be no objection. Mozart's composition is given intact, but the text has been altered by C. Gollmick. Schachtner's libretto is truly insufferable, but it is indispensable to the critical examination of Mozart's music.]

[Footnote 29: Schachtner has evidently imitated a French original, but I have not been able to discover it. I have failed to procure an opera entitled "Zaide," in three acts, by La Mare, composed by Royer (1739).]

[Footnote 30: The resemblance of some situations to the "Entfuhrung" is as striking as the difference of the two works on the whole. An Osmin appears as a secondary character, and sings a comic aria in the second act, which seems to have no immediate connection with the action. The disclosure of the flight was made in the original by Zaram, not by Osmin.]

[Footnote 31: This part did not satisfy Mozart, and he composed it again.]

[Footnote 32: Castil-Blaze, Molière Musicien, II., p. 423.]

[Footnote 33: La Harpe, Corr. Litt., I., p. 280.]

[Footnote 34: Brandes Lebensgesch., II., pp. 140, 157.]

[Footnote 35: Brande's Lebensgesch;, II., pp. 173, 184. Reichardt says (Kunstmag., I., p. 86; Mus. Alman., 1796, G. Benda) that Benda was the first to propose it; but this seems incorrect.]

[Footnote 36: Brande's Lebensgesch., II., p. 193. Teutsch. Mercur, 1775, III., p. 276.]

[Footnote 37: Brande's "Ariadne" was successfully performed in Paris in 1781 (Grimm, Corr. Litt., X., p. 450).]

[Footnote 38: Eberhard, Neue Verm. Schr. (Halle, 1788), p. 1. N. Bibl. d. Schön Wiss., XXXVII., p. 177. Forkel, Krit. Bibl., III., p. 250. Tagebuch d. Mannheim, Schaub., I., p. 327. Nachtr. zu Sulzer's Theorie., Ill, p. 318. Herder was of opinion that music and declamation met at evety point; they could not unite (Böttiger, Litt. Zust., I., p. 126).]

[Footnote 39: Reichardt, Kunstmag., I., p. 86. Rintel, Zelter, p. 100. Cf. Huber, Tamira, p. 79.]

[Footnote 40: A list of melodramas is given by Schletterer, Das Deutsche Singspiel, p.225.]

[Footnote 41: Reichardt, Geist des Musik. Kunstmag., p. 102. Knigge, Ephemer. f. Theat. u. Litt. (1785, II., p. 100).]

[Footnote 42: It is particularly to be regretted that the original words for these melodramatic scenes have not been printed. The alterations in Soliman's monologue are not so essential, but Gomaz's monologue is entirely transformed. In the original text he was absorbed by his unpleasant position; when he prays for refreshing slumber, and the music represents his repeated starting up from rest, the altered version puts love-ravings for Zaide into his mouth.]

[Footnote 43: It will suffice to remind the reader of the fine melodrama in "Fidelio."]

[Footnote 44: "Zaide" was performed in Frankfort on January 27, 1866, and though naturally not a stage success, it was a most welcome instruction to those who brought historical interest to bear upon it.]