Chapter XXXVIII: "don Giovanni." (4)

The grave and elevated tone betokening the presence of higher moral forces is additionally impressive after the unquiet, passionate activity which precedes it. For the first time in this finale the voices put forth all their power and beauty, and they receive powerful assistance from the accompanying wind instruments. The voices seem to stand out from the dark background of the peculiarly deep notes of the clarinets, but the chords which follow are like gleams of light cast upon them, and the whole movement appears transfigured in the glory of a higher region. The scene changes, as was not unusual in finales, and we find ourselves in the ball-room. The dance ended, the guests disperse for refreshment, and Don Giovanni and Leporello, as hosts, Zerlina unable to escape Don Giovanni's observation, and Masetto, jealously watching her, come to the front. The orchestra plays the principal part in the lively movement, 6-8, which portrays this situation. Rhythm, melodies, and instrumental colouring, all are stamped with voluptuous excitement, and we seem to breathe the heated air of the ball-room. The voices move freely, either joining in the orchestral subjects or going their own way in easy parlando or prominent melodies, grouped according to the requirements of the situation. The entrance of the masks gives, as has already been observed, a different tone to the scene; the stranger guests are courteously greeted, and Don Giovanni's summons to the dance places fully before the spectators the ball-room scene, which has so often been suggested. The real motive of the scene being musical, the dramatic representation is skilfully made the object of the musical construction.

The company is a mixed one, and different dances are arranged to suit the taste of all; thus also Don Giovanni is provided with the means of freeing himself of those persons who come in the way of his design. His distinguished guests tread a minuet, he himself joins in the country dance with Zerlina, while Leporello whirls Masetto in the giddy waltz. The musical representation of the situation in the three different dances is thus made the chief point of the scene, the plot moving rapidly onward; none of the characters

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are in a position to express themselves fully, and the dance alone preserves the continuity of the whole. The combination of three dances simultaneously in varied rhythm and expression, offered to Mozart a task in counterpoint which he has accomplished with so much ease and certainty, that the untechnical listener scarcely believes in its difficulty. The arithmetical calculation that three bars in 2-4 are equal to two bars in 3-4, and one bar 3-8 represents a crotchet in a triplet, is easily made, and the system presents no difficulty. But the problem really consists in concealing the system beneath the melody and rhythm, and in causing the necessary coincidence of the phrasing to appear a natural and unstudied one, dependent on the individual character of each dance. One dance follows another as a matter of course. The minuet begins--the same which has been heard before. At the repetition of the second part, the second orchestra prepares to strike up, the open strings are struck in fifths, touched _pizzicato_, and little shakes tried, the violoncello joins in in the same way--and all falls naturally into the minuet, as it pursues its even course.[181] At last a gay country dance (2-4) strikes up, as different in melody and rhythm from the minuet as can be, although it is of course constructed on the same fundamental bass. At the second part, the third orchestra proceeds to tune up as the second had done before, and falls in with a fresh and merry waltz (3-8).[182] Before the minuet recommences, Zerlina's cry for help is heard, both dances and music break off suddenly, and the orchestra, which has hitherto been silent, strikes in with full force.[183] Zerlina's cry for help brings about a complete change of

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mood and tone. All present, except Don Giovanni and Leporello, are inspired by one sentiment, and form a compact and solid mass opposing the two, either in unison or by means of a purely harmonious treatment of the voices. Only pit particular points, such as the unmasking, do the different characters stand out, and the imitation by means of which the parts are again united emphasises the impression of strict connection between them. This kind of grouping requires a broad, grand treatment, and a more forcible one both for the voices and the orchestra. Mozart has nevertheless happily avoided the adoption of a tragic tone, which would have been unsuited to the situation. The case is not, after all, too grave to allow of Don Giovanni and Leporello expressing their confusion and dismay comically, after their manner, and the humorous character of the opera is thereby preserved.[184] Still more simple is the construction of the second finale. The introduction of table music taken from different operas renders the supper scene a very masterpiece of musical fun; but the episode has no direct connection with the action.[185] This begins with the entrance of Elvira, with a gravity and an impulse which have been wanting since the beginning of the opera. In opposition to Elvira's glowing passion, to which her higher resolves lend nobler impulse than before, so that even Leporello is carried away by her energy, Don Giovanni's sensuality stands out in stronger relief, until it outrages man's noblest and most sacred feelings; the contradiction develops a depth of pathos

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which prepares for the approaching catastrophe. The force and fulness of musical expression in this scene are as remarkable as the deep truth of its characterisation. Compare the passionate expressions of Donna Anna with this outbreak of Elvira, and the fundamental difference of the two characters is clear; so also it is plain that, inimical to each other as they may be, Elvira and Don Giovanni are creatures of the same mould, having the same easily excited sensual impulses. Leporello's terror-stricken announcement of the Commendatore's approach comes as a relief to this highly wrought scene. In point of fact, the comic tone increases the suspense more than even Elvira's piercing cry; ludicrous as is the fear of Leporello, the main impression it produces is one of horror at its cause. The first fear-struck tones of the orchestra, collecting their forces for what is to come, the first simple, firm tones of the spectre's voice[186] transport us to the sphere of the marvellous. This sense of the supernatural is preserved by Mozart throughout the scene, and the hearer seems to himself to be standing in breathless suspense at the very verge of the abyss. It is produced by an uninterrupted climax of characteristically shaded movement; and the object which the master has kept steadily before him has been to produce at every point the expression of a grandeur and sublimity surpassing that of earth. To accomplish this, external means, such as the disposition of harmonies and instrumental colouring are employed with equal boldness and skill, but the true conditions of its extra-ordinary effect are the high conception and powerful inspiration which animate the whole. When to this it is added that Don Giovanni and Leporello, although under the spell of the supernatural apparition, act freely, each according to his individual nature, without for an instant prejudicing the unity of tone, it must be acknowledged that the union of dramatic truth and lofty ideal is here complete. After this prolonged and painful suspense the breaking of the storm

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which is to deliver Don Giovanni into the power of the internal spirits comes as a long-expected catastrophe. The spirits themselves Mozart has wisely kept in the background. Invisible in the darkness, they summon their victim in few, monotonous, but appalling notes. This allows of a more animated expression to the torture of despair which seizes Don Giovanni, and to the terror of Leporello; while the orchestra depicts the tumult of all the powers of nature. This scene can only attain to its full effect when theatrical managers can make up their minds to allow the music to work on the imagination and feeling of the audience, unimpeded by a display of fireworks and demoniac masks.[187] This finale, after all that has preceded it, does not certainly produce a calming effect, but it relieves the suspense, and virtually brings the plot to an end. The entrance of the other characters to learn the fate of Don Giovanni from Leporello, and to satisfy the audience as to their own fate, is chiefly a concession to the custom of assembling all the chief persons on the stage at the close of the opera, which in this case seems justified by the necessity of concluding with a composing and moral impression. It is not, however, the true close of the plot, and the audience have already been quite sufficiently informed as to the fate of the characters.

Regarded from a musical point of view, Leporello's narrative--interrupted by exclamations of astonishment from the others--is very fresh and spirited, and the surprise well and delicately expressed; the movement would be most effective in another place, but here it falls decidedly flat. The larghetto in which the duet between Don Ottavio and Donna Anna, with the short remarks of the others, is brought to a close is lovely, but not so weighty in substance as the situation demands. The closing movement is very fine, and Mozart has imparted such a clear and tender radiance to the church-music sort of form in which he has embodied the moral maxims, that a flush like that of dawn seems to rise

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from the gloomy horror which has buried the gay life of the drama in deepest night. It was soon felt that to preserve the interest of the audience after the spirit scene was impossible. An attempt at abbreviation was annexed to the original score, omitting the larghetto so far as it referred to personal circumstances. Whether this experiment was made in Prague or Vienna,[188] it appears not to have sufficed, and at the performance in Vienna the opera closed, as it almost invariably has later, with Don Giovanni's descent into the lower regions. At his fall all the characters enter and give a cry of horror, which is inserted in the score on the chord of D major. A few attempts have been made later, either on theoretical or practical grounds, to restore the original closing scene.[189] Attempts at a modification such as have been made are very objectionable. At a performance in Paris Don Giovanni's disappearance was followed by the entry of Donna Anna's corpse borne by mourners, and the chanting of the "Dies iræ" from Mozart's Requiem.[190] This idea suggested to Kugler[191] the further one of changing the scene after Don Giovanni's fall to the mausoleum of the Commendatore, and introducing the funeral ceremonies, the chorus singing from Mozart's Re-queim, "Lux perpetua luceat ei" (not _eis_, "because it is only for one person"), "Domine, cum sanctis tuis quia pius es," to be followed by the "Osanna in excelsis" as an appropriate conclusion. It is as difficult to comprehend how these two movements can be thus combined, as how reverence for the master can allow of his sacred music being thus tacked on to an opera without any regard to unity of style and workmanship. Viol, supported by Wolzogen, adopted this idea so far as, instead of the usual conclusion, to insert the funeral service in the mausoleum, and have the closing movement of the opera sung there; but it appears

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altogether out of place. Nothing can be more objectionable than to make use of separate parts of a work of art in a different sense to that intended by the master; omission is, on the whole, a less hurtful proceeding.

A consideration of the finale proves what is borne out by the whole opera, that, though inferior in artistic unity of plot to "Figaro," it excels that work in the musical nature of its situations and moods. In "Figaro" we are amazed to find how, within the narrow limits of emotion presented to us, seldom rising to passion, never to a higher pathos, our minds are entranced by the grace and spirit of the representation. In "Don Giovanni," on the contrary, there is scarcely a side of human nature which is not expressed in the most varied shades of individuality and situation; through the checkered scenes of daily life we are led to the very gates of the spirit world, and the light of original wit and humour shines upon the work from beginning to end. The difficulty for a dramatically gifted author lay in moderation. Da Ponte having placed his "Don Giovanni" in the present, Mozart with ready wit draws upon reality where-ever possible for matters of detail and colouring. This freshness and fulness of realism distinguishes "Don Giovanni" from "Figaro," without entailing any loss of ideality, for every subject drawn from real life is turned to the service of the artistic conception of the whole. The statues of the Parthenon or the figures of Raphael teach how the great masters of the formative arts follow nature in all and each of their creations; they teach, too, how the treasure which the eye of genius descries in the depths of nature must be first received into a human heart, thence to emerge as a complete and self-contained whole, appealing to the sympathies of all mankind. Nor is it otherwise with the great masters of sound, whatever be the impulse which urges them to expression, whether the words of the poet, the experiences of life, the impressions of form, colour, or sound;

the idea of the whole, which inspires it with life and endows it with form and meaning, must come from the depths of his own spirit, and is the creative force, which is unceasingly active until the perfect work of art is produced. The ideal

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of such a work is the perfection which is conceivable and visible to mankind in art alone; in it that which elsewhere appears as contrast or opposition rises to the highest unity. This once attained, we experience the satisfaction which for mortals exists in art alone. But our delight and admiration rise still higher when this harmony is maintained throughout a varied and many-sided composition, containing a wealth of interests and motives appealing to our most opposite sympathies, and stirring the very depths of our being--then it is that we feel the full and immediate inspiration of that Spirit Who looks upon the universe as the artist looks upon his work.

FOOTNOTES OF CHAPTER XXXVIII.

[Footnote 1: Da Ponte, Mem., I., 2 p. 98.]

[Footnote 2: Mozart wrote the beautiful air "Non sö d'onde viene" for him on March 18 (512 K., Vol. I., p. 422).]

[Footnote 3: Cramer, Mag. Mus., 1788, II., p. 47.]

[Footnote 4: His naïve and highly entertaining autobiography appeared in Leipzig in 1801.]

[Footnote 5: Dittersdorf, Selbstbiogr., p. 228.]

[Footnote 6: Gerber, A. M. Z., I., p. 307; ibid, III., p. 377. Cf. Biedenfeld, Die Komische Oper, p. 60.]

[Footnote 7: Berl. Mus. Wochenbl., 1791, pp. 37, 54, 163.]

[Footnote 8: Müller, Abschied, p. 277.]

[Footnote 9: Cramer, Magaz. f. Musik, 1788, II., p. 53.]

[Footnote 10: "Mozart auf der Reise nach Prag" is the title of a novel by Eduard Möricke (Stuttgart, 1856), written with the author's usual grace and delicacy. At the same time it is to be regretted that he has laid so much stress on the lighter, more worldly side of Mozart's character; and it is scarcely conceivable that a poet could have ascribed to Mozart a manner of composition which was as far as it was possible to be from his nature as an artist.]

[Footnote 11: Particulars concerning this visit to Prague are given by J. R. Stiepanek in the preface to his Bohemian translation of "Don Giovanni" (Prague, 1825, German translation by Nissen, p. 515)* The Prague reminiscences are revived also in the "Bohemia" (1856, Nos. 21-24). Heinse gives some details communicated by L. Bassi (Reise--u. Lebensskizzen, I., p. 208), and J. P. Lyser draws from the same source in his Mozart-Album (Hamburg, 1856). These accounts are, however, wanting, not alone in aesthetic culture, but in the discernment of what is historically true. On a lower level still must be placed Herib. Rau's "Cultur-historischer Roman" "Mozart" (Frankfort, 1858), which has little in common either with culture or history; his description of the visit to Prague is in especial a more appalling calumny on Mozart's moral and artistic character than has been ventured on by any of his opponents.]

[Footnote 12: Ost und West, 1839, No. 42, p. 172. A memorial tablet was afterwards placed on this house.]

[Footnote 13: The vineyard is called Petranka (Smichow, No. 169), and belongs, according to the "Bohemia" (1856, p. 118), to the merchant Lambert Popelka.]

[Footnote 14: In the autograph score the duet is written on smaller paper, and somewhat more hastily than the other numbers, as was the case with Masetto's air.]

[Footnote 15: Castil-Blaze has accepted these professional fables as literal truth (Molière Musicien, I., p. 310).]

[Footnote 16: Da Ponte, Mem., I., 2, p. 103.]

[Footnote 17: The recitative and these two passages are omitted from the autograph score, which prevents any identification of the alterations. In "Idomeneo" the Oracle is accompanied only by trombones and horns. Gugler throws doubt on the anecdote (Morgenbl., 1865, No. 33, p. 777).]

[Footnote 18: At the wedding festivities in Vienna, on October 1, Martin's "Arbore di Diana" was performed (Wien. Ztg., 1787, No. 79, Anh.), and was repeated nine times in the same year.]

[Footnote 19: Wien. Ztg., 1787, No. 84. "Don Giovanni" was to have been played for the first time on this occasion, and Sonnleithner informs me that a book of the words had actually been printed, with the title-page, "Da rappresentarsi nel teatro di Praga per l'arrive di S. A. R. Maria Teresa, Archiduchessa d' Austria, sposa del Ser. Principe Antonio di Sassonia l'anno 1787." Here the first act closes with the quartet (8); the second act is intact. The performance did not take place, the Princess leaving Prague on October 15.]

[Footnote 20: Niemetschek, p. 87.]

[Footnote 21: In Mozart's Thematic Catalogue the subject of the overture is entered under date October 28, with the title, "Il Dissoluto Punito, o il Don Giovanni: Opera buffa in 2 Atti--Pezzi di Musica 24." The overture is, as usual, written as a separate piece, hastily, but with scarcely any alterations.]

[Footnote 22: A very unfavourable account of his greed for gain and unscrupulousness is given in the A. M. Z., II., p. 537.]

[Footnote 23: Da Ponte, Mem., I., 2, p. 103. The fee which he received was fifty ducats.]

[Footnote 24: Wien. Ztg. (1787, No. 91): "On Monday, October 29, Kapellmeister Mozart's long-expected opera, 'Don Giovanni, das steinerne Gastmahl,' was performed by the Italian opera company of Prague. Musicians and connoisseurs are agreed in declaring that such a performance has never before been witnessed in Prague. Herr Mozart himself conducted, and his appearance in the orchestra was the signal for cheers, which were renewed at his exit. The opera is exceedingly difficult of execution, and the excellence of the representation, in spite of the short time allowed for studying the work, was the subject of general remark. The whole powers, both of actors and orchestra, were put forward to do honour to Mozart. Considerable expense was incurred for additional chorus and scenery, which has been generously defrayed by Herr Guardasoni. The enormous audience was a sufficient guarantee of the public favour."]

[Footnote 25: So the story was told on the authority of Mozart's son, in the Berl. Musikztg. Echo (1856, No. 25, p. 198).]

[Footnote 26: L. de Loménin, Beaumarchais et son Temps, II., p. 399.]

[Footnote 27: Da Ponte, Mem., I., 2, p. 98. Mosel, Salieri, pp. 98, 128.]

[Footnote 28: Wien. Ztg., 1788, No. 3. Müller, Abschied v. d. Bühne, p. 277]

[Footnote 29: Da Ponte, Mem., I., 2, p. 108. A. M. Z., XXIV., p. 284. In 1788 "Axur" was performed twenty-nine times.]

[Footnote 30: Mus. Korr., 1790, p. 30.]

[Footnote 31: Berlin. Musik. Wochenbl., p. 5.]

[Footnote 32: Wien. Ztg., 1788, No. 38. My friend Gabr. Seidl informs me that in the accounts of the theatre for 1788-1789 is the entry (pp. 45,127): "Dem da Ponte Lorenz fur Componirung der Poesie zur Opera il Don Giovanni, 100 fl."; and pp. 47, 137: "Dem Mozart Wolfgang fur Componirung der Musique zur Opera il Don Giovanni, 225 fl."]

[Footnote 33: Da Ponte, Mem., I., 2, p. 104.]

[Footnote 34: "Don Giovanni" was performed fifteen times during this year. Lange's assertion, therefore, that it was withdrawn after the third representation rests upon an error. But after 1788 it was removed from the stage, and did not reappear until November 5, 1792, in a miserable German adaptation by Spiess. According to Da Ponte the Emperor exclaimed, after hearing "Don Giovanni": "The opera is divine, perhaps even more beautiful than 'Figaro.' but it will try the teeth of my Viennese." To which Mozart answered, on hearing the remark, "We will give them time to chew it." Joseph went into head-quarters on February 28, 1788, and did not return to Vienna till December 5 (Wien. Ztg., 1788, No. 18); he can only, therefore, have been present at the last performance of the year, on Dec. 15.]

[Footnote 35: A. M. Z., XXIV., p. 284.]

[Footnote 36: The different pieces are numbered in the same order in the announcement of the pianoforte score (Wien. Ztg., 1788, No. 42, Anh.).]

[Footnote 37: Cramer, Magazin d. Mus., July, 1789, p. 47.]

[Footnote 38: Cavalieri wished to sing it in E major instead of E flat major, and Mozart therefore made a transition into E at bar 19 of the recitative, and wrote over the air itself, "in E."]

[Footnote 39: He first appeared at Easter, 1788, in the "Barber of Seville" (Wien. Ztg., 1788, No. 34, Anh.).]

[Footnote 40: Journal der Moden, 1790, p. 50.]

[Footnote 41: Schink, Dramaturgische Monate (1790), II., p. 320.]

[Footnote 42: Schneider, Gesch. d. Berl. Oper, p. 59. A notice from Berlin in the Journal der Moden (1791, p. 76) says: "The composition of this opera is fine, although here and there it is very artificial, heavy, and overladen with instruments."]

[Footnote 43: Chronik v. Berlin, IX., p. 132. Cf. XI., p. 878.]

[Footnote 44: "Don Giovanni" was given five times within ten days.]

[Footnote 45: Chronik v. Berlin, IX., p. 316.]

[Footnote 46: Mus. Wochenbl., p. 158.]

[Footnote 47: Mus. Monatsschr., p. 122.]

[Footnote 48: Mus. Wochenbl., p. 19.]

[Footnote 49: Jacobi wrote to Herder, in July, 1792: "We were terribly bored by yesterday's opera; it is an insupportable affair, this 'Don Juan'! A good thing that it is over." (Auserl. Briefw., II., p. 91.)]

[Footnote 50: Briefw., 403,1., p. 432. Schiller had written (402, I., p. 431): "I have always had a certain amount of hope that the opera, like the choruses of the old hymns to Bacchus, would be the means of developing a nobler conception of tragedy. In the opera, a mere servile following of nature is forsaken, and the ideal, disguised as indulgence, is allowed to creep on the stage. The opera, by the power of music and by its harmonious appeal to the senses, attunes the mind to a higher receptivity; it allows of a freer play of pathos, because it is accompanied by music; and the element of the marvellous, which is suffered to appear in it, makes the actual subject a matter of indifference."]

[Footnote 51: Bohemia, 1856, No. 23, p. 122.]

[Footnote 52: A. M. Z., XXXIX., p. 800.]

[Footnote 53: A. M. Z., XL., p. 140.]

[Footnote 54: A. M. Z., XXXIX., p. 810.]

[Footnote 55: Castil-Blaze, L'Acad. Impér. de Mus., II., p. 98.]

[Footnote 56: Castil-Blaze, Molière Musicien, I., p. 321. Cf. Siever's Càcilia, IX., p. 208. A. Schebest, a. d. Leben e. Künstlerin, p. 202.]

[Footnote 57: Castil-Blaze, Molière Musicien, I., pp. 268, 323. L'Acad. Impér. de Mus., II., p. 241.]

[Footnote 58: Leipzig, A. M. Z., 1866, p. 192.]

[Footnote 59: "Don Juan," opéra en 2 actes et 13 tableaux. Édition du Théätre Lyrique.]

[Footnote 60: Pohl, Mozart und Haydn in London, p. 149.]

[Footnote 61: A. M. Z., XIII., p. 524. Stendhal, Vie de Rossini, p. 6.]

[Footnote 62: A. M. Z., XIV., p. 786; XV., p. 531.]

[Footnote 63: A. M. Z., XVI., p. 859.]

[Footnote 64: A. M. Z., XVIII., p. 232.]

[Footnote 65: A. M. Z., XX., p. 489.]

[Footnote 66: A. M. Z., XXVI., p. 570.]

[Footnote 67: A. M. Z., XXV., p. 639.]

[Footnote 68: Scudo, Crit. et Littêr. Mus., I., p. 121. For similar remarks on an older Italian singer, see A. M. Z., XXV., p. 869.]

[Footnote 69: Viardot, Manuscr. Autogr. du D. Giov., p. 10. It must be remembered that Rossini's arrival in Paris, in 1823, was the signal for a party warfare between the Mozartists and Rossiniists, similar to that waged by the Gluckists and Piccinnists. Cf. A. M. Z., XXV., p. 829.]

[Footnote 70: Da Ponte, Mem., III., p. 43. Scudo, Crit. Littér. Mus., I., p. 178.]

[Footnote 71: Castil-Blaze, Molière Musicien, I., p. 329.]

[Footnote 72: Da Ponte, Mem., III., p. 54.]

[Footnote 73: Da Ponte, Mem., III., p. 58.]

[Footnote 74: Rochlitz, A. M. Z., I., p. 51.]

[Footnote 75: E. T. A. Hoffmann's "Don Joan, eine fabelhafte Begebenheit, die sich mit einem reisenden Enthusiasten zugetragen," written in September, 1812 (Hitzig Hoffmann's Leben, II., p. 35), appeared in the first volume of his "Phantasie-stücke in Callot's Manier" (Bamberg, 1813). The novel and striking ideas contained in the article made a great impression at the time, and to Hoffmann is due the merit of adducing from the music the poetical and psychological truth of the opera.]

[Footnote 76: I will here only mention H. G. Hotho, Vorstudien fur Leben und Kunst (Stuttgart, 1835), p. 1; Victor Eremita, Det Musikalsk-Erotiske, in Enten-Eller (Copenhagen, 1849), I., p. 25; and P. Scudo, Crit. et. Littér. Music., I., p. 150. Others will occur later on; but a compilation of all that has been written, to the purpose or not, on the subject of Don Juan would be a very tedious and not a very profitable labour.]

[Footnote 77: The usual title of opera buffa is given to "Don Giovanni" by Mozart in his Thematic Catalogue; in the libretto it is called "dramma giocoso."]

[Footnote 78: On the adaptations of this subject cf. Cailhave, De l'Art de la Comédie (Paris, 1785), III., ix t.; II., p. 175; Kahlert, Die Sage vom Don Juan (Freihafen, 1841), IV., 1, p. 113. Much serviceable information, together with some nonsense, may be found in Castil-Blaze, Molière Musicien, I., p. 189. A collection of Don Juan literature in the Russian language, by C. Swanzow, has been sent to me by the author.]

[Footnote 79: The name and arms of the family of Tenorio (once distinguished in Seville, but long since died out) are given by Castil-Blaze (p. 276), from Gonzalo Argole de Molina's Nobleza de Andaluzia (Seville, 1588), p. 222. According to Favyn (Théätre d'Honneur et de Chevalerie, Paris, 1620) Don Juan Tenorio was the companion of King Pedro (1350-1369) in his cruelties and lusts.]

[Footnote 80: The legend is told by Castil-Blaze (p. 221), after Puibusque, Hist. Comparée des Littér. Espagn. et Franç. (Paris, 1843). Schack asserts that it is still current in Seville, and sold in the streets on loose sheets, in the form of a romanze.]

[Footnote 81: Castil-Blaze, p. 222. Arnold (Mozart's Geist, p. 298) says that the true source is a political romance by a Portuguese Jesuit, entitled "Vita et mors sceleratissimi principis Domini Joannis."]

[Footnote 82: Schack, Gesch. der dram. Litt. u. Kunst in Spanien, II., p. 552. L. Schmidt, Die vier bedeut Dramatiker der Spanier, p. 10. Tellez died in 1648, seventy-eight years old; in 1621 he had already written three hundred comedies.]

[Footnote 83: An epitome of the piece, published in Eugenio da Ochoa's Tesoro del Teatro Espaniol (Paris, 1838, IV., p. 73), was given by Cailhava, II., p. 179. Kahlert and Castil-Blaze. It is now accessible in the translations of C. A. Dohrn (Spanische Dramen, I., p. 1) and L. Braunfels (Dramen aus u. n. d. Span., I., p. 1).]

[Footnote 84: The part of Tisbea is very charmingly treated; Byron has made use of this part of the subject.]

[Footnote 85: When Don Juan swears to marry Aminta, he says, with ambiguous mockery:--]

"Wird mein Wort je im geringsten
Falsch befunden--nun so mag mich
Eine Leichenhrnd vernichten."]

[Footnote 86: Schack (II., p. 569), quoting from a license to publish Tirso's works, says that they contain nothing which could offend good manners, and that they present admirable examples to youth.]

[Footnote 87: Schack (II., p. 679).]

[Footnote 88: Riccoboni, Hist. du. Théätre Ital., I., p. 47.]

[Footnote 89: Castil-Blaze (p. 263) has a list of the editions.]

[Footnote 90: Goldoni, Mém., I., p. 163. Eximeno, L'Orig. d. Musica, p. 430.]

[Footnote 91: Cailhava, in an analysis of the Convitato (II., p. 186), remarks that he has observed trifling alterations in different performances, but that in essentials the piece is always the same. A more detailed analysis of a later piece, differing somewhat in detail, is given by Castil-Blaze (I., p. 192).]

[Footnote 92: Castil-Blaze's piece omits this adventure, and begins with Donna Anna and the murder of the Commendatore.]

[Footnote 93: Castil-Blaze's sketch inserts the peasant wedding here.]

[Footnote 94: This piece alone was in writing, all the rest was improvised.]

[Footnote 95: Castil-Blaze, I., p. 243.]

[Footnote 96: Dictionnaire des Théätres de Paris, II., p. 539.]

[Footnote 97: The French pieces are enumerated in the Dictionnaire des Théätres de Paris, II., p. 540.]

[Footnote 98: This absurd title, arising from an error of translation (Convitato Convié), not only held its ground in France, even after its exposure by De Visé (Mercure Galant, 1677, I., p. 32), but it was rendered still more nonsensical in its German form, "Das steinerne Gastmahl," which was the usual title in the last century.]

"Placatevi d'Averno
Tormentatori etemi!
E dite per pietade
Quando terminaran questi miei guai?"]

[Footnote 99: In the same year, 1659, Tirso's drama was played in Paris by Spanish actors (Castil-Blaze, p. 247).]

[Footnote 100: Castil-Blaze, I., p. 246.]

[Footnote 101: Goldoni, Mém., I., 29, p. 163.]

[Footnote 102: Cailhava, II., p. 193.]

[Footnote 103: Dictionnaire des Théätres, II., p. 542.]

[Footnote 104: Dav. Erskine Baker, Biographia Dramatica (London, 1782), II., p. 188. Th. Shadwell, Poeta Laureatus under William III., lived 1640-1692.]

[Footnote 105: Schack, III., p. 469.]

[Footnote 106: Müller, Abschied, p. 63.]

[Footnote 107: Meyer, L. Schroder, I., p. 153; Cf. II., 2, pp. 55, 144.]

[Footnote 108: Meyer, II., 2, p. 44.]

[Footnote 109: Meyer, II., 2, p. 179. Schütze, Hamburg. Theatergesch., p. 375.]

[Footnote 110: [Oehler] Geschichte des ges. Theaterwesens zu Wien, p. 328.]

[Footnote 111: Sonnenfels, Ges. Schr., III., p. 139. Pohl showed me a printed table of contents, without date or place: "Das steineme Gastmahl, oder die redende Statue sammt Arie welche Hanns-Wurst sin get, nebst denen Versen des Ere-miten und denen Verzweiflungs-Reden des Don Juans bey dessen unglücksee-ligen Lebens-Ende."]

[Footnote 112: Three puppet plays from Augsburg, Strasburg, and Ulm have been published by Scheible (Das Kloster, III., p. 699); they are very mediocre. Molière's "Don Juan," as an opera for puppets, was played in Hamburg in 1774 (Schletterer, Deutsch. Singsp., p. 152).]

[Footnote 113: Dictionnaire des Théätres, II., p. 540.]

[Footnote 114: Mém. sur les Spectacles de la Foire, I., p. 153.]

[Footnote 115: Schmid, Gluck, p. 83. Castil-Blaze conjectures (I., p. 265) that this ballet was written in Parma, in 1758. Sara Goudar, in her Remarques sur la Musique Italienne et sur la Danse (Paris, 1773), writes about Gluck: "Gluck, Allemand comme Hasse, l'imita [Jomelli]; quelquefois même le surpassa, mais souvent il fit mieux danser que chanter. Dans le ballet de Don Juan, ou Le Festin de Pierre, il composa une musique admirable" (Ouvr. Mèl., II., p. 12). Printed before Wollank's pianoforte score, and in Lobe's Flieg. Blàtt. f. Mus., I., p. 122.]

[Footnote 117: A ballet, "II Convitato di Pietra," was given in Naples in 1780 (Signorelli, Stor. Crit. d. Teatri, X., 2, p. 172).]

[Footnote 118: This opera was also performed in Braunschweig in 1782 (Cramer, Mag. f. Musik, I., p. 474).]

[Footnote 119: The book of the words printed in Vienna has on the title-page "da rap-presentarsi ne' teatri privilegiati di Vienna l' anno 1777.]

[Footnote 120: Castil-Blaze, I., p. 267.]

[Footnote 121: Goethe, Briefw m. Zelter, II., p. 160.]

[Footnote 122: Musik. Monatschr., p. 122.]

[Footnote 123: Da Ponte, Mem., II., 1, p. 28.]

[Footnote 124: The manuscript (perhaps autograph) in the archives of the Society of Musicians in Vienna bears the title, "ü Convitato di Pietra, Atto solo del Sgr. Giuseppe Gazaniga. In S. Moisè, 1787." The greater part of the recitative, five pieces in score, and four airs with voice part and bass, are preserved.]

[Footnote 125: Recensionen, 1860, No. 38, p. 588.]

[Footnote 126: The fact of her non-reappearance is proved by the same singer taking the part of Maturina.]

[Footnote 127: Here, doubtless, was inserted the quartet, "Non ti fidar o misera," composed by Cherubini for the performance in Paris in 1792 (Scudo, Crit. et Litt. Mus., I., p. 181). Not. de Manuscr. Autogr. de Cherubini, pp. 12, 101.]

[Footnote 128: For a performance at Ferrara, Ferrara is substituted for Venezia.]

[Footnote 129: _Atto solo_ is on the title-page instead of secondo, which is struck out; on the second scene is _Atto secondo_, and the finale is superscribed _Finale secondo._ On the other hand, the scenes are continuously numbered from 1 to 24. I can only suppose that an earlier version has been abridged for representation.]

[Footnote 130: A "Don Giovanni" ascribed to Cimarosa is the result of a mistake; his opera, "ü Convito," composed in 1782, is an adaptation of Goldoni's "Festino," and has nothing to do with Don Juan (Castil-Blaze, p. 267).]

[Footnote 131: When Sonnleithner had succeeded in obtaining the books of the words printed for the first performances in Prague and Vienna, he published a reprint of the first with the alterations and omissions of the second, together with all the scenic remarks written by Mozart on his score. "ü Dissoluto Punito, ossia il Don Giovanni. Dramma giocoso. Poesia di Lorenzo da Ponte." Leipzig, 1865.]

[Footnote 132: I have, unfortunately, been unable to obtain Zamora's drama.]

[Footnote 133: Eckermann, Gespräche mit Goethe, I., p. 64.]

[Footnote 134: The scenic order, for which the books of the words give important data, has been the subject of much recent controversy. Cf. Recensionen, 1859, No. 25. A. von Wolzogen über d. seen. Darstellung von Mozart's "Don Giovanni" (Breslau, 1860). Bitter, Mozart's "Don Juan," p. 62. Sonnleithner, Recensionen, 1865, No. 48. Woerz, Wien. Ztg., 1866, No. 293, &c.]

[Footnote 135: Gazzaniga's "Eximena" is wisely omitted.]

[Footnote 136: Zerlina owes to Goldoni's "Elisa" a strong tinge of frivolity; and the credulity and inexperience of the peasant maid are not without an alloy of sensuality. She is, however, at the same time endowed with a natural charm that enables Mozart to represent her with full consistency as a very lovable creature.]

[Footnote 137: This shows the progress made upon Gazzaniga's work. That which was a mere comic by-play is here used as a motive for giving a common interest to the characters, and leads to the recognition of Don Giovanni, and to the climax of the finale.]

[Footnote 138: At Hamburg, members of noble families required that minuets should be played alternately with the country dances, "that they might not be obliged to mix with the crowd" (Meyer, L. Schroder, I., p. 150).]

[Footnote 139: Gugler's idea (Morgenbl., 1865, p. 775) that Don Giovanni feigns his alarm, as if saying to his captors, "Your unexpected and unfounded accusations have altogether upset me," has not convinced me.]

[Footnote 140: The air is given in the Niederrhein. Mus. Ztg., II., p. 413. Mozart has changed the original key (A major) and somewhat condensed the whole, to its decided advantage.]

[Footnote 141: How far superior to the senseless toasts in Righini's and Gazzaniga's versions.]

[Footnote 142: O. Gumprecht, Deutsch. Theater-Archiv, 1859, Nos. 2, 3.]

[Footnote 143: The earliest translation is that by Bitter, mentioned by E. G. Neefe (1789). Don Giovanni is called Herr von Schwänkereich; Leporello, Fickfack. It circulated in manuscript, and was the foundation of most of the earlier German versions, as well as of those by Schroder and Rochlitz (Leipzig, 1801), which cannot be adjudged free from the faults of their predecessors. Kugler showed by his own attempt how difficult a task it was (Argo, 1859, p. 353). A great advance has been made in the recent versions of W. Viol ("Don Juan": Breslau, 1858); L. Bischoff, in Simrock's pianoforte score (Cf. Niederrh. Mus. Ztg., 1858, p. 397; 1859, p. 88); A. von Wolzogen (Deutsche Schaub., IX., 1860); C. H. Bitter (Mozart's "Don Juan" u. Gluck's "Iphigenia in Tauris," Berlin, 1866). Lyser's announcement of a translation by Mozart himself (N. Ztschr., XXI., p. 174), of which he quoted fragments, was unquestionably the result of a mystification, in spite of Lyser's repeated declaration that he had copied from the autograph original in the possession of Mozart's son (Wien. Mus. Ztg., 1845, p. 322), where Al. Fuchs did not find it (Ibid., p. 343).]

[Footnote 144: G. Weber makes a statement with regard to Mozart's autograph score (Cäcilia, XVIII., p. 91) which places the question of the inserted pieces in a very clear light. The treasure, which could find no place in any public collection of Germany, came into the possession of Madame Pauline Viardot; a new account of it is given by Viardot in the "Illustration" of the year 1855 (Deutsch. N. Wien. Mus. Ztg., 1856, V., No. 9). He relates at the close that Rossini called upon him saying: "Je vais m'agenouiller devant cette sainte relique"; and after turing over the score exclaimed: "C'est le plus grand, c'est le maître de tous; c'est le seul qui ait eu autant de science que de génie et autant de génie que de science."]

[Footnote 145: The character and meaning of this remarkable and much-discussed piece of music are so distinctly marked that they cannot fail to be apprehended. CL Hoffmann's suggestions (Fantasiestücke, I., 4, Ges. Schr., VII., p. 92), Ulibicheff (Mozart, III., p. 105), Krüger (Beitrage, p. 160), and the elaborate analysis by Lobe (A. M. Z.t XLIX., pp. 369, 385, 417, 441), where the effort to trace everything back to a conscious intention has led to some singular mis* apprehensions.]

[Footnote 146: In the overture to "Cosi fan Tutte" also, Mozart has made a humorous use of a motif from the opera; and in both cases has made it introductory to the principal subject of the overture, which is an altogether independent composition. The superficial device of making the whole overture an embodiment of different subjects from the opera, a custom introduced by Weber, would not occur to artists whose aim was to produce a consistent whole, working from within outwards.]

[Footnote 147: In the printed score, the B of the last bar is B flat; the original has this B flat only in the last bar but one. The position of this chord with C sharp above B natural is unusual, but not unprecedented. Mozart has left the chief melody undisturbed to the first violins, the B flat of the second violins corresponding to the C of the flutes. The repetition of the passage in the second part of the overture is not written out.]

[Footnote 148: Marpurg, Von der Fuge, II., p. 77. Kirnberger, Kunst des reinen satzes, II., 2, p. 18. It will be found in the Kyrie of Stolzel's Missa Canonica.]

[Footnote 149: Nägeli, who finds great fault with Mozart's "exaggerated and licentious contrasts" (Vorlesungen, pp. 157, 160), asserts that the allegro of the overture contains a bar too much, and that the rhythm is thereby destroyed; a reproach which was thoroughly refuted by Kahlert (N. Ztschr. f. Mus., XIX., p. 97).]

[Footnote 150: Mozart has suggested this train of ideas independently of Da Ponte. To the Commendatore's reproach: "Cosi pretendi da me fuggir?" Don Giovanni answers in the act of going, _sotto voce_, "Misero!" then to the renewed exclamation, "Battiti!" he repeats, _piu voce_, "Misero!" and not until the Commendatore has come close to him does he break out with "Misero attendi!"]

[Footnote 151: The duel is simply and appropriately rendered by the answering _whizzing_ passages for the violins and bass; very similar to Gluck's ballet, only more elaborated.]

[Footnote 152: Gazzaniga has made a tolerably long piece of it, not without expression, and the best in his opera--but how far apart from Mozart!]

[Footnote 153: Schaul (Briefe üb. d. Geschmack in der Musik, p. 51) cites this sestet as an instance of Mozart's sins against sound sense, because it is written in tragic instead of melodramatic style.]

[Footnote 154: The musical treatment of the words of the Commendatore has been visibly influenced by Gluck's "Alceste." A comparison of the two will show how skilfully Mozart introduced more delicate touches of detail without injuring the imposing effect of the whole.]

[Footnote 155: A force and brilliancy are given to the wind instruments by means of the trombone such as was never before dreamed of. Mozart's sheet with the wind instruments is lost, but an old copy has the trombones. They are not used in the overture, because he meant it to be merely suggestive, and wished neither to lessen the impression of the actual apparition, nor to disturb the tone character of the overture. Gugler seeks to prove that the trombones were added later by Süssmayer (Leipzig, A. M. Z., 1867, No. 1-3), which I am not prepared to allow.]

[Footnote 156: An instance is Leporello's confidential whisper to Elvira (intensified in effect by the interrupted cadence on B flat and the wonderful bassoon notes): "Sua passion predominante è la giovin principiante]

[Footnote 157: The distinguishing form of imitation appears to be always justified psychologically by its appropriateness to the particular character; in the quartet, for instance, Donna Anna and Don Ottavio have the imitation; in the first finale it is given to Zerlina and Masetto.]

[Footnote 158: A. M. Z., II., p. 538.]

[Footnote 159: Beethoven declared he could not write operas like "Figaro' and "Don Juan"; they were repulsive to him (Rellstab, Aus meinem Leben, II., p. 240. Cf. Beethoven's Studien, Anh., p. 22). The pure morality of the great man, both in his life and his art, must be reverently acknowledged; at the same time, without allowing art to stray beyond the bounds of morality, we would not willingly see it excluded from the representation of this phase of human nature.]

[Footnote 160: There is no truth in the remark in the Fliegende Blättem f. Musik (I., p. 184) that the song shows Don Giovanni as he wished to appear, while the accompaniment indicates what he really was. Don Giovanni expresses his real feelings, and the song is not mere hypocrisy. The peculiar character of the accompaniment is brought about simply by the nature of the instruments.]

[Footnote 161: This little duet and chorus is written on different paper, like Masetto's air (Anh. 2). The two were not inserted later, but written in Prague, during the rehearsals, when the whole of this part seems to have been revised.]

[Footnote 162: In the autograph score the second part has no new tempo marked; Mozart intended to denote the climax by the change of beat; not by accelerated tempo. The chromatic interlude, which Ulibicheff looks upon as a moral warning (Vol. II., p. 125), gives me the impression of sensual longing.]

[Footnote 163: The words which are given to Don Giovanni after the recommencement of the minuet, "Meco tu dei ballare, Zerlina vien pur qua," are not in the original score, nor in the libretto; later on, when he leads her to the country dance, he says: "Il tuo compagno io sono, Zerlina vien pur quà."]

[Footnote 164: Mozart rightly calls the piece not terzetto, but aria, for Don Giovanni's and Leporello's interruptions are only peculiarly constructed ritornellos, and do not alter the very simple aria form of the piece.]

[Footnote 165: The assertion that Mozart wrote above the air "Nello stile di Haendel" (Rochlitz, A. M. Z., I., p. 116) is unfounded.]

[Footnote 166: Ambros, "Grànzen der Musik und Poesie," p. 61.]

[Footnote 167: In the Fliegenden Blättern fur Musik (III., p. n.) it is pointed out that the beginning of this melody is identical with the serenade, and this is adduced as an instance of refined characterisation, meant to indicate Don Giovanni's treachery to Elvira, whom he is addressing, while he is thinking of the waiting-maid; there is no foundation for the idea, however.]

[Footnote 168: Gumprecht's remarks on this are instructive (Klass. Sopran-album, p. 8).]

[Footnote 169: Gazzaniga places it in recitative before the finale.]

[Footnote 170: It is an oft-repeated mistake that this part was written by Mozart for Campi, who was born in Lublin, 1773, and had been a main support to Guardasoni's company since 1791 (A. M. Z., II., p. 537).]

[Footnote 171: Marx, Berl. Mus. Ztg., I., p. 319. Rellstab, Ges. Schr., VI., p. 251. Genast says (Aus d. Tageb. e. alten Schausp., III., p. 171) that Bethmann rendered Donna Anna in this sense, and that upon his representation Schröder-Devrient copied it. Cf. A. von Wolzogen, Wilh. Schroder-Devrient, p. 163.]

[Footnote 172: It is a great improvement on Gazzaniga's libretto that Donna Anna does not disappear after her first entrance, but takes the place in the plot of the meaningless Eximena; but to invent new motives for her was beyond Da Ponte's power.]

[Footnote 173: Ulibicheff (III., p. 113), Lobe (Flieg. Blätt. f. Mus., I., p. 221), Vincent (Leipz. Theat. Ztg., 1858. Cf. Deutsche Mus. Ztg., 1860, pp. 222, 231), have taken a right view of Don Ottavio's character.]

[Footnote 174: Marx considers the voice parts and the whole spirit of the aria powerful and grand, but the instrumentation trivial (Kompositionslehre, IV., p. 529); he conjectures that it may have been worked out by Sussmayer. This conjecture is contradicted by the autograph score; and we may rather believe that Mozart was actuated by consideration for Saporiti's voice, and refrained from overpowering it by the instrumentation.]

[Footnote 175: Even at the beginning of the finale there is no chorus of villagers. Don Giovanni enters with several servants, who echo his greeting to the guests: "Su corraggio, o buona gente!"]

[Footnote 176: Cf. Gugler, Morgenbl., 1865, No. 32, p. 749.]

[Footnote 177: Da Ponte, Mem., III., i p. 80. A. M. Z., XXIV., p. 301. Cf. A. Schebest, Aus d. Leben e. Kunstlerin, p. 203.]

[Footnote 178: Bitter, Mozart's "Don Juan," p. 82.]

[Footnote 179: The substitution of a letter in his stead, written by him to Donna Anna, confuses the situation without helping out Don Ottavio. Gugler, Morgenbl., 1865, No. 33, p. 780.]

[Footnote 180: Whoever has heard this air sung by a true artist will have been convinced that the often-abused second movement of it is a necessary element of the characterisation.]

[Footnote 181: The same jest has been introduced by Weber in the first act of "Der Freischütz," when the village musicians fall into the ritornello after the mocking chorus.]

[Footnote 182: The second and third orchestra consist only of two violins and bass, the wind instruments of the first doing duty for all; Mozart apparently wished to avoid a multiplication of effects.]

[Footnote 183: It is remarkable that there is in the music of "Don Giovanni" no trace of national characterisation. In this dance-music, where it might have occurred, in the table music of the second finale and in the serenade, Mozart has drawn his inspiration from his immediate surroundings, and has reproduced this directly upon the stage.]

[Footnote 184: The first idea which must occur to them on the breaking out of the storm: "How differently this fête began," is humorously suggested in the words--[See Page Image] an echo of Don Giovanni's exclamation: "Sù svegliatevi da bravi!"]

[Footnote 185: It has been said that the whole of the table music was inserted in Prague during the rehearsal, and it bears all the traces of a happy and rapidly worked-out inspiration.]

[Footnote 186: A musical friend in 1822, forestalling Meyerbeer, proposed to sing the part of the Commendatore through a speaking-trumpet behind the stage, while an actor was going through the gestures on the stage. A. M. Z., XXIV., p. 230.]

[Footnote 187: At Munich the close of the finale was formerly followed by the chorus of Furies from Vogler's "Castor und Pollux," which is in the key of A flat major! (A. M. Z., XXIII., p. 385.)]

[Footnote 188: Gugler conjectures that the abbreviation proceeds from Sussmayer (Leipzig, A. M. Z., 1866, p. 92), which appears to me improbable.]

[Footnote 189: Gugler, Morgenbl., 1865, No. 32, p. 745.]

[Footnote 190: Castil-Blaze, Molière Musicien, I., p. 338.]

[Footnote 191: Argo, 1854, I., p. 365. Cf. Gantter, Ulibicheff, Mozart, III., p. 361. Viol, "Don Juan," p. 25.]

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MOZART 39

BY DAVID WIDGER