MOZART AND THE PRACTICE OF SACRED MUSIC, 1781-91 a ...

The three sketchleaves mentioned above contain primarily sketches for L’oca del
Cairo, but the verso of Skb 1783ζ contains further sketches, including two for a Dona nobis
pacem Sk 1783b. As Tyson 69 is probably a post-Salzburg paper-type, and Mozart is not
known to have been working on any other mass at this time, the sketches are probably to be
identified with an intention to resume work on the C minor mass in the months
immediately following the premiere. The attempt did not proceed far, and the fugue subject
and countersubject are not exactly compelling, producing repeated unisons between alto and
tenor and some awkward harmonies at the entry of the bass. Mozart’s dissatisfaction with
some aspect of the sketches is evident from his deletion of the words “dona nobis pacem” in
the soprano, perhaps prompted by the realisation that the faulty accentuation “do-na,” with
its accent on the second syllable, pervaded the entire sketch. Faced with such difficulties, it is
not surprising that Mozart took this projected movement no further. After Davide penitente,
it seems that Mozart’s final engagement with material derived from the C minor Mass was
the exercise in invertible counterpoint Sk 1785n, the first-species voice of which follows the
contour of the Cum sancto subject. The paper-type of the sketch-leaf is Tyson 82-I, found
primarily in works of 1786-87 but appearing as late as 1791. 187
Why did Mozart begin this ambitious work, and why did he not finish it? When he
arrived in Vienna in 1781, Mozart’s primary aim was to establish himself as a performer and
composer in overwhelmingly secular genres. The fact that he invested a substantial amount
of time and effort in a sacred work that had little practical or especially financial benefit is an
indication of the personal significance the project possessed. Attempts to quantify that
significance have usually ascribed it to a single event – Constanze’s recovery from illness, the
couple’s marriage, the birth of their first child, or the visit to Salzburg. There is no need,
187 MVC, 427.
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