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

mentioned by Leopold Mozart. 43 Both Maria Theresia and Joseph were present for the
inauguration, yet there is no surviving evidence to suggest that approval or even mere
notification of the instruments’ use was sought or provided by the church authorities.
Permission would have been similarly required when Leopold conducted his son’s
Dominicusmesse K. 66 at the Kirche am Hof in August 1773, but again there is no evidence
that such documents were ever prepared. 44
During her final decade, Maria Theresia continued to issue edicts in religious
matters, notably the jointly organised expulsion of the Jesuits in 1773. As far as sacred music
was concerned, however, the Empress seems to have let the Archdiocese manage its own
affairs. From the perspective of Joseph, who became sole ruler at her death in November
1780, Maria Theresia’s most important historical legacy in the area of church ritual lay more
in her unprecedented desire to restrict musical aspects of the service than in the practical
consequences of her edicts. If the historical evidence for the efficacy of the trumpet and
timpani ban is ambiguous, it is partly a consequence of the administrative regime under the
Empress, which often combined high-minded ideals with a general disinclination to produce
specific regulations and follow through on their implementation. 45 This characteristic trait
underlies the musical restrictions in place from late 1753 until June 1767, which included, at
best, an inconsistent ban on trumpets and timpani in the Hofkapelle, an increasingly
overlooked ban on the same instruments in Vienna and the Erbländen, and a short-lived
43 Although the Offertorium presumed to have been performed at the service is now lost, the inclusion of
trumpets in its scoring is confirmed by Leopold Mozart’s 1768 list of his son’s works: “Ein grosses Offertorium
à 4 Vocibus etc: 2 Violinis etc: Clarini etc:”; MBA, i.289. The trumpet concerto K. 47c is not in this list, and is
known only from Leopold’s mention of it a month before the premiere: “der Wolfgang: hat ihm zu diesem Fest
eine Solenne Mess, offertorium, und ein Trompeten Concert für einen Knaben dazu componirt und dem
Waisenhaus verehrt. Glaublich wird der Wolfgang: selbt [sic] tactieren. Es hat alles sein Ursachen.” MBA,
i.285.
44 This performance is known through Leopold’s letter of 12 August 1773: “bey den Jesuitern auf dem Hof ist
eine messe in der octav S: Ignatii vom Wolfg: produciert worden, nämlich die P: Dominicus Messe, ich hab
tactiert und die Messe hat erstaunlich gefallen.” MBA, i.486.
45 For a thoughtful discussion of this issue, see Beales, Joseph II, 474-5.
20