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

performing forces available at St. Jakob. 167 If indeed Mozart had in his possession one of his
masses for eventual delivery to Stoll in Baden, it is possible that the composer took the
opportunity to show it to Eybler père as well.
Mozart’s reference to the performance of an “Amt” by him on 13 June 1790 raises a
host of questions. Which mass was performed? When did Stoll obtain the music from
Mozart? To what extent did the performance reflect the limited resources available in Baden?
Did Mozart have an existing set of performance parts, or was a new set required? If only the
autograph score was available, who was responsible for producing the performance material?
What happened to the parts after their initial use? As most of these questions apply equally to
later performances of Mozart’s music at the Stadtpfarrkirche, I shall delay discussion of them
until a further importance documentary source is addressed.
In 1791, Mozart addressed two letters to Stoll himself, both of which provide
valuable information on the performance of the composer’s music in Baden – and furnish
further evidence of Mozart’s dismissive attitude towards Süssmayr, despite the latter’s
apparent role in the preparation of material for Die Zauberflöte. 168 More letters may once
have existed: Constanze, writing to Breitkopf und Härtel on 5 November 1800 about their
planned biography of Mozart, informed the publisher that
H. Stoll, Regens Chori in Baden unweit Wien, hat noch briefe von Mozart. Ich habe sie von ihm
verlangt, und er hat sie mir versprochen. So bald dieses geschieht, werde ich sogleich das
Vergnügen haben, sie Ihnen mitzutheilen. 169
Mozart’s first known letter to Stoll is undated, but can be dated to late May 1791 on the
basis of the composer’s reference to Constanze returning to Baden after an absence of several
167 As far as I am aware, no research has yet been undertaken on musical institutions in Schwechat during
Mozart’s time.
168 See MVC, 27-8.
169 MBA, iv.382.
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