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

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provided obsequies for Mozart and allegedly premiered part of the Requiem, as we shall see<br />

in the final chapter.<br />

The voluminous financial information in the 46 submissions was compiled into a 96-<br />

page summary by the Hofbuchhalterey, and presented to Joseph together with<br />

recommendations by the Landesregierung on 4 January 1784. The Regierung opined that,<br />

since the funds previously allocated to music had been reassigned, there was nothing that<br />

could be done. Joseph agreed, and ordered a response sent stating that financial expenditure<br />

on church music was entirely at the discretion of the individual churches. Based on the<br />

Hofbuchhalterey’s calculations, the total yearly expenditure on church music in Vienna was to<br />

decline from 27944fl 42xr to 14030fl 42¼xr, a reduction of nearly 50%. 18 These cuts, while<br />

severe, need to be put in context. Firstly, the Hofbuchhalterey’s figures relied entirely on the<br />

individual churches’ own estimates, estimates that were taken at a time when the<br />

employment situation was very much in flux. Secondly, the figures do not take into account<br />

the abolition of the Bruderschaften in late 1783, a development that again altered the<br />

landscape due to the brotherhoods’ former prominence in sacred music. Thirdly, two of the<br />

most important ensembles in the city, those of the Hofkapelle and St. Stephen’s Cathedral,<br />

were not included in the study since they were under the direct supervision of Joseph II and<br />

the Vienna city council respectively. Fourthly, the summary figures mask the individual<br />

circumstances of each church, and the relative reductions could vary based on the extent of<br />

the various music programs and their sources of support. Amongst the hardest hit was the<br />

program at St. Michael’s, whose support declined 43% from 2554fl 18xr to 1456fl 11xr,<br />

while at the other end of the scale the Carmelite church (St. Joseph) reduced its payments<br />

only 20% from 950fl 25xr to 760fl. 19 Finally, while a number of smaller chapels and non-<br />

18 Ibid., 15, 51.<br />

19 Ibid., 50.<br />

60

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