Life of Mozart

SONG FOR MADAME DUSCHEK, 1787. I35strangers to realise that they were in the society of the greatand admired artist.Mozart had promised his friend, Madame Duschek, thathe would compose a new concert air for her ; as usual, however,he could not be brought to the point of transcribing it.One day she locked him into a summer-house on the Weinberg,and declared she would not let him out until he hadfinished the air. He set to work at once, but having completedhis task, retorted that if she could not sing the songcorrectly and well at first sight, he would not give it to her.^^In truth, the words :" Quest' affanno, questo passo eterribile," in the andante of this song (" Bella mia fiamma,"538 K., part 2) are rendered after a highly characteristicmanner ; and the intervals for the voice, not easy in themselves,become, by their harmonic disposition, a severe testof pure and correct intonation. Altogether, this is one ofthe most beautiful of Mozart's concert airs ; it makes nogreat claims on the singer's powers of execution, but itrequires a soprano voice of considerable compass and power,and a grand and expressive delivery. It is interesting toobserve how this song, animated and energetic as it is inexpression, yet differs essentially from the properly dramaticmusic of " Don Giovanni." Unconnected with any plot,and not designed for the stage, the situation adopts amodified character, the concert singer being in a totallydifferent position from the actor ; and the form in which thecomposer clothes his conception is suitably modified also.On November 15, 1787, immediately after Mozart's returnto Vienna, Gluck died ; and the success of " Don Giovanni "in Prague may have contributed to induce Joseph II. toretain Mozart in Vienna by appointing him Chamber-Musician(Kammermusikus) on December 7, 1787. For thepresent, however, there was no prospect of a performanceof " Don Giovanni " in Vienna.Salieri had produced his opera of "Tarar" in Paris, inJune, 1787, Beaumarchais having spared no pains to create^sSo the story was told on the authority of Mozart's son, in the Berl.Musikztg. Echo (1856, No. 25, p. 198).