Life of Mozart

THE SECOND FINALE. 213from the gloomy horror which has buried the gay Hfe of thedrama in deepest night. It was soon felt that to preservethe interest of the audience after the spirit scene was impossible.An attempt at abbreviation was annexed to theoriginal score, omitting the larghetto so far as it referredto personal circumstances. Whether this experimentwas made in Prague or Vienna/^^ it appears not tohave sufficed, and at the performance in Vienna the operaclosed, as it almost invariably has later, with Don Giovanni'sdescent into the lower regions. At his fall all the charactersenter and give a cry of horror, which is inserted in thescore on the chord of D major. A few attempts have beenmade later, either on theoretical or practical grounds, torestore the original closing scene.^^^ Attempts at a modificationsuch as have been made are very objectionable. Ata performance in Paris Don Giovanni's disappearance wasfollowed by the entry of Donna Anna's corpse borne bymourners, and the chanting of the "Dies irse" from Mozart'sRequiem.-^^*^ This idea suggested to Kugler-^^^ the furtherone of changing the scene after Don Giovanni's fall to themausoleum of the Commendatore, and introducing thefuneral ceremonies, the chorus singing from Mozart's Requeim,"Lux perpetua luceat ei " (not eis, "because it isonly for one person "), " Domine, cum Sanctis tuis quia pluses," to be followed by the " Osanna in excelsis " as anappropriate conclusion. It is as difficult to comprehendhow these two movements can be thus combined, as howreverence for the master can allow of his sacred music beingthus tacked on to an opera without any regard to unity ofstyle and workmanship. Viol,^^^ supported by Wolzogen,adopted this idea so far as, instead of the usual conclusion,to insert the funeral service in the mausoleum, and have theclosing movement of the opera sung there ; but it appears188Gugler conjectures that the abbreviation proceeds from Siissmayer(Leipzig, A. M. Z., 1866, p. 92), which appears to me improbable.189 Gugler, Morgenbl., 1865, No. 32, p. 745.IS" Castil-Blaze, Moliere Musicien, L, p. 338.191 Argo, 1854, L, p. 365. Cf. Gantter, Ulibicheff, Mozart, III., p. 361.1^ Viol, " Don Juan," p. 25.