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FAQ - Questions and other Aspects 

 

1. When did you become aware of Mozart's heavy use of this phrase?

2. What is your opinion of this phrase?

3. Was Mozart aware that he used this phrase so often?

4. Why did Mozart use this phrase so often?

5. How many examples exist of Mozart's use of this phrase?

     6. How many pieces by Mozart have you heard?

7. How many pieces by other composers have you heard?

8. How can I locate more examples in Mozart’s music?

9. How can one determine if it exists in the works of other composers?

10. Did other composers use their own "trademark phrase"?

11. How does this "trademark phrase" information enhance my knowledge of music

      in general or Mozart in particular?

12. Did Mozart use any other trademark phrases? (K.608 - musical metaphor).

13. Are there any other aspects to this phrase?

 

 

 

Q1: When did you become aware of Mozart's heavy use of this phrase?

I’ve been aware of its frequent use in Mozart’s music since the early 1960s.

 

 

Q2: What is your opinion of this phrase?

The phrase is interesting, compelling and rewarding. It gets my attention in the way Mozart used it.

But as good as it is, some of the harmony surrounding the phrase (in the examples) is even more interesting

than the “trademark phrase” itself. However, it is rather fascinating that Mozart found so many different

ways to weave this phrase into his music, and that he invented at least several variations of it. He repeatedly

picks it up, reshapes it, and puts it back down in a seemingly endless variety of musical thoughts.

 

 

Q3: Was Mozart aware that he used this phrase so often?

Undoubtedly, yes. There are 2 reasons for stating confidently that Mozart was aware he used this phrase so

often:

1. Mozart was not an "unconscious" composer. He had  to create, evaluate, integrate, and

often polish everything he wrote.

When you consider his phenomenal musical memory, and his high state of "musical awareness," it would be a

contradiction in terms to say he wasn't aware of how often he used it. Mozart would then not be Mozart.   

 

2.Considering the variety of ways he used the phrase, as well as the variations" on the phrase, he had to be

acutely aware that he was using and re-using that phrase, and creating variations on it. You can't create a

variation on something that doesn't exist.

 

 

Q4: Why did Mozart use this phrase so often?

I don't know. I presume he liked it, otherwise he wouldn't have used it. It's possible that he decided to

stamp his compositions with a rarely used phrase in order to create a "musical trademark," but

more likely, I think, he simply considered the phrase to be "good music with possibilities for variations."

Even though the basic phrase is only 6 notes, it has a complex and interesting sound to it. Similarly,

Mozart was a complex and interesting composer, so he may have identified this phrase with himself and

his music. It may have been a compact way of expressing who he was and what his music was.

 

 

Q5: How many examples exist of Mozart's use of this phrase?

      I don't know, but I would think it could number in the hundreds. The variations would add to that total.

      In addition to the examples cited, the phrase can be found in the first movement of the Jupiter Symphony

      in a passage in a minor modulation, where the key changes from C minor to G major. It’s in the 2^nd

      movement of the 39th Symphony, K.543 – at least twice. It’s in the opera Figaro  in Barbarina’s

      cavatina, number 23 ("L’ho perduta") at measures 14 and 15 (at  “...ah chi sa dove sara?”),

      as well as in the last measure of the number. It’s in the first  movement of the Coronation Piano

      Concerto, K.537. It’s in the opera Idomeneo in the chorus “O voto tremendo”. It's in the concert aria

      Ch'io mi scordi di te?, K.505, written for Nancy Storace to sing and Mozart to accompany on the piano.
      It’s quite common in Mozart’s music.

      It can even be found in the last notes Mozart wrote not long before he died, in this case, with 1 intervening

      chord (A-F-D-A):  In the Requiem, in the "Lacrimosa," at the words "homo reus" in bar 8. For the words

      "homo  reus", we have the following 4 chords for the chorus (SATB, key of D minor):
     
      B-D-G-G'  --->  Bb-F-D-G#  --->  A-F-D-A  --->  A-E-A-C# 
        ho       -       mo              re      -      us.

      The trademark phrase from the preceding 4 chords would be (highlighted in yellow above and below): 

      Bb-D-G#  --->  A-C#-A,    with the D minor chord A-F-D-A intervening.

   Italian 6th       Major triad

 

                                           Lacrimosa - Homo Reus - Chorus
                        Click to hear sound clip

   

                    Lacrimosa - Qua resurget - Chorus

                     Click to hear longer sound clip

        (Latin: Qua resurget ex favilla judicandus homo reus)

  

 

    For illustration purposes of the trademark phrase, the F has been removed from the first chord (not needed),

      the E has been removed from the second chord (not needed), and the C# has been interpolated between the

      two As. 

 

     The intervening minor chord (A-F-D-A) is a significant event, not an intervening flourish progressing to a

      major chord (A-E-A-C#).

 

      This phrase is listed here as an example of a variation on the trademark phrase, in Mozart's last work,

      among the last numbers penned. 

  

      Note: It is believed by Mozart scholars that the Lacrimosa was not the last number

      in the Requiem Mozart worked on, since he had other, more creative tasks to do in
      the piece, first. However, it is apparently among the last numbers he worked on
      before expiring, and certainly the most visually depressing, with the score
      breaking off into empty music paper after 8 bars.

 

      It may also have been the last portion of music Mozart performed, purportedly having sung

      part of it with friends at his house, only hours before he died. According to one story,

      after singing the opening notes of the Lacrimosa, Mozart began crying uncontrollably, 

      and was unable to continue singing the rest of the Requiem with his friends.

      11 hours later,  he was dead. We don't know if this story is true or not:  he may have been

      too sick and weak to do any singing. Since his condition apparently vacillated somewhat between

      having good days and bad days, it might be true. We will probably never know.
 

 

Q6: How many pieces by Mozart have you heard?

My Mozart collection numbers over 500 unique pieces (500+ Köchel numbers) – mostly recordings.

I’ve listened to all the recordings at least once over the past 40 years.

 

 

Q7: How many pieces by other composers have you heard?

I haven’t counted the number of pieces by others which I’ve heard or own, but in addition to a large

Mozart collection, I have the usual collection of music by other composers such as Bach, Beethoven,

Brahms, Hayden, Handel, Vivaldi, Purcell, Chopin, Ravel, Debussy, Wagner, Hindemith, Bizet, Verdi,

Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Strauss, Copland, Orff, etc, as well as many “non-classical” pieces

(jazz, blues, music of the 1940s and 1950s, the Beatles, Abba, some New Age, some show tunes, Brazilian

dance music, the marches of John Philip Sousa, German drinking songs, etc). I have 1 piece by Salieri (it's

not bad), and 1 piece by Mozart's son (Franz Xaver Mozart, Sonata for Cello and Piano, Opus 19, in 

E Major - it's not bad, either ). If the trademark phrase exists in these works, it is well-hidden to my ears

(with the exception of the JS Bach example, where it’s quite obvious).

 

 

Q8: How can I locate more examples in Mozart’s music?

Listen to the music, or write a computer program to search for the phrase - if Mozart’s music has been

computerized. But I wouldn’t recommend that anyone listen to Mozart with the sole purpose of trying

to locate this phrase (other than as a short experiment). Doing so would probably diminish the 

listening experience considerably, focusing on one tree instead of the forest. If you hear it, enjoy it.

 

 

Q9: How can one determine if it exists in the works of other composers?

Listen to the music, or write a computer program to search for the phrase - if the world's music has

been computerized.

 

 

Q10: Did other composers use their own "trademark phrase"?

This is an interesting question, but I don't know the answer. An expert in music could probably supply

the answer to that question. It would probably be accurate to say that many composers have a

"trademark sound" or style, such as Bach, Chopin, etc. But an intentional or unintentional trademark

phrase would be a different matter.

 

 

Q11: How does this "trademark phrase" information enhance my knowledge of music in

general or  Mozart in particular?

Knowing this "trademark" information can shed some light on Mozart, his music, and one aspect

of his method of composing.

 

 

Q12: Did Mozart use any other trademark phrases?

However, Mozart once used a musical metaphor to represent an entire piece, and this point relates

to his use of the trademark phrase, at times.

 

The Organ Fantasia in F minor, K.608  is a highly chromatic and often dissonant piece written for an

oversized "music box on a timer" at Count Josef Deym's wax museum in Vienna. The particular "scene"

for which this piece was written is unknown.

 

At the 3rd and 4th measures from the end (measures 219 and 220), the right hand plays every note in the

12-tone scale, one at a time, but not in "sequence".

 

It is an interesting bit of information since it could be a symbolic statement of chromaticism itself at the end

of a highly chromatic piece. In other words, Mozart may be saying something like this:

 

"Throughout this piece you have heard a great deal of chromaticism. Now I will give you the

entire (chromatic) 12-tone scale in 2 measures, one note at a time, as a kind of musical metaphor

for this piece."

 

If the ears didn't catch it, the analysis will:  Mozart hit every note of the 12-tone scale in measures 219 - 220,

in the short space of 5 beats. 

 

There are other aspects to this 25-note phrase which are interesting to speculate about, but which

unfortunately slide into the weird and bizarre. However, let us remember that composing for a mechanical

device is a rather weird situation - one that Mozart accepted, and that we may analyze and speculate about.

 

An interesting aspect of this 25-note phrase is its lack of Mozartian melody - but then, the entire piece is

also lacking in typical Mozartian melody. While K.608 is an immensely powerful, majestic, and complex

piece, it is also a somewhat "cold" and "mechanical" piece, possibly in keeping with the fact that Mozart was

writing for a mechanical organ. K.594 and K.616, also written for the mechanical organ,  have at least

*some* melody and warmth to them.  K.608 is lean on Mozartian melody - at least for the first

and last movements - and has no warmth in those two movements.

 

The many 4-note turns in the piece remind one of a spring being wound, as would presumably have been

necessary for the machine to play the music.

 

The first and last movements may stand alone in the Mozartian literature as the only music Mozart wrote with

little or no warmth, feeling, "humanity", personality, or memorable melody. They feel filled with power and

intellect but devoid of "feelings of the heart".

While some "machines" in modern times may engender feelings of affection, this "piece of machinery"

remains cool, aloof, remote, and indifferent.

It is a vision of a superior being with a brilliant and powerful mind, but with no evidence of a conscience or

the "milk of human kindness".

 

Adding to its non-human nature is the fact that it's unplayable by a human being since it was apparently

written in 4 staves. It can only be played by some kind of machine, or 2 organists or pianists - not by an

individual person. (Many recordings of this piece have been made by individual performers, but it seems

impossible that all the notes were played).

 

So, the 25-note phrase at the end of the piece summarizes 2 aspects of the piece:

1. The chromaticism of the piece.

2. The machine-like nature of the piece and its lack of normal Mozartian melody. 

 

To expand on point number 2 above, the 25-note phrase might be partially saying, "I'm a brilliant and

powerful machine. Why would you expect me to play a piece that sounds as if it were written by a mere

human with melodies that humans can relate to? The recap may be tuneless to you, but it represents who I

am. Be satisfied that I have entertained you with my vast intellect. Now go away." 

 

Another interpretation might be this: There's a hint of brainlessness in the 25-note phrase, as if the machine

might have been saying, "You told me to hit all 12 notes of the scale in this recap, and I did. What did you

expect? A Bach Invention? If you have any complaints, take them to the management. I just follow orders."

 

Such an attitude reminds one of an idiot savant, and Mozart MIGHT have been trying to portray that image

in the 25-note phrase. And an "idiot savant" is probably a reasonable description of the music box when

programmed with Mozart's music.

With the 25-note phrase, Mozart might have been saying, "I'm the savant; the machine is the idiot. Just look

at what happened when I cut it loose in this 25-note recap... It hit all the notes in the 12-tone scale as I told it

to do, but it forgot to create a good melody."

 

For that matter, the fact that Mozart was writing this majestic piece for a machine may have given him a

loophole to write music so awesome that the average music listener wouldn't be able to appreciate it.

He may have viewed this as a great composing opportunity since he had the "plausible deniability" excuse  of

being able to say that it was written for a machine - not for a person to play, and perhaps not for most people

to appreciate. So, if they couldn't appreciate it, he could always say "It's just machine music - not normal

music...", concealing the fact that he apparently put all of his intellect into composing this incredible piece. 

And what grand music it is!

 

 

 

 

From the Bärenreiter score, "Drei Stücke für die Orgel", arranged by Friedrich Brinkmann

                              K.608, measures 219 - 221

                      K608--12-Tones-Piano     K608--12-Tones-Organ

                              Click to hear sound clips

 

 

               K.608 near the end of the piece: The 12-tone scale in a 25-note phrase

 

 

If Mozart could create a 25-note musical metaphor apparently summarizing a piece, he could certainly

create a 2-chord, 6-note phrase to be used as his trademark, if he so desired.  Mozart not only expressed his

thoughts and emotions with music, he expressed his music with musical symbols, as in the example above,

making some of his music "symbols of music".

 

 

Q13: Are there any other aspects to this phrase?

The piano sonata K.511 seems to be a very personal piece, seeming to express a feeling of loneliness

and despair. And in the middle of all the chromatic modulations in one section of this piece, what do

we find? A trademark phrase (Example A13). This might mean that Mozart may have used the phrase, at

times, not simply as a trademark to be associated with his music, but as a phrase to represent himself, at

times; ie, as a metaphor for himself. To find the trademark phrase in this piece is quite significant, I believe.

Had the phrase been absent from such a melancholy, despairing and rich piece, while present in so many

other pieces, I would have to question the "trademark" meaning of the phrase. But as we know, it IS

present.

 

In the Magic Flute, Tamino uses the trademark phrase; the Queen of the Night is only allowed to use a

variation on the trademark phrase. There is the possibility that Tamino represented Mozart, in a sense.

In such a case, Mozart certainly couldn't have Tamino's enemy - the Queen of the Night - using the same

"special" phrase as Tamino used. Whatever the reason, Tamino uses it, and the Queen does not.

 

To briefly summarize some types of musical symbology used by Mozart, we have:

 

1. An overture to an opera:  An expression of the ambience, ie, "the feel" of the opera. In short, a

    summary of the opera itself.

 

2. The 25 notes in K.608:  A metaphor for the piece.

 

3. The trademark phrase:  May have been used to uniquely stamp many of his works as "his".

 

4. The trademark phrase:  May have been used in some pieces (such as K.511 and Tamino in the

    Magic Flute) as a metaphor for himself.

 

Thus, the concept of Mozart using a "trademark phrase" is consistent with some of the other musical

symbology he used. He apparently used the phrase as a musical trademark, and as a symbol of himself.

 

And "musical symbolism" is, of course, one of the things Mozart's music is all about.

 

Copyright ©  2002, David E. Morton

 

Contact: Dmorton965 at aol.com

 

 

 

 

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