FAQ - Questions and other Aspects
1. Why did you write this paper?
2. When did you become aware of Mozart's heavy use of this phrase?
3. What is your opinion of this phrase?
4. Was Mozart aware that he used this phrase so often?
5. Why did Mozart use this phrase so often?
6. How many examples exist of Mozart's use of this phrase?
7. How many pieces by Mozart have you heard?
8. How many pieces by other composers have you heard?
9. How can I locate more examples in Mozart’s music?
10. How can one determine if it exists in the works of other composers?
11. Did other composers use their own "trademark phrase"?
12. How does this "trademark phrase" information enhance my knowledge of music
in general or Mozart in particular?
13. Did Mozart use any other trademark phrases? (K.608 - musical metaphor).
Q1: Why did you write this paper?
I wrote this paper and created this website to let Mozartians and others know about the
Trademark Phrase as well as its possible significance. I discovered years ago that apparently
no one was aware of the MTM.
The impetus for it was an occasion when someone with a heavy background in music,
including theory and harmony, was playing a few bars of K.421 (a string quartet) on the
piano, and remarked that Mozart then composed "the most amazing chords". At that point,
he played the 2 chords comprising the trademark phrase. The entire phrase is more
complex and far more interesting than just 2 chords, but the MTM is woven into the
last 2 beats of the phrase, and it was the MTM he was referring to as being "the
most amazing chords". (The music played is listed here as example A11).
I commented that Mozart's music is riddled with that phrase. Didn't he know that?
Hadn't he ever read it somewhere? The answer was No. I was very surprised.
Therefore I decided to write a paper about it, and eventually published it on the
web.
The MTM is important since it's so deeply embedded in his music, and probably represents
Mozart himself, at times. The MTM is part of who Mozart was, and represents his music
to a considerable extent. Being unaware of the MTM is to miss a significant piece of
Mozart's music and his persona. It is probably the nucleus of his music and his personality.
Q2: When did you become aware of Mozart's heavy use of this phrase?
I’ve been aware of its frequent usage in Mozart’s music since the early 1960s.
Q3: What is your opinion of this phrase?
The phrase is interesting, complex, 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 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.
At times, it appears to exist as a period at the end of a sentence. Occasionally, it seems to be
written almost as an afterthought. But sometimes the music actually revolves around the theme
of the MTM, showing us how important the phrase must have been to Mozart. The opening of
K.594 (example A6) is such an example. The entire point of the opening seems to be to arrive
at measures 5-7 where a complex version of the MTM is played, consisting of 33 notes.
There the MTM is not simply "2 chords". The music is funneled into a massive resolution of
the preceding notes. It is part of the machinery of the music, and forms the REASON for the
existence of the first 7 measures. It's the music's goal and destination. It's the "Mount Everest"
of what feels like "the long, difficult trip", even though the trip is only a few measures.
In the case of example A11 (K.421 - one of the Haydn quartets), a different feeling is evoked
where the music feels as if it's "going home" at one point (measures 28-30 of the Menuetto),
and home is so comfortable with its familiar MTM phrase to relax in. Since chamber music
was played in the home, the phrase fits in perfectly with the performing location.
Another aspect of the phrase is that of solving a problem. The first chord (the Italian 6th)
is the problem, and the 2nd chord is the solution or resolution. So the problem is presented
and solved over and over by hearing the MTM many times. But to make matters a bit
more interesting, the 2 chords are often dressed with additional notes, making the "problem"
and resolution slightly different in many cases. Added to that body of problem/resolution
material are the variations on the MTM. The variations introduce an entirely new set of
harmonic problems and resolutions, but still with satisfying results.
We know that Mozart will throw in these "problems" in his music, when possible, but we
also know that he will always solve them to our satisfaction. It is the foreknowledge that
a stress/relief pair will probably show up, and that relief from the stress will always be
supplied, that gives us additional confidence and assurance when listening to Mozart
(among other reasons for enjoying it).
Other composers may have done similar things, but Mozart was smoother and more
reassuring. And his use of using the same problem/resolution in varied forms (the MTM)
is probably unique. We expect to hear it, and we usually do. It's like seeing an actor's
name listed in a movie ad. We know that his role will be different (usually), and his lines
will be different, but we look forward to a certain style of performance from him.
So it is with the MTM. Many - if not most - of Mozart's pieces contain the MTM, and
we can look forward to hearing it being presented in novel but familiar ways.
But most of the time, the MTM feels like the logical conclusion of a musical thought,
and it feels familiar, new in some way, and always very satisfying.
Q4: 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 you don't remember.
Q5: 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.
Q6: 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 2nd 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.
Chord 1
2
3
4
The trademark phrase from the preceding 4
chords, as highlighted in yellow,
compressed and interpolated.:
Bb-D-G# --->
A-C#-A
with the D minor chord (3)
intervening.
Italian-6th Modified-major-triad
Chord 2a 4a
Click speakers to hear MIDI sound clips.
MTM, chords 2a and 4a derived from
"homo reus"
Lacrimosa - Homo Reus - Chorus
Lacrimosa - Qua resurget - Chorus
Lacrimosa - Beginning through Homo Reus
(Text: Lacrimosa dies illa, 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.
This is the compression and interpolation which is often necessary to extract an MTM,
but none of the notes have been changed.
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 as an example of a variation on the trademark phrase, in Mozart's
last work (a normal MTM with an intervening chord).
Note: It is believed by some 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.
But as we hear the simulated teardrops falling in the music of the Lacrimosa, and even
a variation on the MTM, it is certainly possible that the story is true. With the MTM
in the middle of all this sorrow, one could almost say that the music was crying for
Mozart - as well it should.
A portion of Mozart's autograph score of the Requiem.
Measures 6-8 of the unfinished Lacrimosa.
We see the words "ex favilla judicandus homo reus"
for SATB, and an additional Basso line (instrumental) at
the bottom.
("Huic ergo parce deus" which follows was not written
by Mozart.)
Q7: How many pieces by Mozart have you heard?
My Mozart collection numbers over 500 unique pieces (500+ Köchel numbers) – mostly
recordings, but also MP3's and MIDI's, including the earliest works, his first composition, his
first choral composition, etc. I’ve listened to all the pieces at least once over the past 50 years.
Q8: 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 ).
I also have music by Sussmayr and Mozart's pupils. The MTM can be heard in the music
by his pupils, though not in the others (except for some music by JS Bach).
It's almost unique to Mozart, and certainly no other composer used it as often.
Some composers - perhaps many composers - apparently never used it.
Q9: 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.
Q10: 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.
Q11: Did other composers use their own "trademark phrase"?
I don't know the answer, but 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.
Q12: 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. If the trademark phrase represents Mozart, at times,
then we can "know" Mozart, to some degree, by appreciating the phrase,
Q13: Did Mozart use any other trademark phrases?
