O Z A R T. 



737 



was not equally assiduous in completing it. He gene- 

 rally composed early in the morning ; after which he 

 did' nothing during the day, unless it mi^ht be adding 

 to work* in progress ; he was also fond of playing late in 

 the evening, and would pass entire nights with the pen 

 m his hand. In consequence of his habits, and the un- 

 certainty of his profits, as also his generous disposition, 

 Mosart'* finance* became so much deranged, that about 

 tail time he proposed to reside in London. 



Before the period of which we speak, however, he 

 had composed a comic opera, The Elopement from the 

 flfrajain, by command of the Emperor Joseph 1 1 . and 

 Tkt Marrifgf of Figaro. On the rehearsal of the for- 

 mer, the emperor, who himself had considerable skill in 

 BMsie, aid to him, " My dear Mozart, that is too fine 

 for my ear*, there are too many notes in it." " I ask 

 your Maieaty'* pardon," replied the composer, not re- 

 ttahing the criticism, " there are just a* many notes as 

 there should be." The emperor was embarrassed, and 

 remained sBenL Perhaps Mosart afterwards admitted 

 the justice of die remark, for the Opera underwent 

 many ictltudmKnts and alterations. The extension 

 f the scale, and multiplication of niusicnl intervals, 

 constitute a leading distinction between the older and 

 modem compoaer*. Both mar be carried to infinity, 

 bat a* that atone can be vailed music, from which 

 pleasure u nmnediatery derived, the advantage is not 

 o*mou of descending o fur, thjrt nothing except a 

 confined (rotter is sensible to the ear, or of ascending 

 to high, that the power* of vibration seem exhaust- 

 ed in piercing shrillness. Considering also, that the 

 feast airs are restricted within a very narrow compass, 

 k is evident, that the multiplication of the notes in 

 a bar, until there seem* a contest between number 

 and (pace, and the mhintenes* of their subdivision, are 

 often of very questionable application. When the Opera 

 to which we allude was publicly performed, it received 

 the armet encomhnn* from the emperor, with whom 

 Mozart wa* a {Treat favourite, though without partici- 

 pating much uf hU bounty. He had been appointed 

 chapel master to hi* illustrious patron, to which office no 

 alary was attached, but he received 100 a-year as 

 piial< cumpuser to htm. However, he was attached 

 to IM penuS!, and on that account declined an offer of 

 r of the orchestra of Frederic 

 who beat of all knew how to 

 appreciate merit. 



Thr production of an opera being an incident of no- 

 toriety, to which many have an interest in calling the 

 public attention, the flat* of other compositions is not 

 ao readily ascertained. Mozart wrote a number of 

 piece* merely to gratify hi* friends, which were after- 

 ward* urreptitiooly obtained by music sellers for pub- 

 lication. Bat copy-rights on the continent are less va> 

 than in Britain, where indifferent ballads are 

 ranerated with ten guineas each, and the music for 

 i with 1000 or 1200. Mozart received about 

 fty guinea* for the Mayc Flute, one of his finest 

 works, and the favourite composer of modern times 

 Konini, doe* not reap more than 50 for a whole 



Magic Fltrtfeas composed in 17f)2, and was 

 performed an hundred times at Vienna in the course of 

 a year. But Mozart had frequently to contend with 

 dSatremmg oppmitinn to his works, in the jenlousies ex- 

 cited again* h ; m nmong those whom his celebrity 

 ecKpsed. and to which he himself believed he at last 

 Ml a Mcrifice. On the first representation of the Mar- 

 riage of Figaro at Vienna, *onie of the principal per- 

 VOL. sir. PAB.T u. 



formers endeavoured to diminish the effect of the finest Mozart, 

 airs, which so mnch provoked the composer, very irri. ^""Y""* 

 table, besides, in musical matters, that he loudly com- 

 plained to the emperor, then present, who threatened 

 the offenders with his displeasure. In fact, the greater 

 works of Mozart can admit of no diminutions. For the 

 performance of Haydn's Creation, it has been remarked, 

 that " at least twenty-four voices and sixty instruments 

 are required :" And of Mozart's operas, it may be said, 

 that not only the orchestra must be full, but the per- 

 formers excellent, conditions so rarely attainable, that 

 it is not surprising if a manager exhibiting his theatri- 

 cal library, exclaimed with a deep sigh, on pointing to 

 the shelves bearing his name, " These have been my 

 ruin." From this defect they have repeatedly failed. 



Indqiendent of our inability to trace the progress of 

 Mozart's works, all have been reproduced under such 

 diversified forms, that it is no easy matter to discover 

 either for what instruments, or for how many parts 

 they were designed originally. But the fertility of his 

 genius embraced every different department of the art ; 

 nnd the period when it was most active can be some- 

 times ascertained. The rapidity of his composition 

 was astonishing, for La Clemenza di Tito, an opera de- 

 manded by the Hohemians for the coronation of Leopold 

 If. was begun in his carriage on 'a journey to Prague, 

 and finished in 18 days. But already Mozart's health 

 was declining ; his anxieties became great, and his ap- 

 plication immoderate. Totally absorbed by enthusiasm, 

 he neglected repose, and frequently he fainted from 

 the excessive fatigue attending the ardent prosecution 

 of his labours. At length he fell into a habitual melan- 

 choly, from which nothing could arouse him, and he 

 was full of terror at his approaching end. The fatal 

 event however, was accelerated by a circumstance well 

 calculated to make a deep impression on the morbid 

 sensibility of his mind. When plunged in a profound 

 reverie, a stranger of dignified manners was announced, 

 who communicated the M'ishes of some unknown person 

 of exalted rank, that he should compose a solemn mass 

 for the repose of the soul of one tenderly beloved, 

 whom he had just lost. An air of mystery pervaded 

 the interview ; the composer was exhorted to exercise 

 all his genius; and he engaged to finish his work in a 

 month, when the 'stranger promised to return. He 

 disappeared, and Mozart instantly commenced writ- 

 ing. Dy and night were uninterruptedly occupied : 

 hut he was consumed by gloomy presages, and at length 

 exclaimed abruptly to his wife, in great agitation, 

 " Certainly I am composing this requiem for myself: 

 It will serve for my own funeral." 



Though his strength continued to fail, his assiduity 

 was unabated ; and at length he was obliged to sus- 

 pend the undertaking. At the appointed time the 

 stranger returned. " I have found it impossible to 

 keep my word," said Mczart : To which the stranger 

 answered, " Give "yourself no uneasiness : NVhat long- 

 er time do you require ?" Mozart replied, " Another 

 month." The stranger now insisted on doubling the 

 covenanted price which he had paid down at the outset, 

 and retired. It was in vain that Mozart endeavoured 

 to trace him ; which, conjoined with other circum- 

 stances, corroborated his belief that he was some su- 

 pernatural being sent to announce the close of his mor- 

 tal career. Nevertheless his labours were renewed ; 

 and the work at last was nearly completed within the 

 stipulated period, when the mysterious stranger again 

 returned ; but Mozart was no more. He died on the 

 fifth of December 1792, aged thirty-five years. 

 5 A 



