1

Joseph Bologne Chevalier de

Saint Georges (1745-1799)
French composer, violinist, and soldier or
biracial origin. He was son of a French
colonial Gaudaloupe planter, George
Bologne, and an enslaved African named
Nanon.
In1747 George Bologne was accused
unjustly of murder and fled to France
with Nanon and her child to prevent their
being sold. The next page of these notes
shows the document giving George
Bologne permission to remove Nanon and
her son from Guadaloupe. After two years
he was granted a royal pardon and the
family returned to Guadaloupe. In 1753
George took young Joseph to France
permanently.
A renowned swordsman, at the age of 19
Saint-Georges was made a Gendarme de
la Garde du Roi and dubbed chevalier
(knight). The young chevalier became the darling of fashionable society; all contemporary
accounts speak of his romantic conquests. In 1766 the Italian fencer Giuseppe Faldoni came to
Paris to challenge Saint-Georges. Although Faldoni was judged to be the winner, the Italian
proclaimed Saint-Georges the finest swordsman in Europe.
Nothing is known of Saint-Georges’ musical training. In 1769 he became a member of François-
Joseph Gossec’s (1734-1829) new orchestra, the Concert des Amateurs, at the Hôtel de Soubise,
and was soon named it leader. The ensemble rapidly became known as one of the best in Europe.
Saint-Georges made his début as a solo violinist with the Amateurs in 1772, performing his first
two violin concertos to critical acclaim.
When Saint-Georges’ annuity stopped at the death of his father in 1774 music became his
livelihood, and he began to published his original compositions: two sets of string quartets (some
of the first in Paris), a dozen violin concertos, and at least ten symphonies concertantes, which
was a relatively new and distinctively Parisian genre. Both his string quartets and symphonies
concertantes have only two movements, while the violin concertos have three.
♪ Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Symphonie Concertante in C, op. 9 (1777)
i. Allegro https://youtu.be/v8ybYj_B6vA?si=YFtzPUYxSMWSSjdd [on Quiz #3]
ii. Rondeau https://youtu.be/5J3iIguPPcM?si=RhCfg_J0wiUU_EgN
symphonie concertante: a concert genre of the late 18th and early 19th centuries (1770-1830 or
so) for featured solo instruments—usually two, three, or four—with orchestra, usually in two
movements. The term implies ‘symphony with important or extended parts’, but the form is
closer to concerto than symphony. More than 95% of symphonies concertantes were written in
major keys. During the lifetime of Saint-Georges the genre was very much associated with
French and specifically Parisian musical tastes.
 2
In 1776 a proposal to make Satin-Georges
music director of the Paris Opéra was blocked
by a quartet of is leading ladies, who petitioned
Queen Marie Antionette to spare them from
“degrading their honor and delicate conscience
by having them submit to the orders of a
mulatto.” Undaunted by this first serious
setback due to color (another historic example
of institutional racism), one year after this
scandal Saint-Georges presented his first opera,
Ernestine, at the Comédie-Italienne. Although
this opera did not survive its premiere, the
composer thereafter abandoned composing
instrumental music and dedicated himself to
composing only opera.
In 1785, after the death of an important patron
(the Duke of Orléans), for whom he directed a
private music theater, Saint-Georges moved to
London, where he gave exhibition fencing
matches, including one at Carlton House before
the Prince of Wales. A painting by Robineau
(below) shows Saint-Georges fighting the enigmatic androgyne (and notorious spy) ‘La
Cheavlière’ d’Eon. The prince also commissioned the young painter Mather Brown to paint
Saint-Georges’ portrait, seen at the beginning of these notes.
 3
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791)
Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, the son of an
esteemed composer-violinist (Leopold Mozart,
author of the ) 1752 Treatise on the Fundamental
Principles of Violin Playing) who was employed at
the court of the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg.
Rigorously trained as a keyboard virtuoso at an early
age, his father organized concert tours in which
Amadeus and his sister, Nannerl Ann, performed
music before European royalty in Vienna, Paris,
London, Munich, etc. As was typical of the period in
an aristocratic social milieu, Nannerl was
discouraged from performing during her brother’s
musical tours once she reached marriageable age.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Anna_Mozart]
W. A. Mozart was an extremely precocious young
musician who played both keyboards and violin well,
and composed a variety of genres at a very early age.
As a youth he was adored, and served in the Prince-Archbishop’s aristocratic music
establishment as honorary assistant Kapellemeister, wearing the uniform seen on these images
rather like a young, virtuoso mascot.
However, as a young man Mozart was dismissed (literally kicked out of court by the
Archbishop’s valet) from his duties at the court of the Archbishop for being insubordinate, much
to his father’s disgrace, and the young composer struggled for financial security ever after.
Mozart often traveled to imperial capitals and other major cities to produce his operas and
subscription concerts, ever on a largely unsuccessful search for a stable and generous patron.
Mozart knew and admired “Papa” Haydn (the most famous composer in Vienna throughout
Mozart’s life) and his music, and claimed to have learned how to write string quartets from the
older composer.
Mozart became legendary for his ability to quickly compose works of extremely high quality, a
trait often exaggerated by romantic historians and other commentators. Although he labored
over, revised and otherwise ‘crafted’ his compositions like any other skilled artist, he did
compose with a quick fluency that impressed both his contemporaries and those who study his
sketches today.
A very prolific composer, he wrote approximately 50 symphonies, 23 string quartets, 27
concertos and 17 piano sonatas, 18 Masses, and numerous other works, in addition to his iconic
operas.
Although his symphonies and string quartets are now considered canonic literature, Mozart was
most known in his own day as a great pianist renowned for his ability to improvise (for
instance, in the cadenzas of concertos) and as a composer of opera (in various styles, genres
and languages).
 4
Having no single wealthy patron, one way Mozart
supported himself was through arranging
subscription concerts, at which a large number of
very to moderately wealthy donors paid a fee to
Mozart, who composed the music, hired and
rehearsed the ensemble, rented the venue, printed
the concert tickets and programs, etc.
Mozart’s subscription concerts typically took the
form of a variety show, including excerpts from
instrumental and vocal works in juxtaposition. The
following list of works by Mozart are known to have
been played in a concert in Vienna’s Burgtheater on
23 March 1783, at which Emperor Joseph II was
present. Note the use of Mozart’s Symphony No. 35
in D (Haffner Symphony), which is split to appear as
both the concert opener (i, ii & iii) and closer (iv).

“Haffner” Symphony, K. 385, i-iii

Aria (No. 11) from Idomoneo, K. 366
Piano Concerto in C major, K. 415
Recitative and Aria from soprano, K. 369
Symphonie concertante, III and IV of Serenade, K. 320
Piano Concerto in D Major, K. 175 with new finale
Aria (No. 16) from Lucio Silla, K. 135
Short fugue for piano, improvised
Variations for piano, K. 398
Variations for piano, K. 455
Recitative and Rondo for soprano, K. 416
“Haffner” Symphony, iv
Ever in search of patronage and other financial support, Mozart—like all composers—sought to
please his audiences. His letters reveal that he was keenly aware of the tastes of large public
audiences at venues like the Concert Spirituel in Paris, and he sought to meet their expectations
even while expressing distain for them. His letter also reveal that 18th-century concert audiences
could be quite rowdy by our modern, post-Romantic standards of concert etiquette.
Mozart writing to his father regarding the premiere of his ‘Paris” Symphony (no. 31, K. 297)
“Just in the middle of the first Allegro there was a passage I was sure would please. All
the listeners went into raptures over it—applauded heartily. But as, when I wrote it,
I was quite aware of its effect, I introduced it once more toward the end—and it was
applauded all over again. The Andante pleased the too, but the last Allegro even better.
I had heard that final Allegros, here, must begin in the same way as the first ones,
all the instruments play together, mostly in unison. I began mine with nothing but the
1st and 2nd violins playing softly for 8 bars—then there is a sudden forte. Consequently,
the listeners] (just as I had anticipated) all went “sh!” in the soft passage—then came the
sudden forte—and no sooner did they hear the forte than they all clapped their
hands.”
 5
Again, writing to his father about the ‘Paris’ Symphony:
“I still hope . . . that even asses will find something in it to admire – and, moreover, I
have been careful not to neglect le premier coup d’archet – and that is quite sufficient.
What a fuss the oxen made of this trick! The devil take me if I can see any difference!
They all begin together, just as they do in other places.”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart met his greatest commercial success in his lifetime in music
theater, for which he composed and produced opera in a variety of styles, genres, and languages.
Three of his most successful and beloved operas are among the most popular and often
performed works in the modern repertory:
The Marriage of Figaro (an Italian opera buffa)
Don Giovanni (a mixture of Italian drama and comedy called a dramma giocoso)
The Magic Flute (a German Singspiel)
W. A. Mozart’s compositions are cataloged by “K numbers”, instead of opus numbers, because a
rather famous musicologist named Köchel was the first to collectively catalog Mozart’s works.
Sonata in C minor, K. 457
Serenata in G, K. 525 (1787), “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik”
Mozart has been the subject of many myths regarding his life, working habits, and death, and he
has been the subject of several popular biographical books and movies, including the 1984 movie
Amadeus, which Dr. Cain recommends highly, despite a few historical errors of little
consequence. [Just so you will know: Salieri did not really kill Mozart.]

A typical statue
in honor of
Mozart,
depicting him
in a very heroic
manner.
 6
SONATA FORM
Sonata form has also been called “First-movement Form” and “Sonata-Allegro Form” because it
is extremely common in the first movements of instrumental genres: i.e., symphonies,
string quartets, concertos, and sonatas.
Sonata form was thought of in its day as (1) a structural principle capable of creating a
pleasing balance and symmetry (a Classical point of view) and/or (2) a dramatic form, in which
a conflict (large-scale dissonance) is resolved at the end (a more Romantic aesthetic).
Historically, sonata form was a ROUNDED BINARY FORM: i.e., a two-part form (A-B) in
which the end of the movement (Part B) contains a brief reappearance of the initial music from
Part A. However, it is perhaps easier to think of the work as a three-section form, as is described
below, and that was certainly the way that some nineteenth-commentators described it.
The simplest examples of sonata forms from the earlier 18th century have two more-or-less
balanced halves, but later developments—especially in the 19th century—led to an increased
emphasis on the Development section until the resulting works sound more like they have
three parts instead of two: exposition, development and recapitulation.

TERMINOLOGY RELATED TO SONATA FORM

Exposition (Part 1 of binary form)
Primary theme area tonic key
bridge or transition modulation (away from tonic to another key)
Secondary theme area secondary key (i.e., not tonic key)
closing section secondary key
Repeat of exposition
Development (Part 2) modulatory (no stable key)
Recapitulation (Part 2 continued—the ‘rounding’ of the binary form)
Primary theme area tonic key
transition modulation
Secondary theme area tonic key
closing section (coda) tonic key

SEQUENCE: a short musical motive (i.e., fragment of melody) that is repeated over and over at
different pitch levels (either generally rising or lowering in pitch). Sequences may appear
anywhere in music, but they are often featured in sections of music that are modulatory
(i.e., during which the key of the music is changing or ‘modulating’).
CODA: literally ‘tail’ in Italian, it is the very last section of a musical movement, occurring after
the overall formal scheme of the movement is complete. Not all movements have codas, and
often they are very brief; however, the coda is a section that was greatly expanded by some
Romantic-Era composers, like the mature Beethoven and his followers.

The following website begins with a visual aid for sonata form that you might find helpful:
• Music theory explained in oreos [supplemental: for use in class discussion]
https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/humour/music-theory-oreos/music-theory-oreos-3/
 7
♪ Mozart, Serenata in G, K. 525 (1787), “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik”
https://youtu.be/MeaQ595tzxQ [complete work with scrolling score]
https://youtu.be/CNRQ-DW7064 [video with string quintet—starts at 0:43]
https://youtu.be/r_oK8dKIBYc [McGill Orchestra, 2016]
[**Eine Kleine Nachtmusik is supplemental and for use in class discussion of sonata form.]

♪ Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 23 in A, K. 488, 1st movement: Allegro

* https://youtu.be/6oKLF6LMDSU
* The form diagram below is designed to accompany the YouTube video linked above.
Unlike the classical sonata forms found in symphonies and string quartets, the sonata form in the
first movement of a concerto does not repeat the exposition exactly. Rather, first the orchestra
plays both the primary and secondary themes, and then the instrumental soloist (in this case a
piano) plays a slightly different (but easily recognizable) version of the primary and secondary
themes along with the orchestra. All of this comprises the Exposition of the sonata form.
The Development and Recapitulation of the sonata form then follow, as expected.
The major structural divisions (formal sections) of the sonata form in Mozart’s Piano Concerto
No. 23 in A major, K. 488, 1st movement, are as follows:

EXPOSITION
0:08 Primary theme (orchestra only) A major (tonic key)
0:40 transition modulatory
1:05 Secondary theme (orchestral only) E major (key of the dominant)
1:35 Closing section still E major
[Instead of repeating, the piano now joins the ensemble for a different version of the exposition]
2:15 Primary theme area (now with piano) A major (tonic)
2:44 transition modulatory
3:16 Secondary theme (greatly expanded) E major (key of the dominant)
3:47 Closing section still E major
DEVELOPMENT
4:30 (piano and orchestra together move through many keys, sequences)
Note the sequences (short bits of melody) after 5:07 that are repeated over and
over in different keys
RECAPITULATION
6:27 Primary theme area (very recognizable!) A major (tonic)
6:55 Bridge modulates away from but returns to tonic
7:25 Secondary theme (even more expanded!) A major (tonic)
7:56 Closing section A major all the way to the end
9:40 Cadenza (piano alone; note that it ends in trills)
10:54 orchestral comes back in to close the movement
2nd movement: Adagio (in F(in F minor) 11:47-18:36
3rd (final) movement: Allegro assai (in A major) 18:42-26:34
 8

W. A. MOZART & LATE 18TH-CENTURY OPERA

Scene from the 1984 movie Amadeus, in which Mozart conducts the finale of his opera Don
Giovanni. Mozart’s fictitious nemesis, the Italian opera composer Salieri, narrates the scene:
♪ Please see “Excerpt from Amadeus (movie)” on the MyCourses website (supplemental)
Mozart actively participated in rehearsals and performances of his own operas, and he traveled
extensively to Vienna, Paris, Prague, Berlin, etc. to promote these performances.
However, it is unlikely that he conducted in the manner shown in the above clip. It is much
more likely that Mozart would have conducted his works from the keyboard, where he would
have led both the continuo group (who accompanied recitatives, even in the classical era) and the
singers on stage. The first violinist was usually placed in charge of conducting the instrumental
group (cueing entrances, setting tempos, etc.) while he played.
In the 18th century the conductor of an ensemble (even in large-scale genres like operas and
symphonies) was usually also a performer in that ensemble.

G. F. Haydn playing at the keyboard (in lower left, wearing a grey jacket) as he directs a performance of his
opera L'incontro improvviso in the Esterháza theater in 1775.

The ‘virtuoso conductor’—who stands before and leads an ensemble but does not play an
instrument during the performance—is really a phenomenon first seen in the 19th-century as
orchestras became larger.
Modern conductors of orchestras and other large ensembles are responsible for leading both
rehearsals and performances, although some opera houses have ‘singing coaches’ and assistant
conductors’ who assist in rehearsals.
During the later 19th and especially the 20th centuries, some conductors became very famous
celebrities, renowned for their interpretations of works by specific composers.
 9
MOZART’S OPERAS
Opera was the most important public musical genre in the eighteenth century, entertaining
both the waning aristocracy and the ever-more-powerful middle class audience. Success in the
opera theater offered a composer the best chance to establish a major reputation (and perhaps
earn wealthy patronage) and earn a lot of money.
As an immense international phenomenon, 18th-century opera was subdivided into a variety of
specific genres, each of which were associated with specific countries of origin, languages,
musical styles, forms, numbers of acts, subject matter, etc.
Before the age of 15, Mozart had composed in the three musical/theatrical genres commonly
performed in Vienna and other imperial cities:
opera seria—serious Italian opera in three acts, using recitatives and arias;
plots were usually drawn from classical history or from legend; arias often contain
long melismas and are strikingly virtuosic; this is the oldest and most ‘serious’
genre of opera, and it was strongly associated with aristocratic tastes.
opera buffa—comic Italian opera, generally in two acts, using recitatives and arias;
plots usually involve contemporary situations and characters, including characters
servants and other ‘common’ folk; this genre had wider appeal for middle-class
audiences than did opera seria.
Singspiel—light and/or comic German opera, using spoken dialogue (no recitative)
along with arias, duets, choral numbers, etc; plots are often fantastic or exotic, and
common characters are often included; more like a play with music (because of
the spoken dialogue), this genre was very popular among and strongly associated
with the German middle-class audience, but it was also strongly supported by
the Hapsburg Emperor Joseph II, who was one of Mozart’s patrons in Vienna.
Mozart worked in these three genres of opera during the course of the 1770s.
By his mid-twenties he had completely mastered several genres of opera, and in the following
years he produced one great work after another. It was for these great works that he was mostly
widely known in his own day.

MOZART’S VIENNA YEARS (1781-1791)

The history of Mozart’s Viennese-period stage works partly reflects the musical inclinations
of Emperor Joseph II, who wished to promote a national German genre (the Singspiel) that
would rival the Italian opera buffa.
Mozart responded to the emperor’s desire with the Singspiel Die Entführung aus dem Serail
(The abduction from the harem) in 1782.
The action in Die Entführung unfolds in a Turkish pasha’s palace—a setting popular with the
Viennese—and the work’s finale contains a famous example of musical exoticism: although
stylistically unrelated to Turkish music, the music of the choral finale was intended to signify
‘exotic’ Turkish music for its non-Turkish, Viennese audience:
https://youtu.be/KeqMr9n210w https://youtu.be/1uaLaFNzwgc
The genre of Singspiel was very influenced by other lighter, comic genres especially the British
ballad opera, which also contained spoken dialogue and light, catchy tunes.
 10
LE NOZZE DI FIGARO (The Marriage of Figaro, 1786)
*http://mcgill.naxosvideolibrary.com.proxy3.library.mcgill.ca/title/OA0960D/
Complete opera (1 hour 40 minutes) [VPN required if off campus]
*http://mcgill.naxosvideolibrary.com.proxy3.library.mcgill.ca/title/OA0990D/?start=00%3A53
%3A33&end=01%3A02%3A00&part=1 [tracks 22, 24, 25 & 26 of this video]
Required excerpt from Act II [VPN required if off campus]
*Don’t forget to turn on the subtitles in the language of your choice.
The story involves a Spanish count who intends to take advantage of an ancient right by which
the master may enjoy the first night with any new bride among his servants. He attempts to
assert his authority with Susanna (his wife’s maid), fiancée of his valet Figaro, but in true opera
buffa tradition, he is ultimately outwitted by Figaro, Susanna, and his own wife (the countess).
At its root, however, the story is not the slapstick stuff of common opera buffa but social
criticism of aristocratic injustice with revolutionary overtones. The original play, which Da Ponte
adapted, was written by the French playwright Beaumarchais (1732-1799, name not on exam)
and was banned by the French government’s censors under Louis XVI.
The opera is extremely, quite unusually long, so that each of the two standard acts had to be
subdivided into two (creating four acts total instead of the two customary for an opera buffa).

DON GIOVANNI (1787)

♪ Don Giovanni (must access through on-campus system or have VPN)
http://mcgill.naxosvideolibrary.com/title/OA0958D [Naxos Video; supplemental
Mozart and Da Ponte took the legendary character of Don Juan seriously as a rebel against
authority, but you wouldn’t call him a ‘hero.’ He is, in fact, a misogynist creep and rapist.
Much more a ‘dramma giocoso’ (term not required) than a typical opera buffa, this libretto is a
mixture of light/comic and serious elements. Although the action is lively and comic moments
occur, the story is neither farce nor social satire. It deals with the significant problem of a
morally corrupt roué who fascinates us by the apparent fact that he lives life at a higher pitch
than average people.
The climax arrives when the memorial statue of the man whom Don Giovanni killed at the
opening of the opera returns at the end to drag him to hell in the key of D minor. Trombones and
an offstage demonic chorus add to the infernal effect. Significantly, Don Giovanni is
unrepentant as he meets his fate, an anti-hero with an odd and dark form of integrity.
 11
DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE (The Magic Flute, 1791)
Genre is Singspiel—a distinctly German genre.
Mozart’s last dramatic work to reach the stage,
Die Zauberflöte was composed just months before
Mozart’s death for a theater in a middle class
neighborhood of Vienna.
It is a fairy-tale story, set in the Near East and using
much of the lore of the Freemasons, a fraternal
order to which both Mozart and Haydn and many
other freethinkers of the period belonged.
The libretto treats the themes of brotherly unity and
self-knowledge. The plot contains secretive arcane
rituals, lessons in abstinence and moderation,
veneration of learning and of wise and just
leadership, etc.
The characters range from the fairy-tale bird-man
Papageno, a comic character, to some apparently contemporary mortals (Tamino and Pamina), to
awesome characters with supernatural powers (Sarastro and the Queen of the Night).
This singspiel demonstrates Mozart’s mastery of operatic styles, with music that ranges from
ballad-opera-like popular simplicity (sung by the overtly comic character Papagena) to the florid
coloratura of the Queen of the Night, an obvious opera-seria type character.
♪ Papageno’s ‘entrance aria’ [see supplemental video : « Zauberflöte, Papageno’s aria »]
https://youtu.be/JwbspEqM-R4
♪ Queen of the Night’s aria, “Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinnem Herzen” [on Quiz #3]
https://youtu.be/YuBeBjqKSGQ (The fires of hell burn in my heart!)