Part the Fourth: His Manhood
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 September 2010
Summary
The Court Calendar of Salzburg, for 1779, and the year following, records the name of Mozart as court and cathedral organist. Thus, after having rejected with contempt, the offer made to him at Versailles, we find him holding a similar appointment in a place of far less consideration under the authority of that archbishop who had been throughout, in some sort, his evil genius. Nor had time diminished the force of this malignant influence, or soothed the sense of animosity at either side. A short connexion with Salzburg and its afiairs re-opened all the old wounds.
Soon after his return, he renewed his acquaintance with the family of the Webers, the eldest daughter of which, as has been mentioned, was now singing at the concerts of the archbishop, and formed his first particular intimacy with her sister Constance, his future wife. His opportunities of enjoying this pleasant intercourse could not, however, have lasted more than a few months, as the family soon left to attend the début of Aloysia Weber on the stage at Munich, and were afterwards travelling in various parts of Germany.
The first work of importance he now produced at Salzburg, was a mass, which, judging from the style of the composition, was designed for a high festival of the church, and the date renders it probable that it was produced at the Cathedral on Easter Sunday. This elevated and truly admirable composition announces the great career of Mozart as symphonist and dramatic musician.
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- The Life of MozartIncluding his Correspondence, pp. 165 - 352Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009First published in: 1845
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