Mozart and the Masons : new light on the lodge "Crowned Hope" / H.C. Robbins Landon
1982, First Edition. London : Thames and Hudson. Near fine cloth copy in a good if somewhat edge-nicked and dust-dulled dust-wrapper. Spine of wrapper sun-toned. Remains well-preserved overall. Item #469931
ISBN: 050055014X
Physical description; 72 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm. Notes; This study of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's espousal of Freemasonry, and of his affiliation with the most prominent Viennese Lodges, examines the following themes :The origins of Freemasonry in Austria, with reference to the establishment of the first Masonic Lodges in Vienna, inspired by English models. The pioneer institution in this respect was the Lodge "Aux Trois Canons", which has its inaugural meeting on 17th September 1742.The support for Freemasonry given by Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine (1708-1765), husband of Archduchess (and later Empress) Maria Theresa (1717-1780). This ensured an ostensible counterbalance to the political strategising of the Papacy, which, through the proclamation of Pope Clement X11, enforced the Bull "In Eminenti Apostolatus Specula" banning Catholics from the practice of Freemasonry (28th April 1738). The establishment, on 22nd April 1784, of the "Grosse Landesloge von Osterreich", which provided for the governance of masonic institutions in seven Provinces - Austria, Bohemia, Lemberg (Galicia), Austrian Lombardy, Transylvania, Hungary and the Austrian Netherlands.Mozart's initiation into Freemasonry as an 'Entered Apprentice' to the Lodge "Zur Wohltatigkeit" on 14th December 1784. The "Wohltatigkeit", inaugurated on 2nd September 1783, was a 'feeder' institution for the larger Viennese lodge "Zur Wahren Eintracht" ('True Concord'). The Master of the latter was Ignaz von Born, a scientist, writer and mineralogist whom Mozart and his librettist may have drawn upon to create the character 'Sarastro' in 'The Magic Flute' ('Die Zauberflote'). It is highly likely that the composer was coaxed towards Freemasonry by Otto, Freiherr von Gemmingen-Hornberg, Palatine Chamberlain and Privy Councillor. Von Gemmingen-Hornberg had been a benefactor to Mozart in Mannheim, and was also, more significantly, Lodge Master at the 'Wohltatigkeit'.Mozart gained an entree into significant socio-political and cultural coteries through his attendance at Vienna's lodges. In 1785, Joseph Haydn, renowned 'capellmeister' to the Esterhazy family and friend of Wolfgang Amadeus, was proposed and accepted for the "Zur Wahren Eintracht" Lodge. Mozart's father Leopold was also inducted as an 'Entered Apprentice' during that year. Pasquale Artaria, co-founder of the Viennese music publishing house 'Artaria and Company', was a member of the Lodge "Zur Neugekronten Hoffnung", and published the compositions of both Mozart and Haydn. Another indentured Mason was the singer Valentin Adamberger, who debuted the tenor role of 'Belmonte' in Mozart's "Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail". The Lodge "Zur Neugekronten Hoffnung", constituted in 1786, also boasted another member of Mozart's cultural circle, namely, Karl Ludwig Giesecke, dramatic singer of the Schikaneder Company at Vienna's Freyhaus-Theater. Giesecke was the composer's "First Slave" for the 1791 production of "Die Zauberflote" (Magic Flute). Even Emanuel Schikaneder, Mozart's librettist of choice, had attended a Masonic lodge in Regensburg (Ratisbon). The first edition of Schikaneder's libretto for "Zauberflote" was published by yet another Freemason, Ignaz Alberti, who attended Mozart's own lodge.The strength of Mozart's Freemasonic convictions inspired his resolve to weave, within the musical language of his compositions, echoes of the symbolic numerology and eschatological doctrine locked within the rituals of the First Degree of Freemasonry. In 1785, he composed his "Maurerische Trauermusik" (K.477) for the funeral obsequies of Georg August, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and Franz, Count Esterhazy of Galantha. This work exploits the Masonic symbolism of the number '3'. In 1791, the inauguration of a new Lodge was celebrated with the debut of the "Kleine Freymaurer-Kantate" (Little Masonic Cantata, (K.263).)On 11th December 1785, a "Handbillet" issued by Emperor Joseph 11 addressed the burgeoning cultural and societal influence of Freemasonry by scything the number of licensed Lodges in Vienna. After this cull, only three reconstituted houses remained, one of them being the "Zur Neugekronten Hoffnung", with which Mozart had a degree of connection. The numerical decline of Vienna's Masonic establishments, so evident from that date forward, presents an eerie parallel to the increasing financial privation, and slide into ill health, of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart himself during the 1780s and until his shockingly premature death in 1791.Text by Marion Lawson. Includes bibliographical references (pages 63-64). Subjects; Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus 1756-1791. Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus 1756-1791 Freemasonry. Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus 1756-1791 Knowledge Manners and customs.
Price: €21.00