The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1904-06-04


assertion without one word of proof Had they
taken the trouble to- compare Mozarts Masses and
his operas they would not find single instance
IN which passages from one were transferred INTO
the other. Moreover as a mere historical fact
Z (these things are generally forgotten in contEo-
: versy), almost all of Mozarts church music was
written at Salzburg. In Vienna, where most of his
operas were composed, he wrote no Mass TO order
save the Requiem; and only composed one Mass on
his own account, and even that also was not fin
lshed In fact it may be said that his church mu-
sic represents one period of his life and his operas
another, and that the former was produced when
he was a good practical Catholic, Moreover we
have his own statement to his views church
music, AT Leipzig he declared that Protestant
could not possibly conceive the associations which
the services of the church awoke in the mind of
deTout Catholic nor the powerful effect which they
had on the genius of artist In all his correspon
denee there Is not the slightest sign of any COLI
temptuous attitude to the subject; rather the re-
verse, tor when he was applying for post at the
imperial chapel he wrote: "The learned Kape-
melster Saleri has never devoted himself to church
music, while have made it my peculiar study from
my youth up"
Let us hear no more of this calumny Mozart
was too true artist not to give of his best. We
now may not consider his church music liturgical.
l do not But IN his day there was no objection
to It, The faults in it are the faults of the
age, not those of the man. After ALL he wrote for
his day, not for ours. If in his operas he gained
III depth and breadth, this is to be accounted for
by the increase of experience; but it is folly to
argue because these from operate point of view
are supreme that the others are not so in their
own way. Moreover, it is well to l--.Smber that
The Mass by which Mozart is generally Known to
the ordinary hearer is not his at all. | refer to
he so-called Twelfth Mass" This, if you like, is
indeed weak and altogether unworthy of the mas
er. No one who knows Mozart's scores will have
my hesitation in saying that the composition is
manifest forgery from beginning to end. Mozart
ouia not and would not write such pitiful twaddle
S we ind upon almost every page both in the vocal
M IN the instrumental parts Some years ago | |
made a critical examination of the Mass; and L !
hlnk 1t Is possible to indicate few passages and
hemes which may be by the master. We know that
e left behind him certain sketches and themes
'ritten on scraps of paper. Some were, we knew,
sed by Sussmayer to complete the Requiem; and
is more than likely that some few found their
ay into the Twelfth Mass" This is a tempting
lb1ect, but one | cannot now follow
we have seen that up to his marriage in his
venty seventh year Mozart remained practising
now darker page has to be writ
n Somehow or other he fell away almost as soon
) ne married. He was extravagant, took to drink
g, keeping bad company, and there are other seri-
Is charges which 1T is difficult to speak of with
rtainty. But this seems clear his love for his
lie remained to the end She, however, was a
equent invalid and often had to be away at Baden
T long periods. And this may have exposed him
the dangers to which man fond of having
lends and some one to rely upon is liable But
lat think was the cause of his neglect of his
lglon was the fact that in 1856 he became Free
lson. Ihe craft was introduced into Vienna in
81 and became the fashion. The lodge to which
ozart belonged contained many rich and noble
mbers, amateurs and patrons of music and
me to have been famous for its splendid han
ets This would appeal to Mozazrts- love of So
ty and conviviality. Religion in the capital was
very low ebb; and in societies as in individu=
where supernatural religion is not a real lir
Ioree, men are more easily led away bv the
'clous claims OF the so-called natural religion of
levolence, which pretends to satisfy the craving
the soul after good Be this as it may, Mozart,
rtly alter his marriage seems TO have o;ron
the practice of his religion altogether. | find
trace of it in his letters. Abandoning all
tralnt, he became dissipated, debauched. and at
mercy OF an unserupulous blackguard Schi-
lder, also Mason, who became his evil penius /
END was not now far off. His brain, overtaxed v
ms work, found no help In body exhausted and '
lkened. On the 18th of November he went out @
the last time 1t was to, the lodge. The REQUIEM.
ch was half finished and was occupying all his
ughts, may have touched his heart when he had i
naVor OF death on his tongue" His weeping c
2 by the deathbed quietly begged her sister for s
Is sake to go to the priests at ST. Peters and o
one OF them to call as if by chance Evidently "
art had not asked for the last sacraments of t
Church, although he was quite conscious of his C
e. We knew not what was passing in his soul, Il
whether human respect was holding him back o
clergy naturally hesitated to approach the a
hbed OF an excommunicated man who gave no
IS OF repentance. While / find no direct asser- ly
that Mozart died absolved, anointed and W
ed, yet as his sister-n-law says that she had h
It difficulty in persuading one of the priests to fl
That she wished, this Joined to the fact that the
'ral service took place in St. Stephens and the
al in the churchyard of st. Marks, there can
o reasonable doubt but that Wolfgang Amadee !,
art returned to the Heavenly Father in sorrow u
love- and died on Dec. 5, 1901, in union with "
hurch to whom he had dedicated the choice and e@( @
erly fruits of his immortal genius. :?
.ondon, February, 1904 III