Evening star., 1954-06-27
Mozart on + Freemosonry
Cathedral to Be the Setting for His
Solo Cuntoto by lsobel BuilIie
Bv Doy Thorpe

Salzburg. He wrote o great
quantity Of music for the
church, and If at times he
strayed from the canons re-
garding length and regarding
the use of his texts. he was
always amenable to correction.
Complete satisfaction OF the
person for whom o piece OF
music was written was an ar
tistic tenet he never deserted.
His masses, 1itanieS. and veS-
pers, all written for service
performance, show the deepest
and most sensitive artistic af-
fliation with the spiritual con-
cepts Of the church. They are
in the conventional forms Of
the time, and many show Mo-
zart's unparalleled technical
virtuosity in skillS expected OF
q church composer.
Technique Changed
When he wrote for the Free
masons, his technique changed.
Much of the music is charac-
terized by an intense and over
powering simplicity. The style
of die Zauberf1ote. the great
est and best-known of the Ma
sonic pieces, is typical OF all
the rest. Indeed, the solo cam
tata sung by Miss Baillie this
afternoon has hardly an in
flection or musical device that
cannot be found in the opera,
which is itself an artistic pic
ture of the teachings, trials,
and ultimate goals Of the
brotherhood.
It is with difficulty that I
restrain myself from quoting
the text of the cantata in its
entirety. The poem, written by
Franz Ziegenhagen, a member
of Mozart's own lodge, Is a GU
riously wild and melodramatic
mixture of the brotherhood OF
man, freedom, responsibility
and love. It is reminiscent OF
today's popular best = seller
evangelists, and those who have
heard Billy Graham can well
imagine him using parts OF it
in his recent conquest of Eng
land.
"You, who honor the creator
of the boundless universe, call
him Jehovah or God, call him
Flu or Brahma, hear ye the
words from the trumpet OF the
All-powerful. Let their sound
ring eternally through earth.
sun and moon. >. Love your
self and your brothers, let
bodily strength and beauty be
your adornment. Break this
bond of illusion, rip the veil
of prejudice, shed the clothes
that envelop humanity in Sec
tarianism! Use gunpowder
to shatter rocks, rather than
to speed killing lead into the
hearts of brothers! E. Be wise
be strong, and be brothers!
Then will all my goodness
alight upon you, then viii
cheeks be wetted with tears Of
joy, then will your desert bt
changed into Gardens o.
Eden.
Intimate Music
The literary style may amus'
us, but we can see that th'
call to liberty is the same tina
was being lifted by secula'
revolutionists both in Franc
and in this country. Its appea
to Mozart, who all his life wa
passionately devoted to peopl'
and friendship, who loved bill
lizards, bowling. drinking, ant
all forms of sociability, is evl'
dent in the intensely persona
and intimate music to whicl
he set it, and which transfig
ureS it.
Much of the information
about Freemasonry in this ar
ticle have taken from Ed
ward Dents criticism of "Di
Zauberfote," from the Catho
lie Encyclopedia, and iron
official histories of F'reemaSon
ry. One point which so far a
I know has never been dis
cussed is food for piquan
speculation. The cantata wa
specifically written for use @
the FreemasonS; the Freema
sons of Mozart'S time Specif1
cally excluded from their rank
atheists and women; tn
cantata is written Specificall
for a Sonrano voice.