New Mozart Edition I/2/2 Vesper Psalms

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

Series I

Sacred Vocal Works

WORK GROUP 2: LITANIES, VESPERS

VOLUME 2: VESPERS AND VESPER PSALMS

PRESENTED BY KARL GUSTAV FELLERER

AND FELIX SCHROEDER

1959

International Mozart Foundation, Online Publications III

New Mozart Edition I/2/2 Vesper Psalms

Neue Mozart-Ausgabe (New Mozart Edition)*

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

The Complete Works

BÄRENREITER KASSEL BASEL LONDON

En coopération avec le Conseil international de la Musique

Editorial Board: Dietrich Berke Wolfgang Plath Wolfgang Rehm

Agents for
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The editing of the NMA is supported by

City of Augsburg
City of Salzburg
Administration Land Salzburg
City of Vienna
Konferenz der Akademien der Wissenschaften in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland,
represented by
Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur Mainz,
with funds from
Bundesministerium für Forschung und Technologie, Bonn and
Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Unterricht und Kultus
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Bundesministerium für Unterricht und Kunst, Vienna

* Hereafter referred to as the NMA. The predecessor, the "Alte Mozart-Edition" (Old Mozart Edition) is referred to as the AMA.

International Mozart Foundation, Online Publications IV

New Mozart Edition I/2/2 Vesper Psalms

CONTENTS

Editorial Principles ……………..…………………………………………………….. VI

Foreword………….…………………….……………………………………………… VII

Facsimile: Leaf 1r of the autograph of KV 193 (186g) ……………………………….. XIV

Facsimile: Leaf 1v of the autograph of KV 321 ………………………………………. XV
Facsimile: Leaf 7v of the autograph of KV 321 ………………………………………. XVI
Facsimile: Leaf 44v of the autograph of KV 321 ……………………………………... XVII
Facsimile: Leaf 3v of the Violine I part of KV 339 …………………………………… XVIII
Addendum 1988 ………………………………………………………………………. XIX

Dixit et Magnificat for soloists, mixed choir, orchestra and organ

KV 193 (186g) …………………………………………………………………… 1
Vesperae solennes de Dominica for soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
and organ KV 321 ……………………………………………………………….. 33
Vesperae solennes de Confessore for soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
and organ KV 339 ……………………………………………………………….. 101

Appendix

Magnificat for soloists, mixed choir, orchestra and organ KV 321a

(fragment) ……………………………………………………………………... 181

International Mozart Foundation, Online Publications V

New Mozart Edition
EDITORIAL PRINCIPLES
The New Mozart Edition (NMA) provides for research
purposes a music text based on impeccable scholarship
applied to all available sources – principally Mozart’s
autographs – while at the same time serving the needs
of practising musicians. The NMA appears in 10 Series
subdivided into 35 Work Groups:
I: Sacred Vocal Works (1–4)
II: Theatrical Works (5–7)
III: Songs, Part-Songs, Canons (8–10)
IV: Orchestral Works (11–13)
V: Concertos (14–15)
VI: Church Sonatas (16)
VII: Large Solo Instrument Ensembles (17–18)
VIII: Chamber Music (19–23)
IX: Keyboard Music (24–27)
X: Supplement (28–35)
For every volume of music a Critical
Commentary (Kritischer Bericht) in German is
available, in which the source situation, variant
readings or Mozart’s corrections are presented and all
other special problems discussed.
Within the volumes and Work Groups the
completed works appear in their order of composition.
Sketches, draughts and fragments are placed in an
Appendix at the end of the relevant volume. Sketches
etc. which cannot be assigned to a particular work, but
only to a genre or group of works, generally appear in
chronological order at the end of the final volume of
the relevant Work Group. Where an identification
regarding genre is not possible, the sketches etc. are
published in Series X, Supplement (Work Group 30:
Studies, Sketches, Draughts, Fragments, Various). Lost
compositions are mentioned in the relevant Critical
Commentary in German. Works of doubtful
authenticity appear in Series X (Work Group 29).
Works which are almost certainly spurious have not
been included.
Of the various versions of a work or part of
a work, that version has generally been chosen as the
basis for editing which is regarded as final and
definitive. Previous or alternative forms are reproduced
in the Appendix.
The NMA uses the numbering of the
Köchel Catalogue (KV); those numberings which differ
in the third and expanded edition (KV3 or KV3a) are
given in brackets; occasional differing numberings in
the sixth edition (KV6) are indicated.
With the exception of work titles, entries in
the score margin, dates of composition and the
footnotes, all additions and completions in the music
International Mozart Foundation, Online Publications
I/2/2 Vesper Psalms
volumes are indicated, for which the following scheme
applies: letters (words, dynamic markings, tr signs and
numbers in italics; principal notes, accidentals before
principal notes, dashes, dots, fermatas, ornaments and
smaller rests (half notes, quarters, etc.) in small print;
slurs and crescendo marks in broken lines; grace and
ornamental notes in square brackets. An exception to
the rule for numbers is the case of those grouping
triplets, sextuplets, etc. together, which are always in
italics, those added editorially in smaller print. Whole
measure rests missing in the source have been
completed tacitly.
The title of each work as well as the
specification in italics of the instruments and voices at
the beginning of each piece have been normalised, the
disposition of the score follows today’s practice. The
wording of the original titles and score disposition are
provided in the Critical Commentary in German. The
original notation for transposing instruments has been
retained. C-clefs used in the sources have been replaced
by modern clefs. Mozart always notated singly
occurring sixteenth, thirty-second notes etc. crossed-
through, (i.e. instead of ); the notation
therefore does not distinguish between long or short
realisations. The NMA generally renders these in the
modern notation etc.; if a grace note of this
kind should be interpreted as ″short″ an additional
indication ″ ″ is given over the relevant grace note.
Missing slurs at grace notes or grace note groups as
well as articulation signs on ornamental notes have
generally been added without comment. Dynamic
markings are rendered in the modern form, e.g. f and p
instead of for: and pia:
The texts of vocal works have been
adjusted following modern orthography. The realisation
of the bass continuo, in small print, is as a rule only
provided for secco recitatives. For any editorial
departures from these guidelines refer to the relevant
Foreword and to the Critical Commentary in German.
A comprehensive representation of the
editorial guidelines for the NMA (3rd version, 1962)
has been published in Editionsrichtlinien musikalischer
Denkmäler und Gesamtausgaben [Editorial Guidelines
for Musical Heritage and Complete Editions].
Commissioned by the Gesellschaft für Forschung and
edited by Georg von Dadelsen, Kassel etc., 1963, pp.
99-129. Offprints of this as well as the Bericht über die
Mitarbeitertagung und Kassel, 29. – 30. 1981,
published privately in 1984, can be obtained from the
Editorial Board of the NMA.
The Editorial Board
VI
New Mozart Edition
FOREWORD
Of the psalms and the settings of the canticle Magnificat
in Mozart’s Vespers, Alfred Einstein wrote, “No-one
knows Mozart who does not know his pieces in this
genre.” As early as 1774, Mozart had written a Dixit and
Magnificat, that is, an opening and a final piece for the
Vespers, for Salzburg.1 We know as little about the
occasion for which this Dixit and Magnificat KV 193
(186g) was written as about the reasons for Mozart’s
compositing the complete Vespers KV 321 and 339 in the
years 1779 and 1780.2 That this Vesper was intended for
Salzburg Cathedral can be deduced from the absence of
horns, since Leopold Mozart reported in 1757 that “the
flute is seldom, the French Horn never to be heard in the
Cathedral Church”.3 This report delivers a clear picture of
the capacities available for church music in Salzburg
Cathedral. It lists by name 8 violinists, 2 viola players, 2
cellists, 2 double-bass players, 4 bassoonists, of whom 2
were simultaneously oboists, 3 oboists and flautists, 2
horn players and also 3 organists and harpsichordists as
members of the Royal Chapel.4 As solo singers, 5
sopranos (castratos) and 4 basses are listed, in addition to
whom “2 to 3 sopranos and as many altos from the High
Prince’s College are constantly required”. The choir is
formed by the 21 canons, 8 choristers and 15 choir-boys.
“Finally, 3 trombonists are additionally employed along
with the choir, to play namely the alto, tenor and bass
trombones, which the City Master of the Watch with two
1
In contemporary resources for the Vespers, Dixit,
Magnificat and Psalmi are notated separately, e.g. in the
material for KV 321; for KV 339, only a copy of the outer
movements has come down to us; in the Lambach copy of
KV 321, separate copies of the outer movements and the
other psalms have been preserved; the Magnificat also
appears on its own, e.g. in a score copy in Salzburg
Cathedral Music Archive. The individual movements of
complete Vesper compositions were therefore also
performed separately. On the fly-leaf of the Göttweiger copy
of KV 339, performance dates between 1822 and 1890 have
been noted; amongst the entries are: “17th Jun. 824 Magnif:,
29th Aug. 824 Laud. Dom., 3rd Sept. 826 Confitebor” etc.
Besides complete performances of the piece, it was expressly
noted that the Laudate Dominum was very often used as an
Offertory in the Mass.
2
The diaries of Schiedenhofen, Nannerl, Mozart and Hübner
contain no information regarding dates and purpose of the
Vespers.
3
Nachricht von dem gegenwärtigen Stande der Musik Sr.
Hochfürstl. Gnaden des Erzbischofs zu Salzburg im Jahre
1757 [Report on the current state of the music of His High-
Princely Grace the Archbishop of Salzburg in the year
1757], in Marpurg’s “Historisch-Kritischen Beiträgen zur
Aufnahme der Musik”, Berlin, 1757.
4 9
The musicians are often employed on several instruments
and appear in variously constituted ensembles.
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I/2/2 Vesper Psalms
of his subordinates has to provide in return for a certain
annual salary.”5 In the instrumentational practice of the
17th century,6 the trombones were counted as part of the
choir, regardless of whether the parts were written out or
not. These were improvised from the choral parts if
individual parts had not been written out. This use of
trombones is ad libitum in contemporary performance
practice and, like the organ, served to support the choir.7
The scoring and also the hurried composition of the two
Vespers betray that they were works for Salzburg
Cathedral. The additional evidence of the sequence of
psalms shows that the Vespers can only have been
intended for a church whose Office Liturgy was
celebrated according to the Roman Breviary.8 St. Peter’s
is therefore ruled out, as the Vesper in the Benedictine
Breviary only has four psalms.
In its transmission, the Vesper KV 321 is usually
described as Vesperae de Dominica and the Vesper KV
339 as Vesperae solennes de Confessore. The term
“Vesperae de Dominica” is liturgically incorrect.
According to liturgical ordnances, the Vesperae de
Dominica comprehend the psalms 109, 110, 111, 112, 113
(In exitu Israel) and not Ps. 116 (Laudate Dominum),
which is included in both Vespers by Mozart.
The Liturgy distinguishes the Vesperae de Confessore
Pontifice and de Confessore non Pontifice. While the
sequence of psalms in the 1st and 2nd of the Vespers
Confessor non Pontifex is the same (Ps. 109, 110, 111,
112, 116), the sequence also obtaining in the sequence of
psalms for the 1st Vesper Confessor Pontifex, the 2nd
Vesper of this kind has Ps. 131 (Memento Domine David)
instead of Ps. 116 (Laudate Dominum).
The autograph KV 321 bears no title in Mozart’s hand.
Franz Gleissner9 initially gave the composition the correct
title, Vesperae de Confessore, on the first page of the
original manuscript and also in his thematic catalogue of
1800 for the items from Mozart’s estate (No. 19) acquired
by J. A. André. This is also the title used in J. A. André’s
manuscript catalogue (No. 133). Later, the term De
5
“Nachricht […]” op. cit., p. 195.
6
R. Haas, Aufführungspraxis der Musik, Potsdam, 1931. K.
G. Fellerer, Die Aufführungspraxis der katholischen
Kirchenmusik in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart, Einsiedeln,
1933, pp. 23f.
7
Cf. below, pp. XI/XII.
8
S. Bäumer, Geschichte des Breviers, Freiburg, 1895. J. A.
Jungmann, Der Gottesdienst der Kirche, Innsbruck, 1955.
Cf. E. F. Schmid, Neue Quellen zu Werken Mozarts,
Mozart-Jahrbuch 1956, Salzburg, 1957, pp. 35f.
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New Mozart Edition
Dominica was added to Gleißner’s title in the autograph,
whether by error or to indicate its frequent use as a
Sunday Vesper. This liturgically incorrect designation was
also used by Leopold Mozart in the copy donated to the
monastery in Lambach, marked Vesperae solemnes de
Dominica.10 Similarly, the copies of this Vesper in
Salzburg Cathedral are marked as Psalmi de Dominica
and Vesperae de Dominica. This nomenclature is not
surprising, because the loose application of liturgical rules
in the 18th century allowed Mozart’s Vesper also to be
used as a Sunday Vesper, although it could have been
rendered suitable for that day by replacing the 5th psalm
by another composition or by choral psalmody. In either
case, the Vesper KV 321, according to the sequence of its
texts, should properly be called Vesperae de Confessore,
as in Gleißner’s original description.
For the Vesper KV 339, the correct title de Confessore has
become established. As a consequence of World War II,
the autograph has been lost [but see addendum below].
According to A. Einstein, who had seen it, a title in
Mozart’s hand is missing here as well. An “unknown
hand” had added the designation Vesperae Solennes de
Confessore to the autograph. Perhaps it was also Gleißner
who gave it this title, since it appeared in the same form in
his catalogue entry (No. 20) for KV 339. This liturgically
correct term was also written on Köchel’s copy of the
score (Vienna, Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde
[Association of the Friends of Music]). Leopold Mozart
gave this Vesper in the Lambach copy the wrong
designation Vesperae solemnes de Dominica, an
erroneous formulation which re-appeared in the score
copy in Salzburg Cathedral. J. A. André, in contrast,
names it correctly in his manuscript catalogue (No. 166).
Taken exactly, it should be designated as de Confessore
non Pontifice, since these large-scale musical Vespers
were sung predominantly on the Feast for which the
Liturgy requires the 2nd Vesper, while the 1st Vesper for
Confessor Pontifex Feasts, which uses the sequence of
psalms set by Mozart, is celebrated on the previous
evening (Vigil) and was therefore probably performed
only seldom in the large-scale musical form.
The importance Mozart himself attached to his Vespers11
can be seen from the fact that he asked his father, in a
letter of 12 March 1783, to send both works to him in
Vienna so that he could make Baron Gottfried van
10
Solemnis was not a liturgical term in this case, but a
normal designation for church music involving soloists,
choir and orchestra in the 18th century.
11
H. Abert, W. A. Mozart, Leipzig, 1923, pp. 799ff.; K. G.
Fellerer, Mozarts Kirchenmusik, Salzburg/Freilassing, 1955,
pp. 117ff.
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I/2/2 Vesper Psalms
Swieten acquainted with them.12 The Office settings
Vesperae de Dominica KV 321 and Vesperae solennes de
Confessore KV 339, both for 4 voices, 2 violins, 2 clarino
trumpets, timpani, basses (violoncello, double-bass and
bassoon), 3 trombones and organ, contain the Psalms 109
(Dixit), 110 (Confitebor), 111 (Beatus vir), 112 (Laudate
pueri), 116 (Laudate Dominum) and the canticle
Magnificat. The individual psalms are independent pieces
of music; the concluding doxology is in each case
developed from thematic material in the corresponding
psalm.
The limitations on the scoring of church music in
Salzburg are clearly visible in both the Vespers and the
Salzburg Masses. The brevity demanded by the Prince-
Bishop in the music for the Mass also sets the example for
the compact dimensions of the Vesper psalms. Some texts
overlap in the contrapuntal parts of the settings. The
counterpoint in the setting of Ps. 112 (Laudate pueri)
follows the Italian/Southern German tradition, in which
this psalm – no doubt because of its text – was usually set
in “stile antico”. This psalm is placed in the Vesper as an
element contrasting with the other movements in the
sequence, particularly with the Laudate Dominum, which
is usually set in the expressive freedom of the “stile
moderno”. Mozart retained the special status for Psalm
112 already established in the general practice of the 17th
and 18th centuries.
Imitation is the dominant feature of the stile antico, with
which Mozart had become familiar, both in Salzburg and
with Padre Martini in Italy, as a special means of
expression available in church music.13 It was typical
practice in both stile antico and stile moderno to place
imitative sections in alternation with homophonic, while
the instrumentation more or less loosely followed the
vocal parts. When Mozart begins the Laudate pueri in
Vesper KV 321 with a canon or employs the theme in
inversion at “qui habitare” in the 3rd section of Psalm 112
in Vesper KV 339 and combines both themes
contrapuntally over a pedal-point in the “Gloria”, it
becomes clear what a significant role he wished to give to
the contrapuntal arts of the “strict church style”. The
weaving of melodic lines around the choral composition
in such cases by the two violins helps to round-off the
form, a point which gained importance through Padre
Martini’s influence on Italian church music. If
homophony is still dominant in Psalm 112 in Mozart’s 1st
12
L. Schiedermair, Die Briefe W. A. Mozarts, vol. II,
Munich, 1914, p. 217.
13
K. G. Fellerer, Der Palestrinastil und seine Bedeutung in
der vokalen Kirchenmusik des 18. Jahrhunderts, Augsburg,
1929.
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New Mozart Edition
Vesper, it is pushed more into the background in the same
psalm in the 2nd Vesper. The chromatic thematic material
of the “Amen” with its sequential patterns adopts features,
as do the harmonic progressions, which distinguish this
stile antico of the 18th century from the diatonic basis of
earlier polyphony.
The Laudate pueri KV 321 was initially printed by
Diabelli as the Offertory Amavit eum Dominus (KV
Appendix 119),14 the 112th Psalm of the Vesper KV 339
as the Offertory Sancti et justi (KV Appendix 114).15 The
stile antico, much favored in settings of the Proper,
enabled the underlay of Offertory texts to these pieces.
The original significance of this stile antico movement
was no better preserved in being torn out of its place
within the whole concept of the Vesper than was the
sensitive treatment of the words, which was destroyed by
the underlay of a foreign text.
The idea of the praise of God offered by both church and
world led to the stile antico of the Laudate pueri being set
off against the stile moderno in which the worldly,
affective Laudate Dominum is cast. In both of Mozart’s
Vesper compositions, the solo writing in the latter
deliberately contrasts with the stile antico of the choral
Laudate pueri, but also with the style of the other psalms
of the Vesper.
The introductory psalm Dixit Dominus, predominantly
homophonic, in KV 321 very much determined by the
patterns of the text, allows choir and solo to alternate in
KV 321, while in KV 339 the Doxology (“Gloria Patri”)
has a solo introduction.
In both Vespers, the urgent aim of Ps. 110 (Confitebor) is
the expression of the word. In a poetic summoning up of
the atmosphere, the varied content is reflected in the
music, the expression achieving, particularly in KV 321, a
notable depth. The unity in the treatment of the orchestra
and common thematic material in the individual sections,
as in linking of the Doxologie KV 339 to the orchestral
interlude, furnish the movement with a rounded-off form.
Ps. 111 (Beatus vir) is placed as a counterweight to the
second psalm of the Vesper. This development of this
movement, with its alternation of solo and choir, takes
place in the sonorous orchestral lines woven around the
vocal parts, without however interpreting individual
textual points. In the character of its contrapuntal work,
14
A. Diabelli & Co., Vienna, parts: publisher’s number
2245, around 1826; score: publisher’s number 9019.
15
A. Diabelli & Co., Vienna, Ecclesiasticon 76, parts:
publisher’s number 2244, around 1826.
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I/2/2 Vesper Psalms
this psalm in KV 339 comes close to the following
movement, dominated by counterpoint in stile antico.
The cyclical unity of the two Vesper compositions is
sealed by the concluding canticle Magnificat, whose key
and character point to the musical concept of the opening
psalm. As in the various psalms, the general atmospheric
emphasis of the canticle in KV 339 is more pronounced
than in the first Vesper.
The basic form of both Vespers is the same because of the
liturgical conventions in Salzburg, as are the means of
expression in the individual psalms and their sequence.
They differ from one another in that KV 321 is more
strongly tied to the word, while KV 339 shows a finer
development of the musical expression because of the text
and its interpretation.
Each of the psalm compositions is self-contained.16 Their
use was foreseen not only in the cycle of the Office, but
also as polyphonic renditions of individual psalms in
services in which the other psalms were sung choraliter or
in settings by other composers.
Individual polyphonic psalms and partial settings of the
Vesper are as frequent amongst Office compositions of
the 18th century as the complete settings. With the Dixit
and Magnificat KV 193 (186g), Mozart wrote such a
partial setting, whose missing psalms had to be performed
choraliter or made up with other compositions.17
After a homophonic motto, Mozart lets the vocal parts in
Ps. Dixit KV 193 (186g) enter in imitation, embedded in
uniform orchestral figures, with the exception of the
passages in which the voices are briefly fused into
homophonic blocks. Recurrences of thematic material
create formal symmetries. With the emphatic effect of a
transparent contrapuntal texture, this psalm moves to its
close in the Doxology. In a similar way, the following
Magnificat is also dominated by contrapuntal voice-
leading and imitations, a technique encountered
16
This self-contained character facilitates the use of the
individual psalm compositions with the original or underlaid
text. Beside the printed editions by Diabelli mentioned
above, the individual psalms have been used variously in the
Mass, the Office and outside the Liturgy with original and
altered text. Cf. footnote 1 above.
17
In a manuscript in Lambach Monastery, the Dixit and
Magnificat of the Vesper KV 321 are bound together, while
the other psalms of this Vesper are missing. In more modest
surroundings and for minor Feasts, polyphonic performance
was restricted to the opening psalm and the canticle. Cf.
footnote 1 above.
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New Mozart Edition
repeatedly in the church music tradition, particularly in
closing sections. This tendency towards contrapuntal
structure is also clearly visible in the Magnificat settings
in KV 321 and 339. In the Magnificat of KV 339, the
soprano solo (“Et exultavit”, mm. 6f., and later “Suscepit
Israel”, mm. 53f.) is an unmistakable anticipation of the
second subject of the Overture to La clemenza di Tito (E.
F. Schmid).
The text of the psalms, conforming to ecclesiastical
directives, is complete apart from minor errors; in Ps.
110/4 it should read “misericors et miserator Dominus”,
but Mozart writes in both Vespers “misericors et
miserator et justus”, which is actually Ps. 111/4. In the
Vesperale Romanum, Ps. 110/8 reads “Redemptionem
misit populo suo”, whereas Mozart has “Redemptionem
misit Dominus populo suo” in both Vespers. In Ps. 111/7,
Mozart omits the phrase “confirmatum est cor ejus” in
both Vespers. The comprehensibility of the text and the
formal clarity of the sections of the psalms also comply
with liturgical regulations.18 More clearly than his Mass
compositions, Mozart’s Office compositions19 respond to
the liturgical significance. In keeping with the custom of
the day, the character of these works as ecclesiastical art is
underlined by the counterpoint and the peculiar feature of
stylised declamation in the homophonic passages. Mozart
consciously drew a boundary between this manner of
composing and his secular works.20 The Encyclical Annus
qui of 174921 was decisive for the direction Mozart took in
his church composition.
The present edition of KV 193 (186g) and KV 321 is
based on the autographs,22 kept in the National Library in
Vienna and the Bibliothèque du Conservatoire National de
Musique in Paris; these sources have been supplemented
by the following copies: for KV 193: City Archive,
18
G. de Bona, Psallentis ecclesiae harmonia, Rome, 1658
(De divina psalmodia, 1676).
19
K. G. Fellerer, Mozarts Officiumskompositionen in:
Mozart-Jahrbuch 1954, Salzburg, 1955, p. 135.
20
K. G. Fellerer, Mozarts Kirchenmusik, op. cit., pp. 26ff.
21
Fl. Romita, Jus musicae liturgicae, Rome, 1947, pp. 253ff.
22
In the Neues Mozart-Jahrbuch III, Regensburg, 1943, pp.
160–163, W. Boetticher identified in his study Neue
Mozartiana the divergences of the old Mozart complete
edition (AMA) from the autograph of Vesper KV 321; he
failed to mention, however, the most important divergence,
in measures 26–28 of the Magnificat, a passage in the which
the trombones have individual notation and on which the
whole question of the colla parte trombones for the whole
work depends; his remark regarding the
“Bratschenbehandlung” [“treatment of the violas”] results
from a misunderstanding.
International Mozart Foundation, Online Publications
I/2/2 Vesper Psalms
Augsburg (Heilig Kreuz collection23, now in the Staats-
und Stadtbibliothek Augsburg) and Salzburg Cathedral
Music Archive24; for KV 321 and 339: beside the two
archive copies mentioned, copies from the monasteries of
Lambach and Göttweig and from the Westdeutsche
Bibliothek, Marburg [now in the State Library Berlin –
Prussian Cultural Heritage, Music Department]. The
autograph of KV 339 used to be kept in the Prussian State
Library in Berlin; it was moved out for safety and has
been untraceable since 1945 [new information: see
Addendum below]. In this case, three sources were of
particular value: the copy from the Holy Cross collection
in Augsburg, which also contains written-out trombone
parts which, like the other parts, show additions by
Wolfgang and Leopold25 and are therefore of substantial
interest regarding performance practice, a score prepared
by L. von Köchel after the autograph in the collection of
the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde [Association of the
Friends of Music] in Vienna with comments by C. F.
Pohl, and finally a score in the Westdeutsche Bibliothek,
Marburg [now in the State Library Berlin – Prussian
Cultural Heritage, Music Department], which, as can be
seen from the concordances with the score just mentioned,
with very great probability goes back to the autograph.
The autograph of the Magnificat fragment KV 321a was
once in the possession of W. A. Mozart jun.; the basis for
this edition was the reprint in the music supplement of the
Mitteilungen der Mozart-Gemeinde Berlin, 31st Issue,
1911; this reprint was based on an notarially attested copy
by W. A. Mozart jun., but this is likewise now lost.
23
E. F. Schmid, Mozart und das geistliche Augsburg,
insonderheit das Chorherrenstift Hl. Kreuz in: Zeitschrift des
historischen Vereins Schwaben, vols. 55/56 (Augsburger
Mozartbuch), Augsburg, 1942/43, pp. 168–174; idem, Neue
Quellen zu Werken Mozarts, in Mozart-Jahrbuch 1956,
Salzburg, 1957, pp. 37f. The Heilig Kreuz [Holy Cross]
copies came originally from Leopold’s estate and reflect the
manifold personal ties between father and son Mozart and
Augsburg. Cf. the Nachrichten zur Übernahme eines Teils
von Leopold Mozarts Musikalien-Nachlaß bei W. Hitzig, Die
Briefe Franz Xaver Niemetscheks und der Marianne Mozart
an Breitkopf und Härtel, in “Der Bär”, Leipzig, 1928, p.
114, further Gustav Nottebohm, Mozartiana, Von Mozart
herrührende und ihn betreffende zum großen Teil noch nicht
veröffentlichte Schriftstücke, Leipzig, 1880, pp. 136/137.
24
Discovered in January 1956 by E. F. Schmid; this early
copy carries a heading by Leopold Mozart on the Battuta
part, “Di Amadeo Wolfgango Mozart”, a proof that the
material is authentic; E. F. Schmid, Neue Quellen zu Werken
Mozarts, op. cit.
25
Walter Senn, Mozart-Überlieferung im Stift Hl. Kreuz zu
Augsburg. Manuscript kindly made available by the author.
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New Mozart Edition
The aim of the NMA is to render Mozart’s intention as
faithfully as possible, not only where this has been
transmitted in an autograph but also where it has had to be
deduced from secondary sources. Departures from the
original readings, wherever they lie beyond the remit of
the senior editor in the Foreword, have been dealt with
separately in the Kritischer Bericht [Critical Report,
available in German only]. The abbreviatures used by
Mozart have been written out, and additions resulting
from the direction unisono in some parts, particularly the
second violin, have not been specially marked. Parts for
two trumpets in one staff have been written on one stem
only for intervals of an octave or more and have otherwise
been written with separate stems. Passages in the string
parts for which double stopping is clearly intended have
been written on single stems. Dottings extending over
barlines have been written out in the modern form.
Dashes, wedges and dots as accents or staccato marks
could not always be distinguished in the autographs,
especially since the different forms could merge within
single groups of notes or appear simultaneously in parallel
figures; a further complication is that even the authentic
copies in which Mozart himself had made additions often
diverge from one another on this point.26 The dash and
wedge should however not be interpreted schematically in
the sense of the technical studies of the 19th century,
where this meant martelé (hammered bow strokes). In
unisons involving violins and bass, bowing is often
indicated only in the bass, not only in Mozart’s Vespers,
but also in all of his works for the church, where the organ
always joins the bass strings. The ambiguous significance
of the dash in the continuo part, where it could serve as a
staccato, or accent, mark or as a replacement for the
thorough-bass figure “1”, has already been attested to by
Ph. E. Bach;27 in a thorough-bass method, Kurzgefasste
General Bass Schule, ascribed to W. A. Mozart and
published by Steiner in Vienna, the author comments,
“But if one sees straight dashes of the same kind above the
notes, these notes are performed with one hand alone
without accompaniment, no matter what clef applies. In
choruses and tutti passages, and also symphonies (when
forte or fortissimo is indicated), one can make octaves
all'unisono; at the beginning of fugues, however, not”.28
26
Cf. the Kritischer Bericht [Critical Report].
27
C. Ph. E. Bach, Versuch […] Part 1, Section III, § 17.
28
On this cf. Hellmut Federhofer, Striche in der Bedeutung
von “tasto solo” oder Ziffer “1” bei Unisonostellen in
Continuostimmen. This as yet unpublished study was kindly
made available by the author. Of particular interest in this
context is the passage in measures 150–153 on pp. 155f. of
our volume, where the sources differentiate exactly between
the figures “1” and “8”.
International Mozart Foundation, Online Publications
I/2/2 Vesper Psalms
Combined ties and slurs have been rendered as in the
original; inaccurate bowings were corrected. Cautionary
accidentals appear in square brackets; repeats of
accidentals within the same measure were dispensed with.
Original tutti and solo directions in the form of T and S
have been written out without comment as Tutti and Solo.
Missing text underlay in the autographs of KV 193 (186g)
and 321 which are obvious from the text in other passages
and are mostly marked by Mozart with the sign ÷, have
been made up without comment. The orthography follows
the latest edition of the Vesperale Romanum. In the solo
vocal parts, which Mozart usually notates without
dynamic marks, no dynamic marks were made up; such
marks were made up in the choral parts only in
exceptional cases.
For the realisation of the fermata in Laudate Dominum
KV 321, p. 87, measure 128, the following was suggested
by E. F. Schmid:
In the two Laudate pueri settings in the Vespers, the time
signature indicates an alla breve movement; this serves as
a basis for setting the tempo within the framework of
church music practice of the day.
In the Basso continuo, only treble and bass clefs have
been set. The use of the violoncello, indicated in the
original by the tenor clef (senza Basso), has been
indicated, if not already marked in the autograph, by
“Vc.”; for KV 339 the score copy by Köchel, apparently
made from the autograph, was particularly helpful in
providing valuable information. For practical reasons of
overall impression and clarity, a writing-out in two or
three staves could not be avoided; Mozart adopted the
same procedure himself in the autograph of KV 321.29
The remark “Bassi soliti” – the usual basses – designated
the collective notation on one staff for all bass instruments
normally employed according to Salzburg practice,
namely the Battuta part, from which probably the
violoncello, double-bass and bassoon played, as opposed
to the written-out Organo concertato part.30 The
indications “a tre” and “a 4” in the Basso continuo for
Laudate pueri in KV 321 refer to the number of vocal
29
Dixit, measures 43/44.
30
Minos E. Dounias, Foreword to Series IV, Work group 16,
Church Sonatas, in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe [NMA],
Kassel–Basel–London, 1957, p. X.
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New Mozart Edition
parts and are placed here for the orientation of the
organist, as are the directions Solo and Tutti in the same
staff.
In the autograph of KV 193 (186g), there is no mention of
trombones, although, on the other hand, the copy in
Salzburg Cathedral Music Archive, just referred to, and
which can be considered as authentic parts material used
for contemporary performances, contains parts for this
instrument;31 collaparte play for trombones is an old
tradition, originating in the cantata practice of the 17th
century and also widespread in Salzburg.32 In the
Magnificat KV 321 the trombones have a different
notation in mm. 26–28 from that of the vocal parts; as the
stems show, this was not a later addition (cf. the facsimile
on p. XVII); the whole question of use of the trombones in
the entire work, however, depends on this special
notation, as there is no direction for the trombones next to
the relevant vocal staves at the head of the score;
furthermore, the contemporary copied parts already
mentioned contain trombone parts for the entire work. For
KV 339, the Heilig Kreuz copy in Augsburg contains
trombone parts; here the directions “senza Tromboni”,
which most often occur in piano passages, coincide with
those in Köchel’s score copy, which was probably made
from the autograph, and in the score in the Westdeutsche
Bibliothek in Marburg [now in the State Library Berlin –
Prussian Cultural Heritage, Music Department]. The
trombone parts were adjusted to match the corresponding
vocal parts, as far as the representation of phrasing and
context is concerned, by the addition of ties and slurs (as
dotted lines), without any intention that these marks
should be considered binding in all cases.33 A number of
contemporary copied parts, e.g. in the monastery at
Lambach, which bears remarks by Leopold Mozart, have
no trombones. In a modern performance it is therefore
possible, if absolutely necessary, to do without the
trombones, which have no parts in the autographs
31
The parts for alto, tenor and bass trombone – in contrast to
modern practice – were not played on the same instrument, a
tenor trombone with a bass valve; trombones at that time
came in various sizes and therefore various timbres; the alto
trombone in particular, with its wide bore and
correspondingly narrow bell, had a much more gentle sound
than the modern tenor trombone; on this cf. Fritz Ramin, Die
Posaune in “Der Weg zu den Blasinstrumenten”, in Hohe
Schule der Musik, ed. J. Müller-Blattau, Potsdam, 1936/37.
32
A Salzburg chronicler listed the following instruments at a
High Mass on 12 November 1612: trumpets, lutes, theorbos
and trombones. Cf. Constantin Schneider, Geschichte der
Musik in Salzburg, Salzburg, 1935, p. 59. Cf. also p. VII
above.
33
Cf. the Kritischer Bericht [Critical Report].
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I/2/2 Vesper Psalms
available to us with the exception of the measures in the
Magnificat of KV 321 already referred to, although this
will be at the cost of the characteristic tone color.
The use of bassoons is confirmed by the remark
Violoncelli e Fagotti at the beginning of the Confitebor of
KV 321 (cf. the facsimile on p. XVI); furthermore, all
copied sets of parts contain bassoon parts headed Fagotto
or Fagotti.
In the performance practice of the period,34 the bassoon
plays unisono with the basses; if it is to go with the
violoncello where violoncello and double-bass separate,
this has been explicitly marked; there is no visible
evidence in the scores or the parts material of divisi in the
bassoons. But as a last resort the bassoon can also be left
out, as even the independent bassoon part in the Laudate
Dominum of KV 339 (pp. 158ff.) is marked ad libitum.35
The parts in Holy Cross, Augsburg and Salzburg
Cathedral Music Archive distinguish between Organo
concertato and Organo ripieno; the Organo concertato is
employed throughout the whole work, while the Organo
ripieno accompanies only the Tutti. In Mozart’s day, there
were 6 organs in Salzburg Cathedral,36 concerning whose
use Leopold Mozart prepared a report37 “The High
Prince’s Cathedral Church has at the back, by the
entrance to the church, the great organ, at the front by the
choir 4 side organs, and below in the choir a small choir
organ, with the choir singers next to it. When music with
large forces is played, the great organ is used for preludes
only, but during the music itself one of the four side
organs is always played, namely the one nearest to the
altar on the right side, where the solo singers and the
basses are. On the opposite side are the violinists etc. by
the by the left side organ and at the other two side organs
are the two ensembles of trumpets and timpani. The organ
in the lower choir and violone join in when all forces are
required”.38 If one compares the parts material with this
34
K. G. Fellerer, Die Aufführungspraxis der kath.
Kirchenmusik, op. cit.
35
Cf. the Kritischer Bericht [Critical Report].
36
Details of the organs, in particular of their disposition, in:
Hans Dennerlein, Zur Problematik von Mozarts
Kirchensonaten, Mozart-Jahrbuch 1953, Salzburg, 1954, p.
102. H. Spiess, Die Salzburger großen Domorgeln, Salzburg,
1929.
37
Marpurg, Historisch-Kritische Beiträge zur Aufnahme der
Musik, op. cit., p. 195.
38
In Marpurg (III, 3, p. 187), three organists are referred to.
The “two gentlemen organists have to officiate in alternation
at the great organ (which stands at the back of the church)
and the side organ (where the concert singers are).” The
third organist “has at all times to play the small organ below
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report, the following could result: the organ which
“always” had to play must have used the Organo
concertato part; it accompanies primarily the soloists. The
“basses” referred to were very probably a violoncello and
a double-bass. Under “violinists etc.” we should probably
also understand, besides the violinists, also the oboists, if
their employment is foreseen, and the violoncellists; they
were obviously placed near an organ whose player used
the Battuta part and who was simultaneously the leader of
the performance;39 for a peculiarity of this part is that, as
orientation, one measure of the violins is notated at the
beginning of each psalm. The Organo ripieno part was
used by the organist at the lower organ with the choir, that
is, in the Tutti, “when all forces are required”; here,
probably, the violone and bassoon were to be found. The
Göttweig parts material for Vesper KV 339 includes a part
for Violonzello (sic); the part for the low strings in the
Lambach copy of KV 321 presented to the monastery by
Leopold is marked Violon et Violoncello, next to which on
the right side is Fagotto; this copy also contains a non-
independent Viola oblig., whose only function is to
reinforce the bass, an expression of an old practice.
Information on the strength of the Salzburg strings and
choir40 can be gained from the number of extant parts in
the copies in Heilig Kreuz, Augsburg and in Salzburg
Cathedral Music Archive, both of which show
considerable signs of use. The bound manuscripts contain:
Organo conc. (a part from which, besides the organist, a
cellist and a double-bass player also played, see p. XII
above), Organo ripno., Battuta; for soloists there were
one each of Canto conc., Alto conc., Tenore conc. and
Basso conc.; in these parts the choral sections are also
notated, distinguished by a “Tutti” after a previous “Solo”
section. Regarding choral parts, marked “ripieno”, two
each exist of Canto, Alto, Tenore and Basso; from each
choral part, in which the note-heads were very large, up to
three persons could sing. Violino primo and secondo are
represented with two parts each; since one must assume
that two players sat at each desk, the number of violins
can be stated to be four first and four second. The Violone
has a part of its own, from which the two bassoonists also
played, as the title on this part is occasionally Fagotti. Of
the brass instruments, trumpets and trombones, as well as
in the choir, where the choir singers are; and to officiate at
the daily choral church services”.
39
“Battuta” denotes the conductor’s part (from battere, i.e.
beat, set the tempo). Walter Senn, op. cit., p. 3.
40
K. A. Rosenthal, Zur Stilistik der Salzburger Kirchenmusik
von 1600 bis 1750, in: Studien zur Musikwissenschaft 17,
Vienna, 1930, pp. 88ff.
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I/2/2 Vesper Psalms
timpani, there were probably generally only one of each.
In total, approximately 50 persons must have taken part.41
At this point, heart-felt thanks are offered to all persons
and institutions who have advanced the work on the
present volume by providing information and access to the
sources: The Most Honorable Rev. Bruno Brandstetter
(Melk Monastery), Library Director Dr. Martin Cremer
(Westdeutsche Bibliothek, Marburg), Archive Director
Dr. Heinz Friedrich Deininger (City Archive, Augsburg),
Prof. Otto Erich Deutsch (Vienna), Prof. Dr. V. Fédorov
(Bibliothèque du Conservatoire National de Musique,
Paris), the Most Honorable Rev. Prior Suso M.
Geiselhardt OP (Dominican Monastery and Treasury,
Holy Cross, Augsburg), Dr. Walter Hummel (Salzburg),
Director Dr. Hedwig Kraus (Collections of the
Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Vienna), Prof. Hermann
Lang, Music Archivist of the Benedictine Monastery,
Lambach, Upper Austria, Cathedral Music Director Prof.
Joseph Messner (Salzburg Cathedral Music Archive),
Court Counsellor Prof. Dr. Leopold Nowak (Austrian
National Library, Vienna), Lecturer Dr. Walter Senn
(Innsbruck) and His Grace the Most Honorable Prelate
Rev. Wilhelm Zedinek, Abbot of the Benedictine
Monastery, Göttweig, Lower Austria. We owe particular
thanks to Dr. W. Bittinger (Kassel) and Karl Heinz Füssl
(Vienna) for reading the proofs, to Prof. Dr. Hellmut
Federhofer (Graz) for many favours and to the Chief
Editor, Dr. Ernst Fritz Schmid (Augsburg), who gave
much helpful advice.
Karl Gustav Fellerer Felix Schroeder
Cologne, November, 1958
Translation: William Buchanan
41
According to the report in Marpurg (III, 3, p. 198) “the
number of all those who belong to the music or are paid at
Court because of music” amounted to 99. This also included
instrument makers and bellows calcants.
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Facs. 1: Fol. 1r of the autograph of Dixit and Magnificat KV 193 (186g) after the autograph kept in the National Library, Vienna, Dixit, mm. 1–6; cf.
pp. 1–2.

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Facs. 2: Fol. 1r of the Vesperae solennes de Dominica KV 321 after the autograph in the possession of the Bibliothèque du Conservatoire de
Musique [now in the Bibliothèque nationale Paris, Département de la Musique], Paris. Dixit, mm. 1–7; cf. pp. 33–34.

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Facs. 3: Fol. 7v of the Vesperae solennes de Dominica KV 321 after the autograph in the possession of the Bibliothèque du Conservatoire de
Musique [now in the Bibliothèque nationale Paris, Département de la Musique], Paris. Confitebor, with the remark “Fagotti et Violoncelli [. . .]”,
mm. 1–11: cf. p. 45 and Foreword, p. XII.

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Facs. 4: Fol. 44v of the Vesperae solennes de Dominica KV 321 after the autograph formerly in the possession of the Bibliothèque du Conservatoire
de Musique [now in the Bibliothèque nationale Paris, Département de la Musique], Paris. Magnificat, mm. 26–31; special notation for the
trombones in mm. 26–28; cf. p. 91 and Foreword p. XII.

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Facs. 5: Fol. 3v of the Violine I part for the Magnificat of the Vesperae solennes de Confessore KV 339 after the copy kept in the City Archive,
Augsburg [now in the Staats- und Stadtbibliothek Augsburg], Bestand Heilig Kreuz; Piano mark in staff 2, m. 45, in the hand of W. A. Mozart; cf.
p. 173.
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VESPERS AND VESPER PSALMS Addendum 1988

The contents of the Bibliothèque du Conservatoire national de Musique (with the Malherbe Collection) are today in the
Bibliothèque nationale Paris, Département de la Musique; this is relevant for KV 321 in the present volume, i.e. the facsimile
legends on pp. XV–XVII of the music volume and the information on source A (autograph) on p. b/12 of the Kritischer Bericht
[Critical Report] must be changed accordingly.
The sources described in the Foreword to the music volume and in the Kritischer Bericht [Critical Report] as being in the
Westdeutsche Bibliothek Marburg (formerly Preußische Staatsbibliothek Berlin) are today kept in the State Library Berlin /
Prussian Cultural Heritage (Music Department).
The “Heilig Kreuz” collection, formerly kept in the Stadtarchiv Augsburg, are today on loan from the Dominican Monastery
Heilig Kreuz, Augsburg to the Staats- und Stadtbibliothek Augsburg, i.e. the facsimile legends on p. XVIII and the corresponding
source descriptions in the Kritischer Bericht [Critical Commentary] must be changed accordingly.
The autograph of KV 339, one of the possessions of the former Prussian State Library, Berlin lost after 1945, is kept today in the
Biblioteka Jagiellońska, Kraków and has been accessible since 1979/80. The work had to be edited in 1959 from secondary
sources (cf. the Kritischer Bericht [Critical Report]). Changes in the musical text resulting from study of the once again accessible
autograph are reserved for the NMA Work Group 31 (Addenda), in which a description of the original manuscript will be
presented. Here a number of the substantial changes are listed in advance:

Page Measure Staff Remarks

108 81 Vln. II 1st and 2nd 8th-notes: for c'''–c'' read c''–a'
126 80 BOrg. 2nd half of measure: set figure “1” under all 16th-notes
132 34, 35 Vln. I set trill sign above 1st note (a'' and g'')
133 45 BOrg. set figure “6” under 3rd 16th-note of 2nd quarter-note instead of under 1st 16th-note of the 3rd
143 157 quarter-note
137 87 BOrg. extend prolongation stroke after figure “6” only to 4th 8th-note instead of to end of measure
139 111 BOrg. extend all prolongation strokes after 1st figure to 4th 8th-note instead of to 2nd 8th-note
143 153f. BOrg. advance forte from beginning of m. 154 to beginning of m. 153
143 159/160 BOrg. figures: for read
145f. 175, 183, 186 BOrg. figures: for read
145 181 Ten.
2nd and 3rd quarter-note: for read
148 26–27 Bassi remove the notation for “Vc.” (= upper voice)
149 50–51 Bassi
for Vc. read
149 42, 44 Strings set piano at 3rd quarter-note instead of 2nd quarter-note
153 116, 118
154 124 Org. remove piano in italics
154 124f. Bassi advance piano to the beginning of m. 125
154 129–131 Bassi
for whole rests read:
156 154, 158 Org. set figure “8” under half-note d
156 167 Org.
157 168 Figures in second half of measure: for “ ” read
161 28 BOrg.
set figure “6” under 1st note, under 2nd note
166 64 SATB for piano (straight and italics) set pianissimo (straight) in all parts
(choir)
168 9 BOrg.
175 57
figures: for read (last quarter-note: no figure)
174 54 BOrg. remove staccato dashes
175 56
177 71 Basso set staccato dashes on the descending 8th-notes (see also Kritischer Bericht, p. b/47)
72 Tenore
Alto
73 Soprano
180 99 BOrg. set “Org.: tasto” after 1st note

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