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Re: Aria and reprise



Mozart only wrote three pieces at the end of his career for the glass harmonica. They are an Adagio and Rondo for glass harmonica, cello, flute and violin (I don't remember the KV number off hand, but it is in the 600's) and he wrote a solo work Adagio for glass harmonica KV.618. Both works were written for a blind girl who was quite skilled at the glass harmonica. Mozart was not in the best of financial condition in the last year of his life (1791), and he took commissions for all sorts of odd projects to make a few extra Florins. One of the more interesting sets of works in this period is the three pieces he wrote for Mechanical Organ (or mechanical clock). He wrote these pieces for an exhibit of wax figures set in a mausoleum. These three pieces have a funeral character, although the adagio and fugue is really an example of Mozart showing his expertise in counterpoint. I consider this work to be a masterpiece. It is in fact one of my favorite Mozart works.

 

I am afraid; I have a different opinion of the pieces for glass harmonica. I don't consider them among his best, although the solo adagio KV.618 is quite pretty. I have CD of glass harmonica music by other much less known composers of Mozart's time and I find that I like these better than Mozart's works in this genre.

 

Regards,

Eric Cline
Sr. R & D Chemist
Graphic Arts Synthesis Group
Reichhold, Inc.
Global Coating and Performance Resins
Phone Toll Free: 1-800-448-3482 ext.8116
e-mail: eric.cline@reichhold.com
http://www.reichhold.com
(Click here to go to the Reichhold home page)
 
 

-----Original Message-----
From: Elmer Elevator [mailto:bobmer.javanet@RCN.COM]
Sent
:
Monday, May 06, 2002 10:24 PM
To:
F_MINOR@EMAIL.RUTGERS.EDU
Subject: Re: Aria and reprise

 

Hi, I have no idea what the complete Gould catalog of Byrd and Gibbons is. I just own the Consort and it's just about the dreamiest album in my collection.

 

Okay, about the Tangent Piano ... I am also clueless. But would anyone like to talk about The Glass Harmonica, an instrument Benjamin Franklin invented, and Mozart instantly fell in love with and composed quite a bit of some of his best music for. It was the rage of European music for a couple of decades.

 

The buzz is that the lead in the crystal seeps into your fingers and bloodstream as it's dissolved in the water you constantly have to wet your fingers in. (Are there any other known Fatal Musical Instruments?) So, like the Mad Hatter (who treated felt with mercury), the Glass Harmonica fell out of style.

 

But a few Brave (or whacked) Souls still sneak around and play it, and record it. Beautiful music! Beautiful!

 

Bob / Elmer