Serenade No. 12 (Mozart)

Detail of Lange's 1782–83 Mozart portrait

The Serenade No. 12 for winds in C minor, K. 388/384a, was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1782 or 1783. It is an unusual work – Roger Hellyer describes it as flying in the face of convention, 'a curiously sombre and powerful work which often conveys a mood of dramatic intensity'. He draws attention to its constant focus on the minor key, the ingenious canonic devices in the third movement, and the 'dramatically cumulative effect of the marvellous set of variations that form the finale'.[1]

In 1787, Mozart transcribed the work as the String Quintet, K. 406/516b.

Instrumentation

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The serenade is scored for 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 natural horns, and 2 bassoons.

Structure

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There are four movements:

  1. Allegro, C minor, sonata form
  2. Andante, E-flat major, sonata form
  3. Menuet & Trio, C minor, Trio in C major, ternary form
  4. Allegro, C minor, ends in C major, variation form with the fifth variation (in E-flat major) augmented.

The minuet is a canon. The oboes carry the melody with the bassoons answering one bar later. The trio is also canonic with the response to the melody played upside down.[2] The finale is a set of variations containing a central episode in E-flat major and a coda that turns to C major near the end.

Unique attributes

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Serenade No. 12 sets itself apart from the serenades and divertimenti of the period, including Mozart's own, in a number of ways - the most notable of which being the use of a minor key for three of the four movements. Having only four movements, rather than the five or more that would be expected in a serenade, is also unusual. A. Peter Brown classes it with Mozart's works in the Sturm und Drang style – a powerfully expressive style that rears its head in passages, movements, arias and cycles throughout the second half of the eighteenth century.[3] Its uniqueness derives from the use of this serious style and form used in a genre normally associated with pleasant entertainment.[1]

Musical impact

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This serenade while also transcribed to be played as a string quartet was originally composed as a Harmonie being performed with eight wind instruments consisting of pairs of Bassoons, Clarinets, Oboes, and Horns. Before this composition was created Harmonies weren’t a popular form of composition, and with its inception it helped popularize this instrumentation as a more common composition style.[4]

While many works of the time and prior were written for background music to greater purposes such as dance or worship, this work’s more profound themes and compositional techniques instead brought it to the foreground, bringing with it emotional responses from the listeners. The impact of the serenades role as a standalone work of art urged a shift to make music take the focus as an independent art form.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b Hellyer, Roger (2006-01-04). "Wind Music". In Eisen, Cliff; Keefe, Simon P. (eds.). The Cambridge Mozart Encyclopedia (1 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 534. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511481383. ISBN 978-0-521-85659-1.
  2. ^ Zaslaw, Neal, The Compleat Mozart: a Guide to the Musical Works, pp. 246–247 (New York, 1990) ISBN 0-393-02886-0
  3. ^ Brown, A. Peter (2006-01-04). "Sturm und Drang". In Eisen, Cliff; Keefe, Simon P. (eds.). The Cambridge Mozart Encyclopedia (1 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 495. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511481383. ISBN 978-0-521-85659-1.
  4. ^ a b Mason, Melinda M. "Forming Interpretive Ideas on Mozart's Serenade in C minor, K. 388 Through the Lens of a Musical Detective." (2021).
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