His Music
The amazing talent and genius of Mozart was not discovered until after his death. In his life, Mozart composed over 600 works, which include symphonies, concertos for numerous instruments, serenades, sonatas, divertimentos, and operas. At the age of twenty-one, Mozart left Salzburg where he had been providing music for the court of Archbishop Colloredo, in search for a new job. He, along with his mother, departed in September of 1777 en route to Paris. The trip included stops in Munich, Augsburg, and Mannheim. In Mannheim, Mozart met Christian Cannabich, a director of a famous court orchestra. Mozart spent much time with Cannabich and met his daughter, Mlle. Rosa Cannabich, who played the keyboard “quite nicely” in the words of Mozart. In November, Mozart composed a sonata for her that was published the following year in Paris, K 309 Piano Sonata in C Major, No. 7 (K6 284b). Mozart wrote the second movement of the sonata, Andante un poco adagio, to “make it fit closely the character of Mlle. Rosa… .She is exactly like the Andante.”
Musical Form
The second movement the sonata, Andante un poco adagio, portrays the simple five-part rondo form structure. The rondo form is a compositional structure often laid out in an ABA or ABACA pattern. In this movement, the pattern ABABA is identified as a rondo form.
Formal Rondo Form Outline
As it is with Mozart’s style, cadences occur regularly every four measures in the piece, marking the end of a phrase. In the first A section we clearly see parallel double periods with antecedent and consequent periods formed by the a and b phrase themes. The key modulates from the F Major to the dominant key of C Major as it transitions into part B in measure 32. At measure 40, the key modulates again to return to the tonic key of F Major. The reintroduction of the themes A and B provide for a simple form but the repetitions portray variation and the themes are increasingly ornamented. The theme B is reintroduced in a new key when repeated.
This simple piece consists mostly of tonic and dominant chords. The use of non-chord tones and embellishments give this piece a delicate and graceful but yet playful “character” that Mozart probably saw in young Mlle. Rose. It is detailed, but not too complex – fitting for a young girl. We can presume that as Mozart wrote this piece to be played by Mlle. Rose, he took careful consideration not only to her character, but also to her talent and her strengths in playing. Like the life of a youthful girl, there are instances where half-cadences and Perfect Authentic Cadences provide a moment of pause or rest, but only very briefly because the melody continues almost immediately with energy and ornamentation that out scores the preceding line. The end of this movement uses a cadential extension that is, like all the other themes of the piece, four measures long. In this last theme, Mozart places three PAC’s, one right after the other as the melody slowly dwindles to a close. This use of cadences gives this cadential extension a final, but soft closing to this youthful piece.
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W. Cowdery, N. Zaslaw, eds., THE COMPLEAT MOZART A Guide to the Musical Works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (New York: W. W. Norton & Co: 1990), 309-310.
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