Messiah 360 test

Messiah 360

Mozart wrote this serenade, which he called Serenata Notturna, in January 1776, for the orchestra in Salzburg of which he was the leader. By this stage in his career, aged 20, Mozart was beginning to resent the shackles of the conditions of his employment by Archibishop Colleredo in Salzburg, and also the overbearing presence of his father, Leopold. He longed to escape and try to establish himself on his own, but it was to be another five years before he finally made the break and moved to Vienna, where he spent the last ten years of his life.

Mozart wrote his serenades for celebrations and ceremonial occasions at the court, and they were often intended as background music. Despite this, Mozart lavished great care on their composition, and chose original and unusual orchestral groupings to add variety. This work is no exception, and is scored for string orchestra plus five soloists: two violins, viola, double bass (rather than the expected cello) and, in a touch of great originality and humour, timpani.

The opening movement is a march, which has a certain ironic pomposity to it – perhaps even a dig at Mozart’s employer. In the Menuetto the solo instruments play with the rest of the orchestra, but they have the Trio of the Menuetto to themselves, with a particularly prominent role for the second violin. The last movement is a Rondo, a musical form in which one main theme is repeated several times with intervening sections known as ‘episodes’; its tempo indication is a graceful allegretto, although the episodes include adagio and allegro sections.

Mozart Symphony No. 1000

Mozart wrote this serenade, which he called Serenata Notturna, in January 1776, for the orchestra in Salzburg of which he was the leader. By this stage in his career, aged 20, Mozart was beginning to resent the shackles of the conditions of his employment by Archibishop Colleredo in Salzburg, and also the overbearing presence of his father, Leopold. He longed to escape and try to establish himself on his own, but it was to be another five years before he finally made the break and moved to Vienna, where he spent the last ten years of his life.

Mozart wrote his serenades for celebrations and ceremonial occasions at the court, and they were often intended as background music. Despite this, Mozart lavished great care on their composition, and chose original and unusual orchestral groupings to add variety. This work is no exception, and is scored for string orchestra plus five soloists: two violins, viola, double bass (rather than the expected cello) and, in a touch of great originality and humour, timpani.

The opening movement is a march, which has a certain ironic pomposity to it – perhaps even a dig at Mozart’s employer. In the Menuetto the solo instruments play with the rest of the orchestra, but they have the Trio of the Menuetto to themselves, with a particularly prominent role for the second violin. The last movement is a Rondo, a musical form in which one main theme is repeated several times with intervening sections known as ‘episodes’; its tempo indication is a graceful allegretto, although the episodes include adagio and allegro sections.