Mozart and Freemasonry
Encyclopedia
For the last seven years of his life Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
was a Mason
. The Masonic order played an important role in his life and work.
, this lodge was "the largest and most aristocratic in Vienna. ... Mozart, as the best of the musical 'Brothers,' was welcome in all the lodges." It was headed by the naturalist Ignaz von Born.
Mozart's own lodge "Zur Wohltätigkeit" was consolidated with two others in December of 1785, under the Imperial reform of Masonry (the Freimaurerpatent, "Masonic Decree") of 11 December 1785, and thus Mozart came to belong to the lodge called "Zur Neugekrönten Hoffnung" (New Crowned Hope).
At least as far as surviving Masonic documents can tell us, Mozart was well regarded by his fellow Masons. Many of his friends were Masons.
During his visit to Vienna in 1785, Mozart's father Leopold
also became a Mason.
, a masonically inspired group which was founded by Bavarian professor of canon law Adam Weishaupt
, who was also a friend of Mozart. The Illuminati espoused the Enlightenment-inspired, humanist views proposed by the French philosophers Jean-Jacques Rousseau
and Denis Diderot
. For example, the Illuminati contended that social rank was not coincident with nobility of the spirit, but that people of lowly class could be noble in spirit just as nobly born could be mean-spirited. This view appears in Mozart's operas; for example, in The Marriage of Figaro
, an opera based on a play by Pierre Beaumarchais
(another Freemason), the lowly-born Figaro is the hero and the Count Almaviva is the boor. However, Masonic scholars themselves, and non-Masonic scholars who have studied the matter more closely strongly dispute both the conflation of Freemasonry with Illuminati elements per se, and especially Mozart as Mason in relation to these elements.
The Freemasons used music in their ceremonies, and adopted Rousseau's humanist views on the meaning of music. "The purpose of music in the {Masonic} ceremonies is to spread good thoughts and unity among the members" so that they may be "united in the idea of innocence and joy," wrote L.F. Lenz in a contemporary edition of Masonic songs. Music should "inculcate feelings of humanity, wisdom and patience, virtue and honesty, loyalty to friends, and finally an understanding of freedom."
These views suggest a musical style quite unlike the style of the Galant
, which was dominant at the time. Galant style music was typically melodic with harmonic accompaniment, rather than polyphonic; and the melodic line was often richly ornamented with trills, runs and other virtuosic effects. The style promoted by the Masonic view was much less virtuosic and unornamented. Mozart's style of composition is often referred to as "humanist" and is in accord with this Masonic view of music.
The music of the Freemasons contained musical phrases and forms that held specific semiotic
meanings. For example, the Masonic initiation ceremony began with the candidate knocking three times at the door to ask admittance. This is expressed musically as a dotted figure:
This figure appears in Mozart's opera The Magic Flute
in the overture, suggesting the opening of the Masonic initiation. According to Katherine Thomson, there are many other examples of specific musical symbols taken from the Masonic rites that appear throughout Mozart's compositions. These include the use of suspensions to indicate friendship and brotherhood; the use of three-part harmony to emphasize the special significance of the number three in Freemasonry; and special rhythms and harmonies to signify fortitude and other attributes.
The story and music of his opera The Magic Flute
is also considered to have strong Masonic influences.
Mozart's grandfather Johann Georg, a bookbinder, was raised among the extended Mozart family in Augsburg, in the house of Johann's own grandfather David Mozart. David and his children were distinguished architects and master operative (craft) masons of the Augsburg guild (as contrasted to speculative freemasons). But close affinities among operative and speculative existed in this period.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
was a Mason
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
. The Masonic order played an important role in his life and work.
Mozart's lodges
Mozart was admitted as an apprentice to the Viennese Masonic lodge called "Zur Wohltätigkeit" ("Beneficence") on 14 December 1784. He was promoted to journeyman Mason on 7 January 1785, and became a master Mason "shortly thereafter". Mozart also attended the meetings of another lodge, called "Zur wahren Eintracht" ("True Concord"). According to Otto Erich DeutschOtto Erich Deutsch
Otto Erich Deutsch was an Austrian musicologist. He is known for compiling the first comprehensive catalogue of the works of Franz Schubert, first published in 1951 in English, new edition in 1978 in German...
, this lodge was "the largest and most aristocratic in Vienna. ... Mozart, as the best of the musical 'Brothers,' was welcome in all the lodges." It was headed by the naturalist Ignaz von Born.
Mozart's own lodge "Zur Wohltätigkeit" was consolidated with two others in December of 1785, under the Imperial reform of Masonry (the Freimaurerpatent, "Masonic Decree") of 11 December 1785, and thus Mozart came to belong to the lodge called "Zur Neugekrönten Hoffnung" (New Crowned Hope).
At least as far as surviving Masonic documents can tell us, Mozart was well regarded by his fellow Masons. Many of his friends were Masons.
During his visit to Vienna in 1785, Mozart's father Leopold
Leopold Mozart
Johann Georg Leopold Mozart was a German composer, conductor, teacher, and violinist. Mozart is best known today as the father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and for his violin textbook Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule.-Childhood and student years:He was born in Augsburg, son of...
also became a Mason.
Masonic ideology and Masonic music
Mozart's position within the Masonic movement, according to Maynard Solomon, lay with the rationalist, Enlightenment-inspired membership, as opposed to those members oriented toward mysticism and the occult. This rationalist faction is identified by Katherine Thomson as the IlluminatiIlluminati
The Illuminati is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically the name refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on May 1, 1776...
, a masonically inspired group which was founded by Bavarian professor of canon law Adam Weishaupt
Adam Weishaupt
Johann Adam Weishaupt was a German philosopher and founder of the Order of Illuminati, a secret society with origins in Bavaria.-Early life:...
, who was also a friend of Mozart. The Illuminati espoused the Enlightenment-inspired, humanist views proposed by the French philosophers Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
and Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer. He was a prominent person during the Enlightenment and is best known for serving as co-founder and chief editor of and contributor to the Encyclopédie....
. For example, the Illuminati contended that social rank was not coincident with nobility of the spirit, but that people of lowly class could be noble in spirit just as nobly born could be mean-spirited. This view appears in Mozart's operas; for example, in The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
, an opera based on a play by Pierre Beaumarchais
Pierre Beaumarchais
Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais was a French playwright, watchmaker, inventor, musician, diplomat, fugitive, spy, publisher, arms dealer, satirist, financier, and revolutionary ....
(another Freemason), the lowly-born Figaro is the hero and the Count Almaviva is the boor. However, Masonic scholars themselves, and non-Masonic scholars who have studied the matter more closely strongly dispute both the conflation of Freemasonry with Illuminati elements per se, and especially Mozart as Mason in relation to these elements.
The Freemasons used music in their ceremonies, and adopted Rousseau's humanist views on the meaning of music. "The purpose of music in the {Masonic} ceremonies is to spread good thoughts and unity among the members" so that they may be "united in the idea of innocence and joy," wrote L.F. Lenz in a contemporary edition of Masonic songs. Music should "inculcate feelings of humanity, wisdom and patience, virtue and honesty, loyalty to friends, and finally an understanding of freedom."
These views suggest a musical style quite unlike the style of the Galant
Galante music
A new style of classical music, fashionable from the 1720s to the 1770s, was called Galante music. It consciously simplified contrapuntal texture and intense composing techniques that realized a pattern on the page and substituted a clear leading voice with a transparent accompaniment....
, which was dominant at the time. Galant style music was typically melodic with harmonic accompaniment, rather than polyphonic; and the melodic line was often richly ornamented with trills, runs and other virtuosic effects. The style promoted by the Masonic view was much less virtuosic and unornamented. Mozart's style of composition is often referred to as "humanist" and is in accord with this Masonic view of music.
The music of the Freemasons contained musical phrases and forms that held specific semiotic
Music semiology
Music semiology , the semiology of music, is the study of signs as they pertain to music on a variety of levels. Following Roman Jakobson, V. Kofi Agawu adopts the idea of musical semiosis being introversive or extroversive--that is, musical signs within a text and without...
meanings. For example, the Masonic initiation ceremony began with the candidate knocking three times at the door to ask admittance. This is expressed musically as a dotted figure:
This figure appears in Mozart's opera The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
in the overture, suggesting the opening of the Masonic initiation. According to Katherine Thomson, there are many other examples of specific musical symbols taken from the Masonic rites that appear throughout Mozart's compositions. These include the use of suspensions to indicate friendship and brotherhood; the use of three-part harmony to emphasize the special significance of the number three in Freemasonry; and special rhythms and harmonies to signify fortitude and other attributes.
List of Mozart's Masonic compositions
The following is a list of surviving works that Mozart composed for performance at gatherings of Masons.- Lied (song) "Gesellenreise," K. 468, "for use at installation of new journeymen", March 1785
- Cantata for tenor and male chorus Die Maurerfreude ("The Mason's Joy"), K. 471, premiered 24 April 1785
- The Masonic Funeral MusicMaurerische TrauermusikThe Maurerische Trauermusik in C minor, K. 477 , for orchestra, is a piece composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1785 in his capacity as a member of the Freemasons. According to Mozart's own catalogue, the piece was composed in July 1785...
(Maurerische Trauermusik), K. 477/479a, no later than November 1785. - Two songs, K. 483 and K. 484, to celebrate the opening of "Zur Neugekrönten Hoffnung"; 14 January 1786.
- Cantata for tenor and piano, Die ihr die unermesslichen Weltalls Schöpfer ehrt, K. 619 (1791)
- The Little Masonic Cantata (Kleine Freimaurer-Kantate) entitled Laut verkünde unsre Freude, for soloists, male chorus, and orchestra, K. 623, premiered under the composer's direction 18 November 1791.
The story and music of his opera The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
is also considered to have strong Masonic influences.
List of fellow Masons
The following is a partial list of family members, patrons, and colleagues who like Mozart were Masons.- Joseph HaydnJoseph HaydnFranz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
- friend and colleague (attended only one meeting) - Joseph LangeJoseph LangeJoseph Lange was an actor and amateur painter of the 18th century. Through his marriage to Aloysia Weber, he was the brother-in-law of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.-Life:...
- brother-in-law - Prince LichnowskyKarl Alois Johann-Nepomuk Vinzenz, Fürst LichnowskyHSH Karl Alois, Prince Lichnowsky , was second Prince Lichnowsky and a Chamberlain at the Imperial Austrian court...
- friend and patron - Leopold MozartLeopold MozartJohann Georg Leopold Mozart was a German composer, conductor, teacher, and violinist. Mozart is best known today as the father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and for his violin textbook Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule.-Childhood and student years:He was born in Augsburg, son of...
- father - Michael Puchberg - friend and lender of money
- Gottfried van SwietenGottfried van SwietenGottfried, Freiherr van Swieten was a diplomat, librarian, and government official who served the Austrian Empire during the 18th century...
- patron - Angelo SolimanAngelo SolimanAngelo Soliman . Taken to Europe as a slave, he was freed and achieved prominence in Viennese society and Freemasonry.- Life :...
- friend - Anton StadlerAnton StadlerAnton Stadler was an Austrian clarinet and basset horn player for whom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote both his Quintet for Clarinet and Strings and Clarinet Concerto....
- friend and colleague (clarinetist)
Mozart's grandfather Johann Georg, a bookbinder, was raised among the extended Mozart family in Augsburg, in the house of Johann's own grandfather David Mozart. David and his children were distinguished architects and master operative (craft) masons of the Augsburg guild (as contrasted to speculative freemasons). But close affinities among operative and speculative existed in this period.