Unknown Mozart score discovered in French library

[Bob]

https://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/sep/19/classicalmusicandopera.france


Unknown Mozart score discovered in French libraryMusic scholars thrilled by composer's incomplete piece, filed since 1800sLizzy Davies in Paris The Guardian, Friday September 19 2008


Music scholars were celebrating yesterday after a library in north-western France announced it had stumbled upon a previously unknown score by Mozart.

The piece, scrawled on a sheet of paper the size of a text book in ink now barely legible, was described as one of the most important discoveries in decades.

Consisting of several bars of melody in D major and signed WA Mozart, it is believed to be the draft of a piece of church music which the composer did not go on to complete.

For this reason its discovery now is all the more exciting, said Ulrich Leisinger, head of research at the International Mozart Foundation in Salzburg, who was asked by the French library to authenticate the document.

"It's really important because a totally new piece by Mozart does not show up every year," said Leisinger.

"Many sketches we find are the basic drafts of pieces we know, but this is one of the more rare specimens where Mozart, for whatever reason, didn't carry it through."

Staff at the Jean Remy library in Nantes came across the yellowing piece of paper last year when they were sifting through their archives.

Although it had been catalogued as part of the institution's collection in the 1800s, it had subsequently been forgotten about for more than a century.

Having spent months analysing the score, researchers at the IMF are sure it is an original Mozart, almost certainly composed in the last years of his life.

"There have been fewer than 10 discoveries [of Mozart sketches] in the past 50 years," said Leisinger. "An entirely new piece like this is very rare."

The historic nature of the work leaves it open to multiple interpretations, said Jean-Louis Jossic, deputy cultural director of the city of Nantes. "If we gave it to four, five or six different musicians, we would have 10 different versions," he said.

Christophe, a pianist from Nantes who has already been invited by the library to bring the notes to life, said the first part of the score consisted of about 15 bars of music in quadruple time.

"It's a credo," he told the Presse Ocean, a local newspaper. "There are ancient ways of writing and rhythms in it. You wouldn't write like that nowadays. For instance, there are appoggiaturas where today we would use semiquavers."

Even without a harmony or an orchestral arrangement the draft is of great academic interest to scholars of the Austrian composer. Mozart wrote a lot of religious music during the early stages of his career but the true extent of his religious beliefs have been questioned by some historians.

The fact, however, that he was writing this kind of music up until the end of his life implies he was doing it of his own volition, said Leisinger.

"From the handwriting and paper we believe it must have been written around 1787, at which time Mozart had no obligation to write church music.

"He was under no external pressure to write this; it was something he did for himself and shows he did have a real interest in theology," he said.

Mozart was a prolific composer even in the years before his death in 1791. About 100 examples of musical drafts are known to exist, but the majority of them are for works which were completed and whose melodies are familiar.

If this previously unheard score were to go to auction it would probably fetch in the region of £60,000.

But Jossic yesterday insisted the draft was staying put. "This is a work of our heritage. There is no question of its being sold," he said.

[aewanko]

I thought this was reported ages ago?

[Bob]

The article's dated Sept 19th. 

They found a Beethoven bagtelle or some piece recently too.

I'm kind of skeptical about them and won't be surprised if these turn out to be forgeries.

[akonow]

Unknown Mozart score discovered in French library

It can't be unknown and discovered at the same time.

[Bob]

Previously unknown then.  Or unclassified.

I wonder how long it's been there.  Sitting in a library through the world wars?  What's it doing in France?

[mikey6]

I wonder how long it's been there.  Sitting in a library through the world wars?  What's it doing in France?

I think I read since the late 1800's mayeb in another article.
The first place I read this was in 'the sun' (I was bored and found it on the tube!)hilariously enough - although the article read only 1 line!

[loonbohol]

Send me the PDF.

[Bob]

Yes sir!

I only found the article.  I don't know if the music is available anywhere.