Mozart / Cassation in B-flat major, K. 99 (Marriner)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Cassation in B-flat major, K. 99 (1769)

00:00 - Marcia
02:43 - Allegro molto
04:34 - Andante
07:41 - Menuet
10:08 - Andante
12:55 - Menuet
15:01 - Allegro - Andante - Allegro - Andante - Marcia

Performed by Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields (1987).

"In the eighteenth century, one of the Salzburg student customs was 'Gassatim-Gehen', or strolling through the streets and lanes of an evening, serenading. The term 'Cassation' most probably derives from this custom ('Gasse' means 'alley'). Mozart wrote his Cassation in B-flat, K.99, in the summer of 1769, when he was 13 years old. The scoring is simple: two violins, viola, and bass are joined by two horns and two oboes. The wind instruments have no solo function; they merely add color to the music, which is led by the first violin. A march illustrates the arrival of the musicians. The opening movement proper is a sprightly 'Allegro molto' in sonata form with a modulation in place of a development section. The rumbling basses form a humorous foundation to the melodic upper part. The following 'Andante' in E-flat major evokes all the magic of an evening serenade: the first violin spins a tender romance above the rocking 'sordino' of the inner voices. The winds are silent. The first minuet returns to the tonic key. The G minor 'Andante' which succeeds it is a more individual movement. It has a hovering, strangely elusive melodic line in short motives, and a romantic 'notturno' atmosphere. The second minuet is followed by a novel finale: a brisk, strict 'allegro 'section alternates several times with an 'andante' in triple time; each time, the key changes from B-flat to F major and back, before a modulation leads to a repeat of the march." - Miriam Verhey-Lewis

Painting: Das Ständchen, Carl Spitzweg