3 November 1790

Mozart and Sterkel’s variations on “Lison dormait”

Musikalische Korrespondenz der teutschen Filharmonischen Gesellschaft, Wed, 3 Nov 1790

[col. 138]

2) Air Lison dormoit pour le Clavecin varié
par Mr. Abbe Sterkel. Ebend. S. 9 in 4.
(Pr. 30kr.)

[...]

Musikalische Korrespondenz 1790, col 138

[col. 139] [...]
                                                                                We=
niger schwer, angenehmer und fließender sind
die acht Veränderungen des Hrn. Sterkels, die
man als einen artigen Pendant zu den Mozart=
schen Variationen über dieses Thema ansehen
kann. Mit Recht nimmt Hr. St. stete Rüksicht
auf dasselbe, und weicht darinn von der Art und
Sitte mancher seiner Hrn. Kollegen ab, die glau=
ben, sie hätten einen Saz nicht varirt, wenn sie
nicht durch alle mögliche Schnörkeleien, die
Kunst und Wiz darbieten, denselben unkenntlich
gemacht hätten.

Musikalische Korrespondenz 1790, col 139

[translation:]

[...]                                                                                   Less
difficult, more pleasant, and more flowing are
the eight variations of Mr. Sterkel, which can
be seen as a charming pendant to Mozart’s
variations on this theme. Rightly, Mr. Sterkel
continually keeps this [theme] in view, departing
from the manner and custom of many of his
colleagues, who believe they have not varied
a theme if they have not made it unrecognizable
through all possible fillagree that art and wit
offer.

Commentary

This passing reference to Mozart’s music is found in a review of three sets of keyboard variations: Jan Ladislav Dussek’s on “O ma tendre musette”; a set attributed to Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel on “Lison dormait”; and Friedrich Heinrich Himmel’s on an original theme. After noting the difficulty of the Dussek variations, the reviewer comments more favorably on the Sterkel, which is said to be a “charming pendant” to Mozart’s variations on the same theme (K. 264).

K. 264, a set of variations on an ariette from Dezède’s Julie, is traditionally said to have been written in Paris in 1778. The set was circulating in manuscript by 1785 and was first published complete by Artaria in 1786. Mozart’s pupil Johann Nepomuk Hummel performed the variations in Dresden on 10 March 1789 (Dokumente, 303).

The variations attributed to Sterkel, first published in 1788, were reviewed again in 1792 in the Musikalisches Wochenblatt, where they were compared unfavorably to Mozart’s; on that occasion Sterkel wrote to the journal and denied his authorship (see the entry for 13 Feb 1792).

Credit: DB

Author: David Black

Link(s):

Google Books

Search Term: mozart

Source Library:

BSB, 4 Mus.th. 306

Categories: Reception, Publication

First Published: Tue, 21 Jul 2015

Updated: Sun, 20 Nov 2022

Print Citation:

Black, David. 2015. “Mozart and Sterkel’s variations on “Lison dormait” (3 November 1790).” In: Mozart: New Documents, edited by Dexter Edge and David Black. First published 21 July 2015; updated 20 November 2022. https://www.mozartdocuments.org/documents/3-november-1790/

Web Citation:

Black, David. 2015. “Mozart and Sterkel’s variations on “Lison dormait” (3 November 1790).” In: Mozart: New Documents, edited by Dexter Edge and David Black. First published 21 July 2015; updated 20 November 2022. [direct link]