Benjamin Franklin Lodge #83, Madison, WI

Brother Mozart was born 252 years ago yesterday, being January 27, 1756. In celebration, if not just good timing, here is a marvelous book synopsis from Bro. Paul Gordon about this distinguished Freemason.

BOOK REPORT
Submitted by Bro. Paul Gordon

MOZART the FREEMASON, The Masonic Influence on His Musical Genius, Jacques Henry, Inner Traditions, 2006. Translated by Jack Cain.

As Freemasons we are encouraged to study and learn more about the liberal arts, one of which is music. Music often has a significant role in Masonic ritual and Masonry generally. One of the world’s best known composers is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a Freemason and member of Zur Wohltatigkeit (“Charity”) Lodge in Vienna, Austria, during the Age of Enlightenment. In MOZART the FREEMASON, Jacques Henry, a French musicologist and Freemason, makes his aim to analyze as rigorously as possible the exact role of symbolism, insofar as it is a true musical language in Mozart’s creation and its power of inspiration (See MOZART the FREEMASON, Preface p. xvi). This book can help any Mason, regardless of the depth of their musical background, learn more about music and its application in Freemasonry.

Henry organizes his book into two parts: Part 1~Mozart and the Masonic Enlightenment, and; Part 2~The Great Works Inspired by Symbolism. In Part 1 are chapters styled Mozart the Masonic Brother, The Symbolism, From Symbols to Music, Short Incidental Works for Masonic Occasions, and Works of a Masonic Character that are not Ritualistic. Here Mozart’s Masonic life is first explored in the particular circumstances of his time and place in history.

“In Mozart’s time, the Masonic order assembled everything that Europe considered brilliant. Thinkers and artists fully supported the great principle of Masonic thought (also called the Royal Art): the betterment of man through the respect and observance of ideals of a rigorous morality. This vision of the world and humanity went hand in hand with the philosophical movement that touched all of Europe and made of the eighteenth century the Age of Enlightenment (die Aufklarung; l’Eclairecissement) (Ibid, p. 2).

The attitudes of Emperors and Ecclesiastics helped shape the environment in which Mozart practiced his musical and Masonic crafts. A crisp summary of this important background helps us understand some of Mozart the person and his approach to his work. Comparisons and contrasts with Mozart’s religious and Masonic works provide a good foundation for later references that Henry uses in analyzing certain compositions.

How Masonic ritual and symbolism inspired the progression of Mozart’s musical works is then explained. Some of those sources are visual and are always three, such as three steps, three lights, an so on. Others are auditory, as in the beating of a mallet or clapping. (Id. p. 23) Henry shows us how this number three has been used by Mozart, and others, in musical composition. For example, the key with three sharps or three flats symbolizing ideal harmony (E flat major and C minor). Dotted rhythm is symbolic of time, the dot behind the note resulting in equal components of three (Id. P.24). Further Masonic influence is shown in compositional or melodic structure such as “the transition from the unbuilt or unformed into rigor, ‘from raw stone to the cube of stone,’ from chaos to order”( Id. P.24). Similarly revealed are techniques such as one instrument or section responding to another, as in the Master speaking with a Warden during the ritual.

Henry then uses the balance of Part 1 to explore in detail the Masonic symbolism in certain of Mozart’s short incidental works for Masonic occasions, and works of a Masonic Character that are not ritualistic. Here, as in all parts of this book, the events in Mozart’s personal life and in his Lodge are shown to have significance in his music. As Henry notes concerning the former group:

“Most of these compositions are short. They were written for musician friends in a warm and fraternal setting. In the Lodge, they were likely performed by brothers with whom Mozart, outside the assemblies, had ongoing relationships in everyday life. These works, initially intended for Masonic occasions and illustrative of ritual sequences, were probably used later as movements integrated into works that were not Masonic. This is all the more likely since they were written for instruments that form columns of harmony (mentioned above). In this way, they could very naturally be included in divertimenti or serenades for wind instruments. Musicians performing them would know how to identify in these treasures the parts that came from the friend and those that also came form the brother”(Id. Pp.38,39).

While no doubt a musician or composer will have a better understanding of the musicology in these chapters, the foundation laid by Henry in the earlier passages, along with the basic Masonic knowledge Masonry of most brethren make this valuable learning material for the rest of us as well.

In Part 2~The Great Works Inspired by Symbolism, Henry’s approach is “to discovering in them the inspiration whose source resides in the symbolism that Mozart truly lived in his initiation and later in the practice of his life as a freemason”(Id. P. 54). The structure of Part 2 covers three periods of Mozart’s life that were strongly marked by freemasonry. The works composed in each period are described. There are comments and analysis by other composers and musicologist on many of the points.

An example of how Henry reveals how ritual work inspired Mozart’s compositions is in his analysis of Symphony NO. 41 in C Major, “Jupiter” (K.551).

“The ‘Jupiter’ symphony is the last of the trilogy, intended to speak of the accomplishment of the initiatory process. In the Lodge, the freemason keeps his eyes turned toward the throne of King Solomon where the Grand Master is seated, just above the three steps. From this place, the Orient, the Master must enlighten his brothers and guide them in their work, as the sun illuminates the day. With the first bars of Symphony No. 41, Mozart symbolically places the listener at the foot of the altar, facing these three steps. We have already seen this meaning in Concerto No. 20 in D minor… These three steps, as in the earlier works, are transcribed by ascending triplets, ‘trills running into the tonic.’ The tonic plays an essential role in the first movement of the symphony. It rings three times; a violent dynamic arises from it, all the more strongly expressed by the instruments coming together. This affirming motif (if we can speak of a motif when it is so short) is immediately followed by a questioning theme that ends on a fourth. Thus, in only four bars, Mozart has reintroduced a symbol, that of space, which is created by the alternation of motifs: strength and tenderness, masculine and feminine. Using a more concise statement and a harmonic that is shorter but identical, Mozart returns in the beginning of this symphony to what he had already expressed in the andante of Symphony No.39. This confirms the unity of inspiration in the three last symphonies (Id. Pp. 86,87)."

One of Mozart’s most famous Masonic inspired works, the opera The Magic Flute (K. 620), from the third period, is an opportunity to see how Henry help us understand Mozart and his music.. He explores why Mozart was impelled to compose a controversial work. “The Magic Flute turns out to be a veritable declaration of faith, which Mozart very deliberately expressed publicly, regardless of the risks involved at a time when the Order was beginning to be persecuted” (Id. P. 105). Reminding us that the work is not ritual but narrative, Henry describes the Masonic symbolism portrayed in the added dimension of the operatic characters. He reminds us of the context of the age and ideals reflected in the work.

Part 2 concludes with “Wolfgang’s Legacy”, and presents comments on whether his last work was the Requiem or Masonic cantata, the unity of his beliefs, and how he apprehends the human being, among other things.

Henry includes useful appendix of works officially recognized as Masonic and an interesting appendix of Mozart’s attendance in the Lodges of Vienna. At 141 pages, MOZART the FREEEMASON is a quick and enjoyable way to learn more about music and further the search for Masonic knowledge.