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Mozart and the historical background |
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Mozart and the historical background
W. A. Mozart's life fell into the age of Enlightened absolutism, a time that also heralded the revolution. In Austria the French Revolution's counterpart was dissolving the rigid structures in both church and state. Mozart was a freelance artist during this period of upheaval and thus a child of his time: emancipated, independent and revolutionary.
Salzburg, Mozart's birthplace, was the capital and court seat of the Salzburg principality. The state of Salzburg was only one of many smaller German states and did not become part of Austria until 1816. It was ruled by an archbishop and was a Catholic principality. The archbishop was not only the prince archbishop but also the head of state and man of political authority. The emperor of the kingdom came from the Habsburg dynasty. Austria was already a not entirely correct designation for the Habsburg territories referred to as the "Austrian patrimonial lands". They were eventually united, centrally administered and considered to be one unit of government by the Habsburgs. The capital city had approximately ten thousand residents and thanked its affluence to salt mining and shipping. Mozart's life was in a time of peace. The Seven Years' War (1756 – 1763), conducted to decide whether Silesia should belong to Prussia or to the Habsburg possessions, had no affect on life in Salzburg.
When Austria was drawn into a war with Turkey based on an alliance with Russia, this did not have a negative affect in Vienna, although the war kindled great patriotic enthusiasm which was reflected in a series of Mozart's occasional works.
Mozart lived under the reign of the following rulers: in Salzburg under Prince Archbishop Siegmund Graf Schrattenbach (ruled from 1753 – 1771) and Archbishop Hieronymus Graf Colloredo (ruled from 1772 – 1801).
The regents over the Habsburg countries during Mozart's lifetime were Maria Theresia (1740- 1780) together with her husband, Franz Stephan, upon his death in 1765 together with her son Joseph II, who succeeded her as the sole ruler in 1780 (until 1790). The emperors ruling in Mozart's day: Franz I, his son Joseph II elected as his successor, ruling as the emperor from 1765 to 1790. Joseph II was succeeded by his brother Leopold II, who ascended the throne as regent and the elected emperor (1790 – 1792).
The church and state were in upheaval in Mozart's day. The old social order was changing. The state and the administration began to question the strict differentiation between the authorities and subjects, the boundaries between aristocracy and the bourgeoisie began to dissolve as well as those between the urban and rural population.
The construction of the "New Gate" (1764 – 1767) marked the opening of the Salzburg court's small, secluded seat.
Public education was introduced in 1774, torture during court proceedings was abolished in 1776, freedom of religion was introduced in 1781. A new tax law came into force in 1789, based on the principle of equality and directed against the old principle of feudalism.
Church reforms during this time were marked by the austere, rational thinking of the Enlight-enment. The number of holidays was reduced, countless monasteries were closed and new regulations for divine worship were issued.
Political and religious reforms found their way into music. Mozart's urge to be an independent, freelance artist is reflected in the intellectual history of this time. Emancipation and the new consciousness of the middle class eventually did away with the former supremacy of the music heard by the nobility and court. Aristocracy and the bourgeoisie sat side by side in the audience at public concerts.
These and other phenomenon in the development of the church and state are manifest in Mozart's biography and recaptured in his compositions.
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