Mozart and scatology
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...
displayed scatological humour in his letters and multiple recreational compositions. This material has long been a puzzle for Mozart scholarship. Some scholars try to understand it in terms of its role in Mozart's family, his society and his times; others attempt to understand it as a result of an "impressive list" of psychiatric conditions from which Mozart is claimed to have suffered.


Examples

A letter dated 5 November 1777 to Mozart's cousin
Maria Anna Thekla Mozart Maria Anna Thekla Mozart (25 September 1758 – 25 January 1841), called ''Marianne'', known as Bäsle ("little cousin"), was the cousin and friend of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Biography She was born in Augsburg, Germany, the third and only s ...
is an example of Mozart's use of scatology. The German original is in rhymed verse. Mozart's
canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...
"
Leck mich im Arsch "" (German for "Lick me in the arse") is a canon in B-flat major composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, K. 231 (K. 382c), with lyrics in German. It was one of a set of at least six canons probably written in Vienna in 1782. Sung by six v ...
" K. 231 (K6 382c) includes the lyrics: This would be translated into English as "lick me in the arse, quickly, quickly!" "Leck mich im Arsch" is a standard vulgarism in German, euphemistically called the Swabian salute (german: schwäbischer Gruß). Although contemporary German would rather say "Leck mich am Arsch." The closest English counterpart is "Kiss my arse".


Context

Musicologist David Schroeder writes:
The passage of time has created an almost unbridgeable gulf between ourselves and Mozart's time, forcing us to misread his scatological letters even more drastically than his other letters. Very simply, these letters embarrass us, and we have tried to suppress them, trivialize them, or explain them out of the epistolary canon with pathological excuses.
For example, when
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
was apprised of Mozart's scatology during a visit to the theatre to see
Peter Shaffer Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (; 15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He wrote numerous award-winning plays, of which several were adapted into films. Early life Shaffer was born to a Jewish family in L ...
's play ''
Amadeus Amadeus may refer to: *Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), prolific and influential composer of classical music *Amadeus (name), a given name and people with the name * ''Amadeus'' (play), 1979 stage play by Peter Shaffer * ''Amadeus'' (film), ...
'', director Peter Hall relates:
She was not pleased. In her best headmistress style, she gave me a severe wigging for putting on a play that depicted Mozart as a scatological
imp IMP or imp may refer to: * Imp, a fantasy creature Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Imp (She-Ra), a character in ''She-Ra: Princess of Power'' * Imp a character in '' Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony'' * Imp, a character in the '' Cl ...
with a love of
four-letter words The phrase four-letter word refers to a set of English-language words written with four letters which are considered profane, including common popular or slang terms for excretory functions, sexual activity and genitalia, blasphemies, terms re ...
. It was inconceivable, she said, that a man who wrote such exquisite and elegant music could be so foul-mouthed. I said that Mozart's letters proved he was just that: he had an extraordinarily infantile sense of humour ... "I don't think you heard what I said", replied the Prime Minister. "He couldn't have been like that". I offered (and sent) a copy of Mozart's letters to Number Ten the next day; I was even thanked by the appropriate Private Secretary. But it was useless: the Prime Minister said I was wrong, so wrong I was.


Letters

Benjamin Simkin, an
endocrinologist Endocrinology (from ''endocrine'' + '' -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental events ...
, estimates that 39 of Mozart's letters include scatological passages. Almost all of these are directed to Mozart's own family, specifically his father
Leopold Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name) * Leopold (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...
, his mother Anna Maria, his sister
Nannerl Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia Mozart (30 July 1751 – 29 October 1829), called "Marianne" and nicknamed Nannerl, was a musician, the older sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) and daughter of Leopold (1719–1787) and Anna Maria Moz ...
, and his cousin
Maria Anna Thekla Mozart Maria Anna Thekla Mozart (25 September 1758 – 25 January 1841), called ''Marianne'', known as Bäsle ("little cousin"), was the cousin and friend of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Biography She was born in Augsburg, Germany, the third and only s ...
. According to Simkin, Leopold, Anna Maria and Nannerl also included scatological humour in their own letters. Thus, Anna Maria wrote to her husband (26 September 1777; original is in rhyme): Even the relatively straitlaced Leopold used a scatological expression in one letter. Several of Mozart's scatological letters were written to
Maria Anna Thekla Mozart Maria Anna Thekla Mozart (25 September 1758 – 25 January 1841), called ''Marianne'', known as Bäsle ("little cousin"), was the cousin and friend of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Biography She was born in Augsburg, Germany, the third and only s ...
, his cousin (and probable love interest, according to the musicologist Maynard Solomon). These are often called the "Bäsle letters", after the German word ''Bäsle'', a
diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...
form meaning "little cousin". In these letters, written after Mozart had spent a pleasant two weeks with his cousin in her native
Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
, the scatology is combined with word play and sexual references. American academic Robert Spaethling's rendered translation of part of a letter Mozart sent from
Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
5 November 1777: One of the letters Mozart wrote to his father while visiting Augsburg reports an encounter Mozart and his cousin had with a priest named Father Emilian:


Music

Mozart's scatological music was most likely recreational and shared among a closed group of inebriated friends. All of it takes the form of
canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...
s (rounds), in which each voice enters with the same words and music following a delay after the previous voice. Musicologist
David J. Buch David Joseph Buch (born 1950) is an American musicologist. Life and career Buch was born in Detroit and studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy. He received his PhD in Music Histor ...
writes:


Reactions of family and friends

Historian Lucy Coatman argues that Maria Anna Thekla and Mozart likely had a shared sense of humour, something which she believes has been "discounted throughout much of the historiography on this set of correspondence". While scholars are not aware of her replies to her cousin, it can be assumed from what is known of their relationship and his continued correspondence that she was not horrified by what she received. In 1798, Constanze sent her late husband's Bäsle letters to the publishers
Breitkopf & Härtel Breitkopf & Härtel is the world's oldest music publishing house. The firm was founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf. The catalogue currently contains over 1,000 composers, 8,000 works and 15,000 music editions or books on ...
, who at the time were gathering material in hopes of preparing a Mozart biography. In the accompanying letter she wrote "Although in dubious taste, the letters to his cousin are full of wit and deserve mentioning, although they cannot of course be published in their entirety." K.A. Aterman suggestes that this ambivalence is a result of the "change in the taste and the 'refinement' spreading to, and in, the rising middle class" in the early 19th century.


In the 18th century

suggests that in the 18th century scatological humour was far more public and "mainstream". The German-language popular theatre of Mozart's time was influenced by the Italian ''
commedia dell'arte (; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...
'' and emphasized the stock character of
Hanswurst Hanswurst or Hans Wurst (German for "Johnny Sausage") was a popular coarse-comic figure of German-speaking impromptu comedy. He is "a half doltish, half cunning, partly stupid, partly knowing, enterprising and cowardly, self indulgent and merry f ...
, a coarse and robust character who would entertain his audience by pretending to eat large and unlikely objects (for instance, a whole calf), then defecating them. Schroeder suggests a political underlay to the scatology in popular theatre: its viewers lived under a system of hereditary aristocracy that excluded them from political participation. The vulgarity of scatological popular theatre was a counterpoint to the refined culture imposed from above. One of Mozart's own letters describes aristocrats in scatological terms; he identified the aristocrats present at a concert in Augsburg (1777) as "the Duchess Smackarse, the Countess Pleasurepisser, the Princess Stinkmess, and the two Princes Potbelly von Pigdick".


In German culture

The folklorist and cultural anthropologist Alan Dundes suggested that interest in or tolerance for scatological matters is a specific trait of German national culture, one which is retained to this day: provides ample coverage of scatological humor in Mozart, but also cites scatological texts from
Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...
,
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...
,
Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lied ...
, and others who helped shaped German culture. asserts that "scatology was common in Mitteleuropa entral Europe, noting for instance that Mozart's Salzburg colleague
Michael Haydn Johann Michael Haydn (; 14 September 173710 August 1806) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period, the younger brother of Joseph Haydn. Life Michael Haydn was born in 1737 in the Austrian village of Rohrau, near the Hungarian border. ...
also wrote a scatological canon. Some of the phrases used by Mozart in his scatological material were not original with him but were part of the folklore and culture of his day: professor of German describes the Bäsle letters as involving "Mozart's intentional play with what is for the most part preformulated folk speech". An example given by Robert Spaethling is the folkloric origin of a phrase seen above, "Gute Nacht, scheiß ins Bett dass' Kracht", claimed by Spaethling to be a "children's rhyme that is still current in south German language areas today". Likewise, when Mozart sang to Aloysia Weber the words "Leck mich das Mensch im Arsch, das mich nicht will" ("Whoever doesn't want me can lick my arse") on the occasion of being romantically rejected by her, he was evidently singing an existing folk tune, not a song of his own invention.


Medical accounts

An early 20th-century observer who suspected that Mozart's scatological materials could be interpreted by psychological pathologies was the Austrian writer Stefan Zweig, who amassed a large collection of musical manuscripts. His collection included the Bäsle letters (at the time, unpublished) as well as the autographs of Mozart's scatological canons "
Difficile lectu "Difficile lectu", K. 559, is a canon composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The music, in F major, is set for three singers. The words are probably by Mozart himself. The work was entered by the composer into his personal catalog on 2 September 17 ...
" and " O du eselhafter Peierl". Zweig sent copies of the Bäsle letters to the psychiatrist
Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...
with the following suggestion: Freud apparently declined Zweig's suggestion. As Schroeder notes, later psychobiographers seized on the letters as evidence for psychopathological tendencies in Mozart. Some authors in the 1990s interpreted the material as evidence that Mozart had
Tourette syndrome Tourette syndrome or Tourette's syndrome (abbreviated as TS or Tourette's) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence. It is characterized by multiple movement (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) ...
(TS). Simkin catalogued the scatological letters and compared their frequencies with similar vulgarisms from other members of Mozart's family—they are far more frequent. The scatological materials were combined by Simkin with biographical accounts from Mozart's own time that suggested that Mozart suffered from the
tic A tic is a sudden, repetitive, nonrhythmic motor movement or vocalization involving discrete muscle groups.American Psychiatric Association (2000)DSM-IV-TR: Tourette's Disorder.''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'', 4th ed., ...
s characteristic of Tourette syndrome. His claim was picked up by newspapers worldwide, causing an international sensation, and internet websites have fueled the speculation.Did Mozart really have TS?
Tourette Syndrome Association Retrieved on 14 August 2002.
While often discussed, the Mozart/Tourette hypothesis has failed to sway mainstream opinion on this issue. Indeed, German psychiatrist Thomas Kammer (2007) states that the work proposing the hypothesis has been "promptly and harshly" criticized.Kammer, Thomas (2007
"Mozart in the Neurological Department – Who Has the Tic?"
In J. Bogousslavsky and Hennerici M. G. (eds.), ''Neurological Disorders in Famous Artists – Part 2''. Frontiers in Neurology and Neurosciences, vol. 22. Basel: Karger, pp. 184–192.
The critical commentary asserts both medical misdiagnosis and errors of Mozart scholarship. Kammer concluded that "Tourette's syndrome is an inventive but implausible diagnosis in the medical history of Mozart". Evidence of motor tics was found lacking and the notion that involuntary vocal tics are transferred to the written form was labeled "problematic". Neurologist and author
Oliver Sacks Oliver Wolf Sacks, (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and writer. Born in Britain, Sacks received his medical degree in 1958 from The Queen's College, Oxford, before moving to the Uni ...
published an editorial disputing Simkin's claim, and the Tourette Syndrome Association pointed out the speculative nature of this information. No Tourette's syndrome expert or organization has voiced concurrence that there is credible evidence to conclude that Mozart had Tourette's. One TS specialist stated that "although some websites list Mozart as an individual who had Tourette's or OCD, it's not clear from the descriptions of his behavior that he actually had either". Coatman, who supports a social and philological explanation of Mozart's scatology, has suggested that such retrospective diagnoses reveal a problem with the perusal of letters as a genre. Following ethicist Osamu Muramoto,. she states that "retrospecive diagnosis can be challenged not only on an epistemic level but also on the ontological and ethical ones". She notes that by projecting modern sensibilities back onto the letters, scholars from a range of fields have "failed to understand the historical context, language usage of eighteenth-century Salzburg, and indeed, the personality of Mozart".


Scatological materials


In letters

Benjamin Simkin's compilation lists scatological letters by Mozart to the following individuals: *his father,
Leopold Mozart Johann Georg Leopold Mozart (November 14, 1719 – May 28, 1787) was a German composer, violinist and theorist. He is best known today as the father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and for his violin textbook ''Versuch einer gründlichen ...
: twenty letters *his wife,
Constanze Mozart Maria Constanze Cäcilia Josepha Johanna Aloysia Mozart ( née Weber; 5 January 1762 – 6 March 1842) was a trained Austrian singer. She was married twice, first to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; then to Georg Nikolaus von Nissen. She and Mozart had s ...
: six letters *his cousin
Maria Anna Thekla Mozart Maria Anna Thekla Mozart (25 September 1758 – 25 January 1841), called ''Marianne'', known as Bäsle ("little cousin"), was the cousin and friend of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Biography She was born in Augsburg, Germany, the third and only s ...
: six letters *his sister
Maria Anna Mozart Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia Mozart (30 July 1751 – 29 October 1829), called "Marianne" and nicknamed Nannerl, was a musician, the older sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) and daughter of Leopold (1719–1787) and Anna Maria Moz ...
(Nannerl): four letters *his mother
Anna Maria Mozart Anna Maria Walburga Mozart (née Pertl; 25 December 1720 – 3 July 1778) was the mother of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) and Maria Anna Mozart (1751–1829). Life Youth She was born in St. Gilgen, Archbishopric of Salzburg, to Eva ...
: one letter *his mother and sister jointly: one letter *his Salzburg friend Abbé Joseph Bullinger: one letter *his friend, the choirmaster Anton Stoll, for whom he wrote ''
Ave verum corpus "" is a short Eucharistic chant that has been set to music by many composers. It dates to the 13th century, first recorded in a central Italian Franciscan manuscript (Chicago, Newberry Library, 24). A Reichenau manuscript of the 14th century attr ...
'': one letter


In music

The canons were first published after Mozart's death with
bowdlerized Expurgation, also known as bowdlerization, is a form of censorship that involves purging anything deemed noxious or offensive from an artistic work or other type of writing or media. The term ''bowdlerization'' is a pejorative term for the practi ...
lyrics; for instance, "Leck mir den Arsch fein rein" ("Lick me in the arse nice and clean") became "Nichts labt mich mehr als Wein" ("Nothing refreshes me more than wine"). In some cases, only the first line of the original scatological lyrics is preserved. The following list is ordered by Köchel catalog number. Voices and conjectured dates are from ; and links marked "score" lead to the online edition of the ''
Neue Mozart-Ausgabe The ''Neue Mozart-Ausgabe'' (''NMA''; English: ''New Mozart Edition'') is the second complete works edition of the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. A longer and more formal title for the edition is ''Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791): Neue A ...
''. *"
Leck mich im Arsch "" (German for "Lick me in the arse") is a canon in B-flat major composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, K. 231 (K. 382c), with lyrics in German. It was one of a set of at least six canons probably written in Vienna in 1782. Sung by six v ...
" ("Lick me in the arse"), K. 231 (K6 382c), for six voices. . Composed some time in the 1780s. First published as "Lass froh uns sein" ("Let us be joyful"). *"
Leck mir den Arsch fein recht schön sauber "" ("Lick my arse right well and clean") is a canon for three voices in B-flat major, K. 233/382d. The music was long thought to have been composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart during 1782 in Vienna, but now thought to be the work of Wenzel T ...
" ("Lick my arse right well and clean"), K. 233 (K6 382d). . First published as "Nichts labt mich mehr als Wein" ("Nothing pleases me more than wine"). The music of this canon was once thought to be by Mozart but was shown in 1988 by
Wolfgang Plath Wolfgang Plath (27 December 1930 – 19 March 1995) was a German musicologist specialising in research on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Life Born in Riga, Plath studied musicology under Walter Gerstenberg, first at the Free University of Berlin, then ...
to be by
Wenzel Trnka Wenzel Trnka von Krzowitz (Czech: Václav Trnka z Křovic; 1739–1791) was a physician, professor, and amateur composer of the 18th century. Life He was born 16 October 1739 in Tábor in Bohemia. In 1769, during his medical studies, the famous p ...
, originally to the Italian words "Tu sei gelosa, è vero". As the editors of the ''Neue Mozart-Ausgabe'' note, the work almost certainly should be considered a work of Mozart's, but as the author of the lyrics rather than as the composer. *" Bei der Hitz im Sommer eß ich" ("In the heat of summer I eat"), K. 234 (K6 382e). . As with K. 233, the music is not by Mozart; originally it was the canon "So che vanti un cor ingrato" by Wenzel Trnka. *"Gehn wir im
Prater The Prater () is a large public park in Leopoldstadt, Vienna, Austria. The Wurstelprater, an amusement park that is often simply called "Prater", lies in one corner of the Wiener Prater and includes the Wiener Riesenrad Ferris wheel. Name The n ...
, gehn wir in d' Hetz", K. 558, for four voices. . 1788 or earlier. *'' Difficile lectu mihi Mars'', K. 559, for three voices. . C. 1786–1787. *'' O du eselhafter Peierl'', ("Oh, you asinine Peierl") for four voices, K. 560a. . C. 1786–1787. A slightly revised version, "O du eselhafter Martin", is catalogued as K. 560b. *"
Bona nox , K. 561, is a canon in A major for four voices a cappella by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Mozart entered this work into his catalogue on 1788 as part of a set of ten canons. Music The canon is written in the time signature of '' cut common time'' ...
" ("Good night") K. 561, for four voices. . 1788 or earlier.


Notes


References


General

* * * * * * * } * * * *


Tourette syndrome hypothesis

The following articles have advanced the theory that Mozart had Tourette syndrome: *Gunne, L.M. (1991) Hade Mozart Tourettes syndrom? ''Läkartidningen'' 88: 4325–4326. ited in Kammer 1983*Fog, R. (1995) Mozart's bizarre verbal behavior: a case of Tourette syndrome? ''Maledicta'' 11:59–62. ited in Kammer 1983*Fog, R. and L. Regeur (1983) Did W.A. Mozart suffer from Tourette's syndrome? World Congress of Psychiatry, Vienna. ited in Kammer 1983*Schaub, S. (1994) Mozart und das Tourette-Syndrom. ''Acta Mozartiana'' 41: 15–20. ited in Kammer 1983* The following articles direct criticism at the hypothesis: * *Davies, Peter J. (1993) Letter to the Editor. ''BMJ'' 306: 521–522. Availabl
online
*Kammer, Thomas (2007
"Mozart in the Neurological Department – Who Has the Tic?"
In J. Bogousslavsky and Hennerici M. G. (eds.), ''Neurological Disorders in Famous Artists – Part 2''. Frontiers in Neurology and Neurosciences, vol. 22. Basel: Karger, pp. 184–192. * * * * Tourette Syndrome Association
Did Mozart really have TS?
Retrieved on 14 August 2002


Further reading

* Mersmann, Hans, ed. (1972) ''Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart''. Dover Publications. {{DEFAULTSORT:Scatology, Mozart And Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Off-color humor Tourette syndrome Flatulence humor Flatulence in popular culture Obscenity controversies in music