Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was one of the most influential public figures in 18th-century Vienna. His impact on the public is evident in two of his most influential works — an opera, The Abduction from the Seraglio, and an instrumental piece, Violin Concert No. 5. Mozart used musical exoticism in these works to create a stereotype of Turks as violent and out of control and juxtapose it against Western European ideals of rationality and restraint.
In The Abduction from the Seraglio, Mozart paints a vivid picture of Turkish culture. The “Turkish style” is best seen in the Pasha’s chorus. In this scene, we are treated to the full array of janissary instruments. In addition to the typical orchestra instruments, the score for this song contains parts for a bass …show more content…
Throughout the chorus, the bass drum beats out a militaristic “left, left, left, right, left” beat. The shrillness of the piccolo and its grace notes contributes to an overall oriental sound. Mozart characterizes Turkish people through Osmin, the central Turkish character. Osmin’s aria is intermittent, full of starts and stops. Throughout his song, there are often quiet rests followed by a startling sforzando. This fitfulness reflect’s Osmin’s agitated emotional state. In addition, the dynamics fluctuate between extremes of piano and forte. These spikes of loudness reflect the intense emotions that Osmin is harboring. The most startling point is the onset of the allegro assai which comes “just as one thinks the aria has ended” (Weiss 131). In this last portion of the aria, the tempo accelerates and the music crescendos to a permanent high. Osmin completely loses control of his emotions and nearly screams the lyrics. The
In The Abduction from the Seraglio, Mozart paints a vivid picture of Turkish culture. The “Turkish style” is best seen in the Pasha’s chorus. In this scene, we are treated to the full array of janissary instruments. In addition to the typical orchestra instruments, the score for this song contains parts for a bass …show more content…
Throughout the chorus, the bass drum beats out a militaristic “left, left, left, right, left” beat. The shrillness of the piccolo and its grace notes contributes to an overall oriental sound. Mozart characterizes Turkish people through Osmin, the central Turkish character. Osmin’s aria is intermittent, full of starts and stops. Throughout his song, there are often quiet rests followed by a startling sforzando. This fitfulness reflect’s Osmin’s agitated emotional state. In addition, the dynamics fluctuate between extremes of piano and forte. These spikes of loudness reflect the intense emotions that Osmin is harboring. The most startling point is the onset of the allegro assai which comes “just as one thinks the aria has ended” (Weiss 131). In this last portion of the aria, the tempo accelerates and the music crescendos to a permanent high. Osmin completely loses control of his emotions and nearly screams the lyrics. The