Peter Petersen: Nochmals zum Tanz-Quodlibet im ersten Akt-Finale des Don Giovanni

The famous dance scene in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, incorporating three different ensembles and three different dances to which the guests simultaneously dance, is in the manner of a quodlibet—a form of folk music that in the eighteenth century used a mixture of disassociated songs to portray scenes of chaotic merry-making. The term quodlibet also semantically coincides with the central exposition of the opera, in which the protagonist is a libertine who speaks of “freedom for everyone” while actually seeking it only for himself. The main focus of this analysis is devoted to compositional aspects of Mozart’s unique score. Using three different time signatures (3/4, 2/4, 3/8), Mozart proceeds to subtly manipulate the inherent rhythmic and metric conflict even further. Newly proven is the fact that Mozart planted harmonic mistakes in the score and simultaneously hid them by way of rests. These mistakes function as intentional breaking points which cause the musical structure to collapse like a house of cards, as in Zerlina’s cry that interrupts the feast. In conclusion the tavern scene from Berg’s Wozzeck is compared to Mozart’s dance quodlibet. Not only does Mozart’s menuet—including the individual instrumental lines that Berg quotes verbatim—but primarily Mozart’s idea of planned chaos stimulate Berg to compose such an operatic scene, one mirroring the characteristics of a catastrophic twentieth century.

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