Cousin Marianne: Guardian of Mozart Sacred Works

Mozart's cousin Marianne and his sacred works or How so many Mozart masses came to Augsburg

© by Susanne M. Scholze

Wolfgang Amadé Mozart wrote the most wonderful music I can think of. Nowadays, his music can be heard either performed life in concert, or from a CD, privately or through the radio, internet, DVD – however, wherever. Thanks to modern technology it is available at practically any time. I do not know whether all of his known 626 works are currently available on CD, but in this very year 2006, his 250^th anniversary, this might very well be possible. Operas, concertos, divertimenti, arias, chamber music, Lieder, Tänze. And church music. Whatever you wish. This hasn’t been always so. 

During his lifetime, the places where lucky people got to hear, for example, his church music performed were – only churches, of course. At that time, the two churches worldwide that performed his divine music regularly were the Salzburg Cathedral, and the Heilig Kreuz Monastery in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. Augsburg? How come? 

Wolfgang’s father, Leopold originally came from Augsburg where he had grown up and attended school. He was very intelligent and a good pupil. But he not only achieved a lot of knowledge and abilities which he later passed on to his children, Nannerl and Wolfgang, he played as well as an actor at his school’s theatre, and was also a member of a few church choirs. One of which was the choir of the Heilig Kreuz (= Holy Cross) monastery, not far from his parental home. He enjoyed singing there and ever since he had stayed in touch with the patres, even after leaving Augsburg. In later years, whenever travelling, he made visits to his cleric friends. Consequently, when Wolfgang went to Augsburg in October 1777, he told him to pay visits to the Augustinian patres of the Heilig Kreuz monastery as well.  

In 1777, Wolfgang was on his way to Mannheim and Paris in order to find a suitable employment for his genius talent. After failing in Munich he, in company with his mother, Maria Anna Mozart, travelled on to Augsburg. In this very old city, he stayed for 16 turbulent days, visited his relatives every day, made other important visitations, performed two concerts, got in trouble with the impudent mayor’s son, Jakob von Langenmantel and, of course, visited his father’s old friends at the Heilig Kreuz monastery. To say the least, the patres loved to see him personally and hear him play, on the organ, on the violin and also on the piano. They simply could not get enough. Who would! They accompanied him, showing, however, not half of his playing abilities. Yet they were great, upright men, without any falseness or wanting something, showing pure enthusiasm. Putting it into modern words, the fathers and Wolfgang had great parties in the monastery, twice. When Wolfgang later said goodbye, he left there – as compliments to his friends - a few original autographs of his that he had been taking along on his journey, for the fathers to copy for their own use in their church. What an honourable gesture! Imagine, he gave them his own autographs, the only originals, true treasures. Today worth of estimated millions of Euros.What if they got lost?! 


Yet he didn’t worry for a second. First, he trusted the patres, and second – he kindly asked his cousin, Marianne, who was well-known with the canons, to keep an eye on his works and make sure they all were given back. She was more than happy to do him this favour, particularly while facing to see him leave her and Augsburg for Mannheim and Paris all too soon. Marianne? Who is that? 

Curious enough, this lady is mostly known to people as the “Bäsle”. Bäsle is, however, no way a name but the Swabian diminutiv for Base, Cousine = cousin. “Bäsle” means nothing else but “little cousin”.Wolfgang had met her, the only surviving daughter of his father’s younger brother, Franz Aloys, during these very days in Augsburg in 1777. The two of them got along extremely well, made fun of people, had a wonderful time together and most probably a passionate love affair. So who could take care of his precious music better than his beloved Bäsle Marianne?After their tearful farewell, she did indeed take care of the autographs very carefully. The Augustinian canons copied what Wolfgang had generously borrowed them – which usually took quite a while – and then Mademoiselle Mozart sent them back or better, forward to Wolfgang in Mannheim. Never ever did he moan once about one piece missing.  

As time went by, he sent more and more to Augsburg – sometimes to the displeasure of his father, Leopold who never really liked to see his son’s compositions given “away”. But since they went to his old friends in his hometown, Augsburg, what could he say? Many pieces were copied, masses, litanies, and vespers. Many years later, elderly Nannerl, Wolfgang’s older sister, finally sent last copies. The famous Great Mass (K.427) and a few sinfonies. 

This is the story why and how Wolfgang Mozart’s immortal sacred works have come to Augsburg’s Heilig Kreuz monastery, and got performed there regularlyeven long after the secularization of 1802. During these times, the High Mass on Sunday always got celebrated with fully cast choir and orchestra, each Sunday. Where have these times gone! In any case, Wolfgang’s younger cousin no doubt got to hear his divine music just as regularly, until the day in 1812 when she left Augsburg. We can imagine how she loved it got moved by the choir singing, can we not? Getting reminded on countless occasions of her beloved Wolferl for over 35 years after his leaving her. 

Today, the archive of the Heilig Kreuz church and former monastery, the archive of the diocese Augsburg respectively is still in the posession of these very copies and very proud of them. 



List of the works


In October 1777, Mozart left personally, 

K. 222   Offertorium de tempore  „Misericordias Domini“       

K. 220   Spatzenmesse (Sparrow mass)    

K. 192   Missa in F 

In later years, these works were sent to Augsburg, 

K.65           Missa Brevis in d-minor     

K.125         Litaniae de venerabili altaris sacramento   

K.127         Regina Coeli in B-major   

K.140        Missa  

K.193       „Dixit“ and „Magnificat“ 

K.195        Litaniae Lauretanae in D-major   

K.243       Litaniae de venerabili altaris sacramento in Es-Major     

K.257       Missa in C-major   (Credo-Mass)   

K.258       Missa Brevis in C-Major   (Spaur- or Piccolomini-Mass)            

K.262       Missa in C-major               

K.275       Missa Brevis in B-major   

K.276       Regina Coeli in C-major   

K.317        Krönungsmesse  (Coronation Mass) 

K.337       Missa Solemnis in C-major 

K.339       Vesperae solennes de confessore 

K.428       Great Mass in c-minor 



It was one of these masses, by the way, the Credo Mass (K.257) performed live in Vienna that awakened my personal love for Mozart and his music. 

What happened to Wolfgang’s cousin, Marianne? Well, she never married but had a daughter out of wedlock, Maria Josepha. She, her daughter and later son-in-law stayed and lived together for 51 years until Marianne died at the high age of 82 in the Bavarian town of Bayreuth in 1841. 

For further information of Marianne Mozart, I recommend Susi's website on Marianne, "Visit to Mozart’s Bäsle”



Note: This article was first published in Classical Music Lounge, in 2006, written by a friend, Susanne Scholze, from some of our earliest Mozart special groups. I've retained previously archived comments from our other Mozart friends. Especially for Mozart lovers, this piece is being republished as a valuable and interesting information about the sacred works of Mozart. (Thanks, dear Susi.)