PoGo and Mozart

Here is the "full" version of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", if you would like to hear it while reading this page. If not, there is another link at the bottom of the page. Click on either to listen or Right click and select "Save As" if you would like it on your computer. Be prepared, though ... it's nearly 14 minutes long (72 kilobytes).

Innacurately attributed to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, "Twinkle" sprang suddenly into Viennese society somewhere between 1770 and 1773. Originally a French lullaby, all over Vienna people hummed it, played it on various instruments, talked about it laughed over it and, of course, put their children to sleep with it, but no one had a copy of it ... it had yet to be reduced to a written score.
It wasn't until 1781 or 82 that it finally was, but by then everyone knew it anyway, though few, then as now, bothered with much beyond the first passage, the original "theme.

For more than 50 years before the lyrics to "Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star" were published and widely distributed, (Jane Taylor, London-1806) children across France sang "Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman", (Ah! Will I say to you, Mother? - shown below in both French and English), to this now familiar melody. In 1781, young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart used the melody in a piano creation that we now know as "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star".

The original lyrics to this then popular tune are not, however, about stars ... they are about a child's discussion with his Mother about his view on and value for candy!

Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman,
Ce qui cause mon tournment?
Papa veut que je raisonne,
Comme une grande personne;
Moi, je dis que les bonbons
Valent mieux que la raison.

Ah! Let me tell you, Mother,
What's the cause of my torment?
Papa wants me to reason
Like a grown-up.
Me, I say that candy has
Greater value than reason.

It seems apparent that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart must also have been familiar with the song, along with everyone else in Vienna, since he used its melody as a starting point for his playful, expansive Variations on "Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman".

Might the brilliant young man have chosen this melody to tease his notoriously stern, ambitious father, Leopold, for his taskmaster approach toward raising a son? Given Wolfgang's love of jokes and clever wordplay, that's certainly possible, but ... it's not really known for certain that Mozart didn't adapt this piece at age 25 while visiting the Vienna court and as a response to a playful challenge from Antonio Salieri before Emporer Joseph or that he wrote it as an exercise for his piano students. We only do know that the melody we now know as "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" appears to have sprung suddenly complete in all it's twelve variations.

Apparently, Mozart could take any simple tune and, without preparation of any kind, instantaneously create a complex series of spontaneous variations that were imaginative and complete in every melodic detail, and do so with apparently effortless and technically brilliant ease.

Such may have appeared the case and, admittedly, Mozart was, indeed a brilliant child prodigy, but, in actuality Mozart worked very hard from a very early age to learn both music theory and his instruments. Skilled masters in any arena can make the very difficult appear simple and effortlessly easy. The real answer may be either or both ... we'll never know.

The variations on "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" may well have been created spontaneously, and then, at a later time, written down. The point is, we don't know because the circumstances surrounding their composition is uncertain.
(The Kochel catalog lists the "Twinkle Variations" as #265 in his first catalog edition and #300 in his sixth, but both maintain a date of 1781). But they are so remarkable a set of variations, requiring almost every type of pianistic skill including a display of a variety of keyboard touches, execution of scales, arpeggios, and ornaments, that they still dazzle the listener in terms of what a remarkable composition could be made from such a simple few notes. This tends to support the argument that these variations were originally written by Mozart for his piano pupils as exercises in keyboard skills.

Given the strong music influence pervading all of Vienna at the time it became the "Mecca" for aspiring musicians and composers. Equally strong support by the court (Emporer Joseph in particular) enabled many young musicians opportunities they would otherwise not have.

Mozart first visited Vienna when only 6 years old as a stop on a grand European tour staged by his father, Leopold, who while teaching his children nearly everything scholastic, including music, sought to advertise Wolfgang and his sister, Maria Anna (Nannerl), and live from the comissions for their musical performance income.

When Mozart later petitioned the court on his own for a position, he was remembered by Emporer Joseph, but not given a position then as Antonio Salieri was already doing a very masterful job as the court composer, conductor and choir master.

After a short visit to Vienna again in early 1781, Mozart returned a few weeks later to live and make whatever fortune he could in Vienna. It's doubtful that even his unruly character and coarse wit could prevent interaction with Emporer Joseph's court and social gatherings. Being men of art and of music, composers and musicians of the day often performed current pieces for entertainment, critique and just plain fun at the Emporer's frequent gatherings.

It could well have been at such an event that Mozart either was challenged to improvise or that he did the challenging. Regardless ... a virtual showpiece of improvisational talent was created. It could have been Salieri who supplied Mozart the opening notes, but that, we'll never know.

The relationship between Salieri and Mozart has been the subject of a huge amount of research and resulted in not only an expenditure of an equally huge amount of ink, but a plethora of rumors ... some alluding to Salieri poisoning Mozart out of jealousy.

Salieri is worthy of careful study on his own. A talented, prolific composer and a highly religious man, Salieri had no reason to kill Mozart even though he admits to some jealousy over Mozart's obvious God given talent.

Salieri's position in Vienna was secure, but his one great goal was to be a musical voice for God's glory. That Mozart, who Salieri thought a rather base, vulgar and comedic person, should be given so much more talent than he, did disturb Salieri personally, but not to the point of murder.

Then again ... Salieri did finish his life in an asylum, totally insane. Who knows when the affliction began to manifest itself and what those manifestations were.

I can easily envision a scene where Mozart, responding to the crowd's wishes for entertainment, challenges anyone to merely give him a melody ... a few notes as a starting point. It's highly possible that, if not Salieri, somone present responds to the challenge by playing the opening notes from the then well known children's tune "Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman".

From that, however and whenever, sprang the full song with twelve variations ... at one sitting ... that we know as "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star".

I can see this happening at the Vienna court and just that way, but, appealing though that scene is, the event and the result are simply amazing however it happened.

Any and all are very possible.

Since then this simple theme has provided the basis for other children's tunes, such as: "The Alphabet Song" and "Ba Ba Black Sheep". It's even embedded in Hayden's "Surprise" Sympony, possibly as a tribute to his good and close friend, Mozart. Here, you can listen or download "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star again ... but remember ...

And, here, just to illustrate that this simple melody is still alive, still mutating to suit different tastes and still just as enjoyable are three short, more modern variations on a jazz theme. TwinkJazz1 TwinkJazz2 TwinkJazz3.

Personally, I prefer number two, but they are here for you to ...