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The transcription consists in the integration of two oboes into the original
ensemble, and Mozart did this with such remarkable skill that it is difficult to
imagine,whenone examines the results, that the new instrumentswere later
additions. Whilst the oboes simply reinforce the existing clarinet part in the
tuttis of the second and fourth movements, they are completely integrated
into the musical fabric of the other three, creating a perfect balance among
the four pairs of instruments.
WhereastheSerenadeKV375hasnotitle,
KV388
ispresentedinthemanuscript
as a “Serenada”; this word is written over the original title of “Parthia”, that is
to say an instrumental suite composed for wind instruments, in which dance
movements (here, the minuet) mingle with non-dance movements. The
dance appears here in an extremely stylised form, as it were a learnedminuet,
written in canon. In fact, throughout its length this work goes far beyond the
bounds of entertainmentmusic; it stands as out as awork in themost serious
of veins, and one of Mozart’s most rigorous and advanced compositions.
The key of C minor imposes an atmosphere that runs right through the
piece, whose tragic and sombre cast is dissipated only in the unexpected
final variation in the major. The inherent character of this Serenade in C
minor leads one to think that it may have been composed not for nocturnal
entertainment but for some outside occasion reserved for connoisseurs. The
fact that this Serenade belongs to the genre of learned, pure instrumental
music, is doubtless the reason it was later transcribed for string quintet (as
KV406), the epitome of noble forms in the field of chamber music. Mozart
produced this transcription around 1787, at the period when he was writing
Don Giovanni
, which indeed is very close in spirit to the Serenade KV388.
52 MOZART_ENSEMBLE PHILIDOR