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68 MOZART_ENSEMBLE PHILIDOR
We must therefore see these pieces as belonging to the
divertimento
aesthetic in general, regardless of more precise circumstances. The aim
being simply to use every possible means to avoid tedium and monotony and
provide entertainment.
Firstly, by favouring variety rather than organic unity: the heterogeneity of
form and key that is found in the
Divertimenti
removes all danger of dullness
or uniformity. Secondly, their brevity makes them easy for the listener to
‘assimilate’ (although they make great demands on the musicians, who
play without respite); their form is constantly clear and simple, and their
perception calls for no great effort of concentration.
These are pleasant pieces, in no way disagreeable to the ear: no lengthy
development, very few difficult modulations, no pronounced dissonance,
but rather a series of melodious themes with perfectly defined and easily
identifiable contours. Some pieces are written entirely in the main key,
without any modulation at all. The general mood is almost always bright
and spirituoso: though melancholy comes to the surface here and there,
particularly in the more elegiac Andante movements, it is never used for
its own sake and is always absorbed by the brisk affirmation of vitality that
concludes each of the pieces.
The spirit of the
divertimento
is particularly noticeable in the stylised
dance character of many of the movements: gavottes in K.240 and K.270,
contredanse in K.213 (calling to mind the operas of Rameau), sicilienne and
polonaise in K.252.
Harmoniemusik
, music for wind instruments, took up
popular tunes of the time.