Aria for Soprano, “Der Liebe himmlisches Gefühl” (doubtful), K. 119
di Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The aria for soprano Der Liebe himmlisches Gefühl (K. 119) is a rare and dubiously attributed work associated with Vienna in 1782, the year Mozart began his independent life there after Die Entführung aus dem Serail. In practice, the piece is known chiefly through later transmission, and its authorship remains uncertain.
Background and Context
Der Liebe himmlisches Gefühl (K. 119; also transmitted as K. 382h) is catalogued as an aria for soprano with orchestra, but its attribution to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) is often treated as doubtful [1]. What is firmer than any biography of its origin is the state of the sources: the aria survives in a Klavierauszug (voice-and-piano reduction), and is reported as first published in Leipzig in 1814 by Breitkopf & Härtel—decades after Mozart’s death [2].
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Even so, the traditional dating to Vienna (1782) places it at a moment when Mozart, aged 26, was writing intensively for the stage and for virtuoso singers; any genuine concert aria from this period would sit naturally beside his other soprano showpieces in its vocal ambition and theatrical address—even when detached from a specific opera or documented occasion.
Musical Character
On the page, the aria presents a single movement marked Allegro, notated in common time, and commonly given in A major [3]. The surviving version is effectively soprano with keyboard, with the orchestral component implied rather than securely preserved in full score [2]. Its German text (opening “Der Liebe himmlisches Gefühl…”) is cast in clear, balanced phrases suited to Classical vocal declamation, and the vocal writing moves with the bright, forward momentum one expects from an Allegro aria—aiming more at fluent projection and lyrical poise than at extended recitativo drama.
In sum, Der Liebe himmlisches Gefühl remains an intriguing marginal item: musically viable as a short soprano concert aria, yet documented in a way that keeps its place in Mozart’s output provisional rather than secure.
[1] Wikipedia: Köchel catalogue entry listing K. 119 (“Der Liebe himmlisches Gefühl”) as doubtful.
[2] IMSLP work page: source situation, publication information, and note that the work survives in a piano reduction.
[3] IMSLP general information block for K. 119/382h (key A major, single aria movement, basic metadata).