Kyrie in C major (fragment), K. 166f
de Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart’s Kyrie in C major (fragment), K. 166f, is an unfinished setting of the Mass Ordinary begun in Salzburg in 1772–73, when the composer was about sixteen. Though only the opening survives, the scoring and layout suggest an ambitious festive Kyrie rather than a modest missa brevis.
What Is Known
Only a short torso of the movement survives: an autograph full score, left unfinished, preserved as an extant but uncompleted work in the Mozarteum’s Köchel-Verzeichnis entry.[1] The same entry describes the autograph as a score on four leaves (five written pages).[1]
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The surviving instrumentation points to Salzburg cathedral forces: winds (2 oboes), brass (2 horns), timpani, strings (including two viola parts), and continuo/organ, with SATB chorus.[1] In the surviving manuscript, the music runs to 49 bars and is divided by tempo markings—Adagio at the start and Allegro beginning at bar 15—before breaking off mid-course.[2]
Musical Content
What remains suggests a two-part design typical of Salzburg ceremonial practice: a weighty opening Adagio (choral and orchestral) that prepares a more animated Allegro.[2] The festive color is underscored by trumpets and timpani in addition to oboes and horns, and by the prominent choral writing—features that, even in fragmentary form, place the piece within the confident church style Mozart was cultivating in Salzburg at sixteen.[1]
[1] Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum, Köchel-Verzeichnis entry for KV 166f: status (uncompleted), dating (Salzburg, 1772–73), autograph description, and instrumentation.
[2] Sotheby’s auction catalogue note (Lot 199, 2014) describing the autograph Kyrie fragment: 49 bars, tempo markings (*Adagio*; *Allegro* at bar 15), and scoring details.