4 Contredanses (K. 267)
av Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart’s 4 Contredanses (K. 267; K³ 271c) are a compact set of ballroom dances, composed in Salzburg in early 1777, when he was 21. Written for a small but colorful “dance orchestra” of winds, horns, and strings, they show how Mozart could turn functional social music into sharply characterized miniatures.
Background and Context
In Mozart’s Salzburg years, “occasional” music was not a sideline but a professional necessity. Alongside church pieces, serenades, and divertimentos, he supplied dance music for the city’s social calendar—music intended to keep bodies moving rather than to command silent, concentrated listening. The contredanse (from the French/English country-dance tradition) belonged to this practical world: square-phrase tunes in a steady duple meter, built for clear steps, repeats, and quick comprehension on a crowded floor.[1]
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Yet K. 267 deserves more than a footnote as “mere” utility. Mozart’s dance sets often function like a laboratory in miniature: economical themes, fast orchestral cues, neatly engineered cadences, and character contrasts that anticipate the theater. K. 267, in particular, is a reminder that in the 1770s the boundary between “serious” orchestral writing and entertainment music was far more porous than modern concert culture suggests.
Composition and Premiere
The International Mozarteum Foundation’s Köchel-Verzeichnis dates the set to Salzburg, January–February 1777, and confirms that the work survives in sources, including an autograph.[1] As is typical for Salzburg dance music, documentation of a specific first performance is elusive; such pieces were commonly played at assemblies, carnival events, and courtly or civic balls, where music circulated quickly and anonymously in function even when not anonymous in authorship.
The four dances have individual keys (rather than a single “set key”): No. 1 is in G major, and IMSLP’s work page also lists No. 2 in E♭ major, No. 3 in A major, and No. 4 in D major.[2] This variety helps explain the set’s appeal in practice: each number refreshes the ear with a new tonal “lighting,” while remaining within friendly, bright tonal regions for outdoor-friendly winds and natural horns.
Instrumentation
K. 267 is scored for a modest, dance-appropriate ensemble that balances portability with color. The Köchel-Verzeichnis lists:
- Winds: 2 oboes
- Brass: 2 horns
- Strings: violins I & II
- Bass/continuo line: cello + bassoon + double bass (combined on the bass line)
This instrumentation is given in the Köchel-Verzeichnis as “ob1+ob2, cor1+cor2, vl1, vl2, vlc+fag+b.”[1]
For dance music, this scoring is ideal. The oboes provide rhythmic bite and melodic projection; the horns broaden the sound with open-air resonance; and the bass line (reinforced by bassoon) supplies the steady harmonic “floor” dancers depend on. One can also read the scoring as a snapshot of Salzburg’s practical resources: effective without being extravagant.
Form and Musical Character
Despite their modest scale, these are not interchangeable “tunes.” Mozart varies profile, articulation, and rhetorical pacing to keep a sequence of repeats from turning monotonous—crucial when a dance may run through its strains many times.
IMSLP characterizes the set as four pieces for a small orchestra/ensemble (with continuo), and the Köchel-Verzeichnis describes the broader contredanse type as predominantly in 2/4, organized in repeated sections built from regular four-bar groupings.[1][2] That description captures what listeners will immediately recognize: square phrasing and a clear, buoyant pulse.
No. 1 in G major
The opening contredanse establishes an easy conviviality—music that “speaks” in short, well-punctuated sentences. Its job is to set the floor in motion quickly, and Mozart achieves that with direct thematic profiles and uncomplicated harmonic travel.
No. 2 in E♭ major
E♭ major often carries a slightly rounder, more ceremonial hue in Mozart’s orchestral palette, and in a dance sequence it offers a welcome contrast to brighter string-friendly keys. Even when the material remains deliberately simple, the key change alone can feel like a change of room or costume.
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No. 3 in A major
The third dance is frequently associated with gavotte character in modern listings—indeed, the Köchel-Verzeichnis labels the second and third numbers “Gavotte.”[1] Historically, a gavotte implies a specific step-type and phrase rhythm (often with an upbeat and a poised, moderate swing). Inserting such a character within a contredanse set is typical of Mozart’s pragmatic eclecticism: he supplies variety while keeping the dancers’ needs—clarity and repeatability—front and center.
No. 4 in D major
D major, a brilliant “outdoor” key for winds and horns, makes a fitting close. A final number in a more ringing tonality can help re-energize the room late in a sequence, especially if the dances have already cycled through multiple repeats.
Across the set, what is most distinctive is Mozart’s economy: themes are shaped so that they project instantly, cadences arrive with satisfying certainty, and instrumental color is applied like stage lighting—quick, telling touches rather than symphonic development. In short, K. 267 is divertimento craft under pressure: music that must work immediately.
Reception and Legacy
K. 267 has never occupied the public pedestal of Mozart’s later Viennese dance commissions, but it benefits from two modern advantages: survival in authoritative cataloguing and ready accessibility in editions and recordings. The work’s transmission is secure (including an autograph), and it is incorporated into the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe dance volumes (as reflected in both the Köchel-Verzeichnis entry and the editions indexed by IMSLP).[1][2]
For performers, these contredanses are useful beyond their historical function: they make excellent encores, period-instrument “palette cleansers,” or programming links in concerts exploring Mozart’s Salzburg soundworld. For listeners, they offer something subtler: a glimpse of Mozart the working musician, writing not for posterity but for an evening’s pleasure—yet unable, even here, to resist crisp characterization and elegant proportion.
[1] International Mozarteum Foundation (Köchel-Verzeichnis): dating (Salzburg, Jan–Feb 1777), authenticity/transmission, and instrumentation for K. 267; notes on contredanse form and NMA linkage.
[2] IMSLP work page: basic cataloguing data (K. 267/271c), four-piece structure, keys listing via MIDI links, and scoring/category information; includes references to NMA and historical editions.