6 Variations in G minor on “Au bord d’une fontaine” (K. 360)
von Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart’s 6 Variations in G minor (K. 360), completed in Vienna in June 1781, takes a modest French tune—long mis-cited as “Hélas, j’ai perdu mon amant,” but correctly titled “Au bord d’une fontaine” and associated with Antoine Albanèse—and turns it into a compact study in dramatic contrast. Written for keyboard with violin obbligato, the set distills Mozart’s new Viennese confidence into a form that is intimate, witty, and unexpectedly dark-hued for such a light-textured genre.123
Background and Context
In 1781, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) was 25 years old and newly established in Vienna—the city where he would attempt, for the first time, to thrive without permanent court employment. In this environment, chamber works for domestic music-making were both practical and marketable, and Mozart’s writing for violin and keyboard was evolving quickly from the older “keyboard sonata with accompaniment” model into a true duo in which the violin can speak with real independence.
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The 6 Variations in G minor (K. 360) belongs to this Viennese moment. It is not a large-scale sonata, but a succinct theme-and-variations set: the kind of piece that could circulate among capable amateurs while still offering professionals ample room for nuance of tone, articulation, and dialogue. Its particular distinction is affective: G minor is one of Mozart’s most psychologically charged keys, and he brings that expressive world into a genre often associated with graceful display.13
Composition and Dedication
K. 360 is dated to June 1781 in Vienna.13 It is scored for keyboard and violin obbligato (i.e., a violin part that is more than mere reinforcement), and modern performance typically uses fortepiano or piano with violin.24
The theme comes from a French song that for a long time appeared under the title “Hélas, j’ai perdu mon amant,” but the melody Mozart actually varies is now generally identified as “Au bord d’une fontaine.” The tune is attributed in modern reference tradition to Antoine Albanèse (1729–1800), an Italian-born singer and composer active in France.1 No specific dedication is consistently reported in standard references, and the set seems best understood as part of Mozart’s practical Viennese output for teaching, performance, and publication-oriented repertory in 1781.
Form and Musical Character
The work consists of a theme and six variations, all rooted in G minor.1 Even in this small format, Mozart thinks theatrically: he treats the melody almost like an operatic utterance—presenting it plainly, then re-costuming it through changes of figuration, texture, and instrumental “roles.”
A defining feature is the conversation between instruments. Rather than leaving the violin to double or decorate, Mozart frequently lets it answer, imitate, or briefly take the foreground, so that the variations feel like changing perspectives on the same idea rather than mere keyboard embellishments.24
Listeners will also notice how Mozart uses variation technique to control emotional temperature. In G minor, ornamental brilliance can sound tense rather than sparkling; chromatic inflections and minor-mode rhetoric (sighing appoggiaturas, heightened suspensions) easily suggest lament—even when the surface seems light. The result is a miniature drama: intimacy of scale, but seriousness of tone.
Reception and Legacy
K. 360 has remained visible in catalogues and performance tradition as one of Mozart’s notable violin-and-keyboard variation sets, and it is preserved in modern editions and readily available to performers.34 Yet it sits slightly off the main “greatest hits” path—overshadowed by the mature Viennese violin sonatas and by the more famous keyboard variations.
That relative obscurity is precisely why the piece deserves attention. In a handful of pages, it shows Mozart testing how much expressive weight a simple song can bear, and how deftly he can balance the private pleasure of chamber music with the sharper profile of his minor-key imagination. Heard alongside the violin sonatas Mozart composed around the same period, K. 360 offers a concentrated view of his evolving duo style: the violin no longer an accessory, but a partner in rhetoric, color, and character.14
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[1] Wikipedia — overview, dating (June 1781), scoring, and the corrected title “Au bord d’une fontaine” vs. the long-used “Hélas, j’ai perdu mon amant”; attribution to Antoine Albanèse.
[2] Navona Records catalogue note — performance/practical context and comments on instrumental dialogue within the set.
[3] IMSLP work page — instrumentation and catalogue identification (K. 360/374b), key (G minor), and title as variations on “Au bord d’une fontaine.”
[4] Mozart 225 (Mozarteum Foundation project) PDF — catalogue listing placing K. 360 among Mozart’s chamber works of 1781–1782.