Mozart: “Die Alte” (fragment), K. 517 (E minor)
de Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart’s song “Die Alte” (fragment), K. 517, is a rare E minor Lied sketch dated 18 May 1787 in Vienna, from the same intense spring that led into Don Giovanni. Preserved only incompletely, it nevertheless shows Mozart’s quick, characterful touch in German song.
What Is Known
“Die Alte” (“The Old Woman”), K. 517, survives as an incomplete Lied for voice and keyboard (clavier/piano), transmitted as a short sketch rather than a finished fair copy.[1][2] The International Mozarteum Foundation dates it precisely to Vienna, 18 May 1787, when Mozart was 31.[1] The text is usually identified by its incipit, “Zu meiner Zeit”, and is attributed to Friedrich von Hagedorn; however, because the musical setting is fragmentary, the extent of Mozart’s intended complete strophic plan cannot be verified from the surviving notation alone.[1][2]
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Musical Content
What remains suggests the opening of a compact, likely strophic song: a single vocal line supported by a straightforward keyboard accompaniment, designed to project a pointed, character-song (“comic portrait”) text.[1] The choice of E minor—unusual in Mozart’s output—colors the piece with a darker edge than many Viennese Lieder of the period, hinting that the humor (if such was intended) may have been tinged with irony rather than genial warmth.[3] Even as a fragment, K. 517 fits the 1787 Viennese moment: Mozart turning repeatedly to German song as a laboratory for quick dramatic characterization on a small scale, in parallel with his larger theatrical ambitions that year.[1]
[1] Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum (Köchel Verzeichnis): work entry for KV 517 with dating, key, scoring, and fragment status.
[2] IMSLP: “Die Alte, K.517” page with composition date/place, scoring, and links to scans/editions.
[3] Wikipedia: overview of “Die Alte” (K. 517), including key and commonly cited text attribution.