“Cibavit eos” (Transcription after Johann Stadlmayr), K. Anh.A 20, 21 (D minor)
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart’s “Cibavit eos” (K. Anh.A 20, 21) is a brief liturgical item connected with his 1770 stay in Bologna, when he was fourteen. Rather than an independent composition, it is generally described as a transcription of music by Johann Stadlmayr—an episode that nonetheless offers a revealing glimpse of the young Mozart learning by close, practical study.
Background and Context
In early August 1770, during the Mozarts’ Italian journey, the fourteen-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was in Bologna, a city where his encounters with learned counterpoint and church style were especially formative [1]. Cibavit eos (K. Anh.A 20, 21) is transmitted not as a newly composed motet but as a transcription (a copied and adapted score) of music by the earlier composer Johann Stadlmayr [2]. In other words, what survives points to Mozart working as a skilled reader and arranger—absorbing a liturgical idiom by writing it out, rather than staking an original claim.
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Musical Character
The liturgical text “Cibavit eos” belongs to the Mass propers (an introit antiphon), and the musical setting associated with Mozart’s transcription is concise and functional, intended for worship rather than concert display [2]. Sources describe the piece as a small-scale choral item with organ support, consistent with the practical church repertory Mozart encountered and studied during these years [3]. Even where authorship is secondary, the act of transcription matters: it places Mozart, at fourteen, in direct contact with an older sacred style—training his ear and hand in voice-leading, imitation, and the disciplined pacing demanded by liturgical text.
[1] Wikipedia: Köchel catalogue entry listing “Anh.A 20, 21” and identifying it as “Cibavit eos” (transcription of music by Johann Stadlmayr), dated to early August 1770 (Bologna).
[2] Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum (KV online): KV 44 / KV³ 73u “Cibavit eos – Sicut erat (Johann Stadlmayr)”, naming Mozart as “Author of the Transcription” and classifying it among smaller church works; links to NMA volume X/28 (transcriptions).
[3] IMSLP work page: “Cibavit eos, K.44/73u” (antiphon/introit), giving basic scoring category information and pointing to manuscript/editions accessible for inspection.