Canon in A for 4 or 5 Voices in 1 (K. Anh.H 10,05)
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart’s Canon in A for 4 or 5 voices in 1 (K. Anh.H 10,05) is a short, untexted vocal canon transmitted without secure attribution, generally dated to around 1772, when Mozart was 16. What survives suggests a compact contrapuntal study rather than a finished occasional piece, and its precise origin and function remain unknown.
Background and Context
The Canon in A for 4 or 5 voices in 1 (K. Anh.H 10,05) is usually placed around 1772, but neither its destination nor its practical purpose is documented, and even its attribution to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) is uncertain.[1] In that period Mozart was back in Salzburg after the Italian journeys of 1769–1773 and working under Archbishop Colloredo’s regime—an environment in which he produced both public church music and private exercises in strict writing.[2]
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Although canons appear throughout Mozart’s life, the early 1770s are especially rich in contrapuntal “test pieces” and learned miniatures connected with his Italian contacts and with his ongoing training.[3] This small A-major canon sits comfortably in that pedagogical sphere: a concise, self-contained demonstration of technique, preserved without the contextual markers (text, occasion, named dedicatee) that would anchor it more firmly.
Musical Character
On the page, K. Anh.H 10,05 is defined less by melody than by procedure: a single notated line intended to generate a texture for 4 or 5 voices—the catalogue’s “in 1” indicating that the canon is written as one part from which the other voices are derived.[1] The key of A major gives it a bright, open sonority, but the musical interest lies in how the subject can be stacked in close imitation without harmonic collapse.
Without an authenticated autograph or a widely standardized modern performing score, performers usually approach such a piece as a brief contrapuntal vignette: the line is sung successively by each voice at the prescribed distance, creating a tight web of consonance and prepared dissonance typical of classroom-style canonic craft. In that sense, whether or not the music is ultimately Mozart’s, it reflects the sort of disciplined contrapuntal thinking that the sixteen-year-old demonstrably cultivated alongside his more theatrical and ceremonial works.
[1] Wikipedia: Köchel catalogue entry showing Anh.H 10,05 as “Canon in A for 4 or 5 voices in 1” (dated 1772; key A major).
[2] Encyclopaedia Britannica biography: overview of Mozart’s life and chronology (useful for situating 1772 within the Salzburg period).
[3] IMSLP work page for the related canon K. 73i (A major, 1772), providing corroborating reference context for early canonic pieces in A major.