Canon in C for 3 Voices in 1 (K. Anh.H 11,18)
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart’s Canon in C for 3 voices in 1 (K. Anh.H 11,18) is a tiny, textless contrapuntal exercise, probably written in Vienna in 1786. Preserved only in later transmission and treated as of doubtful authenticity, it nonetheless reflects the kind of convivial, quick-witted canon-writing that surrounded Mozart’s Viennese circle.
Background and Context
The Canon in C for 3 voices in 1 is generally dated to Vienna in 1786 (after 3 June), when Mozart—at age 30—was balancing public success (including the continued afterlife of Le nozze di Figaro) with a steady stream of private music-making among friends, students, and fellow professionals.[1] The piece’s sources are thin and its attribution remains uncertain; it appears in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe among canons and related materials rather than within the securely documented vocal works.[2]
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Musical Character
On the page, this is a strict “3-in-1” canon: a single notated line designed to generate three parts by imitation at fixed time-intervals, producing close-knit counterpoint in bright C major.[2] The absence of an underlaid text suggests a functional, almost laboratory-like intent—useful for singing on a neutral syllable or for demonstrating canonic procedure.
Even if the authorship cannot be asserted with confidence, the work sits plausibly beside Mozart’s documented fascination with compact, rule-bound forms in the mid-1780s, where learned technique is compressed into a miniature that can be tried out immediately by three capable voices.[2]
[1] MozartPortal composition page giving basic catalogue data for K. Anh.H 11,18 (key, place, date-after, cross-reference K6 508A).
[2] Digital Mozart Edition (Mozarteum): Neue Mozart-Ausgabe online table of contents for NMA III/10 (Canons), listing K. Anh. H 11/18 (K6: 508A) and its placement among canons/appendix materials.