The Magic Flute Overture K 620

About this work

Three solemn chords open the door, then the Overture to the opera K. 620 abruptly changes scale. The Allegro sends a lively motif through successive entries, like a fugue launched into the theatre. Mozart combines ceremony and motion: the chords return to articulate the form, while the orchestral voices continue to pursue, answer and reinforce one another.

In rehearsal, first agree on the tuning, attack and length of the three slow chords. The silences between them must remain charged, without anticipating the movement that follows. For the Allegro, rehearse the motif by instrumental family, particularly with flutes and clarinets, so that everyone hears its articulation. Accompaniments should remain light when the subject passes elsewhere; an entry does not become clearer merely because the whole orchestra suddenly decides to be right.

The strings build momentum through the regularity of their passagework, the winds through the accuracy of their exchanges and chords. Keep some dynamic reserve until the main structural joins. As the fugal material thickens, listen to the bass and harmonic direction rather than to volume alone. The return of the solemn chords should interrupt the agitation without breaking the unity: the same ceremony, now charged with all the preceding motion.

What the document containsOne complete full score, four full-score sections and fourteen orchestral parts.19 PDF documents in total.One associated MIDI archive.The material covers only the overture to the opera K. 620.