Sketch sheet 1782b

Canons are short musical settings arranged in such a manner that the same melody is sung by several voices that enter one after other at an interval of several measures. Most of Mozart’s canons originated in Vienna where they played an important role in private circles. It appears likely that Mozart occasionally wrote the texts of these canons himself. Textless canons and canons with Latin texts also served as means to teach counterpoint and to display contrapuntal skills (see Anhang H).