Was Mozart A Pirate?
With the recent sponsoring of the PERFORM ACT, Joe Biden and Dianne Feinstein are set to create mandatory DRM for podcasts, even if they are free or licensed under the Creative Commons, I am reminded of an early musical pirate, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who allegedly copied one of the most famous pieces of music, Miserere, despite threats of excommunication.
Some time before 1638, Gregorio Allegri wrote Miserere for the end of Easter celebrations. Though Miserere was used as early as 1518, Allegri’s version was wildly popular and, soon after it’s first performance, became the only version used in church services.
The Pope was impressed to the point that he enacted a prohibition on Allegri’s Miserere, banning it from being used outside of the Sistine Chapel. Making copies was also forbidden, leading to excommunication if you were caught with or sought a copy. Despite the harsh restrictions, three copies were known to exist.
One was owned by the King of Portugal; another was in the possession of the distinguished composer, pedagogue, and theoretician Padre Giovanni Battista Martini (1706-1784); and a third was kept in the Imperial Library in Vienna.
Enter, 11 year old Mozart. He and his father had been traveling through Italy and arrived at the Vatican in time for Easter services on April 11, 1770. They heard the beautiful Miserere and, that night, Mozart sat down and wrote the version he had just heard from memory. He returned on Good Friday with the manuscript hidden in his hat, listened to Miserere again, and made a few minor corrections.
Later in the year, Dr. Charles Burney, a noted music historian, met with Mozart and Martini in Bologna and, upon his return to England in 1771, published Miserere, thus ending the Pope’s grasp on Miserere. It is unknown, however, whether Burney obtained his copy from Mozart, The Pope, or Mozart’s teacher, Martini.
Mozart’s hand-written copy has not survived, leading to speculation as to whether or not the story is true. There is evidence that the event occurred, including two letters that his father, Leopold, wrote to his wife, that Mozart did indeed write it down and the story is included in Friedrich von Schlichtegroll’s obituary of Mozart.
Mozart, however, would be welcomed amongst today’s pirates. He cared not for the consequences (excommunication) of his actions, nor is it surprising that he was intelligent enough to remember the entire composition and write it down from memory.
Mozart was faced with the same restrictions on a popular piece of music of his time that many filesharers know and understand all too well. The Pope had his own version of DRM, which threatened the very souls of the people who wanted to hear Allegri’s Miserere. Excommunication meant that you were never going to heaven. Your soul would be lost and you would be shunned by your community. Today, if you make a copy of a piece of music, the RIAA wishes to take as much money as they can from you, thus ruining your life. You can lose everything you own paying off the debt you owe to the RIAA and are shunned by most in your community.
What had been a common practice, copying music to spread and share its beauty and joy, was stifled by the Pope, who wanted to own a monopoly on what was, at the time, one of the most cherished pieces of music ever heard. Today, the RIAA wants the government to implement more restricted terms upon music that you have heard or purchased. They do not want you to be able to make a copy, nor do they want you to loan copies to friends.
Much like Mozart, pirates of today have thumbed their noses at what they believe to be an idiotic policy. Many pirates share their files even though there is a risk of arrest, prison, and/or financial ruin. Mozart would, most likely, enjoy the company of the pirates that inhabit 21st century planet Earth. He would probably even join them on their quest to eliminate DRM schemes, allowing copies of everything to be freely shared among the world’s population.
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