‎ZIEGENHAGEN, F.H. & W.A. MOZART.‎
‎Lehre vom richtigen Verhältnisse zu den Schöpfungswerken, und durch öffentliche Einführung derselben allein zu bewürkende algemeine Menschenbeglückung .... mit einer Musik von W.A. Mozart.‎

‎Zu Hamburg zu finden bei dem Herausgeber, (Privately Printed in Hamburg), 1792. With engraved frontispiece and 1 large folding engraved plate and 6 engraved plates by D. Chodowiecki, and 4 folding tables of music (8 pages) by W.A. Mozart. (10), 633 pp. 8vo. Contemporary marbled boards, lighty rubbed, preserved in a fine morocco and gilt backed folding case. Rümann 1299; Schröder 4549; Music in Geschichte und Gegenwart, 896; Koechel 619; Lanckoronska, Maria und Oehler, Richard, Die Buchillustration des XVIII. Jahrhunderts in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz, ii, 119-120 & 214; and see the study by Barbara Richter, Franz Heinrich Ziegenhagen, Leben, Werk und Wirken eines engagierten Kaufmanns und Philanthropen im zeitalter der Aufklärung (2003). First edition of this beautifully illustrated and major work of utopian socialism by the industrialist Franz Heinrich Ziegenhagen (1753-1806), a utopian freemason, who also provided a libretto for a music commission for Mozart bound in at the end (see note below). This is also the first printing of this Mozart cantata ! Franz Heinrich Ziegenhagen was a German merchant and social reformer. He was brought up in the spirit of Pietism but abandoned his protestant faith later in his life and turned into a radical critic of religion. He was succesful as a merchant but never gave up his literary and reforming persuits. He put his entire fortune at the disposal for the spread of his works and ideas and the financial support of the various projects aiming at the practical realization of his ideas. Ziegenhagen died poor and alone in 1806.In Lehre vom richtigen Verhältnis zu den Schöpfungswerken und die durch öffentliche Einfürung desselben allein zu bewürkende algemeine Menschenbeglükkung, Ziegenhagen justifies and describes his utopian project: an attempt at establishing an independent, self-sufficient separate colony based on agricultural as well as innovative educational principles. His ideal was to create a "Erziehungs-kommune" (Educational commune) where children would be brought up without distinction based on titles, financial background or status of whatever nature and where education would not just be theoretical but also practical. The institute was intended to be later transferred into a community with collective property and based on the ideas of Rousseau with a balance between man and nature.Ziegenhagen founded an agricultural property in Billwerder, by Hamburg, and appealed in vain to wealthy citizens, the aristocracy and even the French Convention to support similiar institutions. The project failed and after 12 years he sold the Billwerder property and returned to his Elsass homeland in 1802 where he committed suicide four years later. Chodowiecki's marvelous large folding engraved plate depicts the realization of the author's ideals and having him riding on horseback through the gardens and buildings with various related events happening. Daniel Nicolaus Chodowiecki, the eminent German painter and engraver was one of the best and most sought after illustrators of his time and the beautiful and lively engravings of this book by Chodowiecki add further to the book's importance. The folding engraved frontispiece depicts a large lecture room with natural history illustrations on the walls and a very ornate organ on the far wall. The breathtaking view of the author riding through the colony has already been mentioned. The other engravings depict various classrooms with students studying electrical experiments, using various types of other scientific instruments for experiments as well as learning crafts and skills with a view of a blacksmiths shop. The last plate shows a group of students dissecting a pig with a "Kunst-Kammer" in the background.Perhaps most delightful about this book is the first appearance of a "little German cantata" ("Die ihr des unermeßlichen Weltalls ....") which was composed by Mozart in 1791, the same year as his "Magic Flute" which was also greatly influenced by Masonic imagery. The cantata was intended as an inaugural work for the projected community and was scored for voice and keyboard. Ziegenhagen provided the libretto and commissioned Mozart for the music. The work reflects the authors philosophy and speaks of pacifism and universal brotherhood, with an oblique reference to naturism ! All of this reflects the liberal philosophy of the time, with which Mozart would have come into contact as a member of the Viennese Masonic Lodge. The work here was composed for soprano and piano and later composers would add orchestral arrangements as well as string quartets. Ziegenhagen's connection with Mozart has not been satisfactorily established to date. The autograph of K.619 is at the library of the University of Uppsala, Sweden. ‎

Reference : 25527

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