SCORE ONLY (DOWNLOAD)
The present version of the Fantasie KV. 608 aims to suggest a transcription from the point of view of the practice of the early 19th century, i.e. the aim is to provide a version of Mozarts work as it might have been written by e.g. Hummel or Giuliani.
The composition stands out among Mozarts late works not only given its form as an extended fantasy with inspiration from both the French ouverture and baroque fugal writing, but also given the complex nature of its counterpoint, which betrays Mozarts close study of the music of G. F. Händel and J. S. Bach. Indeed these features – including the learned double fugue in the last part of the Fantasie (Bars 171 ff) – captured the minds of later composers such as Ludwig van Beethoven and Ferruccio Busoni, both of whom studied the score of KV. 608 in great detail.
The present transcription to my knowledge presents the first version of KV. 608 as a piece for guitar duo. It must be acknowledged, that the technical requirements are considerable in order to realize the music on two guitars. Such difficulties however apply equally to other alternative versions of the piece (e.g. the version for church organ). Thus the challenge – and the resulting beauty – of this work can only be fully understood in connection with the sublime creative impulse, that Mozart captured in this score and which has secured the Fantasie KV. 608 its prominent place in the history of Western music.
Peter Lagersted
Copenhagen, December 2021