The three canons K.555, K.557, and K.562 stand out for their striking simplicity, forming a distinct group in Mozart’s output. Their Italian texts link them to the canons of Antonio Caldara, an Italian composer who served as vice Kapellmeister at the imperial court in Vienna for many years. Notably, the Mozart family owned copies of Caldara’s canons, with one of these manuscripts labeled “Canoni di Caldara” in Leopold Mozart’s handwriting. It’s worth noting that Mozart’s own melodies are not entirely dissimilar to those of Caldara.

Musically, these canons reflect the more elegant and simplified style of the galant era, in contrast to Caldara’s more intricate contrapuntal structures. Two of the canons are dated September 2, 1788, but there is reason to believe they might originate from an earlier period. They adopt the Italian texts from three of the seven Caldara canons that Leopold Mozart copied from the Divertimenti musicali per campagna: Lacrimoso son io (K.555), Nascoso è il mio sol (K.557), and Caro bell’idol mio (K.562).

K.555, in particular, consists of just two lines: “Lacrimoso son io, Perduto ho l’idol mio.” While the structure is correct in its basic form, the exceptions found are text-driven, with proper contrapuntal rules respected and chromatic passages handled carefully. Caldara, a master of early 18th-century counterpoint, influenced composers across Europe, including Johann Sebastian Bach, who copied Caldara’s Magnificat, adding violin parts. Leopold Mozart, too, was deeply impressed by Caldara’s work, as were Beethoven and Brahms, who also transcribed his contrapuntal models.

The canon K.557, Nascoso è il mio sol, written in F minor—a key that Mozart rarely used for his canons, though frequently found in Caldara’s works—is arguably the most revealing in terms of understanding Mozart’s process. Early sketches of this canon, published in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe (NMA), reveal Mozart’s method of reworking pre-existing material. His adaptation, simple in harmony but rhythmically engaging, can be traced back to Caldara’s canons. The fundamental model, comprising a three-bar pattern for four voices, mirrors Caldara’s Se viver non poss’io, also in F minor. When comparing the first six bars of K.557 to Caldara’s, the resemblance is unmistakable.

In fact, by simplifying Caldara’s original three-voice canon and removing a few notes, Mozart’s adaptation becomes evident. Despite these reductions, Caldara’s version remains more complex, but when only the principal notes are considered, Mozart’s reliance on Caldara’s structure becomes obvious. The rhythmic patterns, along with the literal text, mirror Caldara’s style. Another canon of Caldara’s, Mia Clori addio, further supports this claim, showing identical rhythmic figures and the same final cadence.

What stands out in K.557 is the use of an ascending appoggiatura (C-Db) on strong beats—a stylistic trait common in Caldara’s compositions. The chromatic passages that Mozart retained in his final version seem to be directly copied from Caldara’s example or similar canons among the approximately 600 Caldara composed. Even the chromaticism Mozart employed appears identical when transposed an octave lower.

Mozart’s approach here wasn’t mere copying; he masked Caldara’s original melodies by shifting thematic fragments between voices. His extensive revisions show how much he struggled with these canons. In essence, while Caldara’s tonal structures are far more complex, Mozart reworked them into something simpler, yet still rooted in Caldara’s more intricate models.

Each of Mozart’s canons displays a distinct connection to his operatic bel canto style: K.555 stands out for its melismatic qualities, K.557 for its use of chromatic harmonies and suspensions, and K.562 for its thematic borrowing from Caldara’s original. In fact, K.562 likely suffered the most during the copying process, with numerous errors introduced, as shown by the critical points highlighted below.