Mozart did not create music wholly anew for every work, but in some cases reused material in various genres. Die Zauberflöte is especially marked by affinities with the works of Mozart's own past. Pamina's aria, "Ach, ich fühl's," is related to the Trennungslied, K. 519, the String Quintet in G Minor K. 516, and the Piano Concerto K. 466. The melody in the Adagio introduction to Act II Scene 28 and its variant in the final chorus (Act II Scene 30) are related to some seventeen other works by Mozart. The two complexes of related melodies are most likely the result of Mozart's conscious practice of "the technique of composing and arranging melodic units with formular intent."

Index Classifications: 1700s

Contributed by: David C. Birchler