The Composer

and
The Craft
Freemasonry
Expressed in
Music
 The Composer
& the Craft
Jim Tresner, Ph.D., 33 Grand Cross
Grand Orator, Member The Blue Friars

he Masonic Fraternitythe Freemasonsthe Craftis the oldest

T association for men in the world. The first records have long since been lost
to fire, decay, and neglect, but the best information we have suggests that the
Fraternity developed from the guilds of stonemasons who built the castles and
cathedrals of the Middle Ages. The oldest document discovered so far has been
dated at around the year 1380. It is a didactic poem, written to instruct Masons as
to how to act in Lodge and giving a code of ethical conduct. In 1425, a document
makes reference to annual congregations and confederacies made by the masons
in their general chapters and assemblies. T h e r e a r e a f e w r e f e r e n c e s t o
Freemasons during the reign of Elizabeth I, and in 1598, five years before her death,
W illiam Schaw, the master of building and construction for James VI of Scotland
(James I of England), published a set of regulations for the governance of Scottish
Lodges and, for the first time, assigned Lodges numbers as well as names. From
about 1650 onward, many more documents and references survive, and from 1717
(when the first Grand Lodge was formed in England) to the present, the history of the
Fraternity is well documented.

t was during the Great Enlightenment in Europe,

I roughly the 1600's and the 1700's, that

Freemasonry completed its transition from a
builders guild to a Gentlemens Fraternity. W e are
not certain exactly when or how it happened, but a
large amount of philosophy was added to the teachings
of Freemasonry, and almost all of it came directly from
the Enlightenment. Such values as human rights and
dignity, the value of the individual, the supremacy of
individuals over institutions, self-determination, the
brotherhood of man under the Fatherhood of God, the
right of each person to his or her own opinion and the
responsibility of others to defend each persons right to
opinion were embraced as central truths of
Elias Ashmole, one of the first
Freemasonry. Also, symbols were added which taught non-operative Freemasons and
the importance of reason, and that the world was a founder of the Royal Society
understandable by the use of the intellect. W hen the
worlds first organization for scientific experimentation
and diffusion of knowledge, The Royal Society, was formed in 1660, 14 of the
 3

Founding Members were Freemasons. Such primary Enlightenment thinkers as

Voltaire were also members of the Fraternity.
Historian Margaret Jacob has demonstrated in her book,
Living the Enlightenment, that the Enlightenment ideas of
self-determination and freedom were spread through
Europe by the Masonic Lodges. Among other reasons,
Lodges were the only organizations in Europe which elected
their own leaders and established and changed at will their
own by-laws. For these crimes, Lodges, especially in
France, were regularly raided by the police.
In the New W orld, Freemasons such as Benjamin
Franklin, Paul Revere, Alexander Hamilton, James
Madison, John Hancock and George W ashington, among
many others, codified the Enlightenment principles taught
Professor Margaret in Lodge into the Constitution of the United States.
Jacob Speaking of Masonrys role in the founding of America,
The historian Gordon W ood writes, in The Radicalism of the
American Revolution:
The institution that best embodied these ideals of sociability and
cosmopolitanism was Freemasonry. It would be difficult to exaggerate the
importance of Masonry for the American Revolution. It not only created national
icons that are still with us, it brought people together in new ways and helped
fulfill the republican dream of reorganizing social relationships. For thousands
of Americans, it was a major means by which they participated directly in the
Enlightenment.

The Fraternity had always been concerned with the ethical and spiritual
development of its members, providing a path and a forum in which men could
discover their own inner nature in a supportive atmosphere (still its primary function
today). In the late 1800's and 1900's, a heavy emphasis on philanthropy was added
to the mutual assistance which had been part of the organization since the Middle
Ages. The Masonic charities which developed during those years, and which are a
major part of Freemasonry today, were designed to benefit non-members as well as
members. Such organizations as the Shriners Hospitals for Children and Burn
Centers are well known. Other branches of the Fraternity provide research into
diabetes, emergency eye care, funding for research into mental illness, centers for
children with learning disabilities, language clinics, and literally thousands of other
projects. Last year, the Masons gave $2.3 million per day to help others.

he structure of Freemasonry was somewhat more simple in Mozarts time.

T The basic unit of Freemasonry is the Blue Lodge or Symbolic Lodge. All
4

Masons belong to a Blue Lodge. (Today, they may join additional organizations such
as the Scottish Rite, the York Rite, or the Shrine, which did not exist in Mozarts
time.) The Blue Lodge is composed of three Degrees or levels of membershipthe
Entered Apprentice Degree, the Fellowcraft Degree, and the Master Mason Degree.
The Master Mason Degree had been created only some thirty years before Mozarts
birth and was not yet a required part of the system,
but it spread rapidly and was practiced in the Vienna of
Mozarts day.

oannes Chrysostom us Wolfgangus

J Theophilus Mozart (whose commonly-used

middle name Amadeus is just a Latin
translation of Theophilus, which means
God-loving) and who was known to his friends as
W olfie) lived at one of the most exciting and
dangerous times in Masonic history. Both the
excitement and the danger came from the same
cause. The ideas and ideals being taught in the
Lodges were, literally, revolutionary. They had a great
appeal to the intellectual leaders of the day, and they
were also seen as dangerous. Frederick the Great,

Mozarts Lodge - Mozart is in the lower right hand corner

 5

King of Prussia, was himself a Mason. A painting recently discovered walled into a
building in Vienna, probably to protect it during later anti-Masonic raids, has been
identified as showing both Mozart and the king sitting in Lodge. But even Frederick
limited the number of Lodges he was willing to allow, and while many members of
the clergy were also members of the Fraternity, the Church was becoming
increasingly more uncomfortable with the Masonic teaching that the world could be
understood by the use of reason. An article published in 1786 stated that
Freemasons had in the beginning and still have no other goal than self-perfection
and the dissemination of useful knowledge to our fellowmen. But some elements
in the Vatican thought it heretical even to suggest self-perfection.
Perhaps understandably, not all the crowned heads of Europe were comfortable
with an organization teaching the equality of all people. In 1743, the Empress Maria
Theresa ordered a raid on a Lodge in Vienna, forcing the W orshipful Master of the
Lodge (her husband, Francis I) to escape by a secret staircase. It was an interesting
time to be a Freemason.
Sponsored into the Lodge by the Baron Otto Fretherr von Gemmingen-Hornberg,
Mozart joined the Fraternity, taking the Entered Apprentice Degree at Zur
Woltatigkeit Lodge on December 14, 1784 at age 28. He received the Fellowcraft
Degree at Zur Wahren Eintracht Lodge on January 7, 1785, and the Master Mason
Degree on April 22. The W orshipful Master or
leader of the Lodge was Prince Nikolaus
Esterhazy. Mozart seems to have embraced the
Fraternity wholeheartedly. He wrote of it in
several letters which survive, and it is believed
that his wife, Konstanze, burned as many letters
with reference to Masonry as she could after his
death, in order to prevent the Church from
denouncing him He encouraged both the
composer Franz Josef Haydn and his own father,
Leopold Mozart, to join the Fraternity, and wrote
special music (Gesellenreise to be performed for
his fathers initiation. Music was an especially
Mozarts father, Leopold Mozart important part of Masonry in Mozarts time, and
there are several recorded instances of his
improvising music during the ceremonies. It is
most unfortunate that the music was not written down. He also gave special
concerts, sponsored by the Lodge, for the relief of various Brethren. Paul Nettl, in his
book Mozart and Masonry lists many of the composers and performing musicians
who were a part of the Masonic Lodges at the time. It was possible for Mozart to
draw upon the best instrumentalists in Vienna for both the Lodge concerts and the
improvised music for the ritual.
6

ozarts Masonic music generally falls into two categories: that which he

M wrote for specific use in Lodge or in Masonic ceremony, or which he wrote

for other purposes but was used in Lodge during his lifetime; and that
which he wrote for other audiences but which have Masonic themes.
Some was written long before he became a Mason himself. Jacques Chailley
points out that at age 11, Mozart set the Masonic poem An die Freude to music and
gave it to Dr. Joseph W olf who had treated him for smallpox. At the age of 16, he
composed an aria on the ritual hymn O heiliges Band, and at the age of 17 he was
selected by Gebler to compose the incidental music for the Masonic drama Thamos.
The following list is taken from Mozart: Masonry and Madness in Vienna.

Music written for Lodge Use

or Adapted for Lodge Use by Mozart

Song: An die Freude K.53 (setting of a Masonic text)

Psalm 129: De Profundis Clamavi for mixed choir and orchestra K. 93 (composed
in Salzburg in 1771 and adapted by Mozart to Freemasonic work)
Song: O heiliges Band der Freudschaft for tenor and piano K. 148 (composed by
Mozart in 1772 and adopted for Masonry)
Graduale ad Festum B.M.V.: Sancta Maria, mater Diefor mixed choir and
orchestra K. 273 (composed 1777, it was immediately added to the canon of
the Lodge
Incidental Music: Thamos, Konig in Agypten K. 345 (incidental music for a play
with heavily Masonic themes; considered a forerunner of The Magic Flute)
Canonic Adagio for 2 Bassett Horns and Bassoon K. 410 (ritual procession
music)
Adagio for 2 Clarinets and 3 Bassett Horns K. 411 (processional entrance music
for a Lodge)
Cantata: Dir, Seele des Weltalls K. 429 (composed for a public Masonic
celebration)
Gessellenreise: Dia ihr einem neuen Grade K. 468 (composed for his fathers
Fellowcraft Degree)
Cantata: Die Maurerfreude - Sehen wie dem starren Forscherauge K. 471
(composed to honor the scientist Ignaz von Born, Grand Master of the United
Lodges)
Maureriasche Trauermusik (The Masonic Funeral Music) K. 477 (written for the
memorial services of Mozarts Masonic brothers Duke George August of
Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Count Franz Veith Elder von Galantha in November,
1785)
Piano Concerto in E= Major K. 482 (written for and performed at a concert given
by Lodge Zur gekronten Hoffnung, December, 1785)
 7

Song: Zerfliesset Heut, Geliebte Bruder K. 483 (written to welcome newly-formed

Lodges)
Song: Hir unsre neuen Leiter K. 484 (written to welcome the new Grand Master of
the Lodge)
Symphony #39 in E=, K. 543 (written as a celebration of the Craft)
Adagio and Fugue in C Minor K. 546 (nor originally written for the Lodge, it was
adapted by Mozart for Lodge work)
Adagio and Rondo for Flute, Oboe, Viola, Cello, and Celesta, K. 617 (written
while Mozart was working on The Magic Flute and performed at refreshment in
Lodge)
Motet: Ave Verum Corpus, K. 618 (originally written for Anton Stolls choir school
at Baden, the work was quickly adapted for Lodge work)
Cantata: Die ihr des unermesslichen Weitalls Schopfer ehrt K. 619 (Mozart
composed this at the request of his Lodge while writing The Magic Flute, La
Clemenza di Tito, and the Requiem)
Cantata: Kleine Freimaurerkantate (The Little Masonic Cantata) K. 623 (written
for the dedication of the Lodge Zur neugekronten Hoffnung)
Chorus: Lasst uns mit gesehlungen Handen K. 623b (written as part of the same
dedication service)

The Masonic Operas

t comes as a surprise to many people

I to hear Mozarts Masonic operas spoken

of in the plural. Everyone knows that
The Magic Flute has Freemasonry as its
theme, even those who know nothing of the
Craft can identify the Masonic symbols
which decorate the cover sheet of the first
publication of the score. There has been
much written about the meaning of the
opera. Perhaps the best and most
comprehensive work, as far as tracing the
Masonic symbols in the structure, musical
themes, and key signatures of the music is
The Magic Flute Unveiled: Esoteric
Symbolism in Mozarts Masonic Opera by
Jacques Chailley.
Most of the confusion about the work
8

comes from the fact that the majority of the commentators are not Freemasons.
There is a general feeling, for example, that the work is strongly anti-feminist. The
Queen of Night is seen as a profound villainess and the line that Pamina needs a
mans mind to guide her is the final proof. Add in the fact that the Queen may
represent Maria Theresa, and it seems complete.
That ignores the Masonic symbolism, however. Two general rules are: 1) almost
everything is symbolic of something else; and 2) the symbol conceals, it does not
reveal.
The moon is symbolic of lunar consciousnessthe feminine, creative, nurturing,
sustaining, emotional, cyclical, and primitive (in the sense that the basic life-force is
primitive). Carried to excess, it is devious, crafty, cruel, and emotionally unstable.
The sun is symbolic of solar consciousnessthe masculine, strong, protective,
aggressive, linear, forceful, logical, and civilized. Carried to excess, it is cold,
uncaring, paranoid, and goal-driven regardless of consequence. It is a basic
teaching of the Fraternity that both must be present, and must be in balance, for the
individual to find his true identity and to be a true person. In Masonry, the sun, the
moon, and the Master of the Lodge form a triangle. The Master is symbolic of
mankind. And the lesson is one of balance and equilibrium. The Queen of the Night
is not negative because she is female, she is negative because she is not balanced.
And Sorostros goal, at the end of the opera, is to have Tamino and Pamina rule his
kingdom jointlythe male and female, sun and moon, solar and lunar
consciousness in balance.
During the first act, Prince Tamino does not see things as they are, he sees the
Queen as victim and Sorostro as villain. In the second act, he gains understanding
by trial and experience. Many commentators see the first act as representing the
Entered Apprentice Degree and the second act as representing the Fellowcraft
Degree.
But what, then, of the Master Mason Degree? That is
where the other Masonic opera comes in.

The Abduction from the Seraglio can be seen as a

retelling of the Master Mason Degree in much the same
sense that The Magic Flute is a retelling of the Entered
Apprentice and Fellowcraft Degrees. And like Flute,
things are not as they first appear.
The plot, briefly, is that a Spanish noblewoman,
Constanze, her English maid, Blonda, and her valet
Pedrillo have been shipwrecked on the coast of Turkey
and taken to the palace of Pasha Selim. The Pasha
desires to make her his wife, and while he has offered
marriage, and refuses to allow the three to leave, he is
 9

not forcing himself upon her.

Constanzes betrothed, Belmonte, arrives to rescue her, and plots with Pedrillo to
be admitted to the palace as an architect. W hen he has his first chance to speak with
Constanze, however, he spends most of the time in demanding to know if she has
proven faithful to him, rather than expressing any real concern for her.
They plot an escape, but are captured. In an attempt to bribe the Pasha, Belmonte
boasts of his parentage to the Pasha, only to discover that Belmontes father is the
Pashas most deadly enemy. Know, wretch, that your father and his forces drove
me from my native land, robbed me of my beloved, and cost me my fortune. O happy
day, that has placed the son of my greatest enemy in my hands!
But then, the Pasha surprises everyone. He tells Belmonte, I hate your father too
much to act as he did. He tells the men to take the women and leave, the ship is in
the harbor. He thus teaches to Belmonte the lessons of the Master Mason Degree,
compassion, placing the spiritual above the physical, benevolence, generosity, and
forgiveness. He brings them to the Light.

Masonic Composers

Over the centuries, Masonry has produced many composers. The following list is
extracted from The Crafts Noyse: Composers who were Freemasons, published
by the Masonic Service Association

Franz Abt 18191885. Irving Berlin 18881989.

Roy Acuff 19031992.
Monroe Althouse 18531924.
Louis Satchmo Armstrong 1901?1971.
Harry W. Armstrong 18791951.
Thomas Augustine Arne 17101778.
Eddy Arnold Born 1918.
Samuel Arnold 17401802.
Thomas Attwood 17651838.
Daniel Franois Esprit Auber 17821871.
Gene Austin [Eugene Lucas] 1900!1972.
Gene Autry 19071998.
William Ayrton 17771858.
Johann Christian Bach 17351782.
Edward E. Bagley 18571922.
B. F. Baker ?
Michael William Balfe 18081870.
Charles L. Barnhouse 18651929.
William Basie Count Basie 19041984.
Ludwig von Beethoven 17701827.
Charles Ray Belknap 1955.
Georg Benda 17441795.
Pierre L. L. Benoit 18341901.
William T. Best 18261897.
Marshall S. Bidwell 1893?
Matthew Birkhead ?1733.
Sir Henry Rowley Bishop 17861855.
Joseph Blaschek ?
Michel Blavet 17001768.
Archie Bleyer 19091989..
Johann J. Christoph Bode 17301806.
Franois-A. Boildieu 17751834.
Arrigo Boito 18421918.
Giovanni Bottesini 18211889.
William Boyce 17101779.
Barnee Breeskin
Nicholas Brown 18701935.
J. Lewis Browne 18661933.
Ole Bornemann Bull 18101880.
John Byrom 16921763.
Charles Wakefield Cadman 18811946.
John Wall Callcott 17661821.
Carl Carlton
Benjamin Carr 17691831.
Thomas M. Carter 18411934.
10
Henri Casadesus 18791947.
William Paris Chambers 18541913.
Edward Stephen Chenette 1895?
Luigi Cherubini 17601842.
Rufus William Chetwood ?
Herbert L. Clark 18671945.
Roy Linwood Clark Born 1933.
Frederick Clement 18651951.
Louis Nicola Clerambault 16761749.
George Cobb 18861942.
George M. Cohan 18781942.
Nat King Cole 19191965.
Gilbert R. Combs 18631934.
Benjamin Cooke 17341793.
Matthew Cooke ?
Doris H. Cooley ?
Kay Corbett ?
Sir Michael Agnus Costa 18081884.
Raphael Courteville 1687?1735?
Walter Johannes Damrosch 18621950.
Ambrose Davenport ?
Reginald De Koven 18591920.
Joseph DeLuca 18901935.
Marc Antoine Desauglers 17721827.
Charles Dibdin 17451814.
Thomas John Dibdin 17711841.
Roland Diggle 18851954.
Ossian E. Dodge ?
Howard M. Dow 18371912.
Samuel M. Downs ?
Louis E. C. M. Duparty ?
Thomas Saunders Dupuis 1733-1796.
Carlo dOrdonez 17341786.
Henry P. Eames 18721950.
Carl Friedrich Ebers 17701836.
Gus Edwards 18791945.
Julius Eichberg 18241893.
Edward K. Duke Ellington 18991974.
Joseph Elsner 17691854.
Everette Evans 18681951.
Merle Evans 18921987.
Orrin R. Farrer 1866?
Henry Fillmore 18811956.
Roger M. Firestone Borrn 1945.
Jim Fish [C. L. Barnhouse] 18651929.
John Abraham Fisher 17441806.
Benjamin Franklin 17061790.
Frederick The Great 17121786.
James Fulton 18731930.
Henry John Gauntlett 18051876. Francesco Geminiani
16791762.
Felice di Giardini 17161796.
Franois Giroust 17381799.
Charles Godfrey ?
Maurice H. Goldblatt 1883?
Johann Gottlieb Grner 17021762.
Charles Franois Gounod 18181893.
Claudio S. Grafulla 18101880.
Frede Grof 18911972.
R. B. Hall 18581907.
George E. Hamilton.
William C. Handy 18781958.
Charles K. Harris 18651930.
Lorenz Leopold Haschka 17491827.
Franz Josef Haydn 17321809.
Johann Michael Haydn 1734!1806.
Philip Hayes 17381797.
William Hayes 17081777.
John Hazel 18651948.
W. Hemmingway ?
Ferdinand Hrold 17811833.
Edouard Gregory Hesselberg
Friedrich Heinrich Himmel 17791825.
Albert J. Holden 18411916.
Oliver Holden 17651844.
Samuel Holden fl. 1797
Smollet Holden ?
Johann Holzer 17531818.
Charles Edward Horsley 18221876.
Fred K. Huffer ?
Johan Nepomuk Hummell 17781837.
Burl Ives 19091995.
G. K. Jackson ?
Fred Jewel 18751936.
Bengt Viktor Johansson 19191989.
John Jolly ?
Al Jolson [Asa Yoelson] 18861950.
Grandpa [Lewis Marshall] Jones 19131998.
Jerome Kern 18851945.
Gerhard von Keussler 18741949.
Donald William King fl. 1800
Karl L. King 18911971.
Pee Wee King [Julius F. A. Kuczynski] 19142000.
John Klohr 18691955.
Jaroslav Kocin 18831950.
Pekka Olavi Kostiainen Born 1944.
Leopold Kozeluch 17471818.
Mayhew L. Lake 18791955.
Sir Harry Lauder 18701950.
Johan Nicolaas Lenz 1717?1782.
Hirtram Lesne ?
William Lester 18891956.
Richard Leveridge 1670?1758.
Harry J. Lincoln 18781937.
Peter Josef von Lindpainter 17911856.
 11
Ernst Linko 18891960. Guiseppe Sarti 17291802.
Franz von Liszt 18111886. Paolo Scalabrini 17131805.
Henry Charles Litolff 18181891. Johann Adolf Scheibe 17081776.
Albert Lortzing 18011851. Sperontes [Johann Sigismund Scholze] 17051750.
Frank Losey 18721931. Roland Seitz 18671946.
Charlie Louvin [Charles Loudermilk] Karl Gottfried William Shield 17481829.
Lwe 17961869. John Shore 16611752.
Meyer Lutz ? Anthony J. Showalter 18581924.
Jean Sibelius 18651957.
Carl Mader 18851952. William Smallwood Fl. 1880,
Albert Hay Malotte 18951964. Carl Smart contemporary
John B. Marsh ? Sir George Thomas Smart 17771867.
Robert G. McCutchan 1877? Henry Thomas Smart 18131879.
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy 18091847. Leonard B. Smith Born 1915,
Giacomo Meyerbeer 17911864. John Stafford Smith 17501836.
Pietro Mingotti ? John Philip Sousa 18541932.
Stevan Mocranjac 18561914. L. H. Southard ?
Lionel Monckton 18611924. Wilhelm Speyer 17901878.
Garrett, 1st Earl of Mornington 17351781. Louis [Ludwig] Spohr 17841859.
Leopold Mozart 17191787. Floyd St. Clair 18711942.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 17561791. G. F. Suck ?
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan 18421900.
Jacques-Christophe Naudot 1690?1762.
J. Gottleib Naumann 17411801. Henri-Joseph Taskin 17791852.
Oskar Nedbal 18741930. C. G. Telonius ?
Christian Gottlob Neefe 17481798. Whitney Eugene Thayer 18381889.
Vincent Novello 17811869. John R. Thomas 18391896.
Mel Tillis Born 1932.
Sir Frederick Arthur Ouseley 18251889. Forrest Tubbs 18451926,
Geoffrey OHara 18821966.
Henry Upson Fl. 1800
Joseph Peckham 18491904.
Johann Christoph Pepusch 16671752. Theodor Veidl ?
Jean Armand Petit ? Ignatz Vitzthum ?
William Pettee 18391891. Count Pericles Voultsos Born 1910
Willem Pijper 18961947.
Albert Pike 18091891. William Vincent Wallace 18121865.
Ciro Pinsuti 18291888. Charlie [Charles Levi] Walker, Jr. .
William S. Pitts 18301918. T. S. Webb ?
Samuel Webbe 17401816.
Ignaz Joseph Pleyel 17571831, Alfred Weldon 18621914.
Billy Gale Poplin Born 1950. C. C. Wentworth ?
Prudent Pruvost ? Samuel Sebastian Wesley 17661837.
Arthur Pryor 18791942. Paul Whiteman 18901967.
Giacomo Puccini 18581924. Burt Williams 18761922.
Meredith Willson 19021984.
Paul Wranitzky (Vranicky) 17561808.
Jean Philippe Rameau 16831764.
Carl Gottlob Reissiger 17981859. Rudolph Zabel ?
T. J. Rensert ? Alexander von Zemlinsky 18711942.
Homer A. Rodeheaver 18801955.
Roy Rogers [Leonard F. Slye] 19111998.
Thomas H. Rollinson 18441925. From Mozart and Masonry by Paul Nettl
Sigmund Romberg 18871951.
George Rosenkrans 18811955. . . . there is a Masonic secret, a mystery, an
Gioacchino Antonio Rossini 17921868.
Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle 17601836.
experience that cannot be taught or explained
Louis A. Russell 18541925. because it lies, like every mystic experience,
beyond the realm of controlled consciousness.
12

At its deepest level it is identical with intense

feeling and empathy. The secret of
Freemasonry is the secret of experiencing true
love for all mankind, a positive attitude towards
man and life, and broad affirmation of God. It is
the realization that beyond the dark and
material world there is a realm of light towards
which all men must strive.