The Cult of Piety in Parisian Society
Wagner opens his essay by satirizing the sudden wave of religious fervor that has overtaken fashionable Parisian society. Duchesses and countesses, eager to participate in the latest trend, turn their salons into makeshift chapels and devote themselves to singing sacred Latin music. Yet their devotion is superficial; sacred music has become just another social diversion, a fashionable accessory akin to the operatic arias and quadrilles that previously held their interest. For these elites, the line between genuine piety and mere performance is blurred, with sacred music valued less for its spiritual meaning than for its novelty and emotional effect.
Mozart’s Requiem and the Problem of Authenticity
The essay describes a pivotal event: the performance of Mozart’s Requiem at Napoleon’s memorial service. The Parisian aristocracy is enraptured not by the solemnity or depth of the music, but by the star power of the performers and the spectacle of the occasion. When the nobility later attempts to recreate the experience in their own homes, they are confounded by the musical substance of Mozart’s work—its fugues and gravitas “taste like physic.” Unwilling to struggle with its difficulty or depth, they turn to popular composers for easier, more entertaining sacred pieces. This search for accessible piety reveals a deeper aversion to genuine artistic and spiritual substance.
Rossini’s Return and the Birth of the Stabat Mater
Into this atmosphere of artificial devotion and musical dilettantism enters Rossini, long absent from the stage. His reemergence with the “Stabat Mater” is shrouded in legend and farce: Wagner narrates with irony how Rossini, inspired during a journey through Spain with a wealthy banker, composes the work as a token of penitence after years spent indulging in pleasures. The story is both comic and telling; Rossini’s act of contrition is as much about social performance as about genuine spiritual awakening. The “Stabat Mater” becomes an object of desire for Parisian society, promising an ideal blend of fashionable piety and musical pleasure.
The Comedy of Commerce and Copyright
As the demand for Rossini’s “Stabat Mater” grows, so does the chaos surrounding its publication. A tangle of publishers, legal battles, and rumors ensues, each party eager to profit from the sacred work. Wagner lampoons the spectacle, noting how the work’s release is more a matter of commerce than of artistic or religious importance. Publishers squabble over copyright, and society is gripped by a kind of religious mania—not for spiritual growth, but for the chance to sing charming fugues and “counterpointlets” that will flatter their musical self-image. Wagner’s tone is cutting; the superficiality of both society and the music industry is laid bare.
Superficial Devotion and Artistic Irony
In the end, Wagner’s essay is a sharp critique of the culture that confuses artifice for authenticity. The Parisian world’s embrace of Rossini’s sacred music is not about genuine faith, but about fashionable enthusiasm and the easy gratification of the senses. Even as religious music becomes a commodity to be sung and consumed, the search for spiritual meaning is lost amid legal wrangling and shallow entertainments. Through irony and satire, Wagner questions the value of art divorced from inner truth, and the dangers of a society that elevates appearance above substance.