In Freemasonry, the number three is highly significant, and the musical keys of E flat major and C minor are associated with it due to their three flats.
Performer Biography
Heo Young-Hoon, the tenor on this recording, was born in Seoul in 1973 and has been a company member of the Kassel State Theatre since 2005.
Recording & Production
This album was recorded in the rehearsal hall of the Staatstheater Kassel, Germany, on November 5th and 6th, 2007.
Composition History
Mozart's 'Eine kleine Freimaurer-Kantate' (Little Masonic Cantata), K. 623, was his last work entered into his catalogue by his own hand, premiered three weeks before his death.
Compositional Technique
Mozart expanded Masonic key symbolism, using F major (one flat) for the Entered Apprentice level and B flat major (two flats) for the Fellow Craft level.
Composer Biography
Mozart became a Freemason on December 14, 1784, when he was admitted to the Viennese lodge 'Zur Wohltätigkeit' ('Beneficence').
Historical Context
Freemasonry, which began in London on June 24, 1717, aims for the "ennoblement of men, from the rough to the refined stone, to become part of the temple of universal love of mankind."
