Cassation (music)

Cassation is a minor musical genre related to the serenade and divertimento. In the mid- to late 18th century, cassations commonly comprised loosely assembled sets of short movements intended for

Eighteenth-century genre#

Works titled cassation were especially common in southern Germany, Austria and Bohemia in the mid- to late part of the eighteenth century. The Toy Symphony (no known author) was later incorporated into a larger Cassation in G by Leopold Mozart. The Italianized term, cassazione, appears to have been used by Antonio Salieri. It is hard to discern any substantial formal characteristic that could distinguish cassations from other serenade-like genres, such as the divertimento, notturno, or Finalmusik. Breitkopf’s thematic catalogues of the time tended to apply titles such as “cassation” and “divertimento” rather interchangeably, as did the composers themselves. Both Mozart and Michael Haydn seem to have used the term only to refer to orchestral pieces, seemingly resembling the Salzburg serenade while generally lacking concerto movements, whereas Joseph Haydn called his Op. 1 and Op. 2 string quartets “cassations”. Instrumental and orchestral cassations seem to be stylistically linked to the divertimento and serenade, respectively. By the end of the eighteenth century, the term had fallen out of fashion.

Twentieth century usage#

The term was also sporadically adopted in the twentieth century. Cassazione is the title of an orchestral piece in a single movement by Jean Sibelius, and of a string sextet by Riccardo Malipiero.

Etymology#

The etymology of the musical term is uncertain.