"Das Veilchen" ("The Violet"), K. 476, is a song for voice and piano by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, written in Vienna on 8 June 1785, to a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Lyrics

Goethe wrote the poem in 1773 or early 1774. It was first published in March 1775 in his first Singspiel Erwin und Elmire which was first set to music in 1775 by the German composer Johann André (a revival in 1776 used music by Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and by Carl David Stegmann, and another 1785 had music by Ernst Wilhelm Wolf and Karl Christian Agthe).

In 1771, Goethe had written the poem "Heidenröslein" which tells of a young man's plucking of a feisty rose. In "Das Veilchen" it is a careless girl who destroys a violet, a metaphor for a young man's heart.

Music

This song is Mozart's only setting to a text by Goethe. It not clear where exactly Mozart encountered the poem, but is likely through one of its settings by other composers of the time. Mozart made a telling addition by adding his last line.

The Violet Lights are an American indie rock duo formed in Los Angeles, California in 2011, consisting of Joel Nass and Amber Garvey. Critics have likened the sound of the band to The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, The Killers and other Britpop influenced bands, while noting the garage rock elements.

History

Natives of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Joel Nass and Amber Garvey moved together to Los Angeles before forming The Violet Lights and beginning work on the band's first record, Sex & Sound EP. Although independently funded and produced, Sex & Sound was recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood, the historic studio where over 200 Gold records have been recorded, including landmark albums by The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, and The Doors. The EP has been described as having particularly high production values and radio-friendly sound for an independent release.

The Violet Lights have been noted for maintaining a unique blog of their experiences as a band, receiving praise for the consistency with which they post and the quality of the accompanying photographs.