Centuries of town musicians, tower musicians, guildmasters, etc., served as a grand precedent for this style of indoor/outdoor entertainment. Harmoniemusik was heard in such diverse conditions as dinner music for the emperor or outdoor entertainment in the Vauxhall Gardens of London, as well as musicians wandering the streets of Vienna or setting the ambiance in the local taverns. Mozart himself was pleasantly surprised to hear his own E-flat Serenade late one night from the street courtyard below his chamber window as he was about to undress, as the quote at the head of the chapter alludes.