One of the things we’ve done to Haydn’s early music over the centuries may actually be for the good. Did I really say that? Yes, I really said it, against all odds.
“Well, Gurn, what might this be?”, you ask.
It is actually one of the things I would normally complain about, which is the giving of ‘modern’ generic names to all and sundry of the ‘divertimentos’ constituting the bulk of the material from pre-1765. Everything from a keyboard sonata to a chamber orchestral work was a divertimento at some time in its life. Despite what I said earlier about the early string quartets, to NOT call them string quartets in the face of the looks of incomprehension from non-professionals is merely an affectation, a thought I am sure you entertained whenever you saw me write divertimento de quattro over and over again. Of course, I was doing it to make a point, differentiating the first ten from the subsequent fifty-eight.
Naturally, at the time Haydn wrote all these divertimenti, he was never looking at what would eventually be the sum total of solo sonatas, string trios, keyboard trios, string quartets, actual divertimentos, concertini (keyboard quartets); in short, pretty much everything not a symphony! So let us finally take a brief look at what comprises this vast ‘note gumbo’ of cassations, notturnos, serenades and, well, divertimentos.
Pigeonholed into 1757, and it is a tight squeeze too, we have a keyboard sonata (Hob 16:G1), 12 string trios (I doubt the number is coincidental!), 8 keyboard trios, 2 string quartets, 2 keyboard quartets, a lovely sextet divertimento and last but not least, 2 symphonies. If I am wrong about this being a broken loose logjam of music, then Haydn had himself one heck of a busy year in 1757! Before we can take these works and divide them up by their differences, it might be more interesting to look at their origins. At this time, Haydn was still primarily a teacher. Giving lessons had to have been his main source of income. The stipend from his incessant but not highly remunerative church work, the fee for the occasional serenade, even the fiddling at dances; these could not have been much more than supplements to what he took in for teaching the wives and children of the local minor nobility and bourgeoisie how to play the cembalo and violin. As a social phenomenon, making music at home was just beginning to be Big Business which will have grown to overwhelming proportions by the time of his death. Five gulden for a series of lessons was what put food on his table, and to do it properly he wrote his own music for his students to practice. This is almost certainly the genesis of the keyboard sonatas and variations. In addition, the string trios and accompanied sonatas (keyboard trios) are nearly certain to have arisen from this source also. If this surmise (which I report, not make) is correct, then one can only admire the intricate craftsmanship that went into them. As I noted in passing earlier, the fact that twelve keyboard trios are grouped together here is very likely to be an artifact of the custom, carried over from earlier times and continued up to Beethoven, of writing small chamber works in groups of six or twelve (or even higher multiples of six in Italy). I have never seen a definitive reason for this, but it allowed composers to become quite clever and creative with key schemes within the opus, for example spacing keys by major thirds or fifths.
The next group of divertimentos are this year’s allotment of two string quartets. We know what they were written for, not as teaching tools but as entertainment for a small company of musicians and their connoisseur host. This fact says much to me about why the genre became what it did. Even to this day, the string quartet is widely respected as the king of music. And despite the fact Haydn called his divertimentos, we know, simply from listening, they were always more. When I hear his works up through Opus 20, the mental I picture I can’t avoid conjuring up involves four players with little or no audience, and some of the most intense musical intercourse imaginable. People who really know and understand music, playing for their own satisfaction and enjoyment. I completely believe that Haydn had an underlying aim in mind for these works; having fun!
Next time we will look at the remaining works of this year of great growth. I hope by now you will have had an opportunity to listen to some of them and maybe even a few have caught your ear. As listeners, we frequently complain about not having new things to listen to. Sometimes, old is new too, especially if it is new to you. Take a chance, you won’t regret it.
Thanks for reading!
The result of one of the great Haydn projects undertaken in recent years. Also available on Blu-Ray, this box contains all of the certain works for solo keyboard played on appropriate keyboards and in a style that reflects the norms of the time. A wonderful acquisition if you love the music.