Hob I:108 Bb “Symphony B” 2 Oboes, Bassoon, 2 Horns & Strings
Hob I:14 A 2 Oboes, 2 Horns & Strings
Hob 7d:3 D Concerto for Solo Horn, 2 Oboes & Strings
To continue on with the symphonies of 1762, we immediately run up on one of the irritating problems posed by the indiscriminate piracy of works at this time. The so-called ‘Symphony B’, Hob 108 in Bb, has found its way to No. 24 on the New Chronology Countdown, although traditionally it had been placed earlier based on style. The argument against ‘early’ consists of no Morzin Symphony having a written part for bassoon, despite there being two bassoons available and presumably playing the bass, while this work even includes an extended solo in the trio of the minuet. However, chronological arguments aside, a Parisian publisher got his hands on a copy and published it as a partita with all wind parts stripped away. It gained large circulation in this form, and the fully scored work was virtually forgotten until modern times. Which is a pity, given the beauty of the oboe and bassoon lines in particular.
Hob 14 has no such difficulties. It has four movements, rapidly becoming the standard for Haydn. It is another example of Haydn’s tendency at the time to write compressed miniatures. While not as ‘mini’ as any of the Scherzandi, it is only slightly larger. Here we see Haydn’s habit of ‘recycling’ being given an early showing. The Andante second movement is actually a reworking of the finale of the by-now famous divertimento ‘Der Geburstag’ (The Birthday) Hob 2:11. That finale was a theme and variations, but Haydn modernizes it by changing the symmetrical divertimento style into the more interesting asymmetric style then becoming more and more his hallmark. The opening movement also leans heavily on a characteristic constant repeated quavers in the bass, a stylistic trait that Haydn would use throughout his career as a means of injecting a sense of constant forward drive into the music. If you were searching for just the perfect symphony to use as a representative of the cutting edge of the symphonic style of 1762 Vienna, this would be an excellent choice.
Earlier I talked about the historical aspects of Haydn’s first concerto which is considered today to be among his finest. This concerto in D for Leutgeb contains some very interesting bits of technique for hornists. The technique for achieving chromatic notes by sticking one’s hand into the bell to change the length of the air column is by now generally known. But here is a case where we must beware making generalizations. In 1762, the technique was NOT generally known, in fact is wasn’t developed for another ten years. Hornists played whatever chromatics they could achieve by adjusting their embouchure, or for the non-player, by moving their lips. Suffice to say, any hornist who could play a Haydn work at that time, not using hand stopping, was a hell of a player!
One of the highlights of this work to listen for is the beautiful, extended ritornello in the Adagio middle movement, where the soloist with his high D horn is playing in its lowest range in a movement written in A! The demands that Haydn makes seem to indicate that Leutgeb must have been able to play some rudimentary hand stop notes, since the written chromatics would be stunningly difficult without. Another possibility is that hornists of the time had other techniques which are now lost in history but which enabled them to play more chromatically than we would believe today.
One other note about this superb concerto is how close we came to never even knowing it existed! The original autograph is the one and only copy in existence, it doesn’t even appear in Haydn’s Entwurf Katalog, probably because he didn’t retain a copy of it. In this way it joins ranks with Haydn’s other great wind concerto, the one for Keyed Trumpet, in surviving for our immeasurable enjoyment only through the pleasure of chance. O, Fortuna!
Next time, Haydn’s first Italian Opera, Acide.
Thanks for reading!