We have seen already that change was a commonplace item in the 18th century. Haydn went from home, to boarding with his cousin, to singing in Vienna, to living on the street, and then to Fürnburg, Morzin and finally, to Eisenstadt. And he is only in his early thirties!
1766 was one of those years when things just seem to come together. But that confluence of events was not without its preludes. As we will see, most of the events which culminated in 1766 were well under way in this, the final year of Vice-Kapellmeister Haydn. The documents available from 1765 include many of small import (e.g. - viola strings @ 3kr. signed for by Haydn), some of greater import (hired two new horn players (hurrah!)), and some that had an effect on Haydn's entire work history.
Most of the items relayed here indicate that Haydn was a rather genial sort of fellow, he liked everyone, they liked him. And generally speaking, this is an accurate perception. Two occurrences of 1765 remind us that appearances can deceive. The Prince's right-hand man was an ex-Army officer named Rahier. He was quite a martinet, but by and large he got on well with Haydn, as well as their varied backgrounds and current stations permitted. He tended towards being rather a bully though, and a 1765 incident brought matters to a head. The band flutist, Frantz Sigl, was hunting (seriously? In his yard?) and when he discharged his weapon, the flash from the flint caught the roof of a house on fire, and in fact would have burned down the entire neighborhood except for the quick response of the brigade. Rahier was quick to act, firing Sigl on the spot. Whether the punishment was deserved or not is hard to determine, but clearly Haydn and the orchestra didn't think so, since they protested to Rahier, who flew into a rage and went to the Prince complaining that they were insubordinate. The reason I bring this up is that it resulted in the very first document in existence which is entirely in Haydn's own hand, not dictated and merely signed. Clearly he was seriously irritated, and in what could be construed as a bit of cheekiness he told the Prince that he needed to rein in Rahier since he was trying to exert authority that he didn't possess and that Haydn served only the Prince and not the Regent. I like this affair because it tells us that despite his outward, necessary courtly obeisance, a trait that the 19th century abused him for, when it came down to it he spoke his mind for what he felt was right. Sigl was discharged at the time, but rehired in 1767, so no grudges were held apparently.
The second incident had a far greater effect, both on Haydn himself, and on his way of doing his business. We owe the existence of the Entwurf Katalog directly to it, for example, without which our knowledge of Haydn's earlier works would be so totally impoverished. But it all started out in a much more dire way. Lost in all the hubbub of Haydn's employment, and the subsequent death of Prince Paul and institution of Prince Nicholas, is the fate of the titular Head of Music, Gregor Werner. Although he was old, and had been shuffled off into the background, he was very much alive and nursing a rather bitter feeling for his replacement, as old men are wont to do from time to time. Late in October of the year he wrote a lengthy diatribe to the Prince. I don't reproduce it here in its entirety, but a few sentences will give the flavor:
"I am forced to draw attention to the local castle chapel, the unnecessarily large Princely expenses, and lazy idleness of the whole band, the principal responsibility for which must be laid at the door of the present Director, who lets them get away with everything, so as to receive the name of a good Heyden [sic]: for as God is my witness, things are much more disorderly than if the seven children were about…"
"Incidentally, it is humbly requested: Your Princely Highness should give him (Heyden) a severe order that he must issue the strictest command to the musicians that they appear in future, all of them without exception, at their duties. And since it is likely that he (Heyden) will try to lie his way out of it, the order must come from on high…"
Well, you see where this was going from just those bits. Even the misspelling of Haydn's name is no accident; it is a pun on the homophonic translation to 'heathen'. Among the other accusations of negligence, we find that nothing was taken care of, music was being sold or given away, instruments likewise. All in all, a damning set of accusations. And of course, there is a grain of truth at the heart of condemnations of this sort, it is likely that Haydn was amiable with the musicians, and also that they didn't always show up for work when they should. As it is also likely that music didn't get put away and hadn't been cataloged either. Nicholas set Rahier to investigating, and apparently nothing was found seriously wanting since even that worthy had just a short list of corrective actions, easily implemented. But it was the final item on the list, not by Rahier but by the Prince himself, which created a stir in Haydn, possibly redirecting his efforts, but certainly enriching our knowledge of those efforts. It went like this:
"Finally, said Kapellmeister Haydn is urgently enjoined to apply himself to composition more diligently than heretofore, and especially to write such pieces as can be played on the gamba (Baryton), of which pieces we have seen very few up to now…"
While the other items on the list were of little personal consequence to Haydn (they would be deputized, after all), this last one must have stung, with salt on top. As we have seen so far, there was no shortage of music being produced at Esterházy Castle. It was Haydn's actions in response to this rebuke which pays dividends to us even today. He enlisted his copyist, Elssler Sr., to take every manuscript of his own works which he still owned and to begin a catalog which had an incipit of the key parts for identification purposes. And from this point forward, he entered in his own hand an incipit for most of the works he composed. Even through his London trips. The value is inestimable! Without doubt, if the Prince made such an accusation again, he had a ready reply, in writing! Also, and more on point from the Prince's point of view, he began the series of trios for Baryton, Viola & Cello which, during the next 10 years, amounted to over 126. Enough to keep even the most prodigious player amused of an evening!
Next time we will look at the music of this year. You won't even know that anything else was going on when you settle down to listen!
Thanks for reading!
