|
Hob. # |
Genre |
Key |
Instruments |
|
11:001 |
Trio |
A |
Baryton, Viola & Cello |
|
11:002 |
Trio |
A |
Baryton, Viola & Cello |
|
11:003 |
Trio |
A |
Baryton, Viola & Cello |
|
11:004 |
Trio |
A |
Baryton, Viola & Cello |
|
11:005 |
Trio |
A |
Baryton, Viola & Cello |
|
11:006 |
Trio |
A |
Baryton, Viola & Cello |
|
11:007 |
Trio |
A |
Baryton, Viola & Cello |
|
11:008 |
Trio |
A |
Baryton, Viola & Cello |
|
11:009 |
Trio |
A |
Baryton, Viola & Cello |
|
11:010 |
Trio |
A |
Baryton, Viola & Cello |
|
11:011 |
Trio |
D |
Baryton, Viola & Cello |
|
11:012 |
Trio |
A |
Baryton, Viola & Cello |
If there is a genre in Haydn's output that is difficult to do justice to, for so many reasons, it is the monumental group of Trios for Pariton (Baryton), Viola & Cello. At this point in history there are many reasons for this phenomenon, but no single one of them is that the music itself isn't first rate. In some ways, the issue is the same as in the essay that discusses Symphony 29; the field is so extensive that one can scarcely encompass it all and absorb it, so a cursory listening is the best they get. In the case of the Baryton Trios, this multitude was compounded by the scarcity of recordings. Even today, the vast majority of trios have only one recording each, while a very few others have as many as ten! The problem then becomes that many of the finest ones simply have gone unheard.
After the modest reprimand of November 1765, Haydn immediately threw it into high gear on the baryton composition front! It is probable that the twelve works listed above were all composed by the end of the year, some of them already being completed, the remainder the work of a few short weeks. According to inferences drawn from an existing sketch, it seems as though Haydn abandoned his usual compositional practice here and adopted an extraordinary method in its place to speed things up. He wrote a series of Allegros, then a series of Minuets, then a series of other movements which could serve as finales, then fitted them together into complete, three movement trios. Of course, that didn't go on for long, but it would have enabled him to make a good showing very quickly. The fact that eleven of the twelve first works are all in the same key (A Major) would seem to have helped out here.
It is clear that the Prince wasn't planning on sharing these works with anyone, and the completed works were treated better than was most music of the time. When twenty-four trios were completed, the parts were beautifully bound up into presentation books. Ten years in the future, the fifth and final one of these books was completed. It is truly a pity that only Volume IV survives, they would have made a handsome set! In any case, Volume I was 'published' in 1766.
As I was bemoaning at the beginning, this body of work is difficult to get a grasp on. The mental picture of the Prince (on Baryton, of course), Haydn (on viola) and Weigl (on cello), playing these works after dinner in the drawing room is not compelling enough to grip the imagination of most people. The somewhat somber tone of three instruments in the alto and lower ranges also tends to appeal to a rather limited crowd. So how do we overcome the basic issues involved? It shouldn't be viewed as a chore to listen to such wonderful music. It will be incredibly difficult for me or anyone else to go through the entire series in rather short order and pick out high points to keep in mind when listening. I have a couple of suggestions, both of which worked well for me when I was learning these works. The first is the easiest; I would never listen to more than three of them at a sitting, that way my attention didn't begin to wander. The second is
only difficult in the degree that going shopping for rarities ever is. Here are two disks of transcriptions, not transcribed by Haydn, but certainly in his style. The first is for a standard string trio, violin, viola and cello. This was exactly the way that anyone and everyone who knew these works post-Eszterháza learned them. For the listener who is new to this music, it is a fine opportunity to learn what the music sounds like on a familiar tonal plane. You will be impressed, I believe. The second disk is transcribed for three Bassett Horns, ironically another obsolete instrument which has seen a remarkable comeback in the last thirty years, due mainly to the music that Mozart composed for it. Here again, the wide tonal range of the bassett horn allows for tones more nearly approaching mezzosoprano than the baryton does. So once again, the more familiar tonal ranges make a nice introduction to the music.
All of this is not to say that the music doesn't stand on its own. Over the course of the next ten years, especially the next seven or eight, we will be seeing a lot of these works. Stylistically, they are rather similar from beginning to end. Mainly we are dealing with sonata form, but there are surprising excursions into variations, rondos, canons, fugues, minor modes; in short, Haydn didn't just mail these in, he did the work too. As we advance, I am not going to spend a great deal of time describing each and every piece. I will point out some particularly interesting points to listen for (like next year's Presto of #14) and also some particularly special recordings when the time is appropriate for them. Meantime, if you have the Brilliant Haydn 'Big Box', you have what you need already to make the most of these works. Take three and call me in the morning!
Thanks for reading!