|
Hob |
Key |
NC |
HRL |
Name |
Instruments |
|
59 |
A |
44 |
42 |
Fire |
2 Oboes, 2 Horns & Strings |
|
49 |
f |
45 |
49 |
The Passion |
2 Oboes, 2 Horns & Strings |
|
26 |
d |
46 |
46 |
Lamentation |
2 Oboes, 2 Horns & Strings |
|
41 |
C |
47 |
47 |
Flute, 2 Oboes, 2 Horns & Strings (opt. 2 Trumpets, Timpani) |
It's the names, you see, the names which make all the difference! I wonder what Haydn would think, since of course, he had nothing to do with them. Now you see, three of four are named, and it's only they didn't think of one that saved the fourth. In any case, I've already been told I'm no fun at all, so no point in writing me about it.
Names or no, this year's crop has some mighty fine symphonies. Our first one, Hob 59 in A, got its name not because of its fiery nature, as many seem to believe, but because there is a documented instance of its use as incidental music for the play Die Feuersbrunst ('The Burning House') in 1774. Clearly it was used because it was already there, a symphony which seemingly could have been written as incidental music to begin with, only six years earlier. Here is something to keep in mind from this time; the Prince had a group of dramatic players under contract every summer, and in addition to operas, concerts and various other entertainments, there were a constant stream of plays performed, for which Haydn wrote incidental music. Much of it no longer exists, but some of it was in the form of symphonies. When I substituted the word 'dramatic' for Sturm und Drang, the word was not chosen randomly or only because of the frequent tension built into the music. Music which is used to accompany dramas is by definition dramatic music. The Presto opening movement differs from much of Haydn's music in that the rhythmic profile tends towards relaxation of tension in places where Haydn would normally increase it, for example right at the beginning after the fast opening, the music slows a bit and the surface activity becomes simpler rather than more complicated. The second movement Andante o pìu tosto Allegretto contains one of Haydn's personal amusements. While it is scored for full band, the winds don't enter until well into the middle of it, after having led you to believe it was scored for strings alone. The Andante is already in 3/4 menuetto tempo, and in fact it feels like a minuet in places, and Haydn adds a bit to the illusion by starting the real minuet with the same series of pitches. He also uses a few phrases from the Andante in the Menuetto, tying the two together. Even if you aren't an overt 'noticer' of such things, you will still get a subtle feeling of the kinship of these two movements. The finale opens with a horn call, answered by the oboes, and takes off from there. Here the oboe gets a good workout, also closing out the middle of the movement with a nice dialog with the strings. The horn calls continue and in fact, they close the movement out. If there really was a Sturm und Drang, it is hard to see where this symphony would fit into it, despite the wisdom of the ages; it just doesn't have any angst to go along with the interesting tempos, key changes and obbligato instrumentals. It well deserves its popularity nonetheless!
Our next symphony marks the return to one of Haydn's stalwart forms for the very last time. The sinfonia da chiesa had stood him in good stead since earliest times, and Hob 49 in f is his finest effort in this genre. Since the playing of symphonies in church was forbidden during Holy Week, the common belief of this being composed as a Passion service accompaniment is clearly off-base. In fact, there is no whiff of
authenticity in the name, just like nearly all the other Haydn 'named symphonies'. It is interesting to note the phenomenon of suggestion taking over one's perception of a musical piece. La Passione + f minor = deep sadness. In fact, when the baggage attached is stripped away, this is a symphony composed in the typical da chiesa style with an Adagio opening (they all do, it is the definition!), followed by a superbly rhythmic Allegro di molto, a similarly bright and cheery Minuet & Trio, and a closing Presto of great character. Elaine Sisman, in her monograph on Haydn's theatrical symphonies, calls this work 'light-hearted', and it may be that I am the only other person who agrees with her, but I do. Maybe the preconceptions of Sturm und Drang or 'Romantic Crisis' are just that hard to shake off!
Our next symphony, Hob 26 in d, is another candidate for misinterpretation of the composer's intentions. While it is based on a theme from The Lamentations of Jeremiah, like #49 it is far from unrelieved serious
music. Even the Lamentations are countered by a simultaneous playful, even frivolous, reply by the first violin. The Adagio chorale, which is played by the second violin and oboe, consists of their serious statements of the theme interwoven with the saucy rejoinders of the first violin. Of course, I am making no claim here for this being theatrical music, but it is easily within the bounds of reason to say it could have been. Haydn was brilliant at molding his actual theater music to the overall themes of the work, as we shall see in a couple of years when we examine Symphony #60, Il Distratto. The premise which is finally achieving some acceptance, which is the concept of theater music over Sturm und Drang as an explanation for the dramatic aspect of the symphonies (and many non-symphonies too) of this time. Of course, you can think anything you want when listening to these works, the important thing is that you listen to them. They are brilliant and entertaining music, well worth the investment of your time!
Our final symphony of the year has no relationship to Sturm und Drang, nor to theaters. This is a 'Festive C major' work, although the cause of the festivities is still a mystery. As is often the case in those times, the instrumentation today calls the 'trumpets & timpani' "optional". A brief explanation of this phenomenon
& Timp
seems relevant here. When Haydn composed a symphony, he didn't write parts for instruments which he had no access to. What composer would do that (in the 18th century)? At this time, there were no trumpets and timpani at either Schloss Esterházy in Eisenstadt nor at Eszterháza Castle. When their services were required, Haydn could import a group of players from Pressburg, but this would be for special occasions only. At a later period, when a 'special occasion' arose, Haydn did write out a part for the trumpets (usually two) and drummer. For this reason, the parts are considered optional, but the word doesn't accurately convey the real situation, which is more like 'Haydn always wanted trumpets and drums, but only wrote them out when he finally did have them'. In the meantime, Haydn wrote brilliant parts for his horns in C alto to take the place of the trumpets, and later, when the trumpets
without trumpets & timpani
finally showed up, to accompany and reinforce them.
The high point of #41 is, for me, the second movement Un poco Andante, the only place where the solo flute plays. It is a lovely, lyrical, nearly chamber music style conversation between the strings, the solo flute, and the horns, now playing in C basso instead of alto. Rather than looking back on the obbligato portions of previous works, it seems to be more like a precursor of future trios and slow movements; in short, a very modern sounding movement. The remainder of this symphony is a classic galanterie, including the aristocratic sounding minuet, for example, which sounds more like a classic minuet than many of Haydn's others, especially by 1768! However, the soloistic writing for the high horns goes a long way towards rescuing this from any sort of normalcy. And the Finale, Presto, has the feeling of a saltarello dance such as Mendelssohn wrote much later in his Italian Symphony. A very nice closing gesture in a very nice piece. Sorry though, no Sturm und Drang!
Next time we will look at a couple of interesting pieces for the baryton, and the surviving works for solo keyboard.
Thanks for reading!
