1775 – The Music part 2 - Testing, 1, 2....

Hob	NC	HRL	Key	Name	Instruments
68	65	65	Bb		2 Oboes, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns (Bb & Eb) & Strings
67	66	68	F		2 Oboes, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns (F & Bb alto) & Strings

Haydn is hard on me. I've been going through his symphonies (and other music) quite intensively for the last few years, more so since I've been writing about them. And every time I take on a new group, when I look at the score and listen to bits of it over and over, each and every time I say 'damn, this is the best thing yet!'. In the first two symphonies of this year, I have to say, it's all good, of course, but certain bits and pieces, well, damn, this is the best thing yet!

Hob 68 – in Bb

I      Vivace                            3/4
II     Menuetto & Trio             3/4
III    Adagio cantabile in Eb    2/4    
IV    Finale: Presto                 2/4

As seems to often be the case with Haydn's symphonies, so much of dating relies on inference, what can only be called circumstantial evidence. Our next work, Hob 68, is a case in point; it is dated to the cusp of 1774/75 because it uses two bassoons, which weren't employed by Esterházy before then, but it doesn't use a flute, which was employed shortly thereafter. Sometimes, narrowing the range from 1773-81 to 1774/75 is built on some bit of paper in the archives with hiring dates on it. Bless you, file clerk; any benefit works for me!

Getting back to the bassoons for a moment, here, Haydn uses the two of them in a soloistic fashion in the first and last movements, which is a rather forward looking technique, much relied on down the road. But in an effort to restrain himself from heading back to the future, he uses a very lean orchestral texture and places the minuet in second position, much as he did 10 years previous. I think this dichotomy of past vs. future is a standard feature in Haydn which indicates his interest in being totally grounded while exploring new avenues of artistic expression. But hey, that's just me…

If you want to jump the rails of time a little bit, go on to 1789 and listen to Symphony 92, the Oxford Symphony. Note the superlative minuet, which, in the trio, misplaces the accents in relation to the bar line. The result is a totally eccentric and engaging joke which you can't quite tap your toe to! Now, listen to the trio of our present #68 and see where this idea was born. Good ideas lived and developed in his head and came out later, which we shall see more of very soon.

The 3^rd movement, Adagio cantabile, is one of the more remarkable slow movements by a composer known for slow movements. It plays out at length just in the muted violins, the melody seemingly unpredictable and hard to pin down. The 2^nd violins, meanwhile, are playing the equivalent of an ostinato bass line, abetted occasionally by the entire orchestra for a bar at a time. If you want to jump on the time train again and ride on to the station marked '1793', the same ostinato idea underlies the  Andante of Symphony #101, which led to its famous name, The Clock!

The superb finale of this symphony features something for everyone in the orchestra. It is a contredanse, one of the rousing group line dances so popular at the time. Since it is a rondo, we know the tune will always come back; since it is Haydn, we know it will be different each time! The first episode features the bassoons playing their solo parts. The second is led by the oboes. The third is played by all, but is a minor key drama, like the symphonies of 1770. Finally, in the extended coda, pretty much everyone in the band gets to play at least a measure or two solo. It is a fine ending to an interesting work.

Hob 67 in F

I    Presto                          6/8
II   Adagio     in Bb            2/4
III  Menuetto & Trio           3/4
IV    Finale:
    Allegro di molto            2/2
    Adagio e cantabile       3/8
    Allegro di molto            2/2

According to Gerlach, this is probably the first symphony fully composed in 1775. Some authors think it may be a pastiche of orchestral parts from a play or other dramatic entertainment, given some specialized unique qualities. It doesn't have an introduction, for example, and starts right out in a fast 6/8 time, almost a gigue, something which symphonies of this period rarely do. It is in many ways like a symphonic finale of the time. The Finale, on the other hand, uniquely in Haydn's symphonies, is in the form of an overture. One speculation about the finale is it was the overture to a marionette opera, otherwise lost. What we appear to have, then, is a symphony which begins with a finale and ends with an overture! If it was anyone but Haydn!

Which is not to say there is anything lacking in this work, the opening movement is a typical 'chasse' sounding work, with plenty of good action for the horns and violins. It is quite substantial with nice rhythmic variety. The second movement, Adagio, starts out rather clipped and staccato, but as it grows from this opening, it becomes more and more lyrical. The lyricism and the staccato detachment present an opposition which essentially carries the piece forward. Eventually, the detachment loses out, but not before putting up a good fight! Right down at the end, Haydn looks fifty years or more ahead in time, and has his orchestral strings play the theme once more, but this time col legno battuto (tapping the strings with the wood of the bow), something which was still unusual when Berlioz famously used it in Symphonie Fantastique in 1830! Take that, Hector!

The minuet is not unusual, seems like you've heard it before, it is a classic. But the trio is unlike anything you've heard in a symphony. It is essentially a duet for two violins. But not just that: they are both con sordino (muted), and the first violin plays una corda (on one string) while the second violin plays scordatura (with a string tuned down). The 2^nd tunes his G string to be an F, and plays a series of pedal notes (a long sustained note) to simulate a drone like a bagpipe, meanwhile the 1^st plays an eerie tune that uses up most of the range of the one string he plays on! The 2^nd is also accompanying the 1^st in double stops (i.e. - producing 2 tones) and so the work truly is a trio! Like I said, unique.

The finale has its own brand of uniqueness. To begin with, it has its own central slow movement, Adagio e cantabile for a string trio, making it like a miniature three movement work. In the, uh, finale of the finale, there are extended solo sections for the string trio of two violins and cello, which are then countered with similar solos for two oboes and bassoon. When they eventually merge, the effect is rather like the ritornello of a concerto. Nowhere does Haydn fully use the standard development form of the sonata. Truly a unique piece, and a great ending for a very remarkable symphony.

Next time, we will look at the final two symphonies of 1775. Meanwhile, if you have recordings of these two works, do yourself a favor and listen closely. I bet you will be saying, here and there; damn, this is the best thing yet!

Thanks for reading!