1778 – The Music part 2 – Be sensible, Pamela!

Hob. #	Genre	Key	Opus	No.	Instruments / Notes
16:36	Solo Sonata	c#	Auenbrugger #2	L 49	Solo Keyboard - Highly likely to be Fortepiano
Hob. #	Genre	Name		Key	Instruments / Notes
22b:01	Sacred Music - Responsorium	Libera Me	Deliver me, O Lord	d	Chorus, 2 Violins, Continuo -- part of a Requiem Mass

Hob. #	Libretto	Genre	Name	Instruments	History
28:08	Francesco Puttini	Italian opera (dramma giocoso)	La vera costanza True Constancy	1 or 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns, Timpani, Strings & Continuo (Harpsichord)	Performed April 25, 1779, then recreated and performed again in April, 1785.

These remaining compositions of 1778, which are but a microcosm of Haydn's output, give us a snapshot in three views of his amazing breadth. From a solo sonata, to a small piece of sacred music to a major opera; not to mention the symphonies we looked at last time and whatever else didn't survive next year's fire!

Artaria's cover of Sonata by Marianne Auenbrugger
with an ode by her teacher, Salieri

We will look more at the 'Auenbrugger' sonatas next year, since that is when four of the six were composed, and a fifth was completed from earlier times, to make the entire six-pack, which was published in 1780 and dedicated to the two amateur pianist sisters, Catarina and Marianne Auenbrugger. This year's work, in the then-uncommon key of c# minor, is, like the remainder of the set, a step up in technical difficulty from the previous two sets (1774 and 1776). There is even a place in the last movement where it turns for a bit to C# Major, which, with its seven sharps (!) plus an added double sharp in the ornaments, must have been a real handful for even the superbly talented sisters! Perhaps this entire set is best remembered for the fact that Haydn used the same theme twice; first, in the central movement of this work, then in the opening movement of Hob 39 in G. We have the letter he wrote to Artaria before publication, explaining how he wanted to forestall critics, and how he intentionally reused the theme to demonstrate different ways to vary a theme, and indeed, both of these variation movements go quite different directions after the initial statement. Maybe this was true on its face, but probably there were other motives involved, in the manner of an orator announcing his intentions for the upcoming speech. As we will see next year, this set of six sonatas was another representation to the public of just how fine Haydn's sonatas were. This third set in five years was geared to appeal to yet another side of the public in Mozart's "Land of the Piano".

It is generally acknowledged as a Haydn truism that he didn't compose a Requiem Mass. His brother composed at least two of them, with the first one, in c minor, being one of the finest of its kind, and serving as a model for Mozart later on. However, when Robbins-Landon discovered the manuscript in 1966 of a Responsory for Absolution, the fact that Haydn wasn't known for writing Requiems wasn't a sufficient argument against its authenticity, which didn't stop it from being offered. This is an a capella work with an accompaniment of organ, 2 Violins and Basso. A responsory, as you will see if you follow the link above, is a verse chanted by one of the celebrants, to which the chorus provides a response; in this case, on behalf of the deceased. So, Haydn still hasn't composed a Requiem, but a piece of one which is, like an Offertory motet, added in to the mass. This work is still very infrequently recorded, like all of the smaller sacred works, but the recording pictured is an excellent representation.

Sense and Sensibility
Haydn's opera for the year, although not performed until 1779, is one of those works which has been very difficult for listeners to appreciate ever since the end of the 18^th century. It is, then, a perfect example of having to know history and context in order to understand a work on its own terms, rather than on our terms and standards.

In the second half of the century, there were two cultural movements, which began as literary but which spread rapidly into music and the arts. The first was known as sensibility, it was essentially an encouragement to let out all of ones feelings; sympathies and empathies. The period nearly was finished by the turn of the century, but I can relate to you a couple of instances which span the entire period musically.

Even a passing acquaintance with C.P.E. Bach will bring up the topic of Empfindsam. This is an untranslatable word, only because there is no English equivalent which doesn't channel the meaning too narrowly. In the context of Bach, it is basically emotional sensitivity. Empfindsamkeit (-keit = trend) can be thought of as a subset of galant, the more well-known musical style which followed Baroque. It can be characterized as being full of feeling, often, but not always, sad. There are reports of people in salons openly weeping as Bach played, and of players themselves with tears streaming down their faces. There has always been speculation that Haydn was quite influenced by Bach, at least some of it spurred by Haydn's own statement late in life that "whoever knows me thoroughly must discover that I owe a great deal to Emanuel Bach, that I understood him and studied him with diligence". Superficially, this appears to be saying that Haydn modeled parts of his musical style after Bach. My own reading varies though: I believe he is saying that he understood Bach's musical philosophy as well as his musical style, and that is what he emulated. This is a discussion for another day though, the main point now being that Haydn was very familiar with Bach and his Empfindsam philosophy. The second example, one which comes from the very end of the 'Sensibility Era' involves our erstwhile Haydn student Ludwig van Beethoven. This quote from his student Carl Czerny is always associated in my mind with the complete picture of Beethoven: "His listeners cried because the music was so beautiful. When Beethoven caught them crying, he laughed in their faces "You fools" he would say." The point here isn't whether Beethoven was loutish, this is a given and matters not at all. It is the crying audience, the last vestige (this was in the late 1790's) of Sensibility.

A second movement also arose in the late 1740's, a literary one, which is based on the poor, lower-class heroine, sorely abused by her upper class oppressor, who maintains her virtue and positive attitude throughout the story, and at the end is rewarded for it. The original novel which inspired, not only this literary movement, but an entire large genre of operas, was Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson, published in 1740. The novels which followed are countless, and the plays and operas nearly so. If you recall the list I published of works performed at Eszterháza in 1778, La buona figliuola (The Good Daughter), an opera buffa in 3 acts by Niccolò Piccinni was another (hugely popular) example of this same style of opera.

Which brings us to La vera costanza. What this libretto by Puttini accomplishes is to blend these two trends together. The heroine, Rosina, is Pamela in every sense, only she is one of the worst-treated of any 'Pamela' you will ever see! She is used and degraded, threatened with death, verging on suicide; almost makes you feel sorry for her! But this isn't the source of the negativity concerning this opera. May I just say, to get it out of the way; the music is sublime! Haydn puts some of his finest efforts into this work and it shows. Neither is the fact of it being a "Pamela Opera" a source of frustration for critics. The main charges have to do with the character of Count Errico, Rosina's secret husband. As the story unfolds, the worst sides of him are readily exposed. And where he is expected to be a strong character (it fits with the expected conventions of dramma giocoso), he instead becomes an hysterical ninny with wildly raging fits of temperament. Traditionally, this has been attributed to some incipient madness. And it disappoints, if your expectations were thwarted. In her essay, Sense and Sensibility in "La vera costanza" (in Haydn Studies), Jessica Waldoff demonstrates convincingly that this perception of Errico's character is way off target. He is, in fact, a perfect representation of our first cultural phenomenon above, the personification of sensibility. And in that context, his anomalies are suddenly transparent and we can see him for what he is. Puttini and Haydn have joined together here and brought two prevailing themes of late 18^th century culture together into a fine opera. One you should make an effort to listen to. As far as I know, the only recording is still the Dorati on Philips, which has the saving grace of being very well done!

In closing, I just want to lean again on the value of context in helping us to understand art. I think the reason there is only the one recording, for example, is because many modern commentators, including Robbins-Landon, didn't understand or apply the context to this opera. Their comments make it seem as though the perceived weakness of one of the main characters makes the whole work unworthy of performance. If this was true, then the earlier version of the same opera by Anfossi wouldn't have been so wildly popular, it is because the contemporaries understood the plot and characters. Nor would Haydn's version have been translated into German and French and played for many years before the popularity of 'Pamela' operas in general waned. And sensibility works disappeared entirely by the turn of the century. Knowing this context, though, gives one the ability to appreciate the art on its own terms, and isn't that the least it deserves?

Next time, the year the opera house burned to the ground!

Thanks for reading!