Haydn Seek

1781 – The Music part 1 - Attribution & Reception

Hob I:	Key	NC	HRL	Name	Instruments
73	D	77	77	La chasse	Flute, 2 Oboes, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns (in D & G), (2 Trumpets in D & Timpani) & Strings
Hob#	Key	Genre		No.	Instruments / Notes
7d:4	D	Concerto		2	Horn & String Orchestra – Composer unknown

This is a fine year for variety, even if we say the present concerto belongs to an earlier time. One of Haydn's most popular symphonies, a new set of string quartets and a set of twelve songs with keyboard give a broad view of a composer heading out on his own. Hard to believe he is forty-nine years old already! So let's, as always, begin with the orchestra.

Hob. I:73 – Symphony La chasse (The Hunt)

I	Introduction: Adagio	D major 3/4	Allegro	D major 4/4
II	Andante	G major	2/4
III	Menuetto: Allegretto - Trio	D major	3/4
IV	La Chasse: Presto	D major	6/8

It is interesting to see bits of Haydn's late style rooting and growing in the soil of the early 1780's. Here, for example, we see the slow introduction, now not only being fully integrated into the first movement, but also being used for something special. While I will always passionately avoid digging into theoretical aspects of music, which are frankly beyond me anyway, I can say quite simply the introduction here will establish we are in D major, and yet it will throw in a few notes which cause uncertainty, even to those who don't know why this might be. And then when the Allegro starts, a few critical tones are raised up a half step which only further increases the tension being created. This is classic late period Haydn, and it is also classic 'all-period' Beethoven. In short, we are now hearing a modern symphony unwinding before us.

Modern, but also very much in its time, since two of the movements are from other places, and two are brand new. No, honestly, we aren't going to see Hob 1a:4 again, I promise! In the first movement, we find Haydn developing from his little germ cell, in this case a little motive of three eighth-notes followed by a downbeat. Sounds simple, what can one do with that? Well, if you are a genius, you can turn it into an entire movement which varies in its harmonies instead of its melodies or even rhythmically. In fact, I'm damned if I can hear a melody in there anywhere, and yet, I don't miss it. You won't be whistling this tune on your way home from the concert!

If I knew, knew that I
were even a little dear to you,
and that you felt for me a hundredth part
of what I feel for you!

            Gegenliebe – Gottfried August Bürger

Jumping time just a bit, I will tip you off; in 1784, Haydn publishes a second set of 12 Lieder for Voice & Keyboard, following upon the first set, published this year. But he actually intended to publish all twenty-four of them together, and in fact had completed much of the second set before being detoured by the exigencies of business. And one of the songs in the second twelve, one of the traditional favorites, is called Gegenliebe (Mutual [or Requited] Love) Hob 26a:16. And it is this melody which forms the basis of the second movement Andante. Which came first, the chicken or the egg, the song or the symphonic movement, is really not the issue, although it has been studied to little avail. The lyric of the song is a cross between melancholy and hopeful, and the orchestral version of the music expresses that dichotomy by turning it into a rondo, in which the statement of the song is in a major key and can seem like the positive side of the poet, while the episodes of the rondo are in the minor and seem to stand for the more introverted aspects. See, even a staunch classicist like myself can think like a Romantic under the right circumstances! The minuet and trio, while charming in their own way, possess none of the extraordinary features we have almost come to expect from Haydn, beyond a very important establishment of the key of D for the first time, so we will merely enjoy them and move to the Finale. Quick, someone go wake up the trumpeters and timpanist!

Now we come to the part which Haydn appears to have constructed this lovely framework in order to feature, the celebrated overture (as they said in those days) to La Fedeltà Premiata; no longer an overture here, but a rousing Finale instead. Haydn retained the trumpets in D and the timpani from the original opera, and along with the urging of the brilliant horns, the game is afoot! For all the excitement generated by the leading horns, though, musically this is a very straightforward movement, always solidly in D major, the earlier chromatics and instabilities long resolved and no longer nagging at the back of our minds. And this itself offers the explanation for the structure. I think Peter Brown settles it nicely when he says this symphony is a truly integrated cyclic form, beginning with tonal instability and hints always of possibly being in G major instead of D. Haydn resolves the G major issues by making G the key of the second movement Andante, and then he goes on to make the minuet and Finale both solidly and undeniably in D, so that there is no feeling of incompleteness when this symphony becomes just the second and final symphony of Haydn's which ends in a quiet whisper. Perhaps the death of the stag metaphorically matching the musicians blowing out their candles as a gesture of Farewell…

Haydn, certainly Haydn…
Hob 7d:4 (?) – MH53 (?)

Concerto in D for Horn & String Orchestra

I	Allegro moderato
II	Adagio
III	Allegro

Year/Date of Composition     1781?
First Publication         1954

You can often tell the age of a musicology text about Haydn. If it talks about 'reception' of Haydn's works by his contemporaries or subsequent cultural generations, then it is almost certainly from after 1980. But if it talks about 'authentication', then it is equally surely from before 1980. Try it and see. So, does this mean all the authentication issues have been resolved by our predecessors? Equally, and more philosophically, are authentication and reception somehow different? Let's use the present work as an example.

Everyone loves a horn concerto. Haydn's #1 (Hob 7d:3) and Mozart's four, along with Antonio Rosetti's great oeuvre are all justly popular, and even any other one which comes down the road, like Michael Haydn's Concertino (MH134) of 1768. And yet, when it comes to this particular work, I was quite surprised to discover that recordings are rather thin on the ground, especially period instrument versions, which is always a tipoff that something is up. And of course, some basic research quickly showed what I had feared; we don't know who wrote it! If one reads today's literature, like Anna Leverenz' doctoral thesis from 2011 about the Debated Authenticity of FJ Haydn's Concertos for Horn or 2004's The Haydn Tradition by Dwight Blazin, or most recently, Robert Wrigley's Joseph Haydn (?): Attribution and Reception, all three of which can be found and downloaded online, then other than a stirring up of the facts under discussion 30-50 years ago, they read more like a discussion of the techniques of earlier researchers than like research itself. And to be fair, it could well be because the answer will never be found and thus continuing the search is a waste of time. Even so, is it fair to let this concerto languish? What can be extrapolated from the evidence presented, what conclusions can be arrived at?

In the briefest possible nutshell, let me recap what we know. In or around 1781, the music publisher Breitkopf of Leipzig published the incipit of a concerto in their catalog, and attributed it to "Hayden". Traditionally, since Joseph was the elder and better known of the Haydn brothers, "Hayden" referred to him by default. The manuscript, however, came from a well-known cache of manuscripts known as the Exner Collection, which is now known to be notoriously unreliable as to attribution of works. Some people took this attribution at face value, some did not. The reasons for accepting or not ranged from concern over the source to the always tenuous 'stylistic' ones. An example of this is the minor key Adagio second movement. Just because the minor mode is never used in another Haydn concerto second movement, doesn't mean he didn't use it this time. On the other hand, maybe it does mean precisely that, and thus excludes J. Haydn as a potential composer. It is the inability to draw conclusions from stylistic observations which makes them far less valuable than we would hope. If one were an insurance actuary, this argument would eat your bread of life, I'm sure: one can't predict future events by past ones, thus rendering statistical prediction less valuable also. Precisely the same scenario.

The currently most reliable (read: latest and greatest) catalog of Michael Haydn's works, Sherman & Thomas, lists this work as MH53, but doesn't really discuss it much beyond that. It is a thematic catalog, not a musicology text.

Anthony von Hoboken listed it as VIId:4 (VIId = horn concertos). If he thought otherwise, he would have called it VIId:Dx where Dx = the next in number of horn concertos in D major attributed to J. Haydn.

This Michael Haydn is the Concertino MH134

In an earlier essay, I discussed the probability of Haydn writing Concerto #1 for Joseph Leutgeb, and the series of events which led to us having one copy of it saved for posterity. As always in such cases, there is more to the story which time didn't permit me to relate then. Leutgeb's main source of income in the early 1760's was playing concerts as a horn virtuoso in Vienna. Between November 27, 1761 and January 28, 1763, he played no fewer than fourteen different horn concertos at academies (i.e. - concerts) at the Burgtheater. On July 2, 1762, he played a concerto by Michael Haydn. Michael was newly arrived back in Vienna after an extended period of employment for the Bishop of Grosswardein, Hungary. Long story short: that concerto, which is believed lost, has been given the MH # of 53, in the event it should be rediscovered. It has been postulated that our current concerto is indeed that one.

One of the most reliable, thorough and accurate musicologists I know of has his own blog, mainly discussing Mozart. But peripherally, Michael Lorenz also discusses Haydn issues, in this case through the common denominator of Leutgeb. Here are a couple of brief extracts from this very interesting article:

Leitgeb (Leutgeb) seems to have owned a whole collection of autograph scores of which Haydn's concerto (Hob 7d:3) was "nummer 6". When Leitgeb was hard pressed for cash during the last decade of his life, with the Austrian monarchy approaching the 1811 state bankruptcy, he (or his widow) was obviously forced to sell the valuable autograph to Archduke Rudolph, from whom it came to the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde.

And this:

It seems likely that Leitgeb also owned the autograph scores of other concertos he performed at the Burgtheater. The horn concerto he performed in Paris in 1770 which was claimed to be his own composition might well have been Michael Haydn's lost work. After all, similar to Joseph Haydn's wife seven years earlier, Michael Haydn's wife also was the godmother of one of Leitgeb's children: Maria Magdalena Victoria Leitgeb, born on 23 December 1769 in Salzburg….

So current status quo: Maybe it is Michael Haydn.

What isn't postulated in all this discussion is the probability of this work actually being Horn Concerto #1 by Joseph Haydn. We know Haydn was loose on the streets of Vienna between the time he left Count Morzin's employ and began working for the Esterházy's in 1761. We also know he wrote many concertos during the period from 1755 to 1762. There is no doubt this work is not from 1781, it is stylistically from the very late 1750's or early 1760's. So, since everyone is tossing 'could-be's' around, I will add this one. Based on the quality of the horn writing and similarity of it to the horn writing in his Morzin divertimenti and symphonies, and the overall similarity of the work to other contemporary concerti by Haydn, along with the original attribution to "Hayden" which has never been discredited, I believe it is Joseph Haydn's actual first horn concerto, from the 1760 time frame.

Ultimately, reception and authenticity are inextricably linked. One only needs to look at the history of another discredited set of works, the Opus 3 quartets, which went from being sublime to being dung when it was demonstrated they were by Roman Hofstetter instead of Haydn, to see this is so. With this in mind, I will close this overlong essay with a quote from the liner notes of the recording by Thomas Fey and the Heidelberger Sinfoniker, where Eckhardt van den Hoogen says of this work:

Two concertos for one horn, and one concerto for two horns [by FJH] from this same period have vanished completely from the radar. The rediscovery of these three works would be at least as valuable a task as the identification of the author who was responsible for this concerto, which is neither 'dubious' nor 'inauthentic'.

Have a listen and see what you think! Next time we will talk about Haydn's first string quartets in a decade. Are they really the official beginning of the Classical Era?

Thanks for reading!

1781 – The Year an Entrepreneur is Born

 

Title page of Hummel's Op 33, which he called Opus 19

It has been a long process of maturation, but this is the year when we will finally begin to see the man Haydn will become in a few short years. When he had finally worked himself into a position by 1779 to be able to leverage a new negotiating stance in his contract with the Prince, the hidden aspect which had been missing finally came to the surface; the Entrepreneur!

Of course, he still fulfilled his duties, and they seemed to have been ceaseless. Here is a list of operas for the year. As you remember, each and every one was revised to suit the circumstances of performance at Eszterháza, so they each represent a fair amount of time and effort, considering they always appear to have been composed by someone else!

Italian operas:

69 performances total, of which six were new operas and four were repeated from earlier seasons.

 The new ones:

Giuseppe Haydn	La fedeltà premiata	17 performances
Pasquale Anfossi	Isabella e Rodrigo	16 performances
Giovanni Paisiello	L'avaro deluso	16 performances
Gennaro Astaritta	Il Francese bizzarro	5 performances
Vincenzo Righini	Il convitato di pietra	5 performances
Niccolò Piccinni	La schiava riconosciuta	1 performance this year

As is usual, Haydn made significant changes in all of these works, in addition, of course, to composing the first one outright. Some of the insertion arias still exist, mostly they are either in fragments or lost altogether, or even, in some cases where there is no composer indicated, cannot be proved as Haydn, despite him being the only composer in town! But the Eszterháza performance material is still intact, and the many changes in key or pitch, orchestration and reorganization can be seen in the handwriting of Haydn or Ellsler, his right-hand man. A note about the Righini work: Il convitato di pietra translates to 'The Stone Guest', it is an earlier (than Mozart) version of Don Giovanni, and by all accounts quite a bit bloodier at the end!

Outside of the operatic world, we see Haydn, the budding entrepreneur, not only composing, but negotiating with his publisher, selling manuscripts, performing 'in the critical houses' to sell himself and his music; in short, acting like a man building a new career independent of the mainstay attachment to the Prince. And this is exactly what he was!

Of course, 1781 will always be remembered as the year of the Opus 33 string quartets. A considerably long time after their publication, even up to the present day in some cases, these works are considered the beginning of the so-called 'Viennese High Classical' era, serving as an artificial construct to help people who need an event as a milestone. The 'written in a new and entirely different way…' letters have probably been given weight far beyond reality insofar as being markers of time, but one can listen to them and clearly hear the new Haydn, who (unsurprisingly) was a more skilled composer in 1781 than in 1771!

His other works of the year, XII Lieder for Klavier & Voice, are equally brilliant in their own way. Although they are not the genesis of a whole new genre, giving cause to call Haydn the Father of the Lied, they are still a significant milepost on the road leading to Schubert and beyond. And as we will see, much of the criticism which has attached over the years is based on nothing more than some perverse inverted bitterness that they aren't, in fact, Schubert!

The overture of La fedeltà premiata will find continued life as the finale to one of Haydn's most popular pre-London symphonies, and we will also take a look at a case history of one of the constant problems of dealing with Haydn's music, the authenticity of the Horn Concerto #2 in D, is it or isn't it Haydn, and if so, which Haydn? We haven't seen this problem crop up since the early Esterházy days, mainly because many of the problematic works have been decided by earlier generations. But this debate still rages on.

Anton Walter
by Friedrich Gauermann

There is documentary evidence for a visit by Anton Walter, fortepiano maker, which finally confirms what we have believed for a long time; there was a fortepiano at Eszterháza already.

His bill, dated 3^rd March 1781:

I the undersigned, worked 12 days repairing the clavier and harpsichord instruments, per accord two Gulden for each day, makes a total of twenty-four Gulden.

Esterhaz, 3^rd March 1781        
Anton Walter, Organ & Instrument Maker

 Countersigned: These clavier and harpsichord instruments have been examined closely by me and found in order.

                            Josephus Haydn m. pria
                            Capell Meister.

At the very least, we can surmise that the grand harpsichord which played the continuo at all the opera performances had burned up and was now being replaced by a Walter Grand Fortepiano. So states Landon, and it is hard to disagree with the circumstances. However, the tenor of the bill, with its 'repairing the clavier and harpsichord instruments' makes me read this as a repair call for presently existing 'clavier' instruments also. Not being nearly as conservative in my interpretations as Landon, I will go out on a limb here and say this was far more than the mere delivery of a new instrument (which it likely was also) but a much needed 'oil change and sparking plugs' for existing instruments. The additional fillip to this story is if Walter was there for the twelve days preceding 3 March, then he was undoubtedly present for the première of La fedeltà premiata. One wonders at his reaction to it, if any.

On April 12, Metastasio died. An era was over. Even though Haydn only set one of his libretti, L'isola disabitata, he arguably benefitted more from his brief relationship with Metastasio, from 1751 to 1756, than from any other single relationship in his life.

Artaria's first edition of the XII Lieder for Clavier & Voice

 Haydn wrote often to Artaria about his Lieder texts, he clearly was spending an inordinate amount of time selecting them, and in the process of writing he mentioned several interesting historic facts. He had had a letter from [Joseph] Le Gros in Paris, Director of the Concert Spirituel, telling him that the Stabat Mater had been performed there four times to the greatest applause; ultimately they made an offer to engrave and sell all of his works for the Paris market at very favorable terms for Haydn. One wonders if this tidbit was not slipped into the letter for strategic reasons, as a reminder to Artaria that there were other fish in the sea, and hungry ones at that!

There is also this one letter which I will expand on in a later essay, but which includes this paragraph, addressed to Artaria himself:

I pray you especially, good Sir, not to let anyone copy, sing or in any way alter these Lieder before publication, because when they are ready, I shall sing them myself in the critical houses. By his presence and through the proper execution, the master must maintain his rights….

There is really only one interpretation of the phrase 'critical houses', and this would be the important salons, which we discussed earlier. So, Haydn didn't merely attend salons to party and network, he also performed there.

Of course, the other major composing event of the year was the completion of the Opus 33 quartets. Here, the entrepreneur is hard at work, selling manuscript copies:

I take the liberty of asking you to do a small favor for me. Since I know that there are in Zurich and Winterthur many gentlemen amateurs and great connoisseurs and patrons of music, I shall not conceal from you the fact that I am issuing, by subscription, for the price of 6 ducats, a work, consisting of 6 Quartets for 2 violins, viola and violoncello concertante, correctly copied, and WRITTEN IN A NEW AND SPECIAL WAY. I haven't composed any for 10 years, I did not want to fail to offer these to the great patrons of music and the amateur gentlemen. Subscribers who live abroad will receive them before I print the works. Please don't take it amiss that I bother you with this request; if I should be fortunate enough to receive an answer containing your approval, I would most appreciate it, and remain,

    Most learned Sir,

Your ever obedient

Josephus Haydn m.pr.

Fürst Estorhazischer

Capell Meister

Vienna, 3rd December 1781.

Is this the same Haydn we have grown to know in the last 30 years? Where did this entrepreneurial spirit come from? Here is something to explore over the next decade and a half. Certainly, this side of his personality is something which aroused discussion and controversy even while he was still alive. As we will see, right since the beginning he was a combination of eloquent salesman of his product and devious shark, preying upon the pirates of business with as much avidity and deviousness as they had used against him. It should be an interesting showdown!

Next time, chasing down a concerto!

Thanks for reading!

1780 – The Music part 2 - Goddess or Nessie?

Hob. #	Libretto	Genre	Name	Notes / Instruments
24b:5		Aria	Dice benissimo	Replacement aria for 'Lumaca' (Baritone) in La scuola de'gelosi by Antonio Salieri
28:10	Giambattista Lorenzi (modified for Haydn by an unknown hand)	Dramma pastorale giocoso (a comic opera with pastoral qualities)	La fedeltà premiata or Fidelity Rewarded	Flute, 2 Oboes, Bassoon, 2 Trumpets, 2 Horns, Timpani, Violins I & II, Viola, Cello, Violone and Continuo (Cembalo)

The castle itself was in an uproar as a result of the new theater. Armies of masons, architects, roof-layers, glass-makers, upholsterers, stage designers and painters descended on Eszterháza. There was enormous jealousy between the architects and the confusion rose to a raucous height when the rival architect won and, at the end of February and beginning of March, 1780, all the main walls were taken down and redone from new plans. Nothing seemed to be going right. To seal the tiled roof from rain, one of the contractors put on a fascinating mixture of 'Braunrot' (red earth), linseed oil, ten buckets of beer and six buckets of oxblood – a mixture which he considered would make the roof absolutely watertight. This was, by now, August of 1780. Shortly thereafter a shattering thunderstorm broke over Eszterháza and rain poured for three days and nights. The water soon seeped in to the newly decorated theater. The Princely Grenadiers worked day and night to save the interior: they went and got their bedclothes which they put over the new furniture (for which they were handsomely rewarded by the Prince). The damage was soon cleaned up but later in the Autumn another storm came, and they ended up building a completely new roof under the tiled roof with its beer and oxblood [sealing] mixture! Tempers were frayed all the autumn as the proposed [opening] date of October 15 drew near. The day came, but the theater was a shambles of gold leaf in buckets, stage designs, half-executed costumes… and so it was not until 25 February, 1781, that Haydn's brilliant new opera opened the beautiful new theater at Eszterháza, its new decorations gleaming in the candlelight.

           H.C. Robbins-Landon: Liner note to Dorati's 'La Fedeltà Premiata'

Yet another reminder of this basic rule of life: even a Prince who can buy anything else still can't buy time! Having spent several years of my life in the construction business, this entire passage brings back a flood of memories and rings totally true to life. I can easily imagine the chagrin!

Thus was born Haydn's most popular opera buffa from the Eszterháza years. It was given seventeen times in 1781, and multiple times thereafter. Yet it is interesting to see the criticism it has received in modern times, with its 'unbelievable plot' and story lines. In fact, most operas had elements of the unbelievable. And many had monsters, for that matter. Mozart's contemporaneous Idomeneo being a case in point. But even the sternest modern critics don't fault the music though, it was brilliant then and it is brilliant now. Here is a thumbnail of the story line. As it happens, I'm a big fan of lake monsters, so it all seems reasonable to me! The plot is part thriller about lovers being sacrificed to the monster, part burlesque sending up pseudo-classical and early romantic emotions. So it has come by its comedy designation quite honestly.

The characters:

Celia, her real name being Fillide	mezzo-soprano
Fileno, lover of Fillide	tenor
Amaranta, a vain and arrogant lady	soprano
Count Perruchetto, a count of extravagant disposition	bass
Nerina, a nymph, fickle in love, enamored of Lindoro	soprano
Lindoro, Amaranta's brother	tenor
Melibeo, High priest, in love with Amaranta	bass
Diana, goddess of The Hunt	soprano

The people of Cumae worship Diana, goddess of hunting and chastity. Their rites however have been defiled by a nymph whose treachery has brought a curse on them. To propitiate the angry goddess, two faithful lovers must be sacrificed each year to a lake monster until a faithful lover can be found to offer his own life. Needless to say, fidelity is at a premium in Cumae, and victims are hard to find.

Melibeo is presiding over preliminary rites on a day of sacrifice, assisted by Lindoro and Nerina, who have been having an affair, but now Lindoro is tired of Nerina and hopes for a liaison with the shepherdess 'Celia'. Lindoro's sister Amaranta, recently arrived in Cumae, comes to worship. She is on the look-out for a lover but startled to hear of the risk in true love. Melibeo explains that High Priests are exempt, so she might like to hook up with him. She agrees, on condition that he favors her brother's suit with Celia. Perrucchetto arrives claiming to have been chased by robbers. He sees Amaranta, and she, him, and they instantly fall in love (Perruchetto being a Count helps). Melibeo is not happy!

Young shepherd Fileno mourns the death of his beloved Fillide (Celia), whom he believes was killed by a snake. He is told by Nerina of Lindoro's desertion and she begs him to plead on her behalf; Fileno agrees (not realizing that Celia is actually his beloved Fillide).

Celia arrives with her sheep in search of her lover Fileno and sleeps amongst her flock. Nerina returns with Fileno, who, to his amazement and delight recognizes Celia – alive and well. He is unaware of the fatal penalty awaiting faithful lovers, but Celia, spotting Melibeo waiting to pounce, spurns Fileno to save his life: naturally he is angry and desolate. Fileno, intent on self-destruction, goes off followed by Celia, who is followed by Lindoro and Perrucchetto, who sees in Celia a more enticing prospect than Amaranta, who in turn is offended and turns back to Melibeo. Perrucchetto, rejected by Celia returns to make peace with Amaranta but then chases Nerina, infuriating Amaranta.

Holy cow!!!

And in that little nutshell, the entire plot lies exposed. See how simple that was? We will be treated to Diana, goddess as monster, and a hunt recreated on stage, where Fileno will prove his quality. The Opera House at Eszterháza became justly famous for its 'latest and greatest' stage machinery, but this was the first time it was used. It must have been quite a spectacle at the première!

As we will see next year, the brilliant overture to this opera was used again as the finale of a symphony, #73 in D. What can be underappreciated in this factoid is that the main horn call used to simulate the hunt is not simulated at all, it is an actual ancient horn call, the French one called La vue. It would have been blown when the quarry was sighted. Since the Prince was an avid hunter, and hunting was a large part of life at Eszterháza (a former hunting lodge, after all), he would have appreciated this little bit of authenticity.

Haydn uses the horn in other symbolic ways, too. For example, proficiency in the hunt is associated with bravery and loyalty. The hunting music and hunting imagery is associated with Fileno, and symbolize these traits in his character. And when Celia is thinking about Fileno, her aria Deh soccorri un'infelice uses a beautiful muted horn solo to represent her thoughts of him. Also in 1780, we see the insertion aria Dice benissimo for 'Lumaca' in La scuola de'gelosi by Antonio Salieri. Here, Haydn uses horns based on the then-well-known pun for 'cuckold's horns' which he associates with Lumaca, showing him to be the cuckold. Haydn's use of horns throughout his career has been the subject of much study, and rightly so. If one is interested in this topic, there is a web page devoted to historic brass which has essays available for you to peruse. You would only appreciate Haydn's genius that much more!

As with all of Haydn's operas, this one has not been performed often in modern times. There are three recordings though, two of which I have pictured here. It was also performed at England's Glyndbourne Opera in 1979, but the original plan to film it for television broadcast fell through due to a broadcast workers' strike. It is a work which would stand up well to a modern performance, the story is funny and interesting, the plot convoluted yet intelligible, and the music fantastic. We can always hope.

Next time we will move the whole show ahead into 1781 proper, some nice music will again present itself, and we will be there to listen!

Thanks for reading!

1780 – The Music part 1 - Music Appreciation then and now

Hob I	Key	NC	HRL	Name	Instruments
62	D	75	75		Flute, 2 Oboes, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns, & Strings
74	Eb	76	76		Flute, 2 Oboes, Bassoon, 2 Horns, & Strings

 

Vienna in 1780

What was the audience for Haydn's symphonies in 1780? Of course, we all know about the Prince, but by now, Haydn's fame has extended far beyond Eszterháza; his symphonies are being played as far afield as the Concert Spirituel in Paris and all the major venues of London, at the very least. And what of Vienna? Is there any stirring on the home front?

As always, Vienna is not particularly kind to its own. Perhaps it takes them for granted, who can say? Certainly, Haydn was recognized as a fine composer, but of course, he is a little strange, being a foreigner and all. It seems somehow disorienting to read, in an article about the Concerts Spirituel in Paris; "… Joseph Haydn, whose symphonies were on nearly every program…" while for Vienna, one has to go to an English traveler who surveys the cities of Europe for the purpose of informing London. Charles Burney, in his The Present State of Music in Germany &c. was among the earliest to recognize the genius of Haydn and present it to the world. His interesting accounts of hearing Haydn's symphonies being played as entr'actes during performances at Vienna's Burgtheater are some of the earliest mentions of Haydn outside of the Esterházy archives. Although it should be noted that these weren't presented in the form of 'a new sinfonia by Joseph Haydn', rather, they were merely used as space/time fillers, for which he had to make laborious inquiry as to their provenance. Ah, Vienna!

Here, then are the two new symphonies of 1780. I would add the Overture to La Fedeltà Premiata to the list, but we will be discussing it next time in context. Haydn and Artaria did release it as a separate work though, and it is Hob 1a:17.

Hob. I:62 D major

I	Allegro	D major
II	Allegretto	D major
III	Menuetto: Allegretto – Trio	D major - d minor
IV	Finale: Allegro	D major

Instrumentation     Flute, 2 Oboes, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns in D & Strings

It has been a long time since Haydn wrote a symphony where all the movements are in the same key. The last one I can remember was #34 way back in 1763, a Sinfonia da Chiesa which was, maybe not coincidentally in the same key of D, although it began in d minor and ended in D major. It is safe to assume this was not done unintentionally though, there is a calculated artistic reason for it. What, you think I know what it is? Sorry…

It has not been a long time, however, since he used the Overture in D (Hob 1a:7) as a part of a symphony, and so, here it is again for your listening pleasure! Not identically, of course, but re-orchestrated with the wind parts expanded, and with a part now for a flute, which he didn't have available before. I don't know, but I am nearly sure this will be the last time we have a use for this movement, I hope he doesn't make me eat those words in a year or two!

The second movement, though, is something we haven't heard an example of before, despite it being one of the most popular musical forms in Europe at the time: the Italian Barcarolle, the song of the Venetian gondolier. What would Haydn do with it, though? Naturally, he turns the tables a bit on our (and the Prince's) expectations and takes the most prominent characteristic of the song, the rich melody, and seems, somehow, to forget it! Instead, he weaves accompaniment together in a sort of ethereal web which is quite uncharacteristic. I have read about Mozart's piano concertos that he had a few sorts of characteristic central movements, one of which is called a 'dream-like' sort of movement. A great example is the C major concerto #21, the so-called 'Elvira Madigan' movement. I think in some ways this Allegretto fits that style, although clearly in a Haydnish mode rather than Mozartian! To continue his joke, every time he gets to a place where he can and does try to start a melodic phrase, it immediately gets drowned out and washed away by the orchestra! However, while this little joke is going on, the orchestral interlude is gradually accreting instruments, some playing in invertible counterpoint, and the net result is a movement of great sophistication which defies the expectations of the listeners. It is without doubt the focal point of the piece. He follows this up with a minuet which has a problem: no downbeat to be found! As we saw earlier when talking about Symphony #68, which also uses this device, it would later be used again, and most famously in Symphony #92, the Oxford Symphony. Clearly Haydn kept a little stash of things he discovered and liked, and used them over from time to time. It makes this minuet stand out, despite its demureness.

The Finale: Allegro, seems to reflect the last five or six years of working with Italian operas. Despite using parts which have become Italian clichés, such as 'Lombard rhythms' which he gives his own touch to, constantly moving the downbeat around so the length of the measure becomes uncertain. As always, he manages to present us with a superb ending to an interesting work which manages to use the 1775 overture yet again without in any way incommoding the listener.

Hob I:74    Eb major

I	Vivace assai	Eb	4/4
II	Adagio cantabile	Bb	2/4
III	Menuetto e Trio: Allegretto	Eb	3/4
IV	Finale: Allegro assai	Eb	6/8

Instrumentation     Flute, 2 Oboes, 1 or 2 Bassoons, 2 horns (in Eb & Bb alto), strings

From the three solid hammerstrokes at the beginning to the quiet response, one might believe that Symphony #74 will be another Italian opera-influenced work like the finale of its mate, #62. But in the event, it isn't so. What it really is, it would seem, is another tour de force example of Haydn taking next to nothing and making it into a cogent essay in a way no other composer of the time could match. With the Eb horns leading much of the way, it reminds one of earlier times, but made better now by the addition of the bassoons (1 or 2? I see it both ways!) which greatly enrich the tone color in the range just above the basso. While this is a movement you can hum, it isn't really highly melodic, but it alternates texture between rich and lean, mainly strings or mainly winds.

If the second movement of Symphony 62 employed a Barcarolle sans melody, then #74 goes to the other extreme, being more like a serenade with melody to spare! We know serenade is a mixed sort of a word, Sometimes it is like the Salzburg/Viennese orchestral works of Mozart, but other times it is the guy playing guitar and singing under the balcony of his would-be sweetheart. This one is both of those, starting as a duet with the muted violin being the 'singer' and the cello being his guitar. Suddenly though, the horns in Bb alto take over and lead an orchestral version. Then back to the 'singer', then back to the orchestra. It is a picture of contemporary life which cannot have failed to charm listeners then or now.

The trio is the high point of the minuet, being an extended duet between the first violin and the first bassoon. At different points one or the other voice takes over and lends its tone color more prominently. I like this little trio, it offers something unusual to listen to, as Haydn's menuets each seem to uniquely do. The finale is in gigue time (6/8) and offers a long procession of musical jokes, no doubt hilarious to the Kenner amongst the listeners, but a bit too arcane for the average Liebhaber. Still, it is a very nicely put together movement which offers a different approach at the finish instead of the more common mad dash Presto.

So there is some of what our oblivious Viennese were being presented in 1780. I hope to say I enjoy it far more than they apparently did. Next time we will look at the big opera for the year, and maybe get to slay a dragon along the way.

Thanks for reading!

1780 – The Year of Love at Last!

There is more than one way to interpret a word like 'eventful'. If we are thinking in terms of 'a lot of great things happened', then 1780 wasn't really an eventful year. But if we are looking towards a few, important, life-affirming happenings, then this was at least a moderately eventful year.

As you recall, the opera house was currently defunct, so it is well to keep in mind the not unimportant factor that for the duration of the year, operas were performed in the Marionette Opera building across the road. That may seem incidental until we look at the performance schedule for the year. While there is no complete schedule such as we looked at in 1778, the Esterházy archives allow us to piece together one for the operas, at least.

Anfossi's La forza della donne premièred in February and had thirty-one performances through October. Haydn did quite a lot of adaptation, including transposing some arias and adding one, possibly of his own (autograph missing). He also added wind parts to an aria for Polzelli to dress it up a little. Another Anfossi opera, La finta giardiniera was introduced in October, and four more times afterwards. It, too, received extensive adaptation by Haydn. This same opera was set in Italian in 1775 and again this year in German by Mozart.

Other performances included La vendemmia by Gazziniga, performed nine times, La scuola de'gelosi by Salieri, performed thirteen times, and for which Haydn composed two insertion arias, one of which, for Polzelli, is now lost, or at least the text is lost, and the other, not for Polzelli this time, is Dice benissimo for the character Lumaca (Baritone). In all, four new operas and four operas from previous seasons were staged in the little Marionette Theater. In the second group was L'isola disabitata, receiving its second and final performance, in main because Costanza (Barbara Ripamonti) left the troupe that year, not returning until 1785. So, Maestro Haydn prepared and conducted a total of ninety-three operas in 1780 in the friendly, if a bit too cozy, confines of the little puppet house!

Even though it isn't spoken of out loud, Haydn and Polzelli were an item, and in the world of such things, a long lasting one. One need only look at the lavish attention paid to her rôles, which were far more custom tailored to her ability than was usual even for Haydn, and were also dressed up with instrumental parts which were sure to cover up any weaknesses she might have had, to know this was so. And finally, in December, when the Prince was going to release her and her husband from their contracts, he suddenly reversed his decision and they were allowed to stay. Their relationship lasted until the Prince's death in 1790, and even afterwards, when Haydn went to England and she to Italy, they remained in touch. Finally, even though Haydn never publicly acknowledged it, her younger son, Antonio, born in 1783, was nearly certainly his son. One could fairly assert that finally, in his 48^th year, Haydn was happy in love!

In addition to the great volume of patchwork on operas, Haydn did have a few musical exploits of his own. As well as overseeing the publication of his keyboard sonatas for Artaria, he managed two symphonies and one quite large opera, La Fedeltà Premiata.

The project looming in the background of the year was the rebuilding of the opera house. As we saw, the cornerstone was laid on the Prince's birthday last year, and in no time construction was under way. The original schedule called for completion in early October, and so La Fedeltà Premiata was put on the fast track. However, when you read about the interiors, the red marble columns, marble fireplaces, gilded ceilings, statues made for the purpose, not bought; well, no fast track needed, really. In the event, the building wasn't completed until February of 1781, and so the première was postponed, since it would have never fit into the puppet house!

While avoiding a great deal of detail, I have tried to make it clear here that Haydn's life now, and for the next ten years, is that of an opera impresario. I think this is under-emphasized by biographers eager to paint him as a primarily instrumental composer doing a little hobby opera on the side. If anything, it is precisely the opposite. But while judging his relative happiness with this sort of rôle in life, it is important to keep in mind his stated interest of being a vocal composer. Indeed, for now, that's exactly what he is!

Next time we will have a look at the pair of symphonies for the year, along with the overture sinfonia to La Fedeltà Premiata, which would, of course, be released as a standalone work.

Thanks for reading!