Hob I: |
Key |
NC |
HRL |
Instruments |
81 |
G |
81 |
83 |
Flute, 2 Oboes, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns & Strings |
80 |
d |
82 |
82 |
Flute, 2 Oboes, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns & Strings |
79 |
F |
83 |
81 |
Flute, 2 Oboes, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns & Strings |
(Hoboken catalog N°s.) |
(New Chronology / Gerlach N°s.) |
(Robbins-Landon N°s.) |
The Tuileries Palace - Le Concert spirituel was held
on the 2nd floor under the dome[To ARTARIA & Co., VIENNA. German]
Estoras, 20th November, 1784
Dearest friend !
Don't be angry at me that I cannot fulfil any of your wants just now; the 3rd Symphony* is now ready, but you cannot have it before my arrival in Vienna because of some small profit which I shall try to make on all three. The main difficulty in everything is the long sojourn of my Prince in Estoras, even though he doesn't have much to amuse him, since half of the theatre is sick or away. So you can imagine what trouble I constantly have to amuse His Highness.You will therefore be good enough to be patient until I have the pleasure of seeing you personally. Meanwhile I remain, with profound esteem,
Your most sincere friend and servant,
Joseph Haydn [m.] pria.* Nos. 81, 80 and 79 (in that order) were published as Op. 38, 39 and 40 in March 1785. Haydn sold them to the Viennese publisher Torricella who, after having engraved the first one (No. 81) ceded the rights of all three to Artaria, who then issued them. Torricella was obviously in straitened financial circumstances at this time, and shortly afterwards went bankrupt; Artaria subsequently acquired most of Torricella's plates which were sold by public auction.
Landon: Collected Correspondence…
The entrepreneur in action. We saw last time that these works were offered to Naderman in Paris, who didn't buy them, probably realizing he had been nearly the last one out with the previous three, and now they go to Artaria. Of course, London and Berlin still wait.
More interesting to me is the vague hint of discord I get from the mention of the Prince, whose seasons in Eszterháza seem to last forever now, and this even when an apparent epidemic has decimated the artists. We haven't seen the last of Haydn's unrest; even an artificial Paradise can get old for someone who thrives in the mainstream.
It is hard to get a grip on the context for these symphonies. Clearly they weren't composed for home use, although they were very likely performed at Eszterháza from time to time. Like their three predecessors from 1782, they were composed for the world at large, and in itself this leaves a wide world of opportunity for speculation and nothing to narrow it down by. Perhaps these are an early example of Haydn's efforts to produce 'art for art's sake'? I think this must be so. And if this is true, he did a fine job of presenting his case, as these works manage to retain the individuality and personality of the composer, while at the same time offering something for many points on the great spectrum of potential listeners.
As I always do at times like these, I will take a moment to necessarily chastise the period instrument performers of the last thirty years which have apparently not got the gumption to finally record these symphonies, with the sole exception of one (brilliant) recording of #80. It is incredible to see how we get recording after recording of the standard fare, and yet this little box of gems sits over in the corner until in some distant future someone will finally realize 'oh, here is some new music…'. Sad. (EDIT!!: after so many years, I can finally come back now and say there is a period instruments recording of the last two Haydn symphonies which remained unrecorded: #79 & 81. See further down!)
Well, and let's have a look at the music ourselves then.
Hob 79 in F Major
I |
Allegro con spirito |
F |
4/4 |
II |
Adagio cantabile |
Bb |
3/4 |
III |
Menuetto: Allegretto |
F |
3/4 |
IV |
Finale: Vivace |
F |
2/4 |
With most of Haydn's symphonies, there is always something unique to differentiate each one. This one is no exception. Wait, it IS an exception, it is exceptional which is no exception to the rule. Blast! Never mind the grammar! It does have its share of uniqueness. The first movement opens up with a spirited, songlike statement of the theme, a cantilena type melody in the violins. The winds, particularly the flute, join right in the second time, and the unusual and distinctive part of this movement comes to the fore right away: I would be hard pressed to name another Haydn symphonic movement in which the entire movement, after the first 5 bars, is played by virtually all the instruments. The full texture of the orchestra predominates throughout. And a most pleasant working over of the theme ensues, very much an ensemble project. The second movement contains its own little surprises. After an opening and development much in the mode of a Haydn Adagio, just what we expect, really, lovely tune, emphasis on the strings with a little accent here and there from the winds, Haydn suddenly shifts gears into a quite zippy little Allegretto! This section fills out the remainder of the movement, even though there are a couple of indications we will return to the Adagio to close out, we never do, it's gone. Landon suggests it is a Kehraus (an Austrian dance tune played at the end of the evening, meaning 'time to go home'), and indeed it may be, but it is a surprising ending to an inner movement for sure!
The minuet uses a little echo effect at the end of each phrase, mostly played by the horns or the oboes with the violins, very attractive. The trio is in d minor, and the vague familiarity of the tune is, according to Peter Brown, because it shares a theme with Mozart's Rondo in D for Horn (K 386b), which he believes is because both are based on what may have been a well-known horn call or other tune. The finale is a rondo, which appears by this point to be Haydn's Solution to the Finale Problem which has been nagging at him for years. Not the only form he uses ever again, of course, but his go-to for nice, well-balanced finales which complement the rest of the work.
Hob 80 in d minor
I |
Allegro spiritoso |
d |
3/4 |
II |
Adagio |
Bb |
2/2 |
III |
Menuetto / Trio |
d - D |
3/4 |
IV |
Finale: Presto |
D |
2/4 |
Something I have noticed over the years, which I used to (and sometimes still) do myself, is look at a tempo indication and entirely forget it denotes a lot more than the speed of play. Most times the little modifier at the end, in this case 'spiritoso', had a very distinct and clear meaning to the musicians Haydn was writing for. It was character, more or less what the Germans called affekt, and it was every bit as important as the Allegro which precedes it. This minor key work opens like a Sturm und Drang throwback, stark and a bit harsh, with the winds and strings playing an octave apart with heavy drama. Until… the first violin and flute play a sweet little rhythmic duet for a couple of measures and then BAM! We are back in S & D again. This alternation of affekt from heavy drama to a mincing little dance is the star of this show, always (after the first couple of times) keeping you from getting a secure feel for where it's going; in the event, it never settles for either one, continuing right to the end. For me, it is an amusing opportunity to see even the best musicologists stumped. Webster calls the Ländler a 'cheap tune' and conveys strongly how pissed off he is about Haydn using it, using references to 'non matching antecedent-consequent periods' and 'all manner of peculiar keys'. For once, the concept of 'Haydn being Haydn' seems to elude even him! The whole point here is the deflation of the heated, dramatic bombast using the insipid little country dance theme. I love it!
The second movement, Adagio, also has its share of disruption in affekt. Here the alternation is between a galant and pastoral sort of theme with chirpings and other natural mood setters, alternating with sections which are clearly not, they are more songlike and dramatic. It is a subtle difference, but as Brown points out, 18th century listeners were likely to be far more sensitive to these sorts of subtleties than we are, who are raised and developed on the less-than-subtle gestures of later ages.
In another of Haydn's cyclic gestures, the d minor minuet contains some material from the dramatic parts of the first movement, ironically (for we must see it that way) the parts which were the least 'minuet-ish', and so as throughout, the affekt is sort of screwy again! The trio jumps up to D major and allows the oboe, horn and first violin to play a long series of repeated, rolling rhythms until the minuet return, da capo, and with a more dramatic aspect to the repeated first movement theme. The finale, a brisk major key Presto, is downright amusing, as even an unschooled but attentive listener can tell you that they are having hell trying to get and stay on the same beat! The syncopations don't match for the different instruments with the net result it takes them quite a while to get on the same page. One comes away with a feeling that the first violins must have been partying before the performance without their friends. When they finally get the rhythm right, the remainder of the movement goes through various harmonic exercises and a false recapitulation or two, with some excellent harmonies for the horns to a perfect close which denies there was ever any problem getting there.
Hob 81 in G Major
I |
Vivace |
G |
4/4 (C) |
II |
Andante |
D |
6/8 |
III |
Menuetto: Allegretto |
G |
3/4 |
IV |
Finale: Allegro, ma non troppo |
G |
2/2 |
No Sturm und Drang in this piece though. We are back to the world occupied by our first symphony, #79. There are certainly individual effects in this symphony too, but they don't slap you in the face as they did in the d minor symphony. The little galant tune with its ostinato bass and its rising series of eighth notes hits on some great little dissonances, reminiscent in many ways to the introduction of Mozart's Dissonant Quartet. The dissonance can be considered a characteristic to remember here, since it comes back again at various places, such as later on in this movement where Haydn puts the bass a semitone lower than the treble, causing yet another clash, yet one which manages to sound very fine. But the overall aspect of this movement, and the work in general, is a reminder of Haydn's appreciation for his (now anonymous) audience. There are choice morsels for any Kenner and an overall melodious aspect for the Liebhaber. The second movement is a theme and variations in the tempo of a Siciliano dance, very straightforward and with the variety provided as much by rhythm as by melody. This is a great little T&V, no trickery required to make it so. The lilting, pastoral rhythms of the Siciliano are ideal material for Haydn to work with. This Andante is probably the highlight of the work. The charm of minuet is based on repetition of the notes in the minuet proper, and in the trio, the repetition is of entire chords, all of which ends unusually enough with eight bars in g minor after mainly being in G major. The finale is also a mainly galant affair, using the same sort of dissonant features found in the opening movement. Overall this symphony is one which rewards both close listening, with its series of tiny dissonances, and broader listening for pleasure with its great tunes and variety of tempos and effects.
And those are our symphonies for the year. For those of you keeping score, these are the very last before the famous 'Paris Symphonies', which is for many people the beginning of the ones they know, as though these previous eighty-three were just a warmup. If they were, they are a heck of an act to follow. I think I know just the man for the job though…
Next time we'll look at some chamber music. It has been a while since we have seen any, with the exception of the Op 33 Quartets; we'll see what popped up.
Thanks for reading!