Haydn Seek

1784 – The Music part 3 - The salons; if you can make it there...

Hob. #	Genre	Key	Tempo	Title - German	Title - English	Poet
26a:13	German Lied	F	Andante	Jeder meint, der Gegenstand	Everybody knows	Ph. G Bader
26a:14	German Lied	Bb	Allegretto	Lacher nicht, Mädchen	Don't laugh, girls…	Anon
26a:15	German Lied	G	Moderato	O liebes Mädchen, höre mich	Hear me, dear maiden	Anon
26a:16	German Lied	G	Allegretto	Gegenliebe	Requited (Mutual) Love	G.A. Bürger
26a:17	German Lied	g	Adagio	Geistliches Lied	Sacred Song	Anon
26a:18	German Lied	F	Un poco Andante	Auch die sprödeste der Schönen	Even the most aloof beauty	F.W. Gotter
26a:19	German Lied	E	Adagio cantabile	O fliess, ja wallend fliess in Zähren	Flow of tears	Anon
26a:20	German Lied	C	Allegretto	Zufriedenheit	Contentment	J.W.L. Gleim
26a:21	German Lied	Eb	Largo	Das Leben ist ein Traum	Life is a Dream	J.W.L. Gleim
26a:22	German Lied	a	Andante	Lob der Faulheit	In Praise of Laziness	G.E. Lessing
26a:23	German Lied	A	Cantabile	Minna	Minna	J.J. Engel
26a:24	German Lied	E	Largo	Auf meines Vaters Grab	On my Father's Grave	Anon

[To ARTARIA & Co., VIENNA. German]

Estoras, 3rd February 1784
Nobly born, Most highly respected Sir !

I shall send you the missing Lieder next Friday or Saturday; I would only ask you to let me know the key of the final printed Lied, and how its text begins, so that I can decide the keys of the ones to follow. Meanwhile I remain, Sir, most respectfully,

Your wholly obedient servant,
Joseph Haydn.

N.O. Please present my compliments to the Bavarian house¹ and Herr von Hoffmann.

N.B. I have mislaid among my papers the print of the Lieder you sent me long ago, and cannot find it any more.

         Herr Rosenbaum² is asked to expedite this.

         1 It is not clear what is meant by the "Bavarian house".

2 Prince Esterhazy's porter.

                              HCRL 'Collected Correspondence…'

 [To ARTARIA & Co., VIENNA. German]

  Estoras, 1st March 1784.

        Dearest and best friend !
       The day after tomorrow, this coming Wednesday, you shall certainly receive the Lieder. Yesterday my opera Armida was  performed for the 2nd time with   general applause. I am told that this is my best work up to now. ….

                         Respectfully,
                        Your wholly obedient servant,
                  Haydn

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Singing Lieder in the salon, Cimarosa at the keyboard
Gaspare Vizzini

Knowing what we now do about all the things going on in Haydn's life, the interesting fact to be gleaned from these two letters; "you shall have… by Friday or Saturday…", with February 3 being a Tuesday, now stretched out to a month or more, is explicable to us. The première of Armida, at the very least, fell between these two letters. No doubt other things too which demanded the attention of the Kapellmeister well above any mundane concerns such as private enterprise. If Artaria thought they were merely being put off by a procrastinator, little did they know how much it was the opposite!

Once again we visit Councilor von Greiner, from whom Haydn commissioned "three tender new texts, because almost all the others are merry in spirit; the subject matter should also embrace sadness, so that there is light and shade, as with the first twelve". And indeed, there is a range of feelings encompassed in these songs, many of which are merry, but seriousness of spirit, matched by the accompanist with some evocative phrasing in the keyboard part, ensure the singer will be able to vary the mood of a recital very nicely indeed.

Which brings us again to the salon, where such a recital was certainly intended to occur. I feel this was the unheralded spawning ground for much of what is exceptional in Haydn's music when it comes to the aspects of intimacy and pleasing the listener. I know it is unlikely for everyone to have a great familiarity with the private aspects of late Eighteenth century Viennese music-making. And why not? I have been reading musically oriented materials for nearly thirty years and barely had more than a passing familiarity with the salon myself until I began to systematically search for information. What I found opened my eyes towards not only Haydn, which was a real surprise, but also expanded my picture of Mozart, who is more well-known as an habitué of Vienna's salons. In attempting to come up with a concise metaphor tied to the modern experience, I found it difficult to conjure a modern analog for what was the nexus of artistic, philosophical, literary, scientific and political networking! In these days of the Internet, when ideas spread faster and ever so much further than a speeding bullet, we are hardly able to fathom the difference of pace which existed in the last days before the Industrial Revolution changed the world forever.

A highly recommended performance of these Lieder

I have always been fascinated with the way affairs of state and those of culture can influence each other so completely they become indistinguishable. One scarcely hears about salons in Vienna before the mid-1770's, and for good reason; there weren't any! And yet, in France they had been flourishing since well before the reign of Louis XIV. The turmoil and fallout from the War of Austrian Succession, which ended up (yet again) redrawing the map of Europe was directly responsible for also creating détente between two centuries-old enemies, Austria and France. In 1756, the two countries settled some old scores by signing one of the long series of treaties made at Versailles. Maria Theresia's most trusted advisor at this time, Prince Kaunitz, had, in the course of his duties as ambassador to France, become something of a Francophile. When he returned to Vienna, he brought various things with him, one of which was the salon. As I mentioned in an earlier essay, another major factor in the spread of the salon culture was the fact of a woman being on the throne. Since salons are essentially run by women, in a state where women are not empowered, such a place as Austria certainly was, the bare beginnings of an idea would have been smothered, as indeed they may well have been in earlier times.

The child Mozart performing in a salon - 1765 - Ollivier

All of this gives some idea of why the French influence was so prevalent in Austria. It is still rather difficult to find writings specifically about Vienna, or paintings of salonnières, other than in Paris. In topics and substance though, there will have been very little difference between the two. During this period, pre-Revolutionary Paris was a fashion and arts model for Vienna, as well as many other major centers of Europe. And the ties were made stronger over time; let us not forget, Maria Theresia's daughter, Marie Antoinette, had another name: Queen of France!

How all of this affects music in general and Haydn in particular is, of course, our main interest here. I won't undertake the task of overturning two centuries of misperception of both Haydn and Mozart, but a lot of the evidence from their salon lives would refute the old truisms from the 19^th century. The idea of both of them being some sort of idiot automata who had no thoughts or interests beyond writing music can be disproved by even a cursory examination of their activities and contacts in the salons of Vienna during the 1780's. As we have already seen, for example, the lyrics for the twenty-four Lieder came from Greiner. And down the road, when we finally arrive at Haydn's composition of Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser, the lyrics are by Lorenz Leopold Haschka, who became acquainted with Haydn as early as 1784 at Greiner's house, where he served as a resident poet and live-in lover of the lady of the house, Charlotte. Even though Haydn was also writing music for publication now, it was being premiered in the salons first. You can bet these twelve Lieder are among those played. And the upcoming accompanied sonatas and string quartets. As were some of Mozart's piano concertos. His three concertos of 1783 (KV 413-415), which he proudly told Leopold were written in such a way as to allow them to be played as chamber music as well as full orchestra works, were very likely also played by him and his students in the salons.

Playing an accompanied sonata - Lancret
Note yet again the Enlightenment Sunshine!

In Mozart's case, if not in Haydn's, this venue was his chance to expand his corps of sponsors, highly important for a man who made his living as an independent musical contractor. One final note in closing this essay; Freemasonry was able to spread completely through the arts and intelligentsia community of Vienna by way of the salon network. All of the major, influential Masons were also members of the prominent salons.

I know I have gone on at length about this topic, even though still only scratching the surface, since this will probably be my last essay which keys on it, and I hope only that you might have become interested enough in this cultural icon to want to check it out. The influence they had on the music you love, as well as science, art and literature and political ideas which influenced the next two centuries, is inestimable.

Next time we will look at 1785. Things are really getting busy now, if Haydn hasn't bit off more than he can chew, it will be interesting to see how he manages it.

Thanks for reading!

1784 – The Music part 2 - Home at last: some chamber music

Hob. #	Genre	Key	Instrument(s)
04:06	Divertimento á tre	D	Flute, Violin (or 2 Violins) & Cello
04:07	Divertimento á tre	G	Flute, Violin (or 2 Violins) & Cello
04:08	Divertimento á tre	C	Flute, Violin (or 2 Violins) & Cello
04:09	Divertimento á tre	G	Flute, Violin (or 2 Violins) & Cello
04:10	Divertimento á tre	A	Flute, Violin (or 2 Violins) & Cello
04:11	Divertimento á tre	D	Flute, Violin (or 2 Violins) & Cello

If you aren't including string quartets, a genre all their own, it has been a considerable time since we have seen any chamber music flow out of Haydn's quill. He seems to have given himself over completely to the concept of being a composer of 'big music'. Which is all well and good until you start trying to earn a living selling symphony scores to your average music lover to play at home. Plenty of music publishers went out of business proving this point, enough to make Haydn think twice about his reply when Artaria, Forster and Hummel et al, asked for take-home versions of his works. And this is what we see this year, and for years to come.

Even though the concept of 'art for art's sake' was not an Enlightenment principle, it being a nineteenth century Romantic concept, still, it must have grated to some extent on Haydn to see really good work, which he had slaved over in earlier times, get used once and tossed away like so many fish wrappers. So, when in early 1784 the London publisher William Forster asked Haydn yet again for a set of trios for flute, violin and cello, the overly busy composer, never one to turn away a lucrative offer, had just the thing. He took some music which would have been entirely new to England, highlights from his opera Il mondo della Luna, which had been sitting on the shelf since its last performance in 1777 and parts of a Baryton Trio from 1771 and fashioned it all, along with some brand new music, into a set of six flute trios.

It is unfortunate to have lost track of the correspondence between Haydn and Forster which led up to these works. We don't know much about Haydn's personal opinions concerning the flute. When he finally got one of his own, we can be sure he was delighted to have added orchestral colors for his band, but there is no record of any statements on his part, or of music especially built around, the transverse flute. So Mozartians have this great line in the letter to Leopold to build upon: You know I become quite powerless whenever I am obliged to write for an instrument which I cannot bear… while Haydnistos have to just make do with fine music.

Frederick the Great playing flute concertos at Sanssouci

Whether these were Mozart's true feelings or if he was just being a drama queen to put off his father, as has been argued, is not as important as the question of the lack of universal regard for the instrument. There is no doubt, however, outside of Austria, at least, the flute was achieving its first great wave of popularity by the late eighteenth century, this emanating from its epicenter, the World Flute Headquarters of Frederick the Great, Schloss Sanssouci, and into France and England. And Forster wished to take advantage of this popularity. The works which Haydn provided, even though rather hastily assembled, proved in the event to be very popular, so Forster had judged his composer and his audience very well indeed! Landon supposes, very reasonably, that these works provided the impetus for noble flautist Lord Abingdon to commission the 'London Trios' for two flutes and cello during Haydn's second London visit in 1795.

Here are the works, with a rundown of their origins:

Divertimento in D major, Hob 4:6

I	Adagio cantabile	arrangement of the Sinfonia (#12) from Act II of Il mondo della luna
II	Allegro	arrangement of the Chorus Uomo felice (#15) from Act II
III	Tempo di menuetto

Divertimento in G major, Hob 4:7

I	Allegro	arrangement of the aria Se la mia Stella (#24) from Act II of Il mondo della luna
II	Adagio
III	Allegro

Divertimento in C major, Hob 4:8

I	Allegro moderato
II	Poco adagio	arrangement of the aria Quanta gente che sospira (#25) from Act II of Il mondo della luna
III	Finale: Presto

Divertimento in G major, Hob 4:9

I	Adagio	arrangement of the 1st movement of the Baryton Trio #97 in D
II	Scherzo	arrangement of the 6th movement "
III	Finale: Fuga: Presto	arrangement of the 7th movement "

Divertimento in A major, Hob 4:10

I	Andante con espressione
II	Adagio
III	Tempo di Menuetto	arrangement of the balletto (#23) from Act II of Il mondo della luna

Divertimento in G major, Hob 4:11

I	Allegro moderato
II	Adagio
III	Vivace	arrangement of the balletto (#14) from Act II of Il mondo della luna

So, we see Haydn basing fully half of the eighteen movements on earlier work; recycling at its finest! They could be played by two violins, but the tone color provided by the flute would be sorely missed if it was gone. We will be speaking about the entire topic of transcriptions for the purpose of making 'domestic music' fairly often in future. Right now in 1784, we are seeing the beginning of a major change in the musical establishment which had persisted for centuries in Europe. This is Haydn's contribution to the Music Revolution, his own first little ripple to add to the tidal wave which will wash over musical Europe within the next twenty years!

 

One of several great versions of these works

 

Hob. #	Genre	Key	Landon Number	Instrument(s)
15:05	Accompanied Sonata	G	18	Keyboard, Violin & Cello
15:06	Accompanied Sonata	F	19	Keyboard, Violin & Cello

Another part, certainly the main one, of the wave we see above consisted of a passion which enveloped all of Europe, finally including Vienna itself, for the genre they called 'accompanied sonatas'. Today, due to nineteenth century influences, we call them 'piano trios' or 'violin sonatas', but make no mistake, they are keyboard sonatas to which an accompaniment, not always obbligato, was added for a violin and/or a cello.

Haydn had been being bombarded with requests for some of these types of work ever since he became established as an independent contractor. In a rush to comply, now that work on Armida was finally over, he sent off a trio which he probably, judging by its style, had on hand, though unused. He added two others to it, also sitting around doing nothing, and sent them off to London. The first of these works was our present Hob 15:5 in G. I say it was probably completed earlier because several commentators have said it before me, but I find it to be a perfectly charming work, especially the inner movement, a surprising Allegro, which gives the work the unusual tempo balance of slow-fast-fast. This nearly ten minute long Allegro is clearly set up to be the centerpiece of the work. The Adagio ma non tanto opening movement is less than four minutes, and the Allegro finale a mere two and a half. It is a very interesting work though, and a nice return to a genre he had left behind when it was still a Baroque relic.

The other two works sent to London, though, remain a low point in Haydn studies. Haydn didn't compose them, they were by Ignace Pleyel, his long-time student, now gone off to Paris. He had probably sent them to Haydn for review purposes and they remained sitting in the work room in a pile until Haydn needed something quick to send off to London and added them to Hob 5 to make a set of three. Ten years from now, when we get to London, you will hear the rest of the story. Moralists ever since have claimed the high ground on this, we have yet to see where I will end up.

One from my favorite set of the Trios

Hob 15:6, on the other hand, is a gem of a work, in two movements (Vivace & Tempo di menuetto). It had become fashionable in the 1780's for these types of works to have two movements with no slow movement. And while Haydn conceded this point to fashion, he did not concede intricacy and art! As we will see next year when the remainder of this set of three is assembled, it is classic Haydn. The violinist, unlike in the usual run of Hausmusik violin parts, had better know his way around a fiddle!

There were two probable venues for this music. The first would be our old favorite, the salon. The music was easily good enough for this more 'public' venue, connoisseurs and music lovers alike would have been a fine audience for socially precocious young ladies and their accompanists. And for the less well connected stay at home types, a wonderful medium for family-and-friends music parties and a chance to attract young beaus. In short, they were music with a purpose, and they fulfilled it admirably!

Next time, some different varieties of Haus and salon music.

Thanks for reading!

1784 – The Music part 1 - It's a big world out there!

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

A very nice #80

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, 18^th 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

Finally, a #81 (and 79) done as they should be!

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!

1784 – The Year of the Haydn/Bach Feud that wasn't

It is impossible, of course, to sum up an entire, productive, year with a few extracts from correspondence. But letters were a big part of the year, and we start out with these three letters to present a snapshot which is surprisingly encompassing.

[To ARTARIA & Co., VIENNA. German]

Estoras, 1st March 1784.

Dearest and best friend !
The day after tomorrow, this coming Wednesday, you shall certainly receive the Lieder. Yesterday my opera Armida was performed for the 2nd time with general applause. I am told that this is my best work up to now. ….

respectfully,
Your wholly obedient servant,
Haydn

~~~~~~~~~~~~

[To NADERMANN, MUSIC PUBLISHER IN PARIS* (in German)]

Nobly born,  Most highly respected Sir !
Since you, good Sir, accepted three of my Symphonies last year, I offer you once again three brand new Symphonies, very diligently composed and neatly and correctly copied, for the price of 15 ducats; I would deliver them by the end of November. If, good Sir, you accept this offer, I shall devote my energies to delivering to you at the first opportunity the pianoforte piece which you asked for in your last letter. In the hope of receiving the favor of an early reply I am, with the most sincere esteem, Sir,

Your wholly obedient servant,
Josephus Haydn.
Estoras, October 25th, 1784

*Nadermann bought out Boyer, who had bought Haydn's works in 1783 following the letter we saw.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[To FRANZ PHILIPP VON WEBER, Hofsecretaire AND MASTER OF CEREMONIES AT THE MASONIC LODGE "ZUR WAHREN EINTRACHT", VIENNA (German)]

[Only the signature autograph]

Nobly born, Most highly respected Herr Hoff Secretaire,
The highly advantageous impression which Freemasonry has made on me has long awakened in my breast the sincerest wish to become a member of the Order, with its humanitarian and wise principles. I turn to you, Sir, with the most urgent request that you have the kindness to intervene on my behalf with the Lodge of the Order, in order to implement this, my petition, as indicated above.

I have the honor to remain, with profound esteem,
Josephus Haydn
CapellMeister to Prince Esterházy.

Vienna, the 29th of the Christmas Month, 1784.

In our first piece of a letter, we see two events which have occupied Haydn for a good while; the culmination of the three year gestation of the second group of 12 Lieder for Keyboard. I don't imagine he foresaw in 1781 that it would be March, 1784 before they were complete. Busy fellow! The second, and larger, event was, of course, the production of Armida. The first performance was February 26, 1784, and fifty-four more performances followed, through 1789, easily making this his most successful work at home.

There were 104 opera performances in '84. The season began with the premiere of Armida, but it wasn't the only opera seria of the season. After last year's Giulio Sabino by Sarti got the ball rolling, this year his La Didone abbandonata followed with 9 performances. Like Armida, and something which I didn't mention last year, this opera used a crowd of 'extras', including 24 of the Prince's grenadiers to stage the battle scenes; twelve were 'Moors' and twelve others were 'Trojans'. The premiere had to be postponed for two days so the soldiers could take fencing lessons. Times change!

Also on the list were the usual dramma giocoso comedies from such familiar names as Pasquale Anfossi, Domenico Cimarosa and Francesco Bianchi, and reruns of popular favorites by Sarti, Haydn, Cimarosa and Paisiello. One other opera besides Armida which was a big hit for the year was Luigi Bologna's L'isola di Calipso abbandonata ('Calypso's Desert Isle'), which, with 41 performances by 1789, became #2 on the All-Time Top Hits after Armida.

We haven't spoken about drama in quite a while, but it would be a pity to overlook the Diwald German Theatrical Troupe. There are at least a dozen different plays performed this year by German playwrights, and even two Shakespearean translations, those perennial favorites, Macbeth and Hamlet.

One of the great documentary benefits for opera researchers came in 1784, when, for unknown reasons, Haydn made a list of the operas he had on hand and ready for performance at the time. There are 73 titles, including 11 of his own! In addition, there are five marionette operas. I am not planning to follow this up in detail here and now, just making note of the information and marveling at the fortuity of the survival of this unusual document.

There was certainly other music for the year, also. On January 31, Artaria announced the publication of 14 Menuets de Ballabili (Hob 9:7), scored for Flute, 2 Oboes, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns, Timpani & Strings. It is fortunate I am not given to ranting, because like so many others of Haydn's dances, these haven't been recorded, and this despite the fact of the scores being easily available! If that isn't worth a rant, I don't know what is! It wouldn't take much over three or four CD's in a box for some small period instruments orchestra to be able to release the entire oeuvre of dances and marches. But no, we are much more in need of more London Symphonies; they have barely been touched yet…

"Tobias and Raphael bringing back the fish"
Adam Elsheimer c1610

Sorry about that. This year, Tonkünstler-Societät (Musicians' Society) asked Haydn to reprise his successful oratorio of 1775, Il ritorno di Tobia. He thoroughly revised the work, making substantial cuts in the longer numbers to tighten up the action, and also composing two outstanding new choruses. It was performed in Vienna in March (22 & 29). To show how widespread Haydn's fame was becoming, the original version was being performed in the Court of Portugal in Lisbon on the 19^th!

It is believed by many musicologists that these performances are where Haydn finally actually met Mozart. Players for this version included some names well known from Mozart's later operas; Nancy Storace, Catharina Cavalieri and Valentin Adamberger. Also Carl Friberth came back and did the 2^nd performance, reprising his role as Tobia from nine years earlier. Once again, and probably more deservedly, the oratorio was an outstanding success and raised a considerable sum for the Society.

Given my particular tastes in history and music, one event of 1784 has intrigued me more than any other since I first read of it years ago. Another name which frequently shows up with Nancy Storace's in any discussion of Mozart in the 1780's is that of an Irish tenor named Michael Kelly. He was a highly successful singer and usually played the lead role opposite Storace. He was also prominent on the musical/social scene and knew everyone and everything going on in Vienna. In 1826 he published his autobiographical Reminiscences in which appears this intriguing paragraph which has colored the relationship of Mozart and Haydn ever since:

    [Stephen] Storace (Nancy's brother) gave a quartet party for his friends. The players were tolerable; not one of them excelled on the instrument he played, but there was a little science between them, which I dare say will be acknowledged when I name them:

The 1^st Violin …………….. Haydn

The 2^nd Violin ……………. Baron Dittersdorf

The Violoncello …..…...…. Vanhal

The Tenor (Viola) …...…… Mozart

The poet Casti and Paisiello formed part of the audience. I was there, and a greater treat, or a more remarkable one, cannot be imagined.

 On the particular evening to which I am now specially referring, after the musical feast was over, we sat down to an excellent supper and became joyous and lively in the extreme…

'An 18th century quartet party' Henze (Degas Museum)

Hard for any music lover to read this and not wish to have been there! Given the time between the event and the recounting of it, musicologists ever since (in a fit of jealousy, I'd wager) have questioned aspects of this story. For me, the swapping of the roles of the violinists would be the only thing I would offer. Ditters was one of the preeminent violinists of the time, and Haydn would have been delighted to play second fiddle to his old friend. No one seems to doubt it happened though, and to me, the light it casts on what was entertainment for musicians and specifically how the relationship between Haydn and Mozart could have been conducted within the limited time available to Haydn. Another thing lending credibility to the story, in my view, is the members of the audience. Casti was a librettist, Court Poet Laureate in fact, and Paisiello was in town to set one of Casti's opera librettos, Il re Teodoro in Venezia. Shortly after this, Kelly and a couple of friends went off to Eszterháza for a three-day visit with Haydn, and he tells of the Prince sending them out for a tour of the grounds in a carriage with Haydn as guide. 1784 was the year the estate was finally completed, and by Kelly's description, the Prince had every right to be very proud of his accomplishment.

 Haydn was also paying the price of fame, which is that famous people get written about, true or not. European Magazine, in October 1784, published a long, anonymous, article about him. It is so full of errors, it becomes easy to see why there were so many misconceptions about the real Haydn. One in particular, a totally bizarre criticism, had some influence at the time, although it was later discredited. It accuses C.P.E. Bach of being part of a cabal who criticized Haydn's music (in the late 1760's and early '70's). It goes on to say Haydn never complained about it, but his answer to their criticism was as follows here:

    This anecdote will account for a number of strange passages that are here and there dispersed throughout several of the sonatas that have been reprinted in England from the German copies, of which we shall point out the few following passages by way of illustration. Among others, Six Sonatas for the Piano-forte or Harpsichord, Opera 13 & 14, are expressly composed to ridicule (C.P.E.) Bach of Hamburg. No one can peruse the second part of the second sonata of Op 13, and the whole of the third sonata in the same work, and believe Haydn to be in earnest, writing from his own natural genius, and committing his chaste and original thoughts on paper. On the contrary, the style of Bach is closely copied, without the passages being stolen, in which the capricious manner, odd breaks, whimsical modulations and often very childish manner, mixed with an affectation of science, are finally hit off and burlesqued.

This bizarre story, which goes on at length, really must be read in its entirety to be fully appreciated. The sonatas referred to here, Hummel's Op 13 & 14, are the ones we know today as Hob 16:21-26 (Op 13) and 27-32 (Op 14).

And as we began with letters, so we also end with some. Bach actually wrote this open letter to the Hamburg Unpartheiische Korrespondent to refute some of the greater bizarreries which pertained specifically to him:

My way of thought and my occupations have never allowed me to write against anyone: the more I was astonished about a passage in a recent article in The European Magazine in England, where I am accused in a mendacious, crude and shameful way of having written against the good Herr Haydn. According to my news from Vienna and even from members of the Esterházy Kapelle who came to me, I must believe that this worthy man, whose works continue give me much pleasure, is surely as much my friend as I am his. According to my principles, every master has his true and certain value. Praise and criticism cannot change any of that. Only the work itself praises and criticizes the master, and therefore I leave to everyone his own value.
Hamburg, 14^th September, 1785 C.P.E. Bach

C.P.E. Bach

While such scurrilous writings are amusing today in retrospect, at the time, when information traveled more slowly (note to youngsters reading this: this was 1784 BB (Before Broadband)), a lot of damage to people's reputations was done this way. Note also the dates; it was fully a year before Bach's reply was published, another sign of the pace of information exchange!

The final event of the year also has fateful overtones, since we have the benefit of knowing the future. On December 18, Emanuel Schikaneder and his German opera company presented, at the Kärntnerthortheater, a German translation of Haydn's La fedeltà premiata. The Emperor and the whole court were there, according to newspaper reports. So were the Mozarts.

The Wiener Zeitung reported 'the house was so full six hundred people had to be turned away'.

And the Wiener Blättchen writer says 'with the excellent music of a Haiden and the right performance of it, the work could not fail to gain general applause'.

Finally, the Wienerische Kronik chimed in on the general chorus with 'on Dec. 18 Schikaneder and Kumpf gave an opera, Die belohnte Treue by Haydn, this man who is just as unappreciated as Handel whom the English, after his death, gave a place in the royal vaults of Westminster Abbey so that, as a wit observed, posterity could know where the kings of England lie'.

And not to forget to mention, in 1784 Haydn received a commission to compose six symphonies for Paris. If you recall our last letter, reproduced at the beginning of this novella, Haydn applied for membership in the Freemasons, obviously after giving it some thought and talking to people in the Society. Within just a short time, the Masonic lodge in Paris solicited business from him. Coincidence? We shall see in due time.

So, 1784 promises to be a big year, let's go ahead and have a look at the fine music Haydn produced for it. Next time, three secret symphonies.

Thanks for reading!

1783 – The Music part 3 - Armida, drama queen!

Hob. #	Genre	Name	Instruments / Voices	Libretto
28:12	Opera seria Dramma eroico per musica	Armida	2 Sopranos, 3 Tenors & 1 Baritone - 1 Flute, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns or Trumpets, Timpani, Strings & Continuo	Combination of several settings, mainly Antonio Tozzi; finally edited by Nunziato Porta – story by Torquato Tasso

Rinaldo & Armida - Francesco Hayez (1813)

Just last year, when I was looking at Orlando paladino, I found myself bemoaning the fact that the story itself, a huge hit in Haydn's time, was practically unknown to us today, and so many of the assumptions made by the composer and librettist were invalidated by the different audience. And today we find we are dealing with nearly the identical situation with Armida; for who among us is fluently familiar with Torquato Tasso? Not I, thank you for asking. And yet, his epic poem, Jerusalem Delivered (La Gerusalemme liberata), was every bit as famous as Ariosto's Orlando furioso!

Naturally, there were many opera settings derived from this triumph of poesy. As with the Orlando saga, a story of knighthood and chivalry was a leading contender for the public of the time, in fact it still garners interest today. And when tied to the Crusades and a beautiful sorceress, what more could you ask? Apparently not a lot more, since a list of the more prominent settings includes these composers, a few of whom you no doubt will recognize: Lully, Handel, Vivaldi, Traetta, Jommelli, Salieri, Sacchini, Gluck, Mysliveček, Haydn, Sarti, Rossini & Dvořák! So what was this story which resonated so persistently through the last 400 years? 

Since Tasso lived after Ariosto, he was able to take some advantage of what was, in hindsight, the strength of Orlando; the chivalric aspects. Many of his descriptions of Rinaldo echo those of Ariosto's Orlando and his cohort. But Tasso went further and also incorporated the style and some actual features of the timeless Homeric descriptions of warfare of The Iliad, certainly a tested quantity of enduring popularity, then and now. Ultimately though, the simple fact of Tasso being an extraordinary poet carried the day for him and outweighed the fairly turbulent events of his life and lifestyle and made him a success for the ages.

I would suspect each of the Armida/Rinaldo operas are pretty much variations on a theme, that is, the story is relatively short and succinct, bounded by time, unlike Orlando furioso, which can (and does) go on forever! Jerusalem Delivered is about… Jerusalem delivered, an historical event, and thus defined. However, the distinctions come from the music, the depictions of the characters and display of their emotions through the developments of tone and harmony. Just the sort of thing which plays most into Haydn's strengths! Here is the story of the story;

Essentially we are looking at a love story between the sorceress Armida, partisan of the Saracen king, and the Christian knight Rinaldo. Idreno has prevailed upon Armida to bewitch and subsequently capture or otherwise disable the Christian knights, who are mounting a siege of Jerusalem intended to free it from the Saracens. Being beautiful, and a  witch to boot, she is quite good at completing her mission, suffice to say. Then, the downfall; she has captured some of Rinaldo's knights, but he arrives and frees them. Armida and Rinaldo are like flame and gasoline, however, and in that moment everything changes for both of them. While he is totally in her thrall, she is equally madly in love with him and won't betray him to Idreno. He is so besotted that he agrees to lead Idreno's army against the crusaders, but his friend Ubaldo pleads with him and eventually convinces him to leave Armida and return to the Crusader camp. It is the monumental standoff between love and duty, and duty wins. In all the settings of Armida, there are one of two ways which end the story. Either Armida, suicidal over her tragic love of the lost Rinaldo, ends the opera with a great solo scena, and then gets saved from suicide by Rinaldo at the end; which is the Armida abbandonata type, or an ensemble of main characters sings a farewell finale. It is this second type which Haydn chose, rather sadly in my opinion, although it is a very good, if brief, ensemble.

This was the last, arguably best and certainly most popular opera which Haydn wrote for Eszterháza Opera House. It was not his last opera nor his only opera seria as has been said here and there. Those honors go to his London opera, L'Anima del filosofo. But it was certainly the crowning achievement of the Esterhazy years. It was the Prince's favorite opera during the remainder of his life, receiving fifty-four performances in the last half of the '780's. It was also very quickly translated into German and performed all through that part of Europe.

Why did Haydn choose to set Armida? More importantly, perhaps, why opera seria, why now? The move towards seria from buffo, never really a takeover as such, began as early as 1776 with the performance at Eszterháza of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, then, in 1779, Haydn's own Metastasio opera L'Isola disabitata. Even though neither of these azione teatrales is an actual opera seria, they are both much more in that mold than anything we saw from Paisiello or Righini or even Haydn, up until now. An opera seria was a well-defined thing in the 18^th century mind. It was a dramma per musica, a 'drama with music', usually with six characters, in three acts. The plot was usually historical (or quasi-historical), and was large-scale and usually tragic. You had to have a king or similar substitute. The musical interest was usually concentrated on a series of 'exit arias', which were dramatically arranged situations which left one character on stage at the end of each scene or series of scenes to close out the action with an aria. The main action, meanwhile, was carried along by recitatives, mostly unaccompanied by orchestra (secco = dry).

Up until now, the closest Haydn got to seria was the inclusion of characters in his buffo operas who were seria types; i.e. – nobility, and giving them music which was tailored to their stereotyped role expectations. Thus we saw characters like Angelica and Medoro in last year's Orlando paladino, both nobility, and having music which reflected their status. All of this was initiated by the hiring of two seria specialists, soprano Matilda Bologna and tenor Prospero Braghetti to sing those roles. It is very possible to imagine their expert performances of the seria roles in Orlando gave impetus to Nicholas and Haydn to explore this genre more thoroughly. It was less than a year later when we see Sarti's Giulio Sabino, the first full-fledged seria work  to be performed at Eszterháza. And less than a year later we see our present Armida hit the boards.

Haydn learned much from Giulio Sabino. After his usual work of editing and preparing the performance material, he was as intimately familiar with it (nineteen performances this year!) as anyone save the original composer. And so when he came to choosing one among the dozens of available libretti for Armida, he chose one which closely resembled Giulio in many respects, such as number and types of characters and voices, number of scenes and acts, and even three ensembles, a duet at the end of Act I and a trio at the end of Act II! So he started out working from a great example and was able to make the best of something he knew was already good. It isn't known who was the exact author of the libretto, there have been many suppositions over the years, but John Rice in Haydn Yearbook XV speculates, with good reason, that it is a 1775 libretto by Antonio Tozzi which finally got the nod.

It wasn't long before opera seria disappeared from the stage, a victim of style and changing tastes, and the expansion of the middle class, which didn't care so much for operas dedicated to the virtues of kings and emperors, and didn't share in the education which made these stories so readily accessible to their intended audience. But for those who still hung on to the history of the genre, Haydn's Armida was top shelf material. A contemporary of Haydn's named Nicholas Framery, who published a biographical Notice sur Joseph Haydn in 1810, the year after Haydn's death, included this tale, probably true, although with that certain storytelling flourish in the French style of the day.

Sarti, composer of Haydn's favorite Giulio Sabino, was headed north (to St Petersburg) when his route took him close enough to Eszterháza to make a detour. He was curious to see the man whose many works, especially his symphonies, had made him famous throughout Europe. He wanted to call on Haydn and offer him mutual friendship. He arrived at the end of the day at the palace, and asked to speak to the famous Haydn. At this moment, he was told, it is impossible because the maestro is conducting an opera which is about to begin, and the Prince has just entered his box. He asks for and is given an excellent seat and finds the opera being sung is Armida. Since he knew none of Haydn's dramatic music, he was eager to hear it, and asked for a seat close to the orchestra. During the entire first act he applauded with enthusiasm, but towards the end of the second act, he could contain himself no longer and he leaped into the orchestra pit and embraced Haydn, who was likely astonished!

"It is Sarti who is embracing you, Sarti who wanted to hear your works but had no hope of admiring a work as beautiful as this!"

The Prince, who could see this but not hear it, was alarmed and wanted to know what was going on.

"It's Giulio Sabino" shouted Haydn, "It's the author of that superb music, Sarti, come to see his good friend Joseph". And so even though they were seeing each other for the first time, they swore friendship based on the comparable esteem they held for each other.

There are only two recordings of this fine work, I strongly recommend you try one of them and introduce yourself to opera seria, if you aren't friends with it already. And while you are at it, this might be a good time to review that Tasso book you shelved when you were in college. There might be a lot more attraction for you today!

Next time we will take a look at 1784, a year which finds our Haydn busier than ever!

Thanks for reading!