Golden Age:
- the most flourishing period in the history of a nation, literature, etc.
- a period of great happiness, prosperity, and achievement
Is there anything more subjective than naming a period in an artist's lifetime as his/her 'Golden Age'? Or more debatable for that matter. What fool among us would climb out on that branch? Yes, of course, I will!
I admit to some slight personal eccentricities. One of them includes maintaining my music collection in chronological order. A byproduct of this quirk is to be able to see at a glance which compositions belong together, and then, when I listen, I get the broadest cross-section of genres for an evening's entertainment. Since I am one of those odd folks for whom entertainment is the raison d'etre of music, this works well for me. And an observation I have made over the years is this: when left to my own devices, with no ulterior motive for making a listening choice, music from Haydn's five year period spanning 1785 to 1789 gets chosen as many times as the entire remainder of his oeuvre combined! Not London or post-London, not Sturm or even Drang; not even my little pet vice, the early pre-Classic works.
By this time in his career, Haydn was an unparalleled master of composition. All his little puzzles had been worked out to his satisfaction, he was happy in love, flourishing in international public acclaim, he remained highly esteemed by his Prince, and was yet young enough to still have an inexhaustible store of ideas and now he had the capabilities to express them. He had numerous friends in Vienna, not least being fellow genius Mozart, and at least a little bit of time to enjoy them all. In short, this was his Golden Age!
Even if you will give me this without further argument, I'm afraid there is no neat little arch with a peak in the middle, matching 1787. It is more like he climbed to the top of the plateau in 1785 which he then occupied unchallenged until his death. Remember, it was only the dead Mozart who rode to the heights of fame. Vienna wouldn't have allowed a living composer to be so justly acclaimed. Nor did Haydn gain fame in Vienna, he finally found transcendence elsewhere, nor did Beethoven, who struggled his entire life to gain the recognition he deserved. And let's not even talk about Schubert! But the premise I am now carrying forward is a simple one; the accomplishments of any one year going forward are qualitatively similar. The apprentice and journeyman we looked at in earlier times has graduated, the Master is now in charge!
So what was Haydn up to in 1787? In most ways it was like many of the years which preceded it.
Numero uno: Take care of The Prince. And so there were ninety-eight performances in the Opera House in the 1787 season. As we see, five new operas, and the trend of recent years continues, a balance between comic and serious.
|
Il sordo e l'avaro |
Pasquale Anfossi |
dramma giocoso (buffo) |
|
Il disertore |
Francesco Bianchi |
dramma per musica (seria) |
|
La Quaquera spiritoso |
Pietro Guglielmi |
dramma giocoso (buffo) |
|
Alessandro nell'Indie |
Francesco Bianchi |
dramma per musica (seria) |
|
Le gare generose |
Giovanni Paisiello |
dramma giocoso (buffo) |
As well, there were nine operas from previous years, including Armida. Three of those operas also required a replacement aria, so even though, compared to the peak in 1786, it was a modest year, one can't help thinking such a workload would have broken the average man, yet for Haydn it was apparently just a warmup!
Nicholas Esterházy was now 72 years old. He had lived a great life so far, truly living up to his name 'The Magnificent'! But it may not be much of a stretch here to say he could see his days were on the short side. In 1787, he had the contents of the beautiful little marionette theater packed up and put in storage in a warehouse nearby, and from now it disappears from the story. The German Repertory Theater continued on, but the obviously cherry-picked, serious and cutting edge dramatic works disappeared from the repertory, replaced by second tier, small town style amusements and diversions. No more Shakespeare, Goethe, Lessing or Schiller. Haydn's work load must have lightened considerably, although he probably had mixed feelings about it.
Haydn spent the first two weeks of the New Year visiting the city of Graz, Austria. Although it is a mere 200 kilometers (125 miles) from Vienna, it is the furthest he had been from home since, well, possibly ever! Carl Chorus (isn't that a great name for a musicus?), a former oboist in the Esterházy Band, lived there now and invited Haydn to play/conduct at the concert for Graz's version of the Widows and Orphans of Musicians society. Along with the rave reviews in the newspapers, we also get to see, yet again, the charitable side of Haydn's nature, spending the heart of his own meager vacation time off doing charity work for erstwhile comrades. On the other hand, Graz IS the place to be in mid-winter Austria, with a nearly Italianate climate and surrounded on three sides by the scenic Alps... just saying.
Since this year is so extraordinarily well documented with letters, not only to Artaria, but also to Forster in London, and from such as the King of Prussia and others, I think it would be a good time to roll some tape, as they say in the News business, and let the story tell itself (with an explanatory note here and there). I will just print some extracts and leave out the gossip, which Haydn was apparently fond of. All of this comes from The Collected Correspondence and London Notebooks of Joseph Haydn by H.C. Robbins-Landon. Hope you find this as interesting as I did…
[To ARTARIA & Co., VIENNA. (in German)]
Estoras, 11th February 1787.
Mon tres cher Amy!
This is to report that I have arranged 4 of the Sonatas as quartets, and have completed them; you will receive the whole work this coming Friday. Meanwhile you can give the first violin part of the first four Sonatas to the engraver, just as it stands, because there was no need to change anything. You will receive the Quartet a week from tomorrow….
The four sonatas come from the Seven Last Words. The quartet mentioned at the end is one of the first three of Opus 50, no clues offered as to which.
[To ARTARIA & Co., VIENNA. (in German)]
Estoras, 14th February 1787.
Mon tres cher Amy!
I enclose herewith all four altered parts, and hope that the copyist will understand me well, and especially that he will do all the parts in the right order, that is, as proper quartets. If there should arise any doubt about certain passages, the copyist should let me know about them at once, so that I can help him in time. All 4 parts, that is, each Sonata in which there are changes, must be written out anew.
As soon as proofs of the Sonatas (both as quartets and for full band) can be made, please send me the first copy, so that I can correct it. The content of the Sonatas expressed in music is also enclosed herewith, and it must be printed in the quartet version as well.
The Quartet will follow soon. The opera rehearsals here detain me…
The 'content' is, of course, the Latin phrases of the Words themselves. There can be no doubt about the importance Haydn placed on them. The 'Quartet' is yet another of Opus 50.
[To ARTARIA & Co., VIENNA. (in German)]
Estoras, 27th February 1787.
Mon tres cher Amy!
… snip out a long paragraph about some portraits and some dealings with Paris…
Another thing: yesterday I received a letter from Herr von Jacoby, the Royal Prussian Minister, in which he wrote the following :
WHAT ARE THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF SOME PIECES OF YOURS WHICH HERR ARTARIA INTENDS TO SEND TO THE KING AT BERLIN? I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE AN EXPLANATION FROM YOURSELF, AND THEREFORE BEG YOU TO GIVE ME ONE.
I hope that you do not perhaps intend to dedicate these Sonatas to His Majesty, either as quartets or for full band, because that would be contrary to all common sense; but I believe that you must mean the new Quartets, which I highly approve of, if this is what you intend to do…
Please let me know about this, to allay my suspicions; I wouldn't want you thereby to disgust me altogether, for I have always been your sincere friend and will remain so.
Your most obedient servant,
Joseph Haydn
Clearly, Haydn doesn't wish to be made to look foolish by having Artaria dedicate The Seven Last Words to the King, in any form. It is not generally well known that it was a publisher, not a composer, who dedicated works. And made the profit from that too! I love the direct speaking too; I wouldn't want you thereby to disgust me altogether…
[To ARTARIA & Co., VIENNA. (in German)]
Estoras, 7th March 1787
Dearest friend !
…. snip …..
Herr von Jacobi [sic] only wanted to know what work it was that you intended to dedicate to the King of Prussia, and I wrote to him that I believed it would be quartets.
I send you herewith the first movement of the 3rd Quartet; you will receive the others one of the next days. I am pressed for time…
Lest there be any confusion.
And now, on a totally different subject. I will insert here some little [notes] to replace long lists, since this was a three-page letter at the first.
[To WILLIAM FORSTER, LONDON. (in German)]
Estoras, 8th April 1787.
Monsieur!
After a long silence I must at last enquire after your health, and at the same time report that the following new works may be had of me, viz.:
6 elegant Symphonies; [The Paris Symphonies]
A big pianoforte Concerto; [Hob 18:11 in D]
3 small pianoforte Divertimenti for beginners, with violins and bass [probably some of the very old (1760-ish) Hob 14 concertini]
A Sonata for pianoforte alone. [unknown – Landon suggests Hob 16:48, but it wasn't composed for another two years]
A brand new work, consisting of purely instrumental music divided in 7 Sonatas, each Sonata lasting 7 or 8 minutes, together with an opening Introduction and concluding with a Terremoto, or Earthquake. These Sonatas are written around, and composed according to, the Words which Christ our Savior spoke on the Cross, and are entitled The Seven Words.
[here follows a list of the 7 Words in Latin]
Each Sonata, or rather each setting of the text, is expressed only by instrumental music, but in such a way that it creates the most profound impression even on the most inexperienced listener. The whole work lasts a little more than one hour, but there is a bit of a pause after each Sonata so that one can contemplate the following text. As far as the copying goes, all the Sonatas together require a little more space than one of my symphonies, and the whole work would take about 37 sheets.
Item: I have, moreover, 3 brand new and charming Notturni with violin obbligato but not at all difficult flute, violoncello, 2 violins ripenio, 2 hunting horns, viola and contra basso. [again, unknown. They could be the Baryton Octet arrangements with these same instruments which Artaria published as Opus 31, or possibly the Lira concerti, already rearranged. Landon says this is the more likely, and yet, I find it hard to accept, given that Haydn presented some of them at his Salomon concerts as 'new works', and was never contradicted.]
If you want anything of all these works, please be good enough to let me know at your earliest convenience, and also the fee you propose to give me. The 7 Sonatas are already copied, neatly and clearly, on small-sized music paper for mailing.
Hoping for an answer, I am, with esteem,
Your wholly obedient servant,
Joseph Haydn.
Please answer in French.
I hope to see you personally at the end of the year, but since I haven't heard from Herr Cramer* up to now, I shall accept an engagement to go to Naples this Winter**. But I am much obliged to you for your kind offer to put me up.
*WILHELM CRAMER, born in Mannheim, came to London and made a considerable reputation for himself as leader, solo violinist and impresario. He almost succeeded in persuading Haydn to come to London at this time.
**The afore-mentioned Concerti had evidently so delighted Ferdinand that he had invited Haydn to come to Naples.
And one last letter, to round out what is merely the first third of a busy year:
[To HAYDN FROM FRIEDRICH WILHELM II, KING OF PRUSSIA. (in German)]
His Majesty, King of Prussia, &c., &c. is sensible of the mark of respect which Herr Kapellmeister Haydn, in sending him six new Symphonies, again wishes to show to His Serene Majesty. They have especially pleased him, and there is no doubt that His Highness has always appreciated Herr Kapellmeister Haydn's works, and will appreciate them at all times. To provide concrete assurance of the same, he sends him the enclosed ring as a mark of His Highness' satisfaction and of the favor in which he holds him.
F Wilhelm.
Potsdam, 21st April 1787
[These are, once again, the 'Paris' Symphonies]
[enclosed is a large gold ring]
Back in 1781, I pointed out the beginning of Haydn's new career as an entrepreneur. While only scratching the surface of it here, I think it can be fairly asserted, he has come a long way in a short time. If I thought your patience would stretch far enough to read through to year's end, I would show you the other side of the coin; this was also the year in which Haydn developed playing fast and loose with the ethics of the business into its own art form, as we tend to interpret them today. I am not minimizing this aspect of his personality, but I will go on record here as saying that here, as in so many other bits and pieces of life where history is concerned, we should give serious consideration to the wisdom of applying the mores of modern times and situations to what was happening 230 years ago. Given the realities of the business at the time, I actually rather admire the composers who fought back by maximizing their opportunities to avoid giving things away or having them stolen from them. Music publishers had been making a fortune from Haydn's name for over twenty years already, while he hadn't made a kreutzer. It is life as it was in 1787. We will be seeing more of these letters in the discussion of specific works, since they are very illuminating.
This year we will see the rest of the concertos for Naples, two new, brilliant symphonies, and a superb set of quartets, along with some arrangements made. Truly, works of the Golden Age!
Thanks for reading!