Haydn Seek

Music by Decade; part 4 the 1780's

Portrait by Mansfeld commissioned by Artaria (1781)

As I mentioned in an earlier essay, while the body of music of the '780's may not be unanimously considered as Haydn's greatest musical accomplishment, this group contains more of my favorite Haydn music than any other, and by far! This is still the Haydn of Eszterháza, but having transcended his roots and created, instead, an entirely new level on which to appreciate music.

The reasons for this overall change in the music are manifold, but the main one is very simple: he was writing for a different audience now, one which was far more differentiated than the Prince alone could ever have been, no matter how eclectic his tastes. Not coincidentally, 1781 marked the beginning of Haydn's years of entrepreneurship, and no one was more aware of the change in his audience than he was. Commissions from Italy, Spain, France, Prussia and England hit his writing table regularly, and even though his provincially contoured style had created his fame, they wouldn't sustain it in the long run.

Life-size portrait by Christian Ludwig Seehas (1785)

One of the big differences we see is the shift towards instrumental music. While looking back from our vantage point may not show this to be a dramatic change, I assure you it was! With the cultural broadening of the audience even within countries, such as the rise of the middle-class in Austria for example, and particularly with the growing secularization of all of Europe, instrumental music achieved a new dignity which it had not been accorded previously. By the time of Haydn's death in 1809, instrumental music was preeminent throughout the continent.

Miniature on ivory by Anon. (ca. 1788)

I have been, and will continue to be, adding more complete notes to many entries on this list. And those which have an essay which expands on them will be linked to that essay for easy viewing. I hope you will find this to be as useful and informative as I have!

Link to 1780's music page

 

(PS - these three portraits are all of the existing Haydn iconographs from this decade!)

1790 – The Year – part 3 – An opera in 3 Acts ‘Il compositore ungherese a Vienna’ (The Hungarian Composer in Vienna)

Hob. #	Genre	Key	No.	Instrument(s)	Notes
25	Notturno	C	1	2 Lire organizzate, 2 Clarinets, 2 Horns, 2 Violas & Basso	Original version - for the King of Naples
26	Notturno	F	2
27	Notturno	C	3
28	Notturno	C	4
29	Notturno	C	5
30	Notturno	G	6		Fragment - Last movement missing
31	Notturno	F	7
32	Notturno	G	8
Genre	Voice	Key	Name		Instruments / Voices
Lied	Not specified	E	Trachten will ich nicht auf Erden		Voice & Fortepiano

 

Young Leopold II & Joseph II in 1769 - Pompeo Batoni (1708–1787)

Prelude
November, 1749: we find Haydn at loose ends, roaming the streets of Vienna, perhaps mourning the loss of his lovely voice. Jump forward forty-one years: October, 1790: we find Haydn at loose ends, roaming the streets of Vienna, perhaps mourning the loss of his friend and patron of the last twenty-eight years.

Any similarity ends there though, the hard work of the last forty years has stood Haydn in good stead, he has more offers of work than he knows what to do with!

Even before the death of Nicholas, many of the major players in the later events of Haydn's life were already assembled in Vienna. In those days of Royal alliances forged in the heat of matrimony, we find King Ferdinand IV of Naples, along with his wife Maria Carolina, sister of the late Joseph II and of the about-to-be Emperor Leopold II. But those ties were about to be strengthened yet more, because in addition to the coronation of Leopold on October 9th in Frankfurt, there were betrothals and weddings galore in September. The weddings included Princess Maria Luisa of Naples with Archduke Ferdinand Habsburg, Princess Maria Theresa of Naples to Archduke Franz Habsburg, son of Leopold and the eventual Emperor Francis II, on September 15^th, and the betrothal of Archduchess Marie Clementine Habsburg to Ferdinand's own son, Crown Prince Francesco. Not that there were a lot of branches on the family tree, but this didn't make it any bushier: Maria Teresa and Franz, for example were double first cousins: i.e. – first cousins on both sides of the family!

Ferdinand IV & Maria Carolina

Act I – October: The characters gather
Something else we know about Ferdinand is that a very few years ago he arranged to have Haydn commissioned to write some concertos for his favorite instrument, the Lira organizzate. What we haven't discussed until now, though, is the further commission which resulted from his satisfaction with the concertos. As we recall, all communication between the King's emissary, Hadrava, and Haydn has disappeared. When the first round of compositions were completed, by 1787, it is believed to have triggered another commission as early as 1788 for an unspecified number of new works. These were to be divertimentos for 2 Liras and small ensemble. I say 'unspecified' only because we simply don't know what the original number was. In the event, Haydn completed nine of them, eight of which survive today. Well, 7.65 actually, since the finale of Hob 2:30 is missing also. For the next month or two, Haydn will be working hard to complete this commission, which will come to fruition in December.

Meanwhile though, the coronation of Leopold as Holy Roman Emperor has created a stir in Vienna. Not one to waste time, he has been busy repealing many of his brother's reforms, even before he got the crown. He cannily gave back what he had to in order to keep peace, while at the same time keeping everything he could manage. This all had the net effect of strengthening ties with the aristocracy at a time when it did well for any country to present a unified front among its ruling classes. The lesson of France was cutting deep, for although sister Marie Antoinette and Louis were still alive, and in fact would both outlive Leopold, no one believed that any sort of recognizable France would emerge from the Reign of Terror!

Mozart was not in Vienna when Nicholas died and Haydn returned from Eszterháza for the final time. He was off in Frankfurt for the coronation, trying to get some notice from the new Emperor to safeguard his title as Court Composer and Chamber Musician, and possibly more to go with it. His time there is well documented and worth looking at, as in this book, for example, if only for a taste of what a musician's life was like then, even one as great as Mozart. So while Haydn was getting settled in, Mozart was on the road all of October. In the first week on November he crossed paths in Munich with King Ferdinand, where he gave a concert which Ferdinand attended. This was documented in the ironic comment Mozart made in a letter to Constanze, where he sarcastically noted the pride Vienna must take that its Royal Chamber Composer had to go to a foreign city in order to entertain a king (whose relatives were all Viennese!).

What of Haydn all this while? As always, there are conflicting stories of where he was, what he was doing, and when this might have taken place. Some things are inevitable though and don't need a video in order to get a grip on. He spent the majority of October getting his affairs in order. There was unfinished business at Eszterháza to close out, and he sold the house in Eisenstadt and moved to Vienna. We haven't spoken about Maria Anna Haydn in a long time, some of you (admit it!) have even forgotten she exists. But when the Eszterháza season had grown so long as to preclude an annual season in Eisenstadt, she had moved to Vienna in order to be closer to her family and have some sort of life on her own, away from her preoccupied husband. Very probably he lived there with her on his annual Vienna Christmas vacation, although this is merely a supposition. Their apartment was on the east side of the city, overlooking part of the Glacis, a hugely popular park-like greenbelt which surrounded the Inner City.

Other unfinished business doubtless included the Opus 64 quartets and the Andante & 6 Variations for Keyboard, promised to Artaria. And the Notturnos for the King of Naples, long ago commissioned, yet to be delivered. No rush there though, he was off in Munich listening to Mozart in Concert!

Mention of Mrs. Haydn brings us to this interesting wrinkle in space and time: for a few weeks in late 1790, all three of the women in Haydn's life were living an uncomfortably few miles from each other. Luigia Polzelli had also lost her job on September 29 and moved to Vienna, where she was living right next to Schickaneder's dramatic company, which was less than a year from being the home of Die Zauberflöte. And then, the third lady chronologically, but certainly the closest at the time, was Marianne Genzinger, the one Haydn would want to spend time with. I suspect all this proximity would have made Haydn a bit uncomfortable if he hadn't had his recent business dealings teach him a lesson about handling pressure!

One of very few recordings with Naples
instrumentation, except for Lira!

We have almost all of the players in position now, with one more major addition. Since the mid-1780's, a group of music lovers had been earnestly attempting to lure Haydn away from the Esterházy Family and off to London, there to make his (and their) fame and fortune. Anyone who was anyone on the London music scene had a hand in the pie at some point in time. The current cabal consisted of Sir John Gallini, a talented and hard-working Italian dancer who had worked his way up to being a major impresario as well as the manager of the King's Theater in the Haymarket. This triumvirate also included our previously introduced music publisher and musical instrument supplier, John Bland. And the third member was the highly popular violinist and orchestra leader from Bonn, Johann Peter Salomon. Was this the group who would finally put this project over the top?

Annually, Gallini and Salomon made trips to the continent to recruit new musicians and singers for their concerts. Gallini was currently in Italy, where he received an Order of the Golden Spur from the Pope. Salomon was traveling through central Europe, in fact he was on the return journey to London. When word of the death of Prince Nicholas reached Salomon in Köln (Cologne), he instantly decided to reverse direction and head for Vienna, where he could be fairly certain Haydn had stopped.

Act II – November: Music everywhere!
By the time Mozart returned to Vienna, around the beginning of the second week of November, it was to discover Constanze had moved the household to spacious, though far less expensive quarters. In addition, fairly close by, now, lived his best friend Haydn. Musically, Mozart immediately became immersed in the composition of his fifth string quintet, the one in D major (K 593) which, as we saw, was commissioned by Tost, probably at the instigation of Haydn. Of Mozart's earlier quintets, the great C major, K 515, had finally been published at the end of 1789, followed by the darkly wondrous g minor, K 516, at the very beginning of 1790. In addition, since Haydn had last seen him, he had completed two quartets, K 589 & 590, in May and June respectively. On the other hand, Haydn was at the very end of Opus 64, the jewel which we looked at very recently.

Artaria 1st Edition of Mozart's Quintet in g

The result of this is a potentially spectacular opportunity for the two finest chamber music composers of the age to just go wild! This is just what happened, according to Abbé Maximilian Stadler, who wrote the very first Austrian music history text (Materials on the History of Music under the Austrian Regency) and was a close friend of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, as well as being Constanze's advisor after Mozart's death. They were frequently together, to whatever extent their composing schedules would allow, and they played quintets especially, both of them playing the viola while Johann Tost (erstwhile leader of Haydn's second violin section, you'll recall) and various others filled the remainder of the chairs. The quintets were particularly favored, especially the g minor. Some things have always been the way they were. In addition, Stadler says that Haydn would happily sit for hours listening to Mozart play the fortepiano. Well, who wouldn't? Haydn also conducted the music for a celebration in Pressburg which served the dual purpose of combining the wind bands of Count Grassalkovich and now Prince Anton Esterházy to celebrate the coronation of Leopold as King of Hungary, and also offering a (successful) chance for Haydn to convince Anton to hire the wind band back on permanently.

There were plenty of other activities to fill the evenings though. No doubt many of them were occupied with salons at the Genzinger's, and other popular favorites. Since Haydn and Marianne were now virtual neighbors, there are no letters to tell us what was going on. There is absolutely no reason to assume anything other than concord between them though.

One evening in late November, as Haydn was walking up to his front door, a stranger approached him and introduced himself, "I am Salomon of London, and I have come to fetch you. Tomorrow, we shall make an accord".

Act III – December: The Long Goodbye
Why would Haydn turn down potentially lucrative and, for him, simple jobs? It would have been completely understandable for Haydn to have stayed right where he was for the rest of his life. He was set financially, his musical friends, publisher, and even his mistress were within a few minutes' walk. But he turned down an offer to be Kapellmeister for the Grassalkovich family, which, while not quite at the level of the Esterházy Family, was also likely to offer a relatively simpler life by comparison. We will also see him turn down a job as Kapellmeister for the King of Naples shortly. Why?

I would suspect it had more to do with finally obtaining a taste of long-awaited freedom than for any other reason. Without question, Haydn loved his long-time job, valued the experience it gave him and the opportunity to exercise his genius on a regular basis. But now he was on his own, could do as he pleased, write when he wanted to and simply enjoy life as it came to him. In the event, he didn't really do that either!

Early December was marked by a continuation of the musical festivities of November. Negotiation with Salomon continued. The offer which eventually sealed the deal was a peach, by any standard. Haydn was to receive £300 for writing an opera, £300 for six symphonies, and additional money for further works, for publications rights, and for his concert appearances, plus the total income from his benefit concerts. This was a staggering amount of money, and on December 8^th, Salomon managed to get a notice published in the London Morning Chronicle to the effect that the deal with Haydn was concluded and they were on the way! Haydn had agreed to the contract as long as Prince Anton gave his permission. An interesting relapse into feudal subservience or merely a polite way to treat the man who was still paying him 400 gulden per year on top of his pension? It may also have been a way to gauge whether he would be welcome back one day. In the event, Anton not only agreed to it, but also gave him 450 gulden for travel expenses!

The days leading up to departure must have been a bustle of activity. Greisinger and Dies both tell us differing yet similar stories here concerning Mozart. The upshot is that next year or the year following, Mozart would either join them in London and he and Haydn would be working together as the chief composers of the English music scene, or else Haydn would return and Mozart take his place. No signed contracts survive, but it was generally believed to have been a done deal. Haydn's friends, always so eager to hurry him off to see the world, were now of another mind when it actually came to it. Mozart reportedly told him it was too taxing a journey for such an old man, and that he didn't speak enough different languages to get by. Haydn replied 'the entire world speaks my language'.

"I am Salomon of London..."

King Ferdinand of Naples was back in town from his tour of the southern provinces, and met with Haydn to collect the now-completed Notturni. He also offered Haydn a job. Haydn later told Dies that he was tempted by the move to Naples because it would have given him the opportunity to become a great opera composer. In the event he turned down this job too. When he handed over the Notturni, the King was delighted, and said they could get together to play them in two days. Haydn replied he hoped everyone would enjoy them, but as for him, in two days' time he would have left Vienna for London. Probably unused to being turned down, Ferdinand stormed out, only to return an hour later to reconcile. In return for a promise to visit Naples when he returned from London, he gave Haydn letters of introduction to his ambassador there.

On the 15^th of December, the day before departure, Haydn wrote his last piece of music in the Vienna of his youth. The manuscript still exists, dated December 15, 1790. It was a Lied, based upon an anonymous poem and in his favorite key of E major. Haydn and Salomon spent the day with Mozart, and they dined together that evening. I fully expect Haydn sang it after dinner.

Hob. 26b:39 Lied in E for Voice & Fortepiano
Trachten will ich nicht auf Erden, daß ich reich an Gütern werde Was mich hier beglücken soll, ist auf Gott gebautes Wohl.	I do not want to strive on earth To become rich in possessions The things which delight me here Come instead because God wills it.
Lust nach Geld kann bessre Freuden, die uns Gott bestimmt, verleiden, raubt der Tugend Lust und Kraft, macht oft elend, lasterhaft.	Lust for money can spoil the pleasures Which God intended for us, It takes away the joy of virtue and art And makes us miserable and depraved.
Einst an meiner Lebensschranken werd ich Gott zufrieden danken, daß er mir bis an mein Grab Nahrung nur und Decke gab.	Once I am at Life's Gate I shall gratefully thank the Lord For giving me sustenance and protection All the way to my grave.

Mozart told Haydn he felt this was the last time they would ever see each other. Probably Haydn felt this to be a reference to his age, and the potential dangers of such an undertaking. In 2015, the idea of a trip from Vienna to London is nothing more than a very short airline trip. In 1790, it was a major undertaking, to say the least. It is highly unlikely that either one of them had the thought that it was Mozart who would be gone when Haydn next saw Vienna. His premonition was slightly misbegotten.

Postlude
The next morning Salomon and Haydn headed out. They stopped in Munich, where Haydn met Christian Cannabich, then to Wallerstein where he finally met Count Ernst Oettingen-Wallerstein, longtime patron. Afterwards, it was a quick trip to Salomon's hometown of Bonn, where they stayed for a few days. Haydn was honored there by the playing of one of his Masses (the second Missa Cellensis is the best guess) and dinner with the musicians, which included young Beethoven. Afterwards, it was off to Brussels, then Calais, France, which they reached on December 31^st. The next morning they would board a ship to cross the Channel and Haydn would begin the most exciting period of his life. Meanwhile, he maintained old ties to home with this one last letter:

[To MARIA ANNA VON GENZINGER, VIENNA. in German]

Calais, 31^st December 1790.

Nobly born, Most highly respected Frau von Gennzinger !

The recent bad weather and the continual downpour of rain were responsible for my having just arrived (as I write this letter to you) at Calais this evening. Tomorrow morning at 7 we cross the sea to London. I promised Your Grace to write from Brussels, but I could not stay there more than an hour. I am well, thank God! though I am somewhat thinner, owing to fatigue, irregular sleep, and eating and drinking so many different things. In a few days I shall describe my journey in more detail to Your Grace, but I must beg you to excuse me today. I hope to God that Your Grace, your husband and the whole family are well.

I am, most respectfully, Your Grace's most obedient servant,

Jos. Haydn.

Next time: London!

Thanks for reading!

1790 – The Music part 3 - So long Opera House

Hob. #	Genre	Voice	Name	Opera / Composer
24b:16	Aria	Tenor	Da che penso a maritiarmi	for the character 'Titta' - in L'amore artigiano by Gassman
24b:17	Aria	Mezzo	Il megliomio carattere	for the character 'Merlina' – in L'impresario in angustie by Cimarosa
24b:18	Aria	Mezzo	La moglie quando è buona	for the character 'Giannina' – in Giannina e Bernadone by Cimarosa
24b:19	Aria	Soprano	La mia pace, Oh Dio	for the character 'Costanza' – in L'amore artigiano by Gassman
24b:22	Aria	Tenor	Tornate pur mia bella	for a Tenor - Opera unknown
24b:23	Aria	Mezzo	Via siate bonino	for a Soprano - Opera unknown
26b:02	Cantata	Soprano	Arianna a Naxos	Soprano with Fortepiano

 

Haydn autographed edition sold by him personally from his flat and in Bland's shop

After once beginning this as the sort of detective story it deserves to be, I've decided to save the thought for later and instead to revel in the beauty of the work which we actually have to hand.

The story of Arianna (Ariadne), abandoned on the Isle of Naxos by her lover Theseus, is a classic of Greek literature. While there appear to be many variations on the story, and motivations given for the sequence of events, the essential part which concerns us here is not in dispute; our story involves Ariadne awakening, expecting to discover Theseus at her side, then telling herself where he might be, but coming to the realization that he is gone and not coming back. It is tragedy at its finest!

As we saw long ago with cantatas, they are alternations of a recitative and an aria. In this one, there are two of each. The opening Adagio recitative has Arianna awakening and greeting the dawn, then suddenly noticing that Theseus is gone. When she discovers he isn't there, she equivocates; he is hunting perhaps, and calls to him to come back. In the following aria, she begins to fear the worst and there is some desperation beginning to show in her cries of 'Where are you?'.

The second recitative is totally based on her panic; when there is no reply except for Echo and the waves, she climbs a nearby cliff and sees his ship far off, sailing away. She realizes she is abandoned and rails against her fate. The Aria finale expresses her despair; she asks for death, but the gods have decreed that she live on, alone and abandoned.

This is one of those works in which Haydn has taken a simplicity of means and produced a work which is far greater than the sum of its parts. From a technical point of view, the range of the voice is less than a chromatic octave (from b to gb). In his later work Scena di Berenice, the vocal range is two full octaves. Nor is there any coloratura or other operatic device. What this cantata really requires from the singer is a range, not of notes, but of emotion and passion!

The more difficult part is for the pianist. In this period, beginning in 1788 when Haydn got his Schanz fortepiano, his keyboard works have gotten more and more intricate and involved. Here, we find him basically creating a new genre, where the accompaniment for this cantata is not a small orchestra, nor is it a continuo being realized by either a keyboard or other continuo instrument, it is a fully through-composed pianoforte, which is so entwined with the voice as to be inextricable. Even though Haydn had promised Bland to write an orchestral accompaniment in London, he never did, and the ones which were tried are not nearly as effective as just the solo piano.

As far as we know, the piece received its première in January, 1790, at one of the weekly musical salons held at the Genzinger home. We have seen in Haydn's letter from Eszterháza that he was teaching it to Marianne's daughter, his student Josepha (Peperl):

[snip] My good friend Fraulein Peperl will (I hope) be reminded of her teacher by singing the Cantata frequently; she should remember to have a distinct articulation and a correct vocal production, for it would be a crime if so beautiful a voice were to remain hidden in her breast; so therefore I ask her to smile frequently, lest I be disappointed in her. [snip]

Estoras, 9th February 1790.

So this is clearly one of its intended uses, to satisfy the talented amateur class of Viennese musicians. When we get to London, we will see quite another use; it was more than enough to satisfy the professionals too!

"Ariadne" - Sir John Lavery - 1886

Leaving the Opera Behind
When we think about music in the post-Romantic era, the first thing most of us think of is instrumental music. Since the 18^th century became the 19^th, which is about the time when philosophers decided that instrumental music could actually speak to them, it achieved preeminence in Western music. From time to time in this series, I have touched upon Haydn's preference for, and true belief in, the supremacy of vocal music. In the earlier part of his career, he considered his non-vocal works to be merely time-fillers, and later on, they were money-makers. But we are even now entering the stage where the focus was shifting away from vocal music. The irony of all this, to me, is Haydn's role in creating instrumental music of such quality that it opened doors for other composers and cultural commentators to walk through.

Haydn's love of vocal music was scarcely unique in his time. It was one of many tastes which he shared with his patron, Prince Nicholas. As we remember, Nicholas didn't hire Haydn, rather he came as part of the inheritance from brother Paul. As a result of this, if Haydn hadn't shown a decided talent for writing opera when he composed Acide in 1762, the next twenty-eight years could have turned out very differently! Certainly, when Werner passed on in 1766, and it was time to either make Haydn the Kapellmeister or not, this talent for opera figured into the decision-making. Two years later, the preludes were past, and a new era began in Eszterháza. From 1768 until September of 1790, Haydn presided over the largest private opera enterprise in Central Europe!

We looked at the main performances in the years in which they occurred. Almost the only records still in existence for the period from 1768 to 1775 involve Haydn's own works, although it is highly likely other works were performed also. The 'new' opera house (which burned in 1779 and became the 'old' opera house in 1781) likely saw its main use in those days as a venue for concerts and dramatic plays, with only the occasional opera. In 1773, it was joined by yet another theater, this one for marionette operas. This provided yet another opportunity for Haydn to write and edit vocal music. But it was not until 1776, when a regular full-time opera season began, where we will see the entire focus of Haydn's job shift to opera writing. I have read implications, usually made by people who don't think in 18^th century terms, that Haydn must have resented being turned into an opera impresario, when surely he was born to be an instrumental composer. All of that is so much twaddle, however. Until nearly the very end of his career at Eszterháza, he never expressed the slightest discontent with his actual job duties. And any occasion in which his actual words are displayed in reference to music, he valued vocal music above all.

What was Haydn's actual accomplishment during the heyday of the Opera House(s)? Of his own compositions, he wrote seven Italian operas before the regular opera season was instituted, and he wrote seven more after, for a total of fourteen operas between 1763 and 1783. In addition, he wrote an unknown number of marionette operas, a good guess would be five. In the time frame of the regular season, that is the fifteen year period from 1776 to 1790, if one subtracts his own works, he prepared for performance at least 81 operas by other composers, an average of five per year of new works, along with any changes needed in revivals. Many of these reworkings were the equivalent of writing a new opera! Plus, there are approximately twenty insertion arias still extant and many others known by reference to them. In the ten year period of the 'New' Opera House (1781 – 90), there are documented over a thousand performances, which reached a peak of one hundred twenty-five in 1786. Haydn conducted every one of them!

The finished blueprints for the 'new' opera house

Why the emphasis on opera now? Along with all the other changes which overtook Haydn in 1790 was this major one: other than composing one more, which as we shall see, was not performed in his lifetime, on September 28, 1790, Haydn underwent as total a break with the genre as can be imagined. His major occupation for the last 20 years is completely gone. While he will rework or compose a few Scena's, and cantatas, and even a handful of concert arias, his days as an opera specialist are over. Whatever his feelings about leaving Eszterháza behind, one can't help but think it was with mixed feelings that he saw this huge part of his former career disappear in the rearview mirror along with it.

Next time, we will gather up all the loose ends of 1790. There is more music too, but it is wrapped up with the events to such a point that they must be told together.

Thanks for reading!