Haydn's Haus

[Gurn Blanston]

Part 23

1774

This was a year in which preparations for an all-out assault on Italian opera continued for the Prince, and thus for Haydn. He didn't write any new operas this year though. His big vocal work was instead an Italian oratorio based on a book of the Apocrypha (The Book of Tobit) and called Il Ritorno di Tobia (The Return of Tobias). It was written on commission from the Tönkunstler-Societät of Vienna, which was a benevolent society for the widows and orphans of musicians. That is something to remember for down the road, when we will hear from them again. In any case, the libretto was written by Giovanni Boccherini, the brother of the composer. The Italian oratorio of that time was virtually an opera seria without actors. It had strict rules for recitative and arias. That is important because Boccherini wrote the libretto in such strict form that he more or less took all the possibility for drama, splendor and wit out of it. Which is a pity, because Haydn could have really done a lot with the story of Tobit, it is stirring to read in context in the Bible. In any case, his music is beautiful, but the overall work is not the sort of thing that would please very much today. It certainly did in 1775 though, it was a big hit and after Haydn's initial stint as conductor for the premiere, it was repeated many times by the Society and helped them to raise a lot of money.

In addition, there are several symphonies (at least one of which (Hob 60) is entirely based on incidental music (written for the French comedy Il Distratto). In keeping with the discussions we have been having, recordings are slim. The music is finely crafted and thoroughly enjoyable though.

Here is the music of 1774:

Hob 01a_02  Il Ritorno di Tobia: Overture in c & C
   Manfred Huss / Haydn Sinfonietta Wien


Hob 01_054 Symphony in G   
Hob 01_055 Symphony in Eb   
Hob 01_056 Symphony in C   
Hob 01_057 Symphony in D
   Academy of Ancient Music / Hogwood
Hob 01_060 Symphony in C 'Il distratto'
   Haydn Sinfonietta Wien / Huss


Hob 11_107 Trio in D for Baryton, Viola & Cello Book 5   Esterhazy Ensemble
Hob 11_108 Trio in A for Baryton, Viola & Cello Book 5   Esterhazy Ensemble
Hob 11_109 Trio in C for Baryton, Viola & Cello Book 5   Esterhazy Ensemble
Hob 11_110 Trio in C for Baryton, Viola & Cello Book 5   Esterhazy Ensemble
Hob 11_111 Trio in G for Baryton, Viola & Cello Book 5   Esterhazy Ensemble


Hob 16_27 Sonata #42 in G for Keyboard
   Stanley Hoogland*
Hob 16_28 Sonata #43 in Eb for Keyboard
   Rachel Heard
Hob 16_29 Sonata #44 in F for Keyboard
   Derek Adlam
Hob 16_30 Sonata #45 in A for Keyboard
   Ursula Dütschler*
Hob 16_31 Sonata #46 in F for Keyboard
   Riko Fukuda*
Hob 16_32 Sonata #47 in b for Keyboard
   Lola Odiaga

*These artists are all part of the same cycle


Hob 21_1 Oratorio "Il Ritorno di Tobia"
   Capella Augustina / A, Spering  Vocal Ensemble Köln


The Tobia overture is another nice inclusion in the Huss overtures set. If you haven't the patience for an Italian Oratorio Serioso, then this very nice little overture is available to you anyway. The major/minor key center dichotomy is nicely played up here. Something that would become more common and popular 25 years later. But you heard it here first (as so often with Haydn).

Symphonies 54-57 really need some love! They are certainly excellent symphonies, but you know how it goes, people are always more attracted to emotion and drama, and I guess it was a sort of post-Dräng depression that sent early commentators (that is, from the 19th and 20th centuries) to their pens to note how these 1770's symphonies just didn't kick them in the crotch the way the earlier ones did. Ignore those guys!     The Adagio assai of #54, for example, is one of Haydn's longest and most deeply felt slow movements, and this from the acknowledged master of the slow movement. It is wonderful! I am very pleased with the Hogwood version of all 4 of these works, although there is little to compare them to, since Brüggen, Pinnock, Goodman et al, gave up on this era. Their loss, IMO. The only other PI recordings that I know of are those by L'Estro Armonico / Solomons, but I only have them as downloads (very nice they are, too) and I never recommend disks that I can't even buy for myself.   There are a few more versions of #60 (I have Hogwood and Harnoncourt in addition to Huss). If you haven't already determined to support the Huss Machine on BIS, the Harnoncourt box on Warner, which contains all of the Concentus Musicus symphony recordings except for the Paris ones is a great buy.


Well, we are up to 111 trios for baryton, viola & cello now. The amazing thing to me is that in all this time, and with all this music, Haydn never lost his inspiration for writing consistently great music here. The fact that there were so many contemporary arrangements speaks to that. An interesting recording of one, arranged for 3 Basset Horns, can be found here:


That is merely 1 example of the many that are out there, including string trios, flute trios and manifold others. One should try any of these just for interest.

Six more keyboard sonatas this year too. I think you will certainly find something to like here. Haydn is, by this time, a past master of the keyboard sonata. He entertains with melody, structure, rhetorical devices and confounded expectations. These recordings span a variety of styles of player and keyboard. The variety comes right along in the Brilliant box, featuring 3 different players in a group of 6 works from the same year. I also wanted to introduce Rachel Heard, whose disk on Naxos is an even better bargain than usual on that label, also featuring a very nice Hob 17_6 for later on.

And finally the oratorio. Not well-represented in the discography anyway, surprisingly it is not difficult to obtain the only 2 versions, the 1971 Hungaroton is licensed to Brilliant in the Big Box, and then the outstanding Naxos version by the Capella Augustina / Spering, a fine PI version that is really all you need for this work.

Anyway, that's what we have this time. I thank all of you who have given me some feedback. I hope that incorporating some of that into these essays will improve their utility for you. In any case, enjoy the music!

[Leo K.]

Excellant Gurn!

By the way, I've gone back to 1767 for a spell, to listen to Symphony no.58 in F major. I am fascinated by the dance-like character of each movement, as it really projects a social-like mood to the whole work. There are moments of hidden troubles here and there, such as heard in the andante and the trio in the minuet, that contrast exceptionally with the galant-like mood heard in general.

[Gurn Blanston]

Excellant Gurn!

By the way, I've gone back to 1767 for a spell, to listen to Symphony no.58 in F major. I am fascinated by the dance-like character of each movement, as it really projects a social-like mood to the whole work. There are moments of hidden troubles here and there, such as heard in the second movement, that contrast exceptionally with the galant-like mood heard in general.

Thanks.

Ah, very good. Those works deserve a lot more of my listening attention too. I like that fact that he contrasts galant against Empfindsang  (aside: spelling suggestion for the previous word: windsurfing  ) a lot. C.P.E. Bach, head of the Empfindsang'ers, rarely did that, he was purely one way in one work, while his brother J.C was purely the other way (all galant). This was the root of the North German musicians' exception to Haydn. He actually mixed feelings together in the same work! Can you imagine?   

[Leo K.]

My feelings exactly Gurn! This trait of Haydn is so special and unique, and probably influenced Mozart's approach on some level.

By the way, I'm reading an interesting article on Haydn's string quartets by scholar George Edwards, and I find the quote below to put in words my feelings of why Haydn is so great and meaningful to me:

From The Nonsense of an Ending: Closure in Haydn's String Quartets

My contention is that organic unity, balance, and closure are not the objects of Haydn's art, but some of its subjects. The value in Haydn's works is not that they are perfect (even when we think they are), but rather that, like ourselves, they search for resolution or closure more often than they find it. Haydn constantly questions the attainability of the goals of formalist aesthetics. His quartets attempt to unify the most diverse materials against great odds. Sometimes, as with the "wager" of op. 33, no. 2, he seems to fail deliberately to resolve the work, even, or especially, when the obstacles to such resolution seem lacking or easy to overcome. The "Joke" quartet or the "Farewell" symphony are not exceptional in the way they look askance at the conventions of closure; they are merely extreme examples of an essential feature of many of Haydn's masterpieces--an ironic distance from some of the very conventions he helped to establish.

[Gurn Blanston]

My feelings exactly Gurn! This trait of Haydn is so special and unique, and probably influenced Mozart's approach on some level.

By the way, I'm reading an interesting article on Haydn's string quartets by scholar George Edwards, and I find the quote below to put in words my feelings of why Haydn is so great and meaningful to me:

From The Nonsense of an Ending: Closure in Haydn's String Quartets

Interesting quote. From whence comes it? I would like to read that article. I completely agree with his premise though, that is one of the 'jokes' in the music, one of his ways of confounding your expectations. Sometimes there just isn't a grand resolution on the tonic, convention be damned.   "Oh, he's just impossible!" 

[Leo K.]

Interesting quote. From whence comes it? I would like to read that article. I completely agree with his premise though, that is one of the 'jokes' in the music, one of his ways of confounding your expectations. Sometimes there just isn't a grand resolution on the tonic, convention be damned.   "Oh, he's just impossible!" 

I am just starting to read this article and it is great weekend reading I got the article from JSTOR, and I'm trying to figure out a way to attach the PDF of the article. Can this be done in the post?

[Gurn Blanston]

I am just starting to read this article and it is great weekend reading I got the article from JSTOR, and I'm trying to figure out a way to attach the PDF of the article. Can this be done in the post?

Depends how big it is. Anything under 500k works. 

[Leo K.]

Depends how big it is. Anything under 500k works. 

Alas, it is a bigger file I guess, but perhaps I can use Google docs and provide a link sometime this weekend! The browser I'm using now doesn't support Google docs.

[Opus106]

Alas, it is a bigger file I guess

Perhaps; but you should also be a subscriber to be able to attach files to your posts.

...but perhaps I can use Google docs and provide a link sometime this weekend! The browser I'm using now doesn't support Google docs.

Why, unless you're unfortunately stranded in IE6 or something?

Alternatively, you can upload it one of the many file-sharing websites on the Web.

[Geo Dude]

I think the Haydnistos will be happy to know that Gurn's favorite piano trio set is being reissued as a box set:

[asin]B005XP612S[/asin]

Prepare your wallets for late January/early February...

[Gurn Blanston]

I think the Haydnistos will be happy to know that Gurn's favorite piano trio set is being reissued as a box set:

[asin]B005XP612S[/asin]

Prepare your wallets for late January/early February...

Wow, that's a great thing there! Only $60. I spent about $110 for the single boxes. And it took 3 or 4 years to get them all too. Figure the AMP will have it for around $45 within a couple of weeks, and it'll be an offer you can't refuse!     Thanks, Geo!



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Now playing:

   London Haydn Quartet - Hob 03_19 Quartet in C for Strings Op 9 #1 2nd mvmt - Menuetto - Trio

[Leo K.]

I think the Haydnistos will be happy to know that Gurn's favorite piano trio set is being reissued as a box set:

[asin]B005XP612S[/asin]

Prepare your wallets for late January/early February...

Very nice! I haven't heard these performances, and although I have been content with my Van Swieten Trio set, this looks very tempting!



Today, I am starting with the Mourning and Mercury symphonies (Dennis Russell Davies set), still exploring the 'Strurm und Drang' period 

[Sergeant Rock]

I think the Haydnistos will be happy to know that Gurn's favorite piano trio set is being reissued as a box set:

Prepare your wallets for late January/early February...

Figure the AMP will have it for around $45 within a couple of weeks, and it'll be an offer you can't refuse!   

For those who can't wait (or are living in Europe) it's already in stock at JPC for €29.99 ($39). Although I'm more than happy with the Haydn Trio Eisenstadt (much prefer their sound to the popular, on this forum, Van Swieten), I'm very tempted by this new release. For anyone collecting the discs individually, JPC has them priced at €2.99 now.

Sarge

[Gurn Blanston]

For those who can't wait (or are living in Europe) it's already in stock at JPC for €29.99 ($39). Although I'm more than happy with the Haydn Trio Eisenstadt (much prefer their sound to the popular, on this forum, Van Swieten), I'm very tempted by this new release. For anyone collecting the discs individually, JPC has them priced at €2.99 now.

Sarge

Thanks for that info, Sarge. I collected those as they were released and average price at the time was $13/disk (and yes, the 2 disk box (vol 8 ) cost twice as much!). As for the HT Eisenstadt, if I was going for modern instruments, I would prefer them too. The recorded sound has improved over the venerable BAT edition, and they also play at more HIP tempos and with a better blend of piano with strings. For our MI fans here, they are the right choice, IMO.



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Now playing:

  Ricercar Consort - Hob 10_03 Octet in a for Baryton, Winds & Strings 2nd mvmt - Allegro

[Gurn Blanston]

Part 24

1775
This was a sort of turning point year for Haydn. The Prince was on a determined path to the opera house. He really stopped caring about anything else musically.

It was to be the final year in which any great number of instrumental compositions would be composed for Esterházy. While there would just be a dab for home, the great stream would soon open up to the outside world instead. Even the run baryton works have slowed to a crawl now. Some wonderful Divertimenti a otto voci for baryton, winds and strings, some interesting duo sonatas for baryton and cello, and only a trickle of trios after this to finish off Book 5. There was also a missa brevis (The 'Little' Organ Solo Mass) and of course, the opera.

There was a visit by Archduke Ferdinand (Habsburg) of Milan and his court. L'incontro improvviso (The unexpected encounter) was first given on 29 August 1775 in their honor. Yet another of the many famous and powerful people that Haydn met simply by staying home.



The music of 1775;

Hob 01a_06 L'Incontro Improviso: Sinfonia in D
   Manfred Huss / Haydn Sinfonietta Wien


Hob 01_066 Symphony in Bb   
Hob 01_067 Symphony in F   
Hob 01_068 Symphony in Bb
   Academy of Ancient Music / Hogwood
Hob 01_069 Symphony in C
   Concentus Musicus Wien / Harnoncourt
or

Hob 10_01 Octet in D for Baryton, 2 Horns, 2 Violins, Cello & Basso
Hob 10_02 Octet in D for Baryton, 2 Horns, 2 Violins, Cello & Basso
Hob 10_03 Octet in a for Baryton, 2 Horns, 2 Violins, Cello & Basso
Hob 10_04 Octet in G for Baryton, 2 Horns, 2 Violins, Cello & Basso
Hob 10_05 Octet in G for Baryton, 2 Horns, 2 Violins, Cello & Basso
Hob 10_06 Octet in A for Baryton, 2 Horns, 2 Violins, Cello & Basso
Hob 10_12 Octet in G for Baryton, 2 Horns, 2 Violins, Cello & Basso
   Ricercar Consort


Hob 11_112 Trio in D for Baryton, Viola & Cello Book 5   
Hob 11_113 Trio in D for Baryton, Viola & Cello Book 5   
Hob 11_114 Trio in D for Baryton, Viola & Cello Book 5   
Hob 11_115 Trio in D for Baryton, Viola & Cello Book 5   
Hob 11_116 Trio in G for Baryton, Viola & Cello Book 5   
Hob 11_117 Trio in F for Baryton, Viola & Cello Book 5   
Hob 11_118 Trio in F for Baryton, Viola & Cello Book 5   
Hob 11_119 Trio in G for Baryton, Viola & Cello Book 5
   Esterhazy Ensemble

Hob 12_07 Sonata in D for Baryton & Cello   
Hob 12_08 Sonata in C for Baryton & Cello   
Hob 12_09 Sonata in G for Baryton & Cello   
Hob 12_10 Sonata in A for Baryton & Cello   
Hob 12_11 Sonata in D for Baryton & Cello   
Hob 12_12 Sonata in G for Baryton & Cello
   Esterhazy Ensemble


Hob 16_43 Sonata #35 in Ab for Keyboard
   Malcolm Bilson


Hob 22_07 Missa Brevis "Kleine Orgelmesse"
   Tafelmusik / Bruno Weil


Hob 28_06 Opera L'incontro improvviso   Chamber
Orchestra of Lausanne / Dorati        Zoghby / Ahnsjo / Marshall / Jones


This was actually a good year for symphonies, in the main they were not recycled stage music, and some of them (Hob 68 is a fine example) are filled with unsung beauties. 68 is a chamber symphony in Bb. The trio of the minuet and the rondo finale are both particularly interesting, looking back on previous times (serenade-like) and looking forward to things that would be prominent later, like the rhythms of the 'Clock' symphony, and the emphasis on upbeats which showed up in the Op 64 quartets among others. Oddly, and yet a perfect example of how naming a work carries it forward beyond its merits, the Hob 69 symphony, called "Laudon', is one of his weakest symphonies with little to recommend it. Yet of these works of 1775, it is the least interesting and attractive. Go figure. In point of fact, the recording I am showing you here, which is fortunately a very fine one, is the only PI recording available of these 3 symphonies. Harnoncourt covers the 69 as well as Hogwood. Otherwise, a slim year for symphony recordings! 

Not so for Baryton Octet though. There are at least 3 generally available recordings. If you have the Big Box, or the Complete Baryton box from Brilliant, then you have the Esterhazy Ensemble recordings. Those would probably be enough for any sane man, but I never let that stop me.   This box on BIS;


has the Haydn Sinfonietta Wien / Huss giving an excellent performance also, and finally the Ricercar Consort disks pictured, which were later released in a 2 disk set, do a splendid job too. I used their set because they were my first, and you know, you never get over your first time...

The Ab sonata has been relocated to 1775 from the mid-1780's. This version by Bilson, played on a Schanz fortepiano which was Haydn's choice for his personal piano, is particularly fine, although so are several other available ones, one of which you probably have right now. Give it a listen, it's a nice work. That disk, on Claves, is a nice little plum if you are just looking for a single disk with a nice variety on it. Bilson is one of my favorite players.

I leave the door open here for some of our mass specialists to discuss this missa brevis, the Little Organ Solo Mass. This version by Tafelmusik/Weil is very fine. I am thinking now that it might not be easy to find, however, since outside of the Benelux countries this Complete Mass box is not generally available (at least it wasn't. Be nice if they fixed that). The Naxos version with the Rebel Baroque Orchestra is very nice too, and will more than suffice in the breach.

Which brings us finally to this year's Italian Opera, L'incontro improvviso (The unexpected encounter). It is a dramma giocoso per musica with a libretto by Carl Friberth. It is necessary to say that Friberth isn't Goldoni, although if you can follow the poetry in a libretto then you don't need me to tell you that!    Haydn's music is brilliant, as always, but he must have had to work really hard to make this poet sound as good as he does. The arias are excellent though. Anyway, I am using the Dorati version on Philips, as I will for many of the operas. They are very good quality and even the modern instruments aren't a turn-off for me. The Lausanne Chamber Orchestra can really play, and the singers are among the best of the time (1970's). Those 2 boxes, or else the big 20 disk box set, are definitely worth the investment.

OK, we are getting ready to move forward into what can be viewed by some as a bit of a dry spell for our man. Of course, that doesn't take into account all of his work on other people's operas. Staging operas at the rate of 2 a week doesn't leave a lot of free time for composition, even for a genius.

As always, I am delighted to discuss any aspect of this essay, or any of the others in this series. Your feedback helps me to get better (and forces me to do more research, which can only be a good thing!) and that will make this more useful for you.

[Leo K.]

Thanks again Gurn! The operas done at Esterhazy are fascinating. These in-house productions, suggesting a limited royal audience, including various royal visitors ("If I want to hear good opera," the Empress Maria Theresa remarked, "I must go to Eszterháza"), are beautiful and moving productions that lay hidden in the Esterhazy archives for too many years. Hidden treasures all!

I read in the New York Times (from Jamie James, 1993):

"ONE OF THE MAJOR musicological events of the 1970's was the rediscovery of Haydn's operas. The critic H. C. Robbins Landon reconstructed some scores that had been thought to be lost; several were successfully staged at the Holland Festival, including a memorable "Fedelta Premiata" directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, and Antal Dorati recorded eight of the operas for Philips to great acclaim (now reissued, 432 413/38; 20 CD's). And that, it seems, was the end of the great Haydn opera revival.

It is astonishing that none of these operas has found its way into the fringes of the repertory, for they contain some of the loveliest vocal writing of the 18th century, and the orchestrations are continually fresh and inventive. Haydn, who is now best known as a composer of vocal music for his Masses and the great, late oratorios, had a high regard for the operas he composed as Kapellmeister at Eszterhaza castle. In a 1781 letter to his publisher, Haydn said of "La Fedelta Premiata": "I assure you that no such work has been heard in Paris up to now, nor perhaps in Vienna either. It is my misfortune that I live in the country."


I'm listening to L'Incontro Improvviso after reading the above, and find this a charming opera! 

[Sergeant Rock]

The Lausanne Chamber Orchestra can really play, and the singers are among the best of the time (1970's)...or else the big 20 disk box set, are definitely worth the investment.

Sold. I hit the buy button at JPC (€59.99 for the box). This is turning out to be an expensive weekend 

Sarge

[Gurn Blanston]

Thanks again Gurn! The operas done at Esterhazy are fascinating. These in-house productions, suggesting a limited royal audience, including various royal visitors ("If I want to hear good opera," the Empress Maria Theresa remarked, "I must go to Eszterháza"), are beautiful and moving productions that lay hidden in the Esterhazy archives for too many years. Hidden treasures all!

I read in the New York Times (from Jamie James, 1993):

"ONE OF THE MAJOR musicological events of the 1970's was the rediscovery of Haydn's operas. The critic H. C. Robbins Landon reconstructed some scores that had been thought to be lost; several were successfully staged at the Holland Festival, including a memorable "Fedelta Premiata" directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, and Antal Dorati recorded eight of the operas for Philips to great acclaim (now reissued, 432 413/38; 20 CD's). And that, it seems, was the end of the great Haydn opera revival.

It is astonishing that none of these operas has found its way into the fringes of the repertory, for they contain some of the loveliest vocal writing of the 18th century, and the orchestrations are continually fresh and inventive. Haydn, who is now best known as a composer of vocal music for his Masses and the great, late oratorios, had a high regard for the operas he composed as Kapellmeister at Eszterhaza castle. In a 1781 letter to his publisher, Haydn said of "La Fedelta Premiata": "I assure you that no such work has been heard in Paris up to now, nor perhaps in Vienna either. It is my misfortune that I live in the country."


I'm listening to L'Incontro Improvviso after reading the above, and find this a charming opera!

Thanks for the input, Leo. I have to agree with that writer, rescuing these operas was one of the biggest of Landon's many accomplishments. And I'll be honest here, I'm not really the biggest opera fan in the world, and yet it takes no effort to hear that these are really good! One side note about the operas, it isn't just recordings and live performances that are thin on the ground, but I can't find a single English language book about them, nor even the librettos! With Mozart, I was able to sit and become totally familiar with the works before I ever heard one. With Haydn, exactly the opposite. I did get the synopses from David Wyn Jones' book but that's the lot!



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Now playing:

  Chamber Orchestra of Lausanne; Dorati Zoghby; Ahnsjo; Marshall; Jones - Hob 28_06 Opera L'incontro improvviso pt 30 Act II -  Aria (Or vicina a te)

[Gurn Blanston]

Sold. I hit the buy button at JPC (€59.99 for the box). This is turning out to be an expensive weekend 

Sarge

That seems like a good box set deal, Sarge. I already had 1 of the 10 disk boxes when that 20 disker came out, so I just bought the other one instead of the big one. No advantage accrues either way, since the only way to get notes (and probably a libretto) is to get the 8 individual operas from the first release, and they are rare and very expensive now. I understand that there are books in German that discuss the operas fully and even provide librettos. IIRC, that's not a problem for you.

[Karl Henning]

Sold. I hit the buy button at JPC (€59.99 for the box). This is turning out to be an expensive weekend 

Oh, this wicked, wicked Haus!