Haydn's Haus

[Brian]

Listening to Hobbit's #36. This is what I get for not actually buying every volume: I didn't realize he was using harpsichords sometimes. Still, it's unobtrusive enough I'm not that annoyed...

[Gurn Blanston]

Listening to Hobbit's #36. This is what I get for not actually buying every volume: I didn't realize he was using harpsichords sometimes. Still, it's unobtrusive enough I'm not that annoyed...

Geez, Brian, you are really sensitive! What would you have done if you lived back then and every piece of music had some sort of keyboard accompaniment?  Well, at least you have Hogwood available in case you have a need for good music from time to time.

[Gurn Blanston]

This arrived today. I have been working at expanding my collections of performances of Haydn's songs, an under-appreciated segment of his output. Too bad really, he was an excellent composer for the voice.



This is the first disk I have heard by Catherine Bott, although the Meridian liner notes claim her to be a highly acclaimed performer. Her voice is excellent, and especially well-suited for songs rather than opera. The players are all well-known and with good reason, shown here. The Scottish songs are all from the edition of Napier (1792-95) rather than the later versions that Haydn did for Thompson and Whyte. Glad I finally picked this one up, plus got a great price from importCDs that even included free postage (off eBay)!

[Brian]

Geez, Brian, you are really sensitive! What would you have done if you lived back then and every piece of music had some sort of keyboard accompaniment?  Well, at least you have Hogwood available in case you have a need for good music from time to time.

It's weird - I'm perfectly fine with the harpsichord in baroque-era music (e.g. Bach, Vivaldi, though in Vivaldi I'd prefer the new trend for lutes or other continuos), and I'm fine with it in solo works too, but put a harpsichord in a middle-to-late Haydn or Mozart symphony and I start going bananas. It's just my own terrible taste! 

[Gurn Blanston]

It's weird - I'm perfectly fine with the harpsichord in baroque-era music (e.g. Bach, Vivaldi, though in Vivaldi I'd prefer the new trend for lutes or other continuos), and I'm fine with it in solo works too, but put a harpsichord in a middle-to-late Haydn or Mozart symphony and I start going bananas. It's just my own terrible taste! 

Yeah, I'll grant you that, although #36 is only from 1761, so it's hard to find a more appropriate age... what really used to eat my lunch was Mozart's early solo keyboards works (mostly variations) played on harpsichord, and the early concertos. Despite the fact that it was the most appropriate instrument for it, I just had this thing about Mozart on the cembalo! 

[Karl Henning]

FWIW, the harpsichordist I know best, I have never known to play any of the Mozart keyboard solo works.

[Gurn Blanston]

FWIW, the harpsichordist I know best, I have never known to play any of the Mozart keyboard solo works.

Probably a wise choice.  

[Sergeant Rock]

It's weird - I'm perfectly fine with the harpsichord in baroque-era music (e.g. Bach, Vivaldi, though in Vivaldi I'd prefer the new trend for lutes or other continuos), and I'm fine with it in solo works too, but put a harpsichord in a middle-to-late Haydn or Mozart symphony and I start going bananas. It's just my own terrible taste! 

No, your taste is just fine    At least Fey keeps the harpischord (when he employs it; he doesn't always, and never in the later works) in check, unlike Goodman's jumbo keyboard. Fey's marginally less annoying to me.

Sarge

[Wakefield]

That's [using harpsichord in the symphonies]at least one thing about Fey's cycle that interests me.

+1

I feel that many times the harpsichord adds an interesting "propulsive" element to the music, a very enjoyable sense of urgency. 

[Gurn Blanston]

+1

I feel that many times the harpsichord adds an interesting "propulsive" element to the music, a very enjoyable sense of urgency. 

I'm bi. I love the music with it, I love the music without. There, I've decloaked.

[Sergeant Rock]

+1

I feel that many times the harpsichord adds an interesting "propulsive" element to the music, a very enjoyable sense of urgency. 

If Haydn needed a harpsichord to propel his music, then he was a piss poor orchestrator. But we know he wasn't, so... No need for redundancy. His scores don't need it. 

Sarge

[Karl Henning]

Does Andante sostenuto require propulsion? Just curious 

[mszczuj]

Does Andante sostenuto require propulsion? Just curious 

It just must be sostenuto propulsion.

[Wakefield]

I'm bi. I love the music with it, I love the music without. There, I've decloaked.

No doubt it's my own position too.

[Wakefield]

Does Andante sostenuto require propulsion? Just curious 

Andante, walking, propulsion... I got it. 

[Wakefield]

If Haydn needed a harpsichord to propel his music, then he was a piss poor orchestrator. But we know he wasn't, so... No need for redundancy. His scores don't need it. 

Sarge

Yes, that's totally true, if you think that all the music is in the score, without any room for implicit performance practices.

[Leo K.]

This arrived today. I have been working at expanding my collections of performances of Haydn's songs, an under-appreciated segment of his output. Too bad really, he was an excellent composer for the voice.



This is the first disk I have heard by Catherine Bott, although the Meridian liner notes claim her to be a highly acclaimed performer. Her voice is excellent, and especially well-suited for songs rather than opera. The players are all well-known and with good reason, shown here. The Scottish songs are all from the edition of Napier (1792-95) rather than the later versions that Haydn did for Thompson and Whyte. Glad I finally picked this one up, plus got a great price from importCDs that even included free postage (off eBay)!

Awesome! I've never listened to Haydn's song collections, but now that I have the Brilliant box I can, and I will soon. 

[Gurn Blanston]

Awesome! I've never listened to Haydn's song collections, but now that I have the Brilliant box I can, and I will soon. 

The Big Box has the classic standard set of Elly Ameling and Jörg Demus. The do a superb job throughout;

[asin]B001QBC2PI[/asin]

You can't go wrong with this one. I only duplicated it because... well, that's what I do!     The Scottish songs in the Big Box are also excellent. That was a great acquisition. Everyone should have it.

[kyjo]

I'd like to start exploring Haydn's music more in-depth than I have been. I seem to have been dismissing him (probably wrongly) over my CD-collecting years and methinks it's time I start giving this guy his due. Anyways, I've been looking into getting a complete cycle of his symphonies. I'm leaning towards the Dorati cycle on Decca, but I see there are others that have received much praise. May I ask the assistance of one of this forum's Haydn experts to guide me to the best overall cycle? A quick Amazon search reveals these:

     

Also, what do members think of these sets?

     

Feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[DavidW]

If it's still available on jpc, Hogwood's largely but not complete symphony cycle is my favorite.  For the other sets I give thumbs up to the masses set, excellent performances.  It is a contentious issue, but I think that the Kodaly set is a fine introduction to the string quartets.  For the piano sonatas, have you considered Buchbinder?