21st Symphony (Haydn)

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The Symphony in A major Hoboken directory I: 21 wrote Joseph Haydn in 1764 during his tenure as Vice-Kapellmeister to Prince I. Nikolaus Esterházy .

General

Joseph Haydn (painting by Ludwig Guttenbrunn, around 1770)

The work is characterized by the following features:

  • The full sequence slow - fast - slow (Menuett) - quickly determined by that of the late Baroque Kirchensonate and is under Haydn Sinfonien even at no. 5 , no. 11 , No. 18th , no. 22 , no. 34 and no 49th represented . In addition to the sequence and key, Symphony No. 5 also has other structural similarities to Symphony No. 21 in the first and fourth movements (see there).
  • While it is common in other symphonies of this time that at least the slow movement or the trio are in a different key - mostly the dominant , all movements here are in the basic key of A, with the exception of the trio, all in A major.

Also from 1764 the symphonies No. 22, No. 23 and No. 24 have survived in autograph form.

To the music

Instrumentation: two oboes , two horns , two violins , viola , cello , double bass . At that time, a bassoon was used to reinforce the bass voice, even without separate notation . On the participation of a harpsichord - continuos are competing views in Haydn's symphonies.

Performance time: approx. 20 minutes.

With the terms of the sonata form used here, it should be noted that this model was only designed at the beginning of the 19th century (see there) and can only be used with restrictions for a symphony from 1764. - The description and structure of the sentences given here is to be understood as a suggestion. Depending on the point of view, other delimitations and interpretations are also possible.

First movement: Adagio

A major, 3/4 time, 70 bars

The sentence structure does not fit into a clearly definable form, but is free, as it were created in a fantasy-like manner. What is remarkable is the hitherto novel treatment of dynamics, melody line and orchestration, e.g. in the form of oboe solos.

Beginning of the adagio in the strings

The movement begins as a dialogue between the strings, who play the vocal melody in calm, serene quarters, and a solo of the oboes. The further material of the movement is derived from these first six bars. From bar 16 the 2nd violin leads with the main melody, while the 1st violin accompanies with a figure sequenced downwards . Then (bars 29 ff.) The cello and double bass take up the melody, while the other strings create a soundscape of partly dissonant eighth notes in staccato . In bar 49, the 1st violin begins again with the voice guidance, followed by the 2nd violin, viola, cello and double bass. The so far very calm atmosphere of the movement is briefly disturbed by dissonant chords in the forte (bars 54–60) before the movement ends with a solo of the winds and a closing phrase of the tutti .

Second movement: Presto

A major, 4/4 time, 102 bars

The Presto not only contrasts with the previous movement in terms of its tempo, but also in terms of its content: If the Adagio was heavy and heavy, it is followed by a relatively simple, cheerful movement with a propulsive, downright hammering eighth note movement. The first theme with its sequence of broken chords, which are performed in energetic unison staccato, seamlessly merges into a continuation with a tone repetition motif until the dominant E major is reached in bar 16 with chord strikes . After a quarter pause as a turning point in the material that has been presented so far forte, the second theme begins in E major. Like the first theme, it has a motif-like character and consists of a downward staccato movement that can be derived from the previous section and is imitated by the strings in the piano. After just four bars, a new forte section begins, which begins with its characteristic pendulum motif with dotted rhythm and is characterized in particular by its tone repetition motif with a lead. The exposure ends with the final group and their syncope motif.

The development begins with material from the second theme, with Haydn starting in the dominant E major and then imitating the material. a. leads via A major and D major to C sharp major. From bar 56, there is another modulation passage with the pendulum motif or the tone repetition motif, which ends in a wild cadence of broken chords on the 1st violin. The whole implementation is consistently in the forte.

The recapitulation does not begin with the first theme, but with the tone repetition motif of the transition in measure 66 in the tonic A major. The rest of the course is initially similar to the exposition, but in bar 95, instead of the expected final chords, there is a “later” appearance of the first theme. The exposition, development and recapitulation are repeated.

Third movement: Menuet

A major, 3/4 time, with trio 60 bars

The dance-like minuet, with its cheerful, relaxed character, follows on from the Presto. The first part is based on the question-answer principle, where the question is played forte and the answer is played piano. The second part continues the material and is significantly longer with 24 bars. The beginning of the main melody is reminiscent of the minuet from “ Little Night Music ” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the minuet from Haydn's string quartet opus 20 No. 4.

The trio in A minor for strings is based on a motif sequenced several times with a dotted rhythm and a subsequent triplet. Here, too, the first part with eight bars is much shorter than the second part with 20 bars.

Fourth movement: Finale. Allegro molto

A major, 4/4 time, 90 bars

The fourth movement also follows on from the Presto in terms of timbre and character: a series of motifs and chord melodies with z. T. vigorous tone repetition. The first theme (main theme, no clear second theme recognizable) consists of a hoquetus-like piano motif of the violins, interrupted by an energetic forte unison motif of the tutti, which continues from bar 5 and is provisionally concluded with chord hits on the dominant E- Major leads. In the following section, a tone repetition motif with trills is sequenced. Up to the end of the exposition in bar 40, further motifs follow, among which a figure with half notes (bar 22 ff.) And a syncope motif (bar 26 ff.) Stand out.

The development processes the main theme as well as the motifs with the half notes and the trill. The separation between development and recapitulation is not clear; it could be set to measure 59 (beginning of the section with the bulging trill in the tonic A major). The exposition, development and recapitulation are repeated.

Individual references, comments

  1. ↑ Examples: a) James Webster: On the Absence of Keyboard Continuo in Haydn's Symphonies. In: Early Music Volume 18 No. 4, 1990, pp. 599-608); b) Hartmut Haenchen : Haydn, Joseph: Haydn's orchestra and the harpsichord question in the early symphonies. Booklet text for the recordings of the early Haydn symphonies. , online (accessed June 26, 2019), to: H. Haenchen: Early Haydn Symphonies , Berlin Classics, 1988–1990, cassette with 18 symphonies; c) Jamie James: He'd Rather Fight Than Use Keyboard In His Haydn Series . In: New York Times , October 2, 1994 (accessed June 25, 2019; showing various positions by Roy Goodman , Christopher Hogwood , HC Robbins Landon and James Webster). Most orchestras with modern instruments currently (as of 2019) do not use a harpsichord continuo. Recordings with harpsichord continuo exist. a. by: Trevor Pinnock ( Sturm und Drang symphonies , archive, 1989/90); Nikolaus Harnoncourt (No. 6-8, Das Alte Werk, 1990); Sigiswald Kuijken (including Paris and London symphonies ; Virgin, 1988-1995); Roy Goodman (e.g. Nos. 1-25, 70-78; Hyperion, 2002).
  2. ^ A b c Howard Chandler Robbins Landon: The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn. Universal Edition & Rocklife, London 1955, pp. 255-257.
  3. ↑ a b The repetitions of the parts of the sentence are not kept in some recordings.
  4. ^ Antony Hodgson: The Music of Joseph Haydn . The Symphonies. The Tantivy Press, London 1976, ISBN 0-8386-1684-4 , p. 61

Web links, notes

See also