23rd Symphony (Haydn)

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The Symphony in G major Hoboken directory I: 23 wrote Joseph Haydn in 1764 during his tenure as Vice-Kapellmeister to Prince Nikolaus I. Esterhazy . The minuet and trio are composed as a canon . The final movement has an unusual pianissimo ending.

General

Joseph Haydn (painting by Ludwig Guttenbrunn, around 1770)

The Symphony Hoboken Directory I: 23 was composed by Joseph Haydn in 1764. In the same year - during the time as vice-conductor of the Esterházy family - Haydn composed the symphonies No. 21 , No. 22 and No. 24 .

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 (depending on compliance with the prescribed repetitions).

With the terms of the sonata form used here, it should be noted that this scheme was designed in the first half of the 19th century (see there) and can therefore only be transferred to a work composed around 1764 with restrictions. - 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: Allegro

G major, 3/4 time, 127 bars

Beginning of the Allegro

The symphony begins with a "great" , "of compelling rhythmic power and dramatic impulses fulfilled (...) header." The strong first topic (main topic, a contrasting second theme is missing) consists of two halves, for the rhythm of four districts and Eighth notes in the dotted rhythm is typical. In the first half, the quarters are designed as powerful chord strokes and the wind instruments lead the part, the second half is introduced by a sixteenth-note turn (which is important in the further course of the movement) and crosses a larger pitch range than the first. The second half is repeated in various ways.

From bar 9 there is an interplay between the oboes and the rest of the orchestra. In bar 20, half 1 of the main theme is repeated in the dominant D major, then the sixteenth-note figure of the second half first becomes a downward sequence and then - enriched with octave leaps downwards - becomes unison . The unison movement is enriched with chromaticism , and after a short piano echo there follows an extended tremolo sound surface with an ascending scale segment in the oboes. The final group contains a motif with dotted rhythm (reminiscent of the main theme) and at the end a small wind fanfare.

The development begins with the main theme in D major. Then the sixteenth note from the main theme is processed intensively: in the staggered use of the strings, in an imitative passage of the violins with octave leaps (up and down) and in unison. From bar 81 there follows a passage with syncope and elements from the theme (quarter movement) and the final group, which ends in B minor. With the throw-in passage (here: oboes and strings), Haydn switches back to the tonic in G major and thus to the recapitulation.

In the recapitulation from bar 96, the passage with the interjections and the second appearance of the main theme are left out, but the tremolo sound surface is somewhat more extensive. The exposition, development and recapitulation are repeated.

Second movement: Andante

C major, 2/4 time, 105 bars

The movement is (as usual with Haydn's early to middle symphonies) only for strings and mainly piano. The first theme is symmetrically built up from two-bar blocks and has a song-like character. Typical for the rest of the movement are the interjections from viola and bass, here initially as a triplet roller upwards. The head of the topic is repeated (now with a sixteenth roller downwards) and answered with a minor turn. In the following dialogue between violins and viola / bass, the sixteenth-note roller appears dominantly. In the second, phrase-like “theme” in the dominant G major, only the violins play. In the final group from bar 28, the dialogue between upper and lower voices is continued, the interposition of viola and bass is now expanded as a scale upwards.

The implementation repeats the motifs of the exposure as variants. Starting from the first theme in G major, there follows a more extended, dissonant minor passage, the second “theme” in A minor and the shortened final group. The recapitulation is different from the exposition: the repetition of the first theme is left out, but the minor passage is expanded and enriched with dissonances. The exposition, development and recapitulation are repeated.

Third movement: minuet

G major, 3/4 time, with trio 50 bars

Beginning of the minuet with the staggered entry of parts

The minuet is structured as a two-part canon. Part 1 plays oboes and violins, voice 2, shifted by one measure, viola and bass. The horns fill in the harmonies with interjections. The theme is characterized by alternating eighth notes with triplets and breaks.

Canonical minuets in G major are available e.g. B. also in Haydn's Symphony No. 3 , in a symphony by Michael Haydn or with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the Symphony KV 110 and the Cassation KV 63.

The trio in C major is also a canon in three parts for strings (1st violin, 2nd violin and viola / bass) with the introduction of the parts offset by two bars.

Fourth movement: Finale. Presto assai

G major, 6/8 time, 96 bars

The movement is characterized by its almost continuous, propulsive movement of the violins in the piano and - as a dynamic contrast to this - short forte interjections by the entire orchestra.

The first theme begins as a forte “exclamation mark” from tone repetition, followed by an upbeat piano figure of the violins moving in eighths. The theme is repeated and then goes over to the dominant D major, where in bar 19, after another “exclamation mark”, the second “theme” (rather: motif) with scale fragments begins. A forte throw-in, which is a little longer with four bars, leads to the final group, in which the piano movement of the violins (again interrupted by an throw-in) stays in place due to its repeated second steps.

The development varies the first theme and places the forte piano contrasts next to each other in bars, with several keys being touched. The recapitulation from bar 59 is structured like the exposition, but the end of the movement has a peculiarity that is often emphasized in literature and interpreted as an early example of Haydn's humor: the music ebbs more and more, interrupted by pauses in pianissimo. When the movement has already come to an end, Haydn adds an unexpected pizzicato chord after a general pause . The exposition, development and recapitulation are repeated.

Individual references, comments

  1. ↑ Information page of the Haydn Festival Eisenstadt, see under web links.
  2. ↑ 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).
  3. ^ A b Antony Hodgson: The Music of Joseph Haydn . The Symphonies. The Tantivy Press, London 1976, ISBN 0-8386-1684-4 , p. 62
  4. ^ A b c Walter Lessing: The symphonies of Joseph Haydn, in addition: all masses. A series of broadcasts on Südwestfunk Baden-Baden 1987-89, published by Südwestfunk Baden-Baden in 3 volumes. Volume 1, Baden-Baden 1989, pp. 84 to 85.
  5. ↑ a b c The repetitions of the parts of the sentence are not kept in some recordings.
  6. ^ Howard Chandler Robbins Landon: Haydn: Chronicle and works. The early years 1732 - 1765. Thames and Hudson, London 1980, p. 568: Perger Symphony Directory 7.
  7. ^ A b Howard Chandler Robbins Landon: The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn. Universal Edition & Rocklife, London 1955, p. 250

Web links, notes

See also