27th Symphony (Haydn)

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The Symphony in G major Hoboken directory I: 27 wrote Joseph Haydn between 1757 and 1760. After the discovery of a copy in 1946 in Romania did the supposed "world premiere" of the held initially for unknown work.

General

Joseph Haydn (painting by Ludwig Guttenbrunn, around 1770)

Joseph Haydn composed the symphony Hoboken-Directory I: 27 between 1757 and 1760 while he was employed by Count Morzin.

In 1946 a copy of a supposedly previously unknown symphony by Josef Haydn was discovered in the Brukenthal summer residence in Freck near Sibiu in Transylvania . This dates back to 1786 and was "premiered" on January 29, 1950 in Bucharest to rousing applause. It later turned out that it was the symphony Hoboken-Index I: 27, published in 1907. The work is therefore sometimes referred to as the “Hermannstädter” or “ Brukenthal ” symphony.

On the occasion of the appointment of Hermannstadt (Sibiu) as the European Capital of Culture in 2007, Franz Koglmann wrote the commissioned work Nocturnal Walks in which he combined quotations from Emil Cioran with motifs from Haydn's symphony.

To the music

Instrumentation: two oboes , two horns , two violins , viola , cello , double bass . To reinforce the bass voice was at that time also without separate listing a bassoon and harpsichord - Continuo (if available in the orchestra), where different in the literature on the participation of the harpsichord Disagreement exists.

Performance time: approx. 15 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 1758 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 molto

G major, 4/4 time, 108 bars

Beginning of the Allegro molto

The movement begins forte with the first theme (bars 1 to 10). The head motif contains a "rocket-like" ascending G major chord in half notes of the oboes, horns and 1st violin under a flat tremolo of the other strings. The ascending triad theme and the compact orchestral sound are reminiscent of the Mannheim school . In measure 3, the leading note F sharp is reached, whereby Haydn " creates a strong dominant tension that gives the theme a very unmistakable character filled with inner dynamics." The other material of the first theme consists of descending G major chords and large interval jumps in half notes under the low strings, which continue to tremolate. The tremolo figures also continue in the subsequent melody line, which is mainly based on triad formations. From bar 18, energetic chord strokes on D introduce a passage in which a new rhythmic motif with alternating notes in sixteenth notes and octave jump ("alternating note motif") occurs first in the viola, then also taken over by the violins in alternation with syncopated accompaniment, while the striding Chord movement from the bass to the head reminds of the first theme. Rising unison scale figures herald the second theme in the dominant D major.

This is in the piano (for the first time in a movement) and is only performed by the strings. It has an imitative beginning in half notes (which is somewhat reminiscent of the beginning of the sentence), then takes up the already existing eighth note movement of the 2nd violin and swings to D minor in the second half. The final group is in the forte and contains some elements of the previous events with the "alternating note motif", the unison scale fragments and tremolo.

The development begins with the first theme in D major, followed by a sequence of alternating note motifs, unison scale and tremolo. In the further course, the passage with the alternating note motif in the circle of fifths is led downwards via E minor, A minor, D major and G major. The recapitulation from bar 68 is structured like the exposition. The exposition, development and recapitulation are repeated.

Second movement: Andante: siciliano

C major, 6/8 time, 49 bars

Beginning of the Andante

In the Andante, the 1st violin with a vocal melody leads the voice over the 2nd violin accompanying it in continuous sixteenth notes and the accompanying viola and bass in pizzicato with notes. The violins play muffled. This structure, the 6/8 time (unusual for the slow movements of Haydn's symphonies at the time) and the sometimes existing dotted rhythms in the melody create a serenad- like pastoral atmosphere, which is characteristic of the eponymous Siciliano .

The exposition of the movement consists of three parts, each separated by pauses: the “main theme” in the tonic in C major (bars 1 to 7) with dotted rhythm in bars 3 and 5 as well as descending second chains in regular sixteenths (bars 4 and 6), the "second theme" in the dominant G major with more prominence of the dotted rhythm and a concluding "final group" also in G major, which contains the head motif from the second theme and (as a variant of the second chains) chains of thirds in even sixteenths . The final remarks from the first topic and the final group are structurally the same.

The development varies the head motif from the first theme and - in a longer minor passage - the head from the first theme as well as the regular sixteenth-note chains. The recapitulation is structured in a similar way to the exposition, but the “first theme” is shortened by one measure and the “second theme” is extended by one measure. The exposition, development and recapitulation are repeated.

“This Andante, filled with captivatingly sweet cantability, with its muted strings breathes (...) an utterly Italian atmosphere. The movement is unique in Haydn's symphonies, because in contrast to Mozart , who absorbed the influences of Italian music to a large extent on his three trips to Italy, such influences only play a subordinate role with Haydn. "

Third movement: Presto

G major, 3/8 time, 112 bars

As is customary for contemporary symphonies, the last movement has the character of a “sweep”. The Presto begins with the main theme of two four-bar, contrasting halves, the first half in the forte with its ascending G major chord in the bass reminiscent of the beginning of the Allegro molto. The theme is repeated and turns into a passage with large leaps in intervals and several rapid ascending scales. The short final group is characterized by unison corridors.

The middle section is only intended for strings and initially takes up the unison courses of the final group. In bar 47 there follows a minor part in the piano that contrasts with the previous event, which from bar 51 is only played by the violins. The eighth movement with the offset movement in seconds is reminiscent of the second half of the main theme. The recapitulation from bar 68 is structured similar to the exposition. The exposition, the middle section and the recapitulation are repeated.

Individual references, comments

  1. ↑ Information page of the Haydn Festival Eisenstadt, see under web links.
  2. ^ Howard Chandler Robbins Landon: Haydn: Chronicle and works. The early years 1732-1765. Thames and Hudson, London 1980, p. 294.
  3. ^ Anthony van Hoboken: Joseph Haydn: Thematic-bibliographical catalog of works . Volume 1: Instrumental Works. Schott-Verlag, Mainz 1957, pp. 30 to 31.
  4. ↑ Walks with Cioran, Haydn's strange travels and the world situation in terms of jazz - Franz Koglmann in an interview with mica. In: musicaustria.at. Music Information Center Austria , December 13, 2006, accessed on May 10, 2020 .
  5. ↑ The horns are missing in the first complete edition by Breitkopf & Härtel (van Hoboken 1957, p. 30). The edition of the work published by the Joseph Haydn Institute Cologne writes about the horn parts (pages X-XI): “In the G major Symphony 27, it is not the oboes but the horns that, according to the stemmatological evaluation of the sources , only later entered the tradition are. They must have saved the work's mercantile value for the later years. HC Robbins Landon already noticed some parts of the horn as in need of improvement , others seem atypical for Haydn. Therefore the author is probably to be found in the vicinity of the Viennese music shop that sold this piece. "
  6. ↑ 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).
  7. ^ 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. 92 to 93.
  8. ^ A b Wolfgang Marggraf : Haydn's earliest symphonies (1759-1761). The symphonies of the three-movement Italian type . http://www.haydn-sinfonien.de/text/chapter2.1.html , accessed April 28, 2013.
  9. ↑ a b c The repetitions of the parts of the sentence are not kept in many recordings.
  10. ^ Howard Chandler Robbins Landon : The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn. Universal Edition & Rocklife, London 1955, p. 214.

Web links, notes

See also