60th Symphony (Haydn)

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The Symphony in C major Hoboken directory I: 60 wrote Joseph Haydn in 1774 during his tenure as Kapellmeister to Prince I. Nikolaus Esterházy . The work is conceived as incidental music and is nicknamed "Il distratto" ("The scattered)".

General

Joseph Haydn (painting by Ludwig Guttenbrunn, around 1770)

The work with the nickname "Il distratto" is not a symphony in the narrower sense, but a loose sequence of overture and five other movements that were composed to accompany a contemporary comic play: "The scattered" (Italian: "Il distratto") is a German prose version of Jean-François Regnard's play “Le Distrait” from 1697 in five acts. The work was performed in 1774 by the actors around Karl Wahr at the court of Esterházy Palace. Other well-known performances took place in Eszterháza in 1775 and at the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna in 1776 .

The plot of the comedy is summarized as follows: Madame Grognac wants to marry off her daughter Isabelle. She chose the absent-minded Leander for this. But Isabelle loves the bon vivant Chevalier and does not want to marry Leander. Leander is in love with Clarice, Chevalier's sister, but in his confusion also with Isabelle. In the numerous mix-ups in the play, Leander inadvertently writes a love letter to Isabelle, even though he actually means Clarice. Because of these diversions, both women consider him unfaithful. Only in the last act do the couples find each other, Leander marries Clarice. But he has to leave in a hurry because he accidentally forgot his own wedding.

The work has the following elements, which are reminiscent of the distractions and confusions of the play:

  • abrupt changes between forte and piano,
  • abrupt changes between harmonically distant keys and from major and minor,
  • abrupt changes in strongly contrasting sections / motifs,
  • Repetitions of tones or motifs,
  • Obstructions, rhythmic irritations.
  • Particularly noticeable is the passage in the first movement, where the disappearance of the musical event (a “forgetting” of the melody) is followed by an unexpected outbreak in fortissimo, and in the sixth movement the section in which the violins “notice” that their instruments are mutually exclusive have been upset. You then tune the G strings that have dropped to F to the correct note in the middle of the movement.

The contrasting themes and motifs can sometimes be associated with the different characters of the play or the events on the stage, for example in the second movement:

“The 'lyrical' Isabelle, who is to be married to the 'absent-minded' Léandre, and her militarily resolute mother, Mme. Grognac. In the middle of it all, one encounters the Chevalier, whom Isabelle wants to marry against her mother's will, with French dance steps that have been carefully calibrated and trilled. "

Contemporary Reviews:

  • Report of the Pressburger Zeitung about the first known performance in Eszterháza on July 30th 1774: “This excellent sound poet recently composed his own music for the theater of Herr Wahr for the comedy“ The Scattered ”, which connoisseurs consider a masterpiece. One notices the spirit in a musical and comic mood which animates all Heydnian works. He masterfully alternates connoisseurs for admiration, and listeners for pleasure, falls from the most affective pomposity to the lower, so that H [aydn] and Regnard are eager to see who is the most capricious. The piece has a multifaceted value. From act to act, she comes closer to her intention, after the actor's distractions increase. "
  • Pressburger Zeitung of November 23, 1774: “On Tuesdays on Cäcilientage, 'The Scattered' was played. Herr von Hayden made a strange piece of music for it [...] The only thing that is remembered here is that it is excellent, quite excellent, and that the finale had to be repeated after the listeners clapped their hands incessantly. In it the allusion to the absent-minded man who had forgotten on the wedding day that he was a bridegroom and therefore had to tie a knot in his handkerchief is extremely well done. The musicians start the piece pomposely and only remember after a while that their instruments were not in tune. "
  • Salzburger Theaterwochenblatt dated January 27, 1776: “After the comedy is over there is a final piece of music, which is also very good. The dispersion of the orchestra, which tunes the violins through 6 acts in the middle of the piece, is surprising, pleasant, and has a warmly good effect. You have to laugh out loud at the thought. "

In 1803 Haydn wrote to a friend who was still in Esterházy's service, “Be so kind as to send me up the old symphony (called DIE ZERSTREUTE) on the very first occasion, while Her Majesty requests the Empress to hear the old rubbish. . "

To the music

Instrumentation: two oboes , two horns in C, two trumpets , timpani , 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. 30 minutes (depending on the tempo and 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 Symphony No. 60 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.

Alexander Kulosa (2004, with detailed sentence analysis) analyzes mathematical structures (clock numbers, interval relationships) also across the sentence boundaries and comes to the conclusion that numerical relationships (integer connections, golden proportions , Pythagorean triples ) form a comprehensive system of relationships in the work ( regardless of the fact that these were probably not consciously created by Haydn).

First movement: Adagio - Allegro di molto

Adagio: C major, 2/4 time (Adagio), time 1–24

The introductory Adagio opens the symphony “exaggeratedly pompous” with a C major fanfare in the forte, which is held in the style of the French- Baroque overture . Then the strings begin piano with a vocal-flowing melody, which is structured regularly (four motifs from four bars) and only receives a moment of tension through a forte accent. The harmonies only alternate between the tonic in C major and the dominant in G major; In bar 17 the parallel tonic in A minor is briefly reached. The Adagio ends as a pendulum movement and a fermata in the dominant G major. Compared to other symphony introductions of this period (e.g. nos. 50, 53 and 54), the present one is relatively low in contrast and stands out due to the vocal melody line.

Allegro di molto: 3/4 time, bars 25–228

Beginning of the Allegro di molto

A characteristic of the Allegro di molto is the structure of small motifs that are repeated several times in a row. The movement begins with the four-bar thematic main unit (“first theme” or motif A), which is first performed piano by the strings and then repeated with the oboe participating. The rocking figure, the prelude, the accents and the staccato create a somewhat uncertain, fluctuating impression. The whole orchestra ( tutti ) forte then begins all the more energetically with a tone repetition response (motif B), which, however, is immediately repeated on the less affirming piano. From bar 42 there is again a transition section that leaves C major with a new triad motif (motif C) and syncopation , from bar 54 there is another, scale-like motif in the bass (motif D), which is also vigorously repeated.

The second theme in G major (or: Motif E, because it has a motif-like character) from bar 68 is only performed by the strings in the piano. It is structurally derived from the beginning of the first topic and characterized by repeated notes. The subsequent sentence of the theme is lost in tone repetitions, and the musical happening gradually disappears through a “perdendosi” (Italian = losing oneself) on the same harmony to the limit of audibility. This “forgetting” is followed by a sudden outbreak of the orchestra in fortissimo (bar 84) with a short chord progression leading to G major. The subsequent final group consists of a small, one-bar motif (motif F), which is repeated three times, as well as broken chords. The exposition ends in bar 98 with powerful chords in G major.

The implementation starts with the head of the first theme in G major. Haydn then changes with a continuation from E minor to A minor, where he surprisingly quotes the beginning of Symphony No. 45 , composed two years earlier (broken chords downwards over a syncope movement). This is probably also to be taken as a joke (in the sense that Haydn himself is so confused that he mixed up the symphonies). Starting from A minor, Haydn sequenced the motif over E minor into the unexpected B flat major, from there on over G minor to E major. Here the movement comes to rest briefly with half notes in unison , before motif D in E major takes up the force of the previous section and leads to the tonic parallel in A minor, in which the second theme appears from bar 143. As in the exposition, a “perdendosi” follows in which the music disappears (here in D minor). Instead of the fortissimo outbreak, however, the recapitulation with the first theme in C major starts from bar 158 . It is structured in a similar way to the exposition, but the follow-up to the first theme leads to a continuation of the minor key, and timpani are now also included in the fortissimo outbreak after the “perdendosi” of the second theme.

Second movement: Andante

G major, 2/4 time, 131 bars

Beginning of the andante: 1st violin and oboes

The beginning of the first theme (or: motif) is played by the strings and consists of a four-bar, striding phrase in the piano, in which oboes, horns and the divided violas give a fanfare-like, two-bar forte interjection shortly before the end of the phrase. This figure is repeated, from bar 11 a continuation of the beginning of the theme follows, which merges into the second theme in the dominant D major via unison movement. The front movement is characterized by its rocking figure with characteristic triple tone repetition, the subsequent movement consists of a sequenced motif of the strings with an offset insert. The motif gains “speed” from bar 31 onwards by shortening the note values. However, the movement ebbs again and loses decisiveness, which is expressed in the hesitant change from subdued triad melodies in D major (bar 38) and D minor (bar 39), which is followed by an F major chord with a seventh to B- Major (bar 40/41) and then back to D major (bar 42) changes quite abruptly. This is followed by the final group with a memorable, walking motif (actually already a theme) in forte and unison until the end of the exposition in measure 55.

The development begins with the first theme in D major. A new march-like theme with trills from bar 65 is introduced via a brief change to E minor. This melody is called "Ancien chant francois" in an old French edition of the symphony. The "scattered" horns burst in with a tone repetition fanfare that disrupts the melody. Via E minor, Haydn then leads in stumbling movements (strong interval jumps) to B minor, in which the movement comes to a standstill in bar 80.

The following recapitulation is structured in a similar way to the exposition, but after introducing the first theme it leads to minor for a short time.

Third movement: Menuetto. Non troppo Presto

C major, 3/4 time, with trio 71 bars

The main melody of the minuet, played by the violins and oboes, shows an ascending line in the first four bars and a descending line in the following four bars. In the ascending line, the melody is interrupted by caesuras, which seems halting. The bass throws into these gaps. The falling line without pauses has a dotted rhythm and a double beat. The whole first part is consistently in the forte. At the beginning of the second part, the violins play a new, contrasting motif, briefly swapping their roles before the cello and double bass join in. From bar 18 the main melody appears again in the forte, but now as a variant in minor. Bars 31–38 are a real “recapitulation”, in which the first part is repeated verbatim except for the final formula.

The trio in C minor (oboes and strings only) begins forte as an energetic, upward-striving unison gesture made up of full-bar notes, which are followed by a contrasting, chromatic “tinkling” (scale runs in staccato) of the upper parts above a static, throbbing bass in G minor. The second part of the trio continues the “rattle” forte starting from E flat major, before a variant of the first part follows after another gesture in unison.

Fourth movement: Presto

C minor / C major, 2/4 time, 163 bars, up to bar 126 only strings and oboe

The first, eight-bar theme has an energetic character and is performed by the strings forte and in unison, then repeated echo-like piano. Now from bar 35 a section begins in the unexpected E flat major with wild tremolo pads of the strings. Even after the violins have run the E flat major scale, this key remains the predominant key until the end of the first section. “In this C minor part, the extended tremolo passages catch the eye. Although there is constant rhythmic activity on their surface, they appear static overall, because almost nothing happens in terms of harmony and motifs ” .

The second part of the sentence begins with a new unison motif in C minor, which is reminiscent of the passage of the “night watchman song” in Prestissimo (see there). It is again performed piano by the strings and first stops with its slow piano movement, which contrasts with the previous event, "the almost intoxicating tremoli of the beginning." From bar 72, the main theme of the exposition then has another appearance, before the violins from bar 82 introduce another dance motif in F minor. This motif is then loosened up with syncopation and repeated from bar 91 without any further transition to E flat major. In doing so, the “forbidden” fifths parallels appear in accordance with the theory of harmony at that time . From bar 100 the wild tremolo surfaces of the violins dominate again, which only come to rest in bar 126 with a quarter note on G in unison.

The key now changes to C major, and horns, trumpets and timpani also reinforce the orchestra with its simple, dance-like melody based on a two-bar motif. Howard Chandler Robbins Landon (1955) points to the repetitions of notes at the end of the two bar and speaks of “perhaps the most characteristic Balkan melody” after Haydn hurled Balkan melodies at the listener at the beginning of the second part. Immediately afterwards, a second dance-like phrase with a triplet figure begins. The two eight-bar units are now repeated, but the triplets from the second eight-bar are reduced to sixteenths. The movement ends with strong chords in C major. The post exposure section is not repeated. It is noticeable that the Presto ends very similarly to the sixth movement: in both cases the C major sound of the line of an ascending triad is expanded in five final bars, and both times there are three reinforcing chord hits that herald the end.

With this rapid movement, which echoes Slavic, Balkan and Turkish dances, Haydn may have wanted to represent the comic situation of a failed dance between two of the characters from the play.

Fifth movement: Adagio - Allegro

F major, 2/4 time, 78 bars

The Adagio begins as a calm melody in the 1st violin, accompanied by arched, "mumbling" sixteenth-note figures of the 2nd violin and pizzicato accompaniment of the other strings. The melody consists of three four-bar phrases, the structure of which appears “astonishingly disorganized and tension-free”: The second phrase closes just like the first (bars 7–8 repeats bars 3–4), and the beginning of the third phrase (bar 9) picks up back to the beginning of the second phrase (measure 5). The usual scheme according to which the motifs such as question and answer are structured to one another is negated here. The bass is reduced to just two notes, the harmony is very limited: each of the three phrases closes in F major. This beginning with its aimlessly monotonous melody can possibly be interpreted as a parody of the pleasing song set.

From bar 9 onwards, the melody continues to be spun, followed by a brief change to D minor and A major, which, however, leads directly back to F major. From bar 13 the oboes join the movement that was previously reserved for strings only. In measure 22, C major is reached, but it is immediately revised.

Unexpectedly, from bar 29, a fanfare based on a C major chord with march-like-dotted rhythm of the entire orchestra starts in forte and unison, including a continuous timpani part. The winds respond with a figure also kept in dotted rhythm, accompanied by “stupid, expressionless pizzicati”. As if nothing had happened, from bar 38 follows a part corresponding to the character of the opening melody with a monotonous singing character in the piano, which is interrupted just as abruptly from bars 50 to 56 by a staccato passage in D minor with triplets. Measures 64 to 68 correspond to the opening measures of the movement.

From bar 71 a new triplet figure is introduced in the forte, which abruptly merges into the short Allegro section with horns and trumpets and is repeated several times forte. The Allegro is just as abruptly “open” with the third of F major (A) in the upper parts.

Sixth movement: Prestissimo

C major, 2/4 time, 129 bars

The “voting point” of the violins. The F in the fifth measure is gradually tuned up to the G via a glissando .

The movement was played after the theatrical performance. Three pompous chord strokes in C major and subsequent tremolo-like triplet chains suggest a brilliant final movement. The musical content of this beginning is small, however, so the triplet figures of the violins get stuck in repetitions. After chord strokes in the dominant G major, the action suddenly breaks off in bar 16. Now “Haydn suddenly lets the violins retune their strings. When the 3rd and 4th strings are played together, however, there is a sixth instead of the usual fifth, as the master ordered the G string to be retuned to F at the beginning of the movement. And this deliberate mistake is immediately corrected by the players - without pausing! - Tune the string back up to G, and soon afterwards - as if nothing had happened - to continue harmlessly playing (...). ”After another general pause, the orchestra then starts again with the passage corresponding to measure 5, which is now of further triplet scale runs is answered in the forte. This answer is repeated.

The "night watchman song"

The middle part of the movement (bars 61–80) is only for strings. The strings initially play a chromatic, Slavic melody in C minor in unison and piano, the “night watchman song”, which also contrasts with the previous event through its quieter movement. Then Haydn changes from E flat major in forte with triplet tremolo back to the dominant G major.

From bars 81 to 108, bars 33 to 60 are almost literally repeated. From bar 109, there is a coda based on two motifs: a unison run of the strings and a closing twist. In the closing turn, a “grotesque harmony combination” occurs in bar 111: the double basses play the subdominant F, but the timpani play the dominant G. The resulting dissonance is less clear for the listener than the previous confusion caused by the tuning of the violins.

“The surprising dissonance is difficult to grasp. Haydn makes use of the fact that the timpani, as a percussion instrument, has a high level of noise. (...) The double bass F and the timpani G (...) approach each other so closely that they finally sound almost the same. In the depths, only a clouded unison is palpable. "

“A delicious final point is then set by the“ wrong ”timpani basses, which sound a G to the F of the low strings; Although there is a possible "second chord", the whole thing is clearly a continuation of the initial retuning: the timpani has unfortunately retuned its F, which it needs now, to G. "

A final surprise then ensues in the last bars of the movement: on the dominant, where the bang on G would actually be appropriate, the timpani are silent:

“This silence can also be heard as a moment of surprise, as a bang of a special kind: The absence turns into a conscious not-being-there. The timpani does not follow the symphony ending, its voice has an open ending. "

See also

Literature, sheet music, web links

Individual references, comments

  1. ^ Gwilym Beechey: Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 60 C major "Il Distratto". Eulenburg Ltd. No. 583, London / Mainz 1968 (pocket score)
  2. ↑ according to Kulosa (2004, p. 16)
  3. ↑ a b Information text from the Haydn Festival Eisenstadt on the performance of Symphony No. 60 on June 20, 2009. Accessed on August 7, 2012.
  4. ↑ Quoted from Kulosa (2004, pp. 15 and 39)
  5. ↑ is meant by Haydn
  6. ↑ Dénes Bartha (Ed.): Joseph Haydn: Collected letters and records. Edited by Dénes Bartha using the collection of sources from HC Robbins Landon. Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel 1965, p. 426.
  7. ↑ 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).
  8. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Alexander Kulosa: Tambourines - Symphony No. 60 (The Scattered) by Joseph Haydn. Dissertation University of Dortmund. Shaker Verlag , Aachen 2004, 308 pp.
  9. ↑ Ludwig Finscher ( Joseph Haydn und seine Zeit . Laaber-Verlag, Laaber 2000, ISBN 3-921518-94-6 , p. 284) writes: “The introduction to the C major symphony I: 60, Il distratto, which, apart from the stopping of the movement, shows none of the typical features of a slow introduction - brief motifs and their contrasting, gesture of searching, building up harmonic tension, possibly motif leading to the allegro - rather, after a "French" opening gesture, twice a little profiled eight-bar Performs the melody. "
  10. ^ Howard Chandler Robbins Landon: The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn. Universal Edition & Rocklife, London 1955, p. 349 ff.
  11. ^ Howard Chandler Robbins Landon: The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn. Universal Edition & Rocklife, London 1955, p. 352: “In the second part, however, Haydn begins to hurl Balkan melodies at us (…), and in the middle of the second of these (), the music jumps from F minor to E flat major, making simultaneous parallel fifths ancl octaves, and the stamping, peasant dance is continued without interruption in the new key. Instead of a recapitulation, Haydn turns to the tonic major, and horns, trumpets and timpani enter, supporting a new Slavonic melody. This is perhaps the most characteristic Balkan tune of all, with its repeated notes at the end of the periods (...), and with it Haydn rushes headlorig to a close. "
  12. ↑ Information text on Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 60. Information accompanying the concert on June 20, 2009 at the Haydn Festival Eisenstadt, www.haydn107.com/index.php?id=32, as of September 2009.
  13. ^ Howard Chandler Robbins Landon: Haydn: Chronicle and works. Volume 2, London 1978, p. 312: "silly, deadpan pizzicati." Quoted in Kulosa 2004, p. 124.
  14. ^ Karl Geiringer: Joseph Haydn. The creative career of a master of the classics. B. Schott's sons, Mainz 1959.
  15. ↑ According to Kulosa (2004, p. 32), Haydn also used this melody in other works, for example in the Divertimento in C major Hob. II: 17.
  16. ^ Walter Lessing (1989): The symphonies by Joseph Haydn, in addition: all masses. A series of broadcasts on Südwestfunk Baden-Baden 1987-89, published by Südwestfunk Baden-Baden in 3 volumes
  17. ↑ Robbins Landon 1955, p. 353: "At the end of the movement the drums are used in grotesque harmonic combinations with the rest of the orchestra (...)."
  18. ↑ Kulosa 2004, p. 37.
  19. ↑ Hartmut Krones: The "high comic" in Joseph Haydn. In: Austrian music newspaper. Volume 38, 1983, Issue 1: p. 7. Quoted in Alexander Kulosa 2004, p. 36.
  20. ↑ Kulosa 2004, p. 38.