72nd Symphony (Haydn)

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The Symphony in D major Hoboken directory I: 72 wrote Joseph Haydn probably in 1763. In contrast to the high number is an early symphony by Haydn. It is instrumented with four instead of the usual two horns.

General

Joseph Haydn (painting by Ludwig Guttenbrunn, around 1770)

Haydn probably composed Symphony No. 72 in 1763 while he was employed as Vice-Kapellmeister to Prince Nikolaus I Esterházy .

The work is very similar to Symphony No. 31, composed in 1765, in terms of its four horns, their demanding voice guidance, the solo emergence of individual instruments in the slow movement and in the final movement, the structure of the final movement in the form of variations and the resulting divertiment-like atmosphere . The omission of the wind instruments in the Andante suggests a date before 1768. On the other hand, the instrumentation with four horns suggests that it was created either in August / December 1763 or 1765/1766, because Haydn only had four horns available during these periods. Since No. 72 is shorter and more simply structured than No. 31, musicology assumes that No. 72 is the older and was composed between August and December 1763.

To the music

Instrumentation: two oboes , four horns , two violins , viola , cello , double bass . As solo instruments appear separately: flute , violin, cello, violone . 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.

  • In addition to the copies with four horns, there are some in which the horns 3 and 4 are optionally required for two trumpets, which was common at the time, depending on availability in the orchestra.
  • Furthermore, there is a copy in the Esterházy archive that provides for two horns and two trumpets, whereby the trumpet parts do not simply replace a pair of horns, but rather represent a combination of all four horn parts, in some cases even containing new passages. The trumpet parts are very demanding. The Esterházy copy also has somewhat richer oboe parts. This instrumentation was probably made later than the version with four horns.
  • Another copy provides for timpani in addition to two horns and two trumpets . These were probably added later - whether by Haydn or someone else is unclear.
  • One of the variations in the final movement is orchestrated differently in some copies (for viola, cello or cello and bassoon).

Performance time: approx. 20 to 25 minutes (depending on the tempo and adherence to the 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. 72 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

D major, 3/4 time, 136 bars

Beginning of the Allegro

The main theme is symmetrically built up from two four-bar units, each four-bar consists of a forte chord strike of the whole orchestra ( tutti ) with a piano response from the strings. The string answer contains a rhythmic figure. This is followed by two passages in which the four horns play “breakneck” solos, each of which ends with short tutti turns. From bar 25 onwards, Haydn repeats the theme and continues it as a dialogue between winds and strings. The subsequent tremolo passage with a falling line establishes the dominant A major and leads to the final section. This in turn contains a short dialogue between the horns, the oboes and the strings and concludes the exposition with runs and chord strikes in unison.

The development repeats the head of the main theme in A major, then picks up the rhythmic motif from the main theme in the bass under the tremolo of the violins with a minor clouding and, after a fanfare-like tone repetition, leads to a short-term conclusion in the tonic parallel in B minor. From here Haydn switches back to the tonic in D major with the rhythmic motif offset between the violins.

The recapitulation from bar 81 begins with the two solo passages for the horns (the first appearance of the main theme is left out). The repetition of the main theme in the forte is followed by a section that has been changed compared to the exposition with the rhythmic figure only for the violins in the piano. The subsequent tremolo passage and the final group are structured similar to the exposure. The exposition, development and recapitulation are repeated.

"[The] alternation from divertimento-like concertos of the horns and the more symphonic style of the pure orchestral parts gives this movement its original character."

Second movement: Andante

G major, 6/8 time, 53 bars

In the Andante with a pastoral mood, the solo flute and solo violin lead the part, the strings only accompany with grounding staccato chords (but leave the beats unaccompanied). The first theme, with pauses, is characterized by its main motif consisting of an eighth-note prelude and a subsequent thirty-second phrase. It is introduced by the solo violin, then repeated an octave higher by the solo flute. Four transitional bars with the main motif lead to the dominant A major (again here the flute repeats the violin's voice an octave higher), where the flute with its ambitious running figure begins as the second “theme”. In the final group, both solo instruments play partly in dialogue, partly together a variant of the main motif of the first theme.

The development begins with the first theme in the solo violin in A major. A “dramatic” unison scale up from the tutti is picked up like an echo by the flute and given a double strike. This is followed by variants of the second “theme”, the final group and again the double punch motif.

The recapitulation from bar 35 is structured like the exposition. The exposition, development and recapitulation are repeated.

Third movement: Menuet

D major, 3/4 time, with trio 56 bars

The minuet with its irregular metric begins piano with a simple triad theme, the closing phrase of which is echoed first by horns 3 and 4, then by horns 1 and 2. After emerging grinders in the violins and dotted rhythms, a short cadence turn with trills ends the first part. The second part takes up the initial motif again, but the echo effect now exists in the change to piano and minor. When the first part is taken up again, the opening topic is left out; this is added at the end, including the echo effect in the horns.

The trio is also in D major. The instrumentation for winds only (alternating oboes and horns, accompanied by bassoon), it is reminiscent of Haydn's “field partitas”.

Fourth movement: Andante - Presto

2/4 time (Andante), 6/8 time (Presto), D major, 149 bars

Beginning of the Andante

The Andante represents Haydn's first variation movement in a symphony. The movement is based on his theme with six variations in which the instruments present and decorate the theme in different timbres. At the end there is a “sweep” -Presto. It is noticeable that the bass foundation is retained in all variations (similar in the final movement of Symphony No. 31, but there with minor modifications). Here Haydn falls back on the type of basso ostinato variation, popular in baroque music , but hardly cultivated at the time. The set consists of the following parts:

  • The strings introduce the simple theme piano and staccato. The theme is reminiscent of a leisurely march and consists of two repeated, eight-bar parts (as is the case with every subsequent variation, all in D major).
  • Variation 1 (bars 17 to 32): The solo flute resolves the theme in sixteenths.
  • Variation 2 (bars 33 to 48): The solo cello varies the theme in shape and rhythm.
  • Variation 3 (bars 49 to 65): The solo violin resolves the theme in sextole movement.
  • Variation 4 (bars 66 to 80): The solo violin varies the theme in shape and rhythm.
  • Variation 5 (bars 81 to 96) for solo oboes, 2 horns are added in places.
  • Variation 6 (bars 97 to 112) for whole orchestra. The theme appears structurally unchanged, but legato (instead of staccato as at the beginning)
  • The transition to the Presto is formed by four cadencing bars that end with a fermata on the dominant A.
  • Presto (6/8 time): The symphony concludes with a “sweep” in the forte for the whole orchestra with new, “noisy” material from tremolo and rapid runs.

"Sentences of this kind (...) can be found in many of Haydn's early Haydn divertimenti and cassations and seem to have" resonated "particularly well with contemporaries - otherwise Haydn would certainly not have used this type of sentence so characteristic of him (...). "

Individual references, comments

  1. ↑ Information page of the Haydn Festival Eisenstadt, see under web links.
  2. ^ A b c d e Howard Chandler Robbins Landon: The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn. Universal Edition & Rocklife, London 1955, pp. 266 to 270.
  3. ↑ James Webster: Hob.I: 72 Symphony in D major. Information text on Symphony No. 72 by Joseph Haydn of the Haydn Festival Eisenstadt, see under web links.
  4. ↑ James Webster: The Symphony with Joseph Haydn. Episode 3: Hob.I: 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 16, 40 and 72. http://www.haydn107.com/index.php?id=21&lng=1&pages=symphonie , access 22. April 2013
  5. ↑ 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).
  6. ^ Anthony van Hoboken: Joseph Haydn. Thematic-bibliographical catalog raisonné, Volume I. Schott-Verlag, Mainz 1957, p. 106.
  7. ↑ Howard Chandler Robbins Landon (1955, p. 720) thinks it is possible that Haydn added the timpani part later, but according to James Webster (The Symphony with Joseph Haydn) the authenticity is “not valid”. Antony Hodgson ( The Music of Joseph Haydn . The Symphonies. The Tantivy Press, London 1976, ISBN 0-8386-1684-4 , pp. 66 to 67) describes the timpani part with the exception of the trio as not badly written and describes two recordings with timpani as particularly successful.
  8. ↑ a b c d 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. 104 to 106.
  9. ↑ a b The repetitions of the parts of the sentence are not kept in some recordings.
  10. ^ A b Wolfgang Marggraf : The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn. Haydn's early symphonic works at the court of Eisenstadt (1761–1766). http://www.haydn-sinfonien.de/ , accessed August 9, 2013.
  11. ^ Michael Walter: Haydn's symphonies. A musical factory guide. CH Beck-Verlag, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-44813-3 , p. 37.

Web links, notes

See also