75th Symphony (Haydn)

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The Symphony in D major Hoboken directory I: 75 wrote Joseph Haydn probably in the 1779th

General

Joseph Haydn (painting by Ludwig Guttenbrunn, around 1770)

Haydn probably composed Symphony No. 75 in 1779 while he was employed as Kapellmeister by Prince Nikolaus I Esterházy .

The voices of the symphony were published by various publishers in the early 1780s. a. together with the symphonies nos. 62, 63, 70, 74 and 75 by the Berlin publisher Hummel in 1781 as “Oeuvre XVIII”. It is possible that Haydn composed at least some of these symphonies at Hummel's insistence or out of his own marketing interests in order to achieve the usual number of six symphonies for such a series.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart noted the beginnings of the first movements of the symphonies No. 47 , No. 62 and 75, possibly with the intention of performing them at one of his concerts.

About a performance of the symphony in London in 1792 (see the London symphonies ) Haydn writes in his diary for the second movement:

“On the 26th of Mertz in the concert with Mr. Barthelemon, an English pop music that, when he heard the Andante, sank into the deepest melancolia, because the night before he dreamed of this Andante, with the beysatz that this piece heralded his death. He left the company immediately and went to Beth. Today, April 25th, I learned from H. Barthelemon that this evangelical had died spiritually. "

To the music

Instrumentation: flute , two oboes , bassoon , two horns , two trumpets , timpani , two violins , viola , cello , double bass . On the participation of a harpsichord - continuos are competing views in Haydn's symphonies.

The autograph is no longer available. In some old copies and printed editions, trumpets and timpani are missing (e.g. in the vocal material of the Esterházy band), but they are included in the print by the publisher Hummel (see above). They may have been added later by Haydn. Anthony Hodgson links the lack of timpani to the fire in the Opera House in Esterháza in 1779.

Performance time: approx. 20 to 25 minutes (depending on compliance with the prescribed repetitions).

With the terms used here for the sonata form, 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. 75 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: Grave - Presto

Grave: D major, 3/4 measures, measures 1 to 23

The symphony is the only instrumental work where Haydn prescribes the tempo designation “Grave” for the introduction, otherwise he uses “Adagio”, occasionally “Largo”. The introduction begins in the strings as a unison D in fortissimo, followed by an ascending triad figure on the piano which ends on the dominant A "open". After the corresponding “answer”, enhanced with motifs of sighs, which leads to the tonic in D major, Haydn brings the motif a third time as a variant in the contrasting D minor - fortissimo of the entire orchestra. Above the organ point on A, the introduction ends with sluggish chromaticism .

Presto: D major, 4/4 time, time 24 to 162 bars

Beginning of Presto

Similar to the beginning of the Grave, the first theme of Presto consists of two contrasting elements: the main building blocks are the three-bar, vocal piano turn of the strings (motif 1) and three descending quarter-chord strokes in the staccato of the entire orchestra in the forte (motif 2). The beginning of Motif 1 with the tone sequence D-Dis-E recalls the beginning of the overture to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera Don Giovanni . These motifs together form a four-bar phrase, which is expanded into an eight-bar theme through repetition. At the end of the theme the forte chord strokes are combined with virtuoso ascending sixteenth notes (motif 3), and with further chord strokes Haydn changes to the dominant A major. From bar 38 the second phrase of the first theme is repeated in D major as a variant by the whole orchestra, the subsequent forte block changes again to A major with characteristic tone repetition triplets.

The short second theme in the strings (bars 50 to 55, A major) is introduced by suggestion flakes of the 1st violin and is characterized by two syncopations and some chromatics. Due to its rather calm character, it contrasts strongly with the previous and subsequent, noisy and stormy events: The final group contains tremolo and energetic eighth note movements and ends the exposition after a cadence figure with trills with chord strokes, with the 2nd violin taking up the sixteenth notes of motif 3.

The development first deals with the first theme with dynamic contrasts, which is led to B minor, E minor and A minor (in motif 2 the chord beats are now upwards instead of downwards). When performing in B minor, both motifs of the theme are combined, and after a few bars from Motif 2 with its three staccato quarters, the theme is emphasized again forte in E major. From E major, a forte passage now follows with an energetically continuous eighth note movement, which again reaches B minor in bar 103. In the accent passage that follows, the suggestion phrases of the 1st violin are reminiscent of the beginning of the second theme. Haydn then processes the elements of the first theme again in a polyphonic piano application and switches from B minor back to the tonic in D major, with which the recapitulation follows seamlessly in bar 120.

“It seems that Haydn has created an elaborate development that - in accordance with the rules - processes the thematic material of the main theme, but at the same time with the melancholy character of the introduction to the movement; a fantastic combination! "

At first, the recapitulation appears strongly shortened: the first theme is played in the variant according to bar 38 ff. And then merges into the energetic, continuous eighth note movement, which seems to end the movement in bar 134 in D major with tremolo and trumpet fanfare. Instead of the left out second theme, Haydn now inserts a further processing passage with the first theme, in which the strings first play piano motif 1, then - with a change to forte and participation of the rest of the orchestra - include the sixteenth run of motif 3. The remaining final group is structured similarly to the exposition, but contains an additional trumpet fanfare. The exposition, development and recapitulation are repeated.

Second movement: Poco Adagio

G major, 3/4 time, 96 bars

The movement is made up of a theme with four variations. In the course of the variations the rhythmic acceleration increases by reducing the note values, on the other hand the "distance" from the theme is greatest in the first variation and smallest in the last, since the melodic contour of the theme becomes more and more clear.

"While the movement gets by with 3 notes per measure at the beginning, at the end the 2nd violin has 18 notes to play in each measure - and yet the calm character of the movement is not lost!"

The hymn to chorale-like theme is presented piano in the strings. It is structured in three parts according to the pattern ABA´, whereby the A-part and B are repeated with A´ (also with the following variations). The short B-middle section shows an initial minor opacity.

  • The first variation (bars 19 to 36) for strings figures the theme in the leading violin.
  • The second variation (bars 37 to 54) contains forte wind fanfares at the beginning of the A section and in the B section, the remaining passages are played piano by the strings with both vocal violins in staccato.
  • The third variation (bars 55 to 72) is again designed for strings, but Haydn also specifies two solo violins and one solo cello. The voice guidance is with the solo violins, the solo cello stands out with its continuous sixteenth note movement, while the other strings accompany.
  • In the fourth variation (bars 73 to 90) the winds lead the part, while the second violin now plays a continuous movement in sextoles.

The concluding coda ends the movement in the timbre of the fourth variation in pianissimo.

The Poco Adagio is one of the first examples of the type of the slow movement with a hymen-like melody, which Haydn later, e.g. B. also in the symphonies No. 87 , No. 98 (as there with similarity to the British anthem "God save the Queen") and No. 99 used.

Third movement: Menuetto. Allegretto

D major, 3/4 time, with trio 48 bars

The minuet has the character of a country man . The theme with a symmetrical structure of two four-beats is characterized by its prelude, the suggestion flakes and the staccato eighth notes that intersperse with pauses. The middle section (A major) for flute and strings expands the eighth-note figure from the end of the first half of the theme to the legato motif, then uses the staccato eighth notes with pauses and finally leads over in forte and unison legato to revisiting the first part.

In the trio (also in D major), the flute and solo violin lead the part above the string accompaniment (1st violin: continuous staccato eighth notes, the rest: pizzicato chords) in the high register. The dance melody contains characteristic accented upbeats.

“The trio of the minuet in particular already anticipates Beethoven's German dances - and even more those of Schubert . It corresponds entirely to the content of a dance, as it will certainly have been danced in large numbers at the Fürstenhof at the various festivities. "

Fourth movement: Finale. Vivace

D major, 2/2 time (alla breve), 166 measures

A part of the chorus

The Vivace is seen partly as a (free) rondo shape , partly as a set of variations.

  • The strings introduce the catchy chorus (bars 1 to 26), which is structured according to the ABA pattern (A and BA are repeated). The A section is eight measures, the B section based on material from the A section is ten measures. Typical are the prelude, the legato eighth-note figure (bar 2), double tone repetition in staccato (bars 1 and 3) and the falling legato line (bar 4).
  • The couplet 1 (bar 27 to 50, ABA 'structure similar to the chorus) contrasted by the key of D minor and Forte-use of the entire orchestra for chorus. The section processes the eighth notes from the B part of the refrain in the lower voices and the staccato tone repetition in the upper and middle voices.
  • First varied repetition of the chorus (bars 51 to 70): A part as at the beginning of the movement, extended B part with solo oboes, repetition of the A part in the forte of the whole orchestra, the second half of the chorus with an additional, in half notes of falling opposing voice to the leading violin. This second half is repeated as a transition to the couplet 2 piano with the second violin leading the voice.
  • Couplet 2 (bars 84 to 100) changes in fortissimo from B minor with energetically repeated, oscillating interval figures to A major - seventh chord, which - repeated pianissimo and interrupted by general pauses - announces the next appearance of the refrain in D major.
  • Second varied repetition of the refrain (bars 101 to 137): A part as at the beginning of the movement, but with oboe participation, extended B part only for solo winds. Before repeating the A section, the music comes to a standstill. The first half of the repeated A section is played by the whole orchestra in the forte (as from bar 70), the second half with the opposing voice is taken back to the piano (as in the transition to couplet 2).
  • The coda first picks up the passage from the transition corresponding to bar 70 ff. With the fragment from the refrain (first piano in 1st violin, then forte in 2nd violin and bass) and the falling opposing voice. Then the music comes to a halt again. Haydn ends the movement with the repeated head of the refrain (first piano, then fortissimo).

Individual references, comments

  1. ↑ Information page of the Haydn Festival Eisenstadt, see under web links.
  2. ^ A b Anthony van Hoboken: Joseph Haydn. Thematic-bibliographical list of works, Volume I. Schott-Verlag, Mainz 1957, pp. 113–116.
  3. ↑ a b c d Michael Walter: Haydn's symphonies. A musical factory guide. CH Beck-Verlag, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-44813-3 , pp. 68, 71.
  4. ↑ a b c Charles Rosen: The classic style. Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven. Bärenreiter-Verlag, 5th edition. 2006, Kassel, ISBN 3-7618-1235-3 , pp. 173-174.
  5. ↑ James Webster: The Symphony with Joseph Haydn. Episode 10: Hob.I: 62, 63, 70, 71, 73, 74 and 75 , accessed April 22, 2013.
  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 2, Baden-Baden 1989, pp. 179-180.
  8. ^ A b c Howard Chandler Robbins Landon: The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn. Universal Edition & Rocklife, London 1955, p. 388.
  9. ^ A b c Antony Hodgson: The Music of Joseph Haydn . The Symphonies. The Tantivy Press, London 1976, ISBN 0-8386-1684-4 , pp. 102-103.
  10. ↑ a b c d e James Webster: Hob.I: 75 Symphony in D major. Information text on Symphony No. 75 by Joseph Haydn of the Haydn Festival Eisenstadt, see under web links.
  11. ↑ a b c d e Anton Gabmayer: Joseph Haydn. Symphony No.75 in D major, Hob.I: 75 “Melancholie”. on: haydnfestival.at , accessed August 29, 2013.
  12. ↑ This insert is emphasized in the literature: Charles Rosen (2006, p. 174): “The two very dissimilar passages typically have the same harmonic elements and emphasize the same dissonances through their shape. In addition, they exercise the same harmonic function within the large form, while the later canonical passage also has the typical cadential effect of a narrowing of the joints and impressively rounds off the form with its clearer allusion to the beginning. " Michael Walter (2007, p. 69): “If Haydn had a theme performed twice at the beginning of the movement, the recapitulation usually began, as here, with the forte variant of the theme, while the piano variant was omitted. Because of the harmonic structure of the first part, in the case of the Prestos of Symphony No. 75, the problem arises that this shortening would lead to a recapitulation of only about 20 bars. This would have seriously disturbed the sentence balance, in which the weight of the recapitulation was at least roughly equivalent to the first part (...). To avoid the imbalance, bars 135 to 158 should have been inserted. "
  13. ↑ The repetitions of the parts of the sentence are not observed in some recordings.
  14. ↑ See also Symphony No. 62
  15. ↑ Antony Hodgson (1976, p. 103) feels reminded by the suggestions of the minuet in Symphony No. 54 .
  16. ^ Wolfgang Marggraf : The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn. The symphonies of the years 1773–1784 , accessed June 24, 2013.

Web links, notes

See also