77th Symphony (Haydn)

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The Symphony in B flat major Hoboken directory I: 77 wrote Joseph Haydn probably in 1782 during his tenure as Kapellmeister to Prince I. Nikolaus Esterházy .

General

Joseph Haydn (painting by Ludwig Guttenbrunn, around 1770)

Symphony No. 77 is highlighted by several authors within the group of three No. 76 to 78 as particularly successful. For the history of its origins, see Symphony No. 76 .

To the music

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

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. 77 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: Vivace

B flat major, 2/2 bars (alla breve), 217 bars

Beginning of Vivace

The symphony opens with the first theme (bars 1 to 12), “graceful and yet self-assured”, which is initially presented piano with voice guidance in the violins. It consists of different motifs (or phrases):

  • Motif 1: 1st violin leading the voice: broken B flat major - downward chord from chord beat, dotted rhythm and triple tone repetition in quarters (bars 1 to 4), accompanying 2nd violin: continuous eighth note movement made from broken chords.
  • Motif 2: ascending phrase in dotted rhythm, four-fold tone repetition in eighth notes (bars 5 and 6),
  • Motif 3: Change of closing phrase (initially with accents) and pendulum figure in eighth notes from a broken B flat major chord (bars 7 to 11). The pendulum figure can be interpreted as a variant of the accompaniment of the 2nd violin from motif 1.

From bar 12 the theme is repeated by the whole orchestra forte (the pendulum figure in unison ). The subsequent forte passage brings three new motifs: Motif 4 in the rhythm of half a note and two quarters as well as a final turn of a falling line with an accent (reminiscent of motif 3), the accompanying movement in continuous eighth notes is reminiscent of the pendulum figure (bars 22 to 28). Motif 5 consists of broken chords in even staccato quarters (bars 29 to 34). A variant of motif 4 leads from bar 35 to the double dominant C major, with the bass figure in eighth notes at the end (motif 6, can be derived from the pendulum figure depending on your point of view).

The general pause with fermata is followed in bar 40 by the memorable second theme (dominant in F major), “light and delicate, but with a touch of thoughtfulness”. It is symmetrically constructed from two four-stroke halves, with the breaks resulting in a two-stroke break. The second theme is derived from the first theme by the same “basic rhythmic impulse”: the opening chord of the first theme is left out, the dotted rhythm is enlarged by doubling the note values ​​and the tone repetition is reduced from three to two. The theme is first performed by strings and bassoon, then repeated with the flute instead of the bassoon. The final group held in the forte (F major) from bar 56 begins as an ascending F major triad with the accompaniment in the 2nd violin derived from the pendulum figure. The pendulum figure appears dominantly shortly afterwards, as does motif 6 in unison.

In the first section of the development, the head of the first theme is intensively processed: starting from F major, Haydn moves the theme head through different keys (e.g. D major, E flat major, F minor), with the oboes forming the figure imitate from measure 1 offset by one measure. From bar 90, the action intensifies when the headline moves through the voices at a distance of half a bar, including the “counterpoint” derived from motif 5 (broken chords in ascending staccato quarters). In bar 103 the music breaks off abruptly in D major, followed by a long general pause. The second section of the development then takes up the second theme: First performed by the strings in G major without repetition, it is also subjected to polyphonic processing. This processing is initially shorter than that of the first topic.

The recapitulation from bar 120 begins fortissimo with the first theme that is not repeated. In the forte block before the second theme, the even staccato quarter movement of motif 5 is extended. The second theme is initially only played by the strings, the solo oboes join in the repetition. The offset bass is reminiscent of the polyphony of the development. In the further course, Haydn continues to work on the second theme (“second development”) by isolating the figure from the second theme measure with its three staccato quarters and stopping the pianissimo movement (measures 177 to 188). Another polyphonic approach leads to the fortissimo in bar 197, which is structurally reminiscent of motif 4 from bar 22. The passage of the second theme is thus extended from 15 bars in the exposition to (depending on the delimitation) 45 bars in the recapitulation. The final group from bar 206 is similar to the exposition. The exposition, development and recapitulation are repeated.

Second movement: Andante sostenuto

F major, 3/8 time, 135 bars

A three-part structure is proposed for the movement in which both violins play with mutes (ABA´):

First part A (bars 1 to 50):

The strings introduce the vocal, sweeping main theme with the leading violin. It has a symmetrical structure of two four-stroke engines. Each four bar begins with a double tone repetition and dotted rhythm with a double beat, the remaining bars describe a sweeping, ascending and descending line. After the theme has been repeated, there is an interlude (bars 9 to 16) that continues the theme material. The theme is then repeated, now with the flute participating in the voice guidance (bars 25 to 31). The repetition of the interlude (strings only) then takes place as an ornate variant (bars 32 to 40). At the end of the first part, the whole orchestra plays the theme again (bars 41 to 47). Two transition bars with the theme head under sustained wind notes lead to the middle section.

Middle section B (bars 51 to 88):

The middle section begins forte and is characterized by the continuous thirty-second movement, which runs out from the beginning of the topic in the double tapping tone repeater - here however in sixteenths and not in eighths. The relationship is made clear by the echo-like repetition of the knocking motif in pianissimo and the insertion of the theme head (bars 59 to 61). The passage is repeated, but after the pianissimo echo of the tone repeater it merges into a section that expands the knocking motif and combines it with the thirty-second movement. From bar 77, the topical theme is processed in several voices, including a short minor opacity.

Third part A (bars 89 to 153):

The whole orchestra continues to play the theme with triplet accompaniment on the 2nd violin. During the repetition, the short-term harmonic coloring after D flat major is noticeable (bars 89 to 104). This is followed by the interlude as a variant (bars 104 to 112, strings only). The theme is now repeated, in the second half the triplet movement that has accompanied it is dominant (bars 113 to 120). After another polyphonic passage with the theme head, the theme is brought in full for the last time, but at the end with a noticeable, interrupting pause in the closing turn. The sentence ends pianissimo with the topic head.

"The serenade-like style of some of the earlier slow movements appears here mature and deepened in a language of moving expression (...)."

Third movement: Menuetto. Allegro

B flat major, 3/4 time, with trio 44 bars

The eight-bar main theme of the minuet is symmetrically structured from two four-bar bars with a repeated third figure at the beginning. The parallel violins have the voice leading, the other instruments accompany in regular staccato quarters. The melody stands out due to the rhythm that is created by the prelude as well as the alternation of detached eighth notes and quarters. The quarters are accentuated on the second (usually unstressed) measure time. Overall, this and the unusually “fast” tempo rule “Allegro” give the minuet similarities to the Scherzo . After the first part, which is consistently held forte, the middle section continues the upbeat third figure piano, then switches back to forte after four bars, where the separated eighth note movement is continued. In the falling staccato line, however, it ends unexpectedly and abruptly in the deep fortissimo F. Then the beginning part is taken up again.

“By playing with focal points - once on the strong, then again on the weak part of the beat - Haydn lifts the laws of“ gravity ”of 3/4 time with almost playful ease and in the minuet performs the awkward-looking dance of a small marionette to the amused audience . "

In the trio (also in B flat major), oboes and bassoons play a rural-style, upbeat melody. The melody, with its alternation of quarters and eighth notes and the accompaniment in regular pizzicato quarters, is reminiscent of the structure of the minuet.

Fourth movement: Finale. Allegro spiritoso

B flat major, 2/4 time, 195 bars

The eight-bar main theme with a periodic structure is characterized by the prelude and the four-fold tone repetition. It is repeated several times up to bar 48 by the strings piano with the first violin leading the voice, whereby the accompaniment gradually gets smaller and smaller note values: At the beginning (bars 1 to 8) the accompaniment consists mainly of grounding quarters, when repeated (bars 9 to 16) three eighth notes are added. After an “interlude” with accents, in the second repetition of the theme (bars 25 to 32), both violins lead the part, the accompaniment shows, in addition to the three eighth notes, partly also continuous eighth note movement. The repetition of the interlude is followed by the third theme repetition (bars 41 to 48) with continuous eighth and sixteenth notes. In the fourth thematic repetition (bars 49 to 56) the whole orchestra is involved in the forte, the theme is figured out by rapid semiquaver runs. The virtuoso sixteenth-note runs, alternating between upper and lower voices, also determine the subsequent forte block, which finally reaches the dominant F major in the tremolo.

Instead of a contrasting second theme, piano starts again from the first theme in F major, but changes back to forte after four bars and is combined with countermovement-like sixteenth-note movements alternating between upper and lower voices. The final group also picks up on the topic above an organ point on F as an “epigram” .

The development continues the structure of the last forte block of the exposition as a polyphonic passage, in that the staggered theme head is led through various harmonies together with the countervailing sixteenth note movement.

The recapitulation begins in bar 130 piano without a caesura. The theme begins in the variant with the sixteenth movement, followed by the interlude. The next repetition of the theme is played forte by the whole orchestra, with oboes, bassoon, viola and bass leading the voice, while flute and violins play a countermovement. The next interlude is reduced in cast and structure. In contrast, the theme of forte begins again with the ascending sixteenth runs (similar to the fourth repetition in the exposition), but then gets lost in the tremolo. The final group with the organ point is expanded like a coda , a “second epigram” from the head of the topic - first in the wind section, then in the whole orchestra - ends the movement. The exposition, development and recapitulation are repeated.

In terms of form, the movement shows characteristics of both the sonata form and the rondo . The sonata form is divided into three parts: exposition, development with thematic processing and recapitulation. The repeated, refrain-like recurrence of the main theme is reminiscent of a rondo .

See also

Individual references, comments

  1. ↑ Recordings and information on Haydn's 77th Symphony
  2. ^ A b c d e f 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. 219-220.
  3. ^ Howard Chandler Robbins Landon: The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn. Universal Edition & Rocklife, London 1955, pp. 389-391.
  4. ↑ a b c James Webster: Hob.I: 77 Symphony in B flat major. Information text on Symphony No. 77 by Joseph Haydn of the Haydn Festival Eisenstadt.
  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. ^ Michael Walter: Haydn's symphonies. A musical factory guide. CH Beck-Verlag, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-44813-3 , pp. 82 to 83.
  7. ^ Wolfgang Marggraf : The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn. The symphonies of the years 1773–1784. [1] , accessed June 24, 2013.
  8. ↑ a b c Ludwig Finscher: Joseph Haydn and his time. Laaber-Verlag, Laaber 2000, ISBN 3-921518-94-6 , p. 312/313.
  9. ↑ a b The repetitions of the parts of the sentence are not kept in some recordings.
  10. ^ Howard Chandler Robbins Landon: The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn. Universal Edition & Rocklife, London 1955, p. 389.

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