Eight pig tailors are required

The Capriccio in G major Hob. XVII: 1 with the title “Eight Sauschneider must be” is a composition for piano by Joseph Haydn . The work consists of variations and repetitions, partly through contrapuntal means of a minuet-like theme .

The Capriccio in G major from 1765 is the only fantasy that has survived from Haydn's early years. The Capriccio is not a free fantasy in which the composition wanders from one musical thought to the next, but rather describes the folk song “Eight Sauschneider must be”, popular in Haydn's time. The “Sauschneider Capriccio” is an example of how rural life found an echo in the work of the master, and it confirms Haydn's down-to-earth humor, which has remained down-to-earth throughout his life.

The folk song "Eight Sauschneider must be" was widespread in Austria in different versions. It deals with the question of how many men ( Sauschneider ) are needed to castrate a boar:

Eight pig cutters must be, must be, if Saubärn wants to cut.

Two in front and two behind,

zwoa holtn, uana bintn

and uana cuts, cuts,

iahna Achti must be.

Seven Sauschneider must be, must be,

if you want to cut Saubärn ... and so on ...

Discography

• Christine Schornsheim , Joseph Haydn - The Piano Sonatas , complete recording on historical instruments, co-production Digital Cappriccio and Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln, 2005

Web links

Capriccio in D major : sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project