Franz Joseph Haydn

Joseph Haydn

Source: Regio Chor

Franz Joseph Haydn was older brother to Johann Michael Haydn. He was both a devout Catholic and one of the musical supernovas of all time. Though a considerable portion of what he composed tended to be masterpieces he is largely hailed for his symphonies and string quartets. Haydn was born on 31 March 1732 in Rohrau, Austria (on the Hungarian border at the time). His father was the village mayor, his mother a cook for Count Harrach. Recognizing Hadyn's gift, his parents sent him at perhaps age six to study music beneath a choirmaster in Hamburg named Johann Matthias Frankh. In 1740 he went to Vienna to work as a chorister at St. Stephen's. A small note is here due Vienna for its importance in European affairs. Though not Italy, Vienna had been a major cultural center during the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Austria, however, had been the Habsburg Holy Roman Empire's first line of defense against the threat of the Turkish Ottoman Empire in the Hungarian region [Wikipedia], and the bubonic plague of 1679 had claimed a third of its population. Upon final riddance of the Turkish menace at the Battle of Vienna on 12 September 1683 Vienna was able to prepare for its inclusion on the musical map of Europe in no small way via figures such as the "big three" of the Classical period who are Haydn, Mozart (Austrian) and Beethoven (German) with the last bridging into the Romantic. Vienna was now to become and remain among Europe's grandest venues of art, architecture and music.

Before glancing too far into Haydn we should touch on the 'Thematisch-bibliographisches Werkverzeichnis' of Anthony van Hoboken published in Mainz from 1957–78. This is the source of the "Hob" cataloging system of above 750 works in 32 sections from I through XXXII with I being symphonies and XXXII being pasticcios. Used as an alternative to XVI 1-52 which are piano sonatas are the Landon numbers 1-62 of    H. C. Robbins Landon, once wed to scholar, Christa Landon.

In 1749 Joseph was caned and dismissed for the prank of snipping off another chorister's pigtail. He then freelanced, working as a teacher and serenading on the streets. His earliest authenticated work is 'Missa brevis' in F major Hob XXII:1 (22:1) which arrived in 1749 or 1750 when Haydn was seventeen or eighteen years of age. Also called his 'Jugendmesse' ('Youth mass'), this missa is an unusually mature work for a teenager. Haydn composed 14 masses from 1750 to 1802.

In 1752 Haydn became valet to Niccolo Porpora [mentioning such in his autobiographical sketch of 1776 [McKay / Wikipedia]. Thus far Haydn had been taught next to nothing but hunger by Frankh and at St. Stephen's. Nigh all he knew about composing had been from independent study of such as Johann Joseph Fux and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. Finally getting some traction, Haydn premiered his first dramatic work, a Singspiel titled 'Der krumme Teufel' ('The Limping Devil'), on 29 May 1753 in Vienna. "Der krumme Teufel" is also translated as the "lame" or "crooked" devil. Howsoever, its premiere got shut down for offensive language in the libretto by Joseph Felix von Kurz. The work was revised as a comic opera and published in 1757 as 'Der neue krumme Teufel'. It saw print again in 1770 as 'Asmodeus. Der krumme Teufel'. Meanwhile compositions which Haydn wrote and gave away to others were being published and sold by them. Poor Haydn was yet just too simple for a human world.

Joseph had worked as a freelancer at the court in Vienna from 1754 to 1756. It was sometime before 1756, perhaps as a child, that he had sustained a smallpox attack leaving his face scarred, such mentioned by one Countess Thun that year. In 1757 Haydn became Kapellmeister to Count Morzin of Austria. 'Divertimento in F major' Hob XVI:9 aka 'Sonata in F major' was written sometime 1758-1766. The hammering piano (fortepiano) at that time was still in development from the plucking harpsichord since about 1700 when it was invented. It was yet a light and soft instrument less than ideal for composing or mixing with other instruments, not yet the more full-bodied vehicle of Haydn's latter career, much less that for which Beethoven composed a few decades later. Haydn probably wrote most keyboard pieces for harpsichord or clavichord (portable harpsichord) until at least about 1770 or 1780 when the fortepiano finally began to arrive to a level of development that a composer could take seriously. Until then it had largely been regarded, for the last seventy years, as but a novelty to amuse wealthy royalty. Everyone esteemed the potential of the fortepiano, but it remained largely only "potential" for scores of years until the instrument arrived around 1800 upon which Beethoven could base his career.

Hoboken has Haydn writing his first symphony in 1759, that prior to marrying one Maria Keller on 26 November 1760. Haydn would author 108 symphonies to as late as 1795. In the meantime, Count Morzin was experiencing twists in fortune necessitating the dismantling of his musical establishment in 1761. Haydn then became Vice-Kapellmeister for Prince Paul II Anton, and full Kapellmeister in 1766. Hoboken begins his thematic directory with Hob I:1 which is 'Symphony No.1' in D major composed in 1759. Though he may have been writing for symphony for Count Morzin as early as 1757 this is currently accepted as his first.

Anton had been succeeded by Nikolaus I in 1762 when Haydn began to write string quartets, completing 87 of them to as late as 1803. Like Anton, Nikolaus was of the House of Esterházy, a dynasty of great wealth with several palaces such as the Eszterháza, the "Hungarian Versailles" where Haydn worked.

The Eszterháza Palace

Source: Manitou Winds

Haydn premiered his second opera, 'Acide' [audio], on 11 January 1763 at a festa teatrale (theatre party) the day after the wedding of Countess Maria Theresia Erdödy to Count Anton Esterházy, eldest son of Nikolaus. Now in element not wholly despicable, Haydn wrote his third opera ('La Marchesa Nespola') before beginning to compose for baryton (similar to the viol) in 1765, as Nikolaus then acquired and began to play one. Haydn produced nearly 200 pieces for that instrument in the next ten years, simpler works that Nikolaus could play as a student. One hundred twenty-three of those were composed for baryton, viola and cello, three for baryton, cello and violin, the rest for baryton with various ensembles. Nikolaus had these bound in leather and gold into five volumes of 24 pieces each in 1766, 1767, 1768, 1771, and 1778, only that of 1771 yet extant. Also during this time period Haydn set the Stabat Mater to music in 1767. ' Stabat Mater' is short for its incipit 'Stabat Mater Dolorosa' or 'The sorrowful mother was standing'. This work is catalogued as Hob XXa:1 or Hob XXbis. "Bis" is Latin for twice, double or repeat. To shout "Encore!" in Italian or French requires "Bis!". If the bartender pours you a shot of vodka tell him "Bis" once you down it instead of "Hit me again" just to be safe. If you live on the thirteenth floor of a building owned by someone superstitious, rather than the floors ascending as 12, 13, 14, they might be numbered as 12, 12bis, 14. That is, though Hob XXbis is different from Hob XXa:1, it is the same.

Haydn's 'Keyboard Sonata' of 1771, below, was dedicated to Katharina and Marianna von Auenbrugger, two students who were apparently accomplished at piano, as this is a difficult piece requiring some experience at the keys to play. Again, this keyboard piece was probably originally scored for harpsichord or clavichord, then modified for piano upon publishing in 1780. Haydn also composed his Marian 'Salve Regina' ('Hail [Holy] Queen) in 1771, later published in 1805.

'Salve Regina'   Hob XXIIIb:2   Franz Joseph Haydn

1771   Pub 1805

Piano: Alfred Brendel

Haydn wrote his first piece for Flötenuhrstücke (Flute clock) in 1772 [IMSLP] followed by 31 more to as late as 1793. The flute clock was a mechanical musical clock which played a tune rather than a chime, for example. Flötenuhrstücke might otherwise be played on a keyboard such as an organ. Those are cataloged as Hoboken XIX:1-32.

'Flötenuhrstücke' ('Flute clock')   Hob XIX:1-12   Franz Joseph Haydn

Hob XIX:1 in 1772   For musical clock

Organ: Michael Schopen

By Haydn's time the Age of Enlightenment, which some begin with Descartes' 'Discourse on Method' in 1637, was nearing the end of its era with the approach of the French Revolution in 1789. As things reasonable go, there developed a Counter-Enlightenment in the form of Sturm und Drang (Storm and Stress), a proto-Romantic literary movement in Germany stretching from the early seventies into the early nineties in which objective Enlightenment rationality had yet to account for the reality of subjective individuality. Passion was everywhere in the climate during the latter 18th century versus polite society where perfection's fine and re-fined again ways, including the galant, were doomed to short days: the American Revolution (1775-83) across the Atlantic a conspicuous example. As Haydn identified with the Sturm und Drang movement along with authors like F.M. Klinger, J.W. Goethe, Friedrich Schiller and J.G. Herder, his music during the seventies was expressive of such. One early example of emotional deployment more to the masculine than delicate galant occurs in Joseph's 'Keyboard Sonata No.20' in C minor Hob 16:20 as of 1771. Come his 'Trauer Symphony' ('Mourning Symphony') or 'Symphony No.44' in E minor in 1772]. His next was his 'Farewell Symphony' or 'Symphony No.45' in F-sharp minor premiering for Nikolaus in November of 1772 with an especial show of taste incorporated into its performance, requesting leave for his musicians from Eszterháza that season by each one blowing out his candle rack and walking away until there were only a couple left to play. 'Farewell' saw publishing in 1775.

Also firmly expressive of classical composing, decisively not galant away from which Hadyn steered, was his Op 20 of 1772 consisting of six 'Sun' quartets. The finales of three of those quartets, however, employ the fugue, falling back to baroque counterpoint, though now invested with Sturm und Drang in emphasis of Haydn's distance away from lightweight rococo. Of those six string quartets the three with fugal finales are No. 2 in C major, No. 5 in F minor and No. 6 in A major. Those saw publishing in Paris in 1774 by Chevardière, again in 1779. Come more Sturm und Drang with Haydn's 'Keyboard Sonata No.33' in D major Hob XVI:33 in circa 1773-78, published in 1783.

Once Nikolaus ceased playing the baryton Haydn was better able to concentrate on other work, writing his last trio for baryton in 1775, the year he set Giovanni Gastone Boccherini's oratorio, 'Il ritorno di Tobia'. Haydn later set two more oratorios, Gottfried van Swieten's 'Die Schöpfung' ('The Creation') in 1798, and Baron Gottfried van Swieten's 'Die Jahreszeiten' ('The Seasons') premiering in 1801.

Another change in 1779 again defined the sort of music which Haydn wrote, he now allowed to compose and publish music as his own property rather than that of the House of Esterházy. He now focused on symphonies and would compose his six 'Russian' string quartets Op 33 in 1781, one of which was 'String Quartet in E-flat' Op 33 No.2 known as 'The Joke'. Up to that time one of Europe's major composers was nowhere to be seen except at the exclusive Esterházy palace. Now Haydn could write on commission for clients throughout Europe.

Vermont Summer Music Festival   July 2012

Haydn's last opera for the House of Esterházy, 'Armida', premiered on 26 Feb 1784 at the Eszterháza theatre. That same year Haydn met and played quartets with Mozart, their association one of mutual high esteem. Haydn's first version of his orchestral 'The Seven Last Words of Christ' (Hob XX/1A) was commissioned in 1786 for the Oratorio de la Santa Cueva in Cadiz, published in Paris in 1787 where it was performed again before taken to Rome [Wikipedia Dutch]. Haydn also wrote versions for string quartet (Hob XX:1b which is the same as Hob III:50–56 in 1787), piano (Hob XX:1c in 1787) and voice (Hob XX:2 in 1796).

West Side Presbyterian Church in Ridgewood NJ   17 Feb 2018