Founder of the Classical School ~ Haydn Haydn (1732 ~ 1809) (Part 2)

Haydn's favorite, the Symphony

Haydn wrote more than 120 symphonies in his lifetime, especially during his 30 years as the court musician of Estehatch, he led a group of highly qualified members, always obsessed with creation, and tried to experiment with the possibilities of various music, so that he finally wrote a series of popular symphonies and established the form and structure of the symphony, so that the merits of the past and the future were called "the father of the symphony". In other words, if Haydn had not expanded his territory in this field, there might not have been Beethoven's exquisite Nine Symphonies.

In the form of the symphony, Haydn established the "4-movement system": the first movement is a sonata, divided into a presentation part, a development part and a reproduction part; the second movement is a lyrical slow plate; the third movement is mostly a small step dance with folk overtones; and the final fourth movement ends with a melody. The form of these 4 movements, "Allegro- Slow-Board, Small-Step Dance, and Whirling", is the standard style of the Symphony thereafter.

As we mentioned before, Haydn is a cheerful and intelligent person, and this trait is also revealed in his musical works, such as the popular "Farewell Symphony", which is actually a "love letter" that the humorous Haydn came up with for the members. It turned out that Estehatch's owner, Nicholas, stipulated that members of the orchestra could not live with their families. But in 1772, the members were so tired and missed their families so much that they protested to the regimental commander Haydn. Between the master and the members, Haydn was both sympathetic to his subordinates and not to annoy the employer, and the clever Haydn immediately came up with a good idea, and he made this "Farewell Symphony" to prepare something different for the master.

The first 3 movements of the evening's song were performed as usual, but by the 4th movement, the musicians quietly left the stage one by one, and finally only two lonely violinists were left on the stage, tired and lonely to finish the music. Such a move caused a lot of discussion among the guests, but Nicholas in the audience immediately understood the meaning of the orchestra and immediately ordered a vacation so that the members could return home to meet with their families. Haydn's intellect is not only evident in his musical works, but also in his ability to handle group affairs. A farewell song fulfills the musicians' dreams of returning home, and has achieved Haydn's reputation for witty humor!

More humor

Haydn left the Esteach family in 1790 and was invited to perform and visit London twice, where Salomon offered Haydn a lucrative offer to compose 12 symphonies for concerts, which were Haydn's late classics: The Salomon Symphonies. The 12 pieces include the famous Symphonies of Consternation, Miracle, Army, Clock and London, which represent the highest achievement of Haydn's career as a composer, and Haydn's performance in London is known as the "Shakespeare of the Music World" and is warmly welcomed by a wide audience.

Among them, Symphony No. 94 in G major is also known as the Symphony of Consternation, and this special nickname also has a cute source. It turned out that Haydn, who was performing in London at the time, saw many gentry and celebrities fall asleep in the second movement of the slow board, and thought that this was really unusual, so he came up with an idea to tease them.

Movement 1 leads to the theme from a soothing prelude, which later presents a joyful jumping atmosphere, which is the standard sonata style of the symphony; in the second movement, Haydn begins with a calm and beautiful theme, luring the listener into an atmosphere that is very suitable for a nap, and the graceful ladies and ladies sleep according to the custom, but this can fall into Haydn's trap! Because at a very quiet little ending, the whole orchestra suddenly burst out a loud chord, plus a fierce hammer of the timpani drum! This really frightened the audience who had been sleeping, and suddenly there was a 3-second atmosphere of consternation in the air, and the gentlemen and ladies who woke up from the dream looked around, and Haydn was snickering at his elaborate masterpiece. Fortunately, the music after the shock is much more normal, and everyone continues to enjoy the beautiful melody until the end of the song.

Filled with the composer's dexterous and harmonious style and elegant atmosphere that surrounds the entire piece, Symphony of Consternation is Haydn's most popular and widely known work, and the short story about the title has since become a good story in the music world.

Elegant string quartet

In addition to his moving symphonies, Haydn also had outstanding achievements in the string quartet, an elegant and relaxed chamber music that particularly expresses Haydn's composing prowess. Among them, the "Solar Quartet" still retains the Baroque style, while the "Russian Quartet" is based on the theme of folk song, and the bright rhythm has shown the maturity of this type of work. In addition, there is the melodious "Emperor Quartet", which was originally the national anthem of Austria.

During Haydn's visit to England, whenever he heard the solemn British national anthem, homesickness arose, coupled with the ravages of Napoleon's army in Austria at that time, prompting Haydn to decide to write an uplifting song. Later, he received the lyrics of the poet Hashoka, and Haydn scored the tune and named it "Heavenly Blessings of Our King Franz", which was sung in theaters across the country on February 12, 1797, the birthday of the Austrian Emperor, and touched all the people. Emperor Franz was so excited that the Austrian government ordered the song to be made the national anthem of Austria. Haydn adapted the piece the following year into a Quartet in C major, nicknamed the Emperor Quartet. The second movement of "The Emperor" is adapted from the Austrian national anthem, the melody played by the strings is very beautiful, there are four variations after the theme presentation, which are interpreted by the 4 instruments of the string quartet, and the harmony of each part is also an excellent melodic line, the simple structure sets off the elegance and warmth of this song, and its profound and quiet beauty is really tireless.

Groundbreaking Genesis

Haydn grew up in a religiously religious family, and his musical training from an early age began with the chanting of hymns, so Haydn himself was a devout believer, writing much of his music in the service of God.

Haydn, who had listened to Handel's oratorio "The Messiah" while in England, was deeply moved, and he felt that he was the greatest musician to write such a solemn hymn. At that time, he received the Book of Genesis by the English poet Lidler, and when he returned to Vienna, he began to conceive it, and after 3 years, Haydn finally completed the oratorio "Genesis".

The play is divided into three parts, the first from the 1st to the 4th day of Genesis, the second part from the 5th to the 6th day, and the third part depicting Adam and Eve praising God's exploits in the Garden of Eden. In writing the play, Haydn said, "There has never been a time in my life that I have been closer to God than when I was writing Genesis, and I feel as if God is by my side." The work premiered in 1798 and was directed by Haydn himself, but the response was not enthusiastic. It was not until it reappeared in Rome the following year that it gradually attracted attention. In particular, the perfect performance in 1808 vividly interpreted the beautiful and joyful atmosphere in the song, and the whole audience could not help but stand up and applaud, and haydn, who was 76 years old, was even more excited to point to the sky and said: "This song is the will of heaven, from heaven!" ”

Style lives on forever

Haydn was plagued by illness in his later years, but he was still revered and cared for by everyone during his illness. In 1809, Haydn was 77 years old, and he not only suffered from rheumatism, but he was also heartbroken to see Napoleon's army mutilate his homeland. Before his death, he used all his strength to play the Austrian national anthem written by his own hands 3 times, but because he was too sad and excited, his condition suddenly took a sharp turn for the worse, and he died after 5 days.

The firm-faith Haydn did not like to show the dark and complex side of human beings, so his artistic temperament was always bright and simple and cheerful. His music is pure and melodious, good at using melodies to depict all the subjects of daily life; he also loves the beautiful scenery of nature, full of spiritual thoughts, he can always carefully outline natural scenery. Haydn's contribution to the symphony is well known, he pioneered the main key musical style of the symphony, but also established the symphonic style, his musical language is frank and vivid, especially the late masterpieces, but also free and handy to express a variety of emotions and emotions.

Haydn suffered many hardships before his death, especially before he became famous, he also had days of sleeping on the street and eating three meals, but he did not give up music, and he naturally loved music but worked harder to study music theory and concentrate on creation. We cannot find traces of suffering in his works, just as his noble and upright personality always conveys a sincere and gentle temperament.

Haydn who works hard, Haydn who believes firmly, Haydn who is humorous and witty, Haydn who is kind and simple... These real faces are fused and intertwined, and we become the "Haydn Daddy" we know!