Notturni and Scherzandi
Notturno in C (H II,25) [13:31]
Notturno in F (H II,26) [10:38]
Notturno in G (H II,27) [17:38]
Notturno in F (H II,28) [16:04]
Notturno in C (H II,29) [8:30]
Notturno in G (H II,30) [9:05]
Notturno in C (H II,31) [13:48]
Notturno in C (H II,32) [13:42]
Scherzando in F (H II,33) [7:12]
Scherzando in C (H II,34) [9:54]
Scherzando in D (H II,35) [9:11]
Scherzando in G (H II,36) [7:29]
Scherzando in E (H II,37) [7:31]
Scherzando in A (H II,38) [8:33]
Jessop Haydn Ensemble (HII 25-30) Trinity Haydn Ensemble (others)/Denis McCaldin
rec. 11-13 February 2012, Sheffield High School (HII 25-30), 7-8 January 2009, Blackheath Halls, London (others), UK DDD
DIVINE ART DDA21221 [76:01 + 78:33]
The music on these two discs falls into the category of entertainment.
That suggests that it is all easy-listening stuff, but that is a mistake.
The composer is none other than Haydn, and one can leave it to him to
make the best of such pieces, and produce something which is well fit
for repeated listening.
Two series of compositions have been recorded here. The first are eight
Notturni which were originally written for an ensemble with two
lire organizzate. As the repertoire for the baryton is almost
exclusively due to Prince Esterházy's lust for music to play
on his favourite instrument, the music for lira organizzata is
the result of the love of King Ferdinand IV of Naples for this instrument.
He commissioned several composers to write for it, like Adalbert Gyrowetz
and Ignaz Pleyel. It is a token of his wide-ranging reputation that
Haydn received the commission to compose concertos for two lire organizzate
from Ferdinand in 1786. Apparently the King liked them so much that
he asked Haydn to compose more. This resulted in the Notturni,
again scored for two lire organizzate. One of them was to be
played by the King himself, the other by Norbert Hadrava, an Austrian
diplomat who had developed the instrument especially for Ferdinand.
The lira organizzata is a development of the hurdy-gurdy, an
instrument which had always been popular in Naples. It was equipped
with a small keyboard and a crank handle through which sounds were produced
by the Flötenwerk (small organ pipes) and the Saitenwerk
(sympathetic strings), which were tuned an octave apart. Unfortunately
no specimen of this instrument has survived, and therefore it is impossible
to play the music as it was written. When Haydn travelled to London
in 1795 he took the concertos and Notturni with him, but in arrangements.
The parts for the lire organizzate were set for either two transverse
flutes or transverse flute and oboe. The original versions have not
been preserved.
The Notturni all comprise three movements, with the exception
of H II,25 which has four. In six of the Notturni the flute(s)
and oboe are joined by two clarinets, two horns, two violas, cello and
double bass. In the other two (H II,27 and 28) the clarinets are replaced
by violins. The inclusion of clarinets is remarkable, since Haydn -
unlike Mozart - never particularly favoured this instrument. Moreover,
the chapel of the Esterházys had no clarinets whatsoever.
The rest of this set is filled with six Scherzandi which were
probably written in 1761, the year Haydn took up his job as Vice-Kapellmeister
in the service of Paul Anton I, Prince Esterházy. The title was
invented by Breitkopf, the publisher who printed these pieces in 1765.
In the catalogue of his own works Haydn called them 'symphonies'. There
are strong similarities between these six pieces. All are scored for
transverse flute, two oboes, two horns, two violins and bass. The structure
is also identical: they are all in four movements - allegro, menuet,
adagio and presto. The trios of the menuets are solos for the transverse
flute. The prestos are by far the shortest. Despite the many similarities
Haydn achieves considerable variation in content. It seems that these
pieces were intended as a sort of cycle. Anthony Hodgson, in his liner-notes,
states that they can be divided into pairs each of which is characterised
by the interval of a fifth: F - C, D - G, E - A.
The name of Haydn as the composer guarantees that this is not music
which goes in one ear and out the other. It is surely also great stuff
for musicians to play. That comes well to the fore here. The ensembles
on the two discs are different. "The Jessop Haydn Ensemble was formed
as a collaborative project between the Haydn Society of Great Britain
and the University of Sheffield in 2012. It offers young prospective
professional musicians the opportunity to develop their skills in aspects
of 18th-century performance practice through recording and performance",
we read in the booklet. One cannot sufficiently appreciate such an initiative.
It must be a great experience to have the opportunity to play this fine
music by one of the greatest masters in music history. It is also understandable
that the participants and also the people who support them would like
to have a recording of their playing. However, I don't think it was
such a good idea to put it on disc for a wider market. There are just
too many shortcomings, in ensemble and especially intonation. The fast
movements from the Notturno in G (H II,27), for instance, are
sometimes pretty painful. I wonder whether this recording does the participants
in these performances any favours.
The programme of the second disc is played by the Trinity Haydn Ensemble
which "was created in 2009 as part of a Haydn bicentennial collaborative
project shared between members of Trinity College of Music and the Haydn
Society of Great Britain". There is no information about the players
in the booklet, but some internet searching suggests that most of them
were about to graduate or had already finished their studies at the
time of the performances. These are of a different level in comparison
with those on the first disc. Ensemble and intonation are much better,
albeit not perfect. The performances also profit from a better recording.
All the players on these discs use modern instruments, but play more
or less in period style. That clearly comes off better in the performances
by the Trinity Haydn Ensemble. The Jessop Haydn Ensemble spend too much
effort in playing the notes correctly and in tune. In all the pieces
a harpsichord participates in the bass part. This seems a rather questionable
practice. In Esterházy Haydn often did not use harpsichord in
pieces for instrumental ensemble or full orchestra.
The music on these two discs is highly enjoyable and entertaining. However,
considering the performance quality I doubt whether they are suitable
for repeated listening. I would instead recommend a wonderful set with
the Notturni and the Scherzandi and also the lira concertos
and the 'baryton octets' performed by Haydn Sinfonietta Wien, directed
by Manfred Huss (BIS-CD-1796/98, 2009). These offer the opportunity
to hear this music in its full glory.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
Support
us financially by purchasing this disc from |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |