Haydn Symphony No. 7 "Le Midi" | Il Giardino Armonico | Giovanni Antonini (Haydn2032, Vol. 10)
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- Опубліковано 29 бер 2022
- Joseph Haydn (1732-1809): Symphony No. 7 in C major "Le Midi", Hob. I:7 (1761)
Il Giardino Armonico | Giovanni Antonini, Conductor
Recorded at Martinskirche Basel, January 24, 2019
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A big Thank You to our Patreon Florian Suter who generously supported this video!
In the lead-up to the 300th anniversary of Joseph Haydn's birth in 2032, the Joseph Haydn Foundation in Basel is organising, producing and financing the performance and recording of all 107 of the composer's symphonies by Il Giardino Armonico and Basel Chamber Orchestra under the artistic direction of Giovanni Antonini, one of the most highly-respected specialists in baroque, early classical and classical music, with its project Haydn2032.
Tags: Joseph Haydn, Haydn2032, Symphony No. 7, Il Giardino Armonico, Giovanni Antonini, Les heures du jour
La più bella versione che abbia mai sentito!
Bravissimo!
The trio featuring a solo for double bass! Haydn's inventiveness is inexhaustible. Lovely warm horn sounds too. Bravi tutti!
So delighted to have this symphony added to Haydn 2032.
I love how much work goes into the albums with not just his music but other composers which are connected.
My understanding is that the goal of the 2032 Project is to record all of Haydn's symphonies.
00:06 Adagio - Allegro
07:39 Recitativo: Adagio
16:46 Menuetto and Trio
20:09 Finale: Allegro
Grazie mille!
Yet another superb offering in an overall excellent, reference-level series.
Following the sharp French overture-like dotted rhythms of the slow introduction, the first movement has the typical energy and creativity Maestro Antonini brings to all his performances of Haydn symphonies. This rendition is highlighted by the robust but at the same time sensitive playing of the Corelli-inspired classic concertino of two solo violins and cello. The pair of oboes also make timely contributions to and add wonderful harmonic support for the music.
The conductor and orchestra are particularly in tune (so to speak) with the drama and rapid changes in mood of the second movement. The latter opens with a purely instrumental version of an operatic recitativo accompagnato, with the violin soloist playing the role of a soprano voice. The ensuing section introduces both a pair of pastoral-sounding flutes and a second soloist, the cello. The latter serves the role of a bass voice to create a (love?) duet with the violin/soprano, culminating with a heartfelt cadenza for them both.
(As an aside, Haydn wrote another recitative for solo violin in his roughly contemporary Cassation in C Major, Hob. II:17, a work also notable for his first orchestral use of clarinets. Some three decades after that piece and "Le Midi," the composer would include yet another recitative for violin in the concluding movement of his Sinfonia Concertante in B-flat Major (1792). The next use of this technique by a major composer is, to say the least, quite famous, with the cello and double bass sections of the orchestra temporarily playing the part of a bass voice in a recitative until a real one replaces them, in the finale of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9.)
The overall tempo of the Menuetto is brisk but, to my ears, suitable to the music, and with an appropriate whiff of stateliness. The horns, relatively subdued in the first movement and absent in the second, finally have their chance to strut their soloistic stuff, which they will continue to do in the finale. While the playing and performance of this movement are top-notch, the Trio section has the same problem as in Haydn2032's video of Symphony No. 6, with the double bass soloist being less audible than he should be. What I do hear of that player is perfectly fine, I just wish I did not have to strain to hear it.
The finale of the symphony too moves briskly along with great vigor and precision. All the soloists play their passages well, most particularly the flautist with those many measures of racing sixteenth notes. For some reason the very end of this movement has always given me the impression of the work being not quite finished, the equivalent of it saying "To be continued..." And, of course, with evening next to come in the form of Symphony No. 8, the music/day really is not completed yet...
I deliberately abstained from reading your comment - which appeared about 20 hours before my own contribution - out of curiosity to see how we each heard this performance.
There appears to be general agreement in most areas, though I would suggest the following.
i) You are quite correct about the use of the Corelli-type concertino of two solo violins and a cello as heard in the first movement, and the cd liner notes and UA-cam comments often refer to the concerto grosso-type aspects of the work; for myself, I think them slightly over-stated as Haydn was clearly intent on writing a more modern, impact symphony.
(I find comments referring to these works as sinfonie concertante even more wide of the mark, in fact, totally mistaken).
ii) Your third paragraph indulges in exactly the sort of legitimate speculation found in my own comment.
iii) Your comment about the Minuet is similar to my own regarding the tempo.
I have still not worked out whether the issue of the violone is one of volume or the microphones (some of the UA-cam performances obviously lack the impact of the cds simply because of the sound capabilities of the iPad on which I watch these performances).
Additionally, as I mentioned with ‘Le Matin’, it’s a pity there is not a better camera-angle on this player, particularly for his solos, but at least the horns were caught better than in Symphony 6.
(This is nit-picking - the camerawork is generally very good).
iv) In the finale - and elsewhere - the soloists I agree are outstanding, and the flautist does indeed negotiate the rapid semiquavers/sixteenth notes* superbly and plays and shapes the music beautifully, not just the notes.
v) I think it is perfectly legitimate to consider Haydn Symphonies 6, 7, and 8 as a trilogy, so your ‘To be continued…’ is a fair point.**
I have added a short comment about precisely this ending in my own comment which you might find helpful.
* The probably more logical and mathematical American system of note values - apart from English-speaking Canada (and Germany from where it derives) - is not well understood and not used at all in the rest of the English-speaking world.
** The wider issue of Classical symphonies as sets has not been particularly well investigated; Harnoncourt had a stab at suggesting Mozart 39, 40, and 41 could be so considered, as have - tentatively - some others, and more widely, Haydn 6, 7, and 8 certainly fit the bill.
James Webster has suggested Haydn 45 and 46 as a pair, and Dittersdorf’s six surviving ‘Ovid’ symphonies (the other six are lost) is another possibility - there are others too.
A potentially interesting topic.
@@elaineblackhurst1509
In comparing our two sets of comments, I am struck by how similar our reactions to the performance were. Far too many conductors and their orchestras (who shall remain nameless) blur, tame, and homogenize Haydn's music.They drain it of its inherent energy, make what is highly original sound mundane, and add Mozartian grace, elegance, and urbanity (so appropriate for music the composer himself wrote in that style) to passages and whole pieces of Haydn that should be rough, raw, and rural.
What Maestro Antonini and his band of top-notch musicians do is the auditory analog of providing treatment to someone with severe myopia (something I can relate to...) To that individual's unaided eyes a strikingly beautiful distant landscape looks like an amorphous mass of motion and color. However, these performances are the equivalent of providing such a person with glasses that correct their vision to 20-20--sharpening what was unfocused into crystal clarity, so the full beauty of that faraway scenery can now finally be seen in all its glory, appreciated, and enjoyed.
Likewise, our more didactic observations about the work itself and ancillary topics in some ways overlap and in others complement each other. For example, I mentioned the role of the instrumental recitative in Haydn's other works. On the other hand, I am kicking myself for not including your equally salient points such as the ending-similar-to-beginning technique used in this symphony's final movement. Another example of how, by combining the perspectives of different listeners, the net result is greater than each individual point of view/reactions alone...
A few specific comments. Your comparison of the beginning of the symphony to a march is excellent. Its dotted rhythms reminded me of the slow beginning of a French overture, but those same rhythms are also typical of a march. The overall image you paint is, I think, entirely valid, creative, and plausible.
It seems we are in general agreement about the first movement having elements at least reminiscent of the "classic" concerto grosso. As I recall, when Haydn started his new job, the Esterházy music library contained works by older composers such as Vivaldi (including, say, Op. 3, No. 11?). Perhaps it is not too far-fetched to think that Corelli's Op. 6 might have been there too. Thus, if he were not familiar with that music before (do you, or any other readers, know the answer to that?), he may at least have had the potential opportunity to discover it there.
However, for the most part Haydn weaves his soloists into the overall tapestry of the music in ways very different than those Italian Baroque models. They clearly contrast concertino and ripieno, using them as two distinct groups. Conversely, Haydn generally integrates his soloists seamlessly into the orchestra as a whole. It is as if the musicians, instead of being divided into one smaller/soloistic group and a second larger, less flamboyant one, were instead all standing and playing together--but, occasionally, one or two will step forward, play a prominent passage, and then retreat back into the anonymity of the rest of the orchestra. To use a more modern term and an opinion I have read elsewhere, long before Bartok and other 20th century composers, in this symphony and the two that numerically flank it on either side, Haydn is writing concertos for orchestra.
I also concur that his technique has at most an extremely tenuous connection to the sinfonia concertante. Mozart's and Haydn's lone masterpieces in that genre (and, for that matter, Beethoven's later "Triple Concerto"), as well as the many produced produced by J.C. Bach, are fundamentally concertos for multiple instruments, with a clear distinction between soloists and orchestra. The pairing of solo violin and solo cello in the slow movements of Symphonies Nos. 6, 7, 8 (as well as a few other symphonies, such as the second movement of No. 36) is superficially reminiscent of what might be heard in a similarly scored sinfonia concertante by the "London Bach." However, the unconventional formal structures of the second movements of Nos. 6 and 7 (especially, as you describe, the latter) and complex ways Haydn uses his two string soloists are radically different and original.
I too have read speculations that Haydn was wont to write some of his early symphonies in pairs--perhaps having a shared programmatic or philosophical thread that he kept to himself, or at least writing the second to further explore (and possibly improve/polish) ideas and techniques explored in the first one of the set (cf. the chronologically inverted Nos. 31 and 72).
Finally, I found your comments regarding the semiquaver versus eighth note etc. naming systems both fascinating and instructive. I have, of course, seen both nomenclatures used interchangeably. However, I am embarrassed to admit that, until a minute ago, if someone had asked me if I knew what a "minim" was, I would have recognized the term but been unable (until the Google search I just did) to successfully identify it as what I always think of as a "half note." Perhaps this reflects the general human trait that, when dealing with two valid ways of doing things, we tend to favor the one we are more familiar with...
I almost forget to add this-at the time I write this, to one and all reading this comment, “Happy Haydn’s Birthday!” (Unless, as some have suggested, he was actually born on April 1, which for obvious reasons would be extremely appropriate..)
@@elaineblackhurst1509 Are you aware of the upcoming streaming of symphonies 29, 55 and 56 tomorrow evening? The streaming will start at 6:15 p.m. local time, but you can skip the beginning because it will be in German. The Interview with Giovanni Antonini will start at 6:50 (maximum 15 min), and the concert will start at 7:30 p.m. local time.
This week I've been at the rehearsals, and the concentrated and caring work of Giovanni Antonini was fascinating as ever. The way he was able to put those works “on fire” was enthralling. I wish that the final performance of n°56 at the end of the day yesterday had been recorded!
nello splendido adagio il continuo rimando della melodia tra violino e violoncello ripresa dai fiati crea emozione e commozione
One of my fave slow movements by Haydn.
VeryVery Top Performanced with The Professional Member's Playing The "Hight Musical"!!!!
Your.i am The First Choice.in DearS Haydn's Symphony~ Performancet in The World.YES.
"Beautiful Sounds"Myself 's Answer.
Just "Enought"👌🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻😉Thank You Very Much.&Your Team.
Sweetness!!!🎉
Wat een heerlijk stuk muziek en wat een bezielende directiestijl. Heerlijk om naar te luisteren en te kijken! Dit soort dirigenten mogen m.i met name worden genoemd.
Bravo 👏👏Inigualables 👌
Hermoso 💜💜💜
A superb performance by any standards; here we have a conductor and orchestra who understand fully the musical language of the composer, and thus can communicate with extraordinary clarity and power this new, and inherently operatic-inspired and dramatic music.
The drama of opera in instrumental music is I think one of the features quite new in this trilogy of symphonies, and in parts of ‘Le Midi’ it is clear and explicit - most obviously in the recitative and aria style slow movement with its striking contrasts in mood, and between Allegro and Adagio, and where the violin and cello sing a duet in an instrumental aria - with interjections from the two flutes - that even includes a final cadenza.
(The solo parts are all beautifully, tastefully, and movingly played once again - bravi).
Almost all the instrumental writing in this Recitativo - Adagio - Allegro - Adagio movement feels vocal in conception which adds to the operatic feel of the music; perhaps unlike Vivaldi’s Le quattro stagione, or the Symphonie fantastique of Berlioz where we know exactly through the written word what is the programme, perhaps one existed here, but maybe only in Haydn’s head, or on the ceiling of the Haydnsaal at Eisenstadt.
To this end, is the opening of ‘Le Midi’ Haydn’s Servizio di tavola, with the slow march representing the entry of the Prince and his guests for il pranzo - the midday meal ?
(Without Vivaldi’s explicit poems, we can make up our own scenarios, but I challenge you to listen now to the opening of this symphony and see if you can banish the image I have just - not an original thought - suggested).
One of the great strengths of this beautifully shaped performance is that Antonini and the players understand the operatic nature of the symphony, and they play out the drama accordingly, thus giving us such a brilliant and satisfying performance.
I was pleased to feel a three in a bar pulse for the Minuet here; not all Minuets are the same, and whilst one-in-a-bar has served Antonini well in many of the symphonies in this series, here I think the brisk three serves better this particular Minuet.
One other noteworthy feature: using the opening theme of the Finale as the closing gesture of the movement is another quiet little innovation by Haydn (he later used endings as beginnings quite frequently); cf. Beethoven Symphony 8.
In short, I’m running out of superlatives to describe every aspect of Haydn 2032; it is simply magnificent, and we are all privileged to be able to be part of what will be one of the greatest recording projects of all time.
"One other noteworthy feature, using the opening theme of the Finale as the closing gesture of the movement is another quiet little innovation by Haydn (he later used endings as beginnings quite frequently)..."
What an excellent observation! This being Symphony No. 7, here are 7 works in which Haydn does indeed end a movement in a way audibly similar to or, in one case, absolutely identical with the way he opened it:
1. String Quartet Op. 20, No. 5--fourth movement.
2. String Quartet Op. 33, No. 2--fourth movement.
3. String Quartet Op. 33, No. 4--fourth movement (here the measures that end the movement sound similar to but at the same time very different from those at its beginning--a seeming paradox resolved by listening to the finale of this work).
4. String Quartet Op. 76, No. 5--fourth movement.
5. "Kyrie" from "Missa in Angustiis" (aka the "Nelson Mass").
6. Symphony No. 57--second movement (here the first measure is exactly the same as the last!)
7. Symphony No. 70--fourth movement.
There are indeed many more examples of Haydn's use of this technique. Would anyone care to add to this list?
Haydns' early symphonies were more diverse and experimental than the later ones, e.g. the Paris and London ones. Which says nothing about their quality btw. Several effects he abandoned mostly later: solo passages, instrumental recitative, alternative sequence of the movements.
@@christianwouters6764 Sorry, but I don't agree. Solo passages are part and parcel of Haydn's symphonic style all along (contrary to Mozart's symphonies; on the other hand, Mozart makes prolific use of solo passages for all kind of instruments, mostly the winds, in his piano concertos). Here follow a few examples of solos in Haydn's “later” symphonies:
- n°51 is a double concerto for two horns;
- n°59 (“Fire”) has prominent horn parts in the last movement, as in the last movement of n°65 and n°73 (“La Chasse”) also;
- in n°60 (“Il Distratto”) there are solos in the two slow movements;
- in n°68 there is a bassoon solo in the last movement;
- in n°84 there is an extended cadenza for the winds at the end of the 2nd movement; a similar cadenza is to be found in the 2nd movement of n°96 (“Miracle”);
- n°94 (“Surprise”) starts with a solo of the wind band;
- in n°95 there is a cello solo in the 2nd movement and in the trio of the minuet;
- in n°96 there is an oboe solo in the trio of the minuet;
- in n°97 there is a solo for oboe, bassoon and violin in the trio of the minuet;
- in n°99 there are many very funny solos in the last movement, as in the last movement of n°102 too;
- After the slow introduction the 1st movement of n°100 (“Military”) starts with a solo of the flutes and oboes;
- in n°101 (“The Clock”) there is a solo flute in the trio of the minuet;
- n°103 starts with the famous solo drum roll, followed by a bassoon solo, and there is a solo for the clarinets in the trio of the minuet - the only one for clarinets in a Haydn symphony..
This list is not exhaustive by any means. The trios of the minuets often display solos for various instruments. Re the alternative sequence of movements: in n°44 and n°68 the minuet is placed second (in his string quartets this occurs more often).
In the Baroque and Classical periods the all-dominating musical genre was vocal music. The instrumental music evolving at that time had to “fight” in order to secure its place next to it. Instrumental music did this by emulating vocal music as much as possible: with formal design (e.g. recitative and aria) and by using well established rhetorical figures (according to Harnoncourt the average listener of the period was familiar with at least 40 rhetorical figures - we today have mostly lost track of their meaning). For this reason the musical language of the Classical period is eminently “speaking”: I tend to say that Haydn's instrumental music is mainly conversational, whereas Mozart's is mainly operatic (obviously it's not black and white, and the one doesn't exclude the other): while listening to their music it's always easy to imagine people interacting, either in conversation or on a stage. This “speaking” element is what Antonini and his musicians have understood so well. But they are not alone: recently I hit on a superb performance of Mozart's String Trio (“Divertimento”) K. 563 with Sol Gabetta at the cello, in which all those rhetorical figures are shaped to perfection, resulting in an enthralling “conversation” from beginning to end - a rare 45 minutes elation: ua-cam.com/video/E8c83bpOVXo/v-deo.html.
@@robertspruijtenburg3625
Thank you for adding your excellent and accurate observations to this conversation.
As you correctly note, your long listing of solo passages in later Haydn symphonies is still by no means complete. For example, the second movement of No. 56 has wonderful passages for solo bassoon--particularly striking because, in the other three movements, that instrument is confined to its usual (for the time) col basso role.
And, besides the fine examples you cite, the symphonies written immediately after the "Paris" set contain many other striking instances of soloistic writing:
--No 88: The opening of the second movement has a duet for solo oboe and cello.
--No. 89: The beginning of the Menuet is scored very unusually, for the typical combination of instruments Haydn employed in many of his early divertimenti for wind band--pairs of oboes, bassoons, and horns by themselves.
--No. 90: Flute solo in the second movement.
--No. 91: Bassoon solo in the second movement.
--No. 92: All those gorgeous passages for flute, oboe, and bassoon in the second movement, and even that very brief, soft "solo" for the two trumpets in the final movement.
In addition to the occasions you describe in the "London" symphonies, there are also prominent passages for a single violin (e.g. finale of No. 98 and second movement of No. 103), the military band-scoring of oboes, clarinets, and bassoons alone in the second movement of No. 100, and especially the multiple creative solos for various instruments in the "Largo cantabile" of No. 93. The latter's opening is scored for just two violins, a viola, and a cello--here the honorary "Father" of the Symphony and the proposed paternal parent of the String Quartet actually meet each other. That same movement also includes short solos that involve oboes, flutes, and even timpani--culminating in that (in)famous one-note fortissimo outburst for the two bassoons in isolated unison.
And, while it is true that after Symphony No. 68 Haydn does not alter the template of fast-slow-minuet-fast movements in his symphonies, the final works in that genre firmly establish one important structural addition to it. Though listening to the Nos. 6-7-8 trilogy alone might make one think otherwise (i.e. that No. 8 is the outlier), until the "Paris" ones few Haydn symphonies begin with a slow introduction leading into the main fast movement. In fact, after "Le Matin" and "Le Midi" the only ones that start in that way prior to Nos. 82-87 are the hybrid "too long for a slow introduction but not long enough for a separate movement" opening of No. 25 and (depending on when it was written) slow-fast-slow beginning of No. 15, along with No. 50, No. 53, No. 54 (not in its original but in its final version), No. 57, No. 60, No. 71, No. 73, and No. 75.
Conversely, after writing a slow introduction for half (Nos. 84, 85, and 86) of the "Paris" symphonies, all but two (Nos. 89 and 95) of the ones from No. 88 on use it. And, besides employing them as (?) attention-getting curtain raisers for those last works, played by orchestras and audiences much larger than his earlier ones written primarily for Esterháza, the inexhaustibly creative Haydn found new and innovative ways to vary the role and character of those slow introductions. That includes linking the musical material in them to the ensuing movement (e.g. Nos. 90, 97, 98, and 103), sometimes starting with a whisper (e.g. No. 92) and other times with a bang (e.g. Nos. 93 and 99), making the opening quite brief (e.g. No. 98) versus creating almost a mini-movement in itself (No. 104), or employing minor key mystery (e.g. Nos. 100 and 101) as opposed to drama (No. 104).
Moreover, the string quartets (Op. 71 and 74) written between his two London visits also experiment with using brief (down to one note!) introductions to their opening movements. The post-London travels Op. 76 No. 1 also does this, and the beginning of Op. 76 No. 4 sounds like it could well be a slow introduction--until it isn't.
Haydn's most talented student would later channel his teacher's earlier experiments in form by disrupting what the latter had made the usual order and types of movements--but radically so (if one agrees to use "minuet" and "scherzo" as equivalent in this context and a slow introduction as optional) in only 2 of his 9 symphonies. Indeed, the scheme for large-scale construction of a symphony that Haydn normalized after using a much wider variety at the beginning of his career is, it seems, still the "standard," with so many later composers honoring it either in the observance or in the breach.
¡¡¡Extraordinaria interpretación!!!
Maravilhoso! ❤❤❤❤
7:39, the Second Movement.
Hope ,MR.GA.Can All Performance All Mr.Haydn.'S. SYMPHONY.i Hope to Buy.Box.Set CD!😉😉
20:08, the Fifth Movement.
Just for information:
Symphony 7 (‘Le Midi’) is scored for:
2 Flutes
2 Oboes
Bassoon
2 Horns
Concertante Violin I
Concertante Violin II
Obbligato Cello
Solo Violone/ Double Bass
Violins I and II
Viola
Cello
Bass
There are *four* movements:
1. Adagio - Allegro
2. Recitativo - Adagio - Allegro - Adagio
3. Menuetto - Trio
4. Finale: Allegro
(You may want to amend your useful timing marker above - there is no 5th movement).
@@elaineblackhurst1509 well excuse me all to hell!!
@@McIntyreBible 😹🤩😍
@@elaineblackhurst1509 The confusion probably derives from the fact that many CD recordings (including Antonini's) assign two separate tracks to the 2nd movement: one for the Recitativo and one for the ensuing "Aria" which, of course, makes no sense. On Haydn's autograph (Budapest; the earliest autograph of a Haydn symphony that has come down to us) after the end of the 1st movement it says on top of a NEW page "Recitativo" and "Adagio" at the bottom of that same page. The Recitativo ends with a separation sign on each stave at the right margin of its last page (a kind of narrow "V"; not the same as the "end of movement" sign Haydn uses [and Mozart too]: a kind of narrow "W"). Then, on a NEW page, the new instruments for the "Aria" are specified and at the bottom it says again "Adagio", nothing else. So, clearly, Haydn's intention is ONE movement in formally two distinct parts, each with its specific character.
@@robertspruijtenburg3625
Catching up…
Many thanks for this clarification; I was not aware of the detail you have kindly supplied, but simply going from my own ears - and eyes on the score - the second movement feels and sounds to me like a unified single movement, rather in the manner that it is often useful to listen to operatic arias of the period with the preceding recitativo which so often sets the context.
(There are similarities here with our discussion about sections of the finale of Symphony 45, and that too being heard as a single movement).
The tracking on the cd is most odd, and seems to me to serve no purpose at all.
I like these performances, but I find many of the attacks on the aggressive side. I can't be the only one?
Probably not but compared with performances in the 60s and 70s, when Haydn was being " rediscovered " prefer this, Right notes in the right order it is fairly bombproof.
Hi.i am Wilson.
8:40
Irritante man.
Симфония создавалась Гайдном явно под впечатлением "Времён года" Вивальди.
Possibly, but a rather more important factor is the painting on the ceiling of the Haydnsaal at the Eszterhazy palace in Eisenstadt which depicts morning, noon, and evening.
(You can do a Google search to see the images).
That said, we know that there were copies of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in the music library at Eisenstadt.