Album insights
Haydn's "String Quartets, op. 33," composed in a "whole new special way," caused an international sensation in 1782. These quartets featured refined, dialog-like structures and combined a light, melodic surface with a tight motivic development. Haydn had achieved a commercial breakthrough, leading publishers to show increased interest in capitalizing on the success of op. 33. Although Haydn focused mainly on opera in the following years, only the small D minor Quartet op. 42 emerged until the next set of string quartets, op. 50, appeared in 1787.
In April 1784, Haydn wrote to the Viennese publisher Artaria, outlining his work on three "very short," three-movement quartets for a Spanish patron. Whether he abandoned this project or the quartets are lost remains uncertain. It's possible that the stand-alone Quartet op. 42 from 1785 might include music from the lost or discontinued Spanish project. This quartet, issued by Hoffmeister, specialized in publishing quartets individually, unlike in sets of three or six (similar to Mozart's D major quartet KV 499 published by Hoffmeister).
Despite the outward simplicity of the quartet, signified by the unusual marking of the first movement, "Andante ed innocentemente," it belied its subtle mastery. In each movement, Haydn took pleasure in achieving much with limited means. The opening movement's graceful dialog structures ingeniously evolved from the three distinct motifs of its single theme. The tone was subdued-melancholic, with a brief intense climax towards the end. Haydn consistently extracted new meanings from the theme throughout, resonating until its conclusion.
The D major minuet exhibits a similar thematic concentration to the first movement, characterized by light, conversational give-and-take moments. Contrasting the gentle gliding, almost Mozartian elegance is a laconic D minor trio, opening with quasi-canonical imitative passages. Remaining true to the thematic economy of the entire quartet, the cheerful Adagio is primarily a meditation on its serene opening phrase, unfolding in rich, luminous structures.
In the finale, parallels emerge to Haydn's earlier symphonies (and Mozart's G major Quartet KV 387), blending the scholarly and popular styles. Strict passages with invertible counterpoint alternate with music that could be straight from a comic opera. Moments of still mystery emerge, almost freezing surface activity momentarily. The result is an exciting, humorous movement, particularly as Haydn leaves uncertainty regarding the conclusion of the development and the start of the recapitulation.
By early 1799, around thirty string quartets later and following the success of "The Creation," Haydn agreed to compose a series of six quartets for the music-loving aristocrat, Prince Lobkowitz. Only two of the quartets had been completed by July 1799, with plans to finish the project over the next three years. Although his work on "The Seasons" demanded much of his energies, the two quartets, published in 1802 as op. 77 with a dedication to Lobkowitz, marked Haydn's final completed works in this genre. Representing a magnificent peak, these quartets illustrated not only his masterful technique honed over five decades but also a wealth of experiences, from rustic earthiness to convivial wit and anarchic humor.
The Allegro moderato of the G major Quartet, No. 1, unfolds against a marching backdrop, offering inklings of Schubert's "wandering" movements. (Hans Keller described the opening in The Great Haydn Quartets as a "spiritualized march.") Interspersed between lively violin dialogues or between first violin and cello, cascading violin trios infuse virtuosic brilliance. The "second theme" commences as a reinterpretation of the first theme, with the cello taking the lead before the second violin presents a brief cantabile theme crucial in the development. Just before the end, Haydn transforms the march into a gentle lyrical melody, a charming conclusion concealing formidable compositional sovereignty.
In the midst of Haydn's renowned thematic economy, the emphasis on the flat key areas in the development of the first movement enhances the oddity of E-flat major in the Adagio. Strategically blending sonata form, variation, and passacaglia elements, interplays between violin and cello dialogues resurface. Haydn continually extracts diverse interpretations from the emblematic motive until the piece's compelling, poignant end.
The designation "Menuett" for the third movement may be deceptive. Similar to the so-called menuets of Quartets op. 76 Nos. 1 and 6, this movement is a fully developed Presto scherzo with aggressive offbeat accents and sweeping register leaps. A dashingly humoristic d-Moll trio contrasts the gliding menuet, featuring almost Beethoven-like elements. Was Haydn perhaps influenced by the scherzi of his former student's piano trios op. 1 and the early piano sonatas here? Abruptly transitioning to E-flat major, this trio symbolizes a wild peasant dance, anticipating the equally feverish trio of Beethoven's final Quartet op. 135, composed over a quarter of a century later.
This rural spirit carries over into the finale, featuring a gypsy-like main theme and passages of vertiginous violin virtuosity. Displaying Haydn's most humorous side, this movement, like the Adagio and Scherzo, develops entirely from its opening measures, introducing the theme in unison and then starkly harmonically exposed with new accents, before disassembling it through speedy dialogues.
In comparison to the lively surface of the first movement of op. 77 No. 1, the Allegro moderato of op. 77 No. 2 is a grander and more densely textured affair. While the first violin took the lead in the G major Quartet, the motives in this quartet are democratically dispersed among the instruments. The main theme is an expansive, lyrical melody instantly repeated and variated in an enriched setting. Transitioning into the second thematic group in the exposition, initially as a shadowy counterpoint to a convoluted chromatic melody in the second violin portrays the carefree initial impression's underlying compositional depth. Haydn's quartets were renowned for their harmonic experiments, and this still astounding passage surpasses all.
The second movement, labeled Menuetto, is a Scherzo akin to its counterpart in the G major Quartet. Its tone is even more frantic—a semi-comedic, semi-recalcitrant clash between triple and duple meters (reminiscent of a Czech furiant) prevails, alongside rapid structural shifts and a persistent cello's identity crisis, imitating a drum. Transitioning to the submediant B major in the trio, it showcases lyrical delicacy in deep, shaded textures and pianissimo echoes.
Balancing the trio's switch to B major, Haydn opts for bright cross key D major in the Andante. This movement, particularly popular among quartet players, begins with an intricate duet for violin and cello, described somewhat irreverently by the composer Robin Holloway as "Three blind mice [an old English nursery rhyme] embellished." However, as frequently found in Haydn's works, initial simplicity gives way to complexity. With the second violin and viola adding their voices to a more serious, sonorous melody (all four instruments playing in their deepest registers), the music hints at a more intricate structure, unfolding as an individual synthesis of rondo and variations with a development episode in D minor led by the second violin and a reprise of the theme on the cello's high A string against the delicate figurations of the first violin. The mysteriously fading conclusion with murmuring inner voices is a serene and regal apogee to the many grandiose Andante movements in Haydn's oeuvre.
In the finale, built around a single theme, the showdown between triple and duple meters from the Scherzo is intensified—an ambiguous meter is teased from the opening bars. Here, Haydn contrasts a polonaise with a Slavic folk dance (complete with bagpipe-like drone sounds), transfiguring them into music pulsating with unbridled rhythmic and contrapuntal energies. His rhythmic games peak in the development, where instruments cascade in a controlled chaos.
By the mid-1780s, Haydn stood as the most renowned composer of his era, enjoying greater international fame than any other composer during his lifetime. European publishers eagerly released his latest symphonies and quartets, while prestigious orders and invitations arrived from cities as distant as Madrid or Naples, not just Paris and London. Among Haydn's most successful works, especially in Catholic regions, was his Stabat Mater from 1767. The popularity in Spain might explain the priest from Cádiz's request for a series of orchestral reflections on the Seven Last Words of Christ to be performed during the annual Passion observance on Good Friday, after the bishop intoned each "word" and delivered an address on it.
Haydn completed "The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross" on time, for performances on Good Friday 1787 at the Oratorio de la Santa Cueva in Cádiz and the palace church in Vienna. In widening the music's reach, he swiftly fashioned a string quartet arrangement, proving far more popular than the original orchestral version, and authorized a keyboard arrangement by another hand. However, the tale of the priest who commissioned the work settling Haydn's payment with a cake filled with gold coins should be