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Symphony No. 70 (Haydn)
Encyclopedia
The Symphony No. 70 in D major
, Hoboken 1/70, was written by Joseph Haydn
to mark the start of construction of a new opera house
on the Eszterháza
estate. It was premiered on December 18, 1779 -- one of the few Haydn symphonies where the exact premiere date is known.
form and is scored for flute
, two oboe
s, bassoon
, two horn
s, two trumpet
s, timpani
and string
s. The first draft had neither trumpet and timpani parts; Haydn added those later.
The first movement is a sonata form allegro in 3/4 time, dominated by a motif established in the opening bars and consisting of two descending pairs of notes, firmly establishing the home key by using only notes in the D major triad.
The exposition is marked for repeat, as are the development and recapitulation. The development begins with dissonant unison C-naturals for the woodwinds and strings and the rest of the development consists mainly of sustained notes for the woodwinds and opening descending pairs of notes in three-part counterpoint in the strings. In the recapitulation, the second half of the first theme group is heard in canon.
The second movement is a double variation
canon
in the form ABA1B1A2, beginning and ending in the minor. The minor episodes are in double-inverted counterpoint, while the major episodes are homophonic.
The third movement returns to the major key in a minuet with trio.
As somewhat of a surprise, fairly unique in Haydn's symphonic minuets, "a coda which is immensely affirmative" is added for the da capo repeat of the minuet.
The final movement, in D minor, begins hesitantly with a five note motif of repeated D's, initially pianissimo, but quickly erupting into a "triple [two-part] fugue
of real power."
The fugue winds down, and the initial hesitations are repeated (with slight modifications) before the movement ends with a coda
in D major which includes an eleven measure major-key reprise of the fugue.
Since all of the movements have the same tonic, the work is homotonal
.
A more modern edition of the score comes from the Haydn-Mozart Presse in Salzburg, edited by H. C. Robbins Landon
. An engraved score, it is more modern in its notation but it employs the archaic shortcut for dotted note
s across barlines in which instead of a tie to a quarter note only a dot appears. More confusingly, the coda of the minuet has the annotation "Fine II" under its final barline, while the ending of the first go-round at the minuet is labelled "Fine I" even though it is also supposed to be played in the da capo. No metronome markings are provided but the duration of the work is given as "ca. 22 Min."
Beat Briner arranged it for a wind octet of pairs of oboes, clarinets, horns and bassoons.
D major
D major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor....
, Hoboken 1/70, was written by Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
to mark the start of construction of a new opera house
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
on the Eszterháza
Eszterháza
Esterháza is a palace in Fertőd, Hungary, built by Prince Nikolaus Esterházy. Sometimes called the "Hungarian Versailles", it is Hungary's grandest Rococo edifice.-History:...
estate. It was premiered on December 18, 1779 -- one of the few Haydn symphonies where the exact premiere date is known.
Form
The work is in standard four-movementMovement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
form and is scored for flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, two oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
, two horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
s, two trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
and string
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
s. The first draft had neither trumpet and timpani parts; Haydn added those later.
- Vivace con brio, 3/4
- Specie d'un canonCanon (music)In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration . The initial melody is called the leader , while the imitative melody, which is played in a different voice, is called the follower...
e in contrapunto doppio Andante, 2/4 - Allegretto, 3/4
- Allegro con brio, 4/4
The first movement is a sonata form allegro in 3/4 time, dominated by a motif established in the opening bars and consisting of two descending pairs of notes, firmly establishing the home key by using only notes in the D major triad.
The exposition is marked for repeat, as are the development and recapitulation. The development begins with dissonant unison C-naturals for the woodwinds and strings and the rest of the development consists mainly of sustained notes for the woodwinds and opening descending pairs of notes in three-part counterpoint in the strings. In the recapitulation, the second half of the first theme group is heard in canon.
The second movement is a double variation
Double variation
The double variation is a musical form used in classical music. It is a type of theme and variations that employs two themes. In a double variation set, a first theme is followed by a second theme , followed by a variation on A, then a variation on B, and so on with alternating A and B...
canon
Canon (music)
In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration . The initial melody is called the leader , while the imitative melody, which is played in a different voice, is called the follower...
in the form ABA1B1A2, beginning and ending in the minor. The minor episodes are in double-inverted counterpoint, while the major episodes are homophonic.
The third movement returns to the major key in a minuet with trio.
As somewhat of a surprise, fairly unique in Haydn's symphonic minuets, "a coda which is immensely affirmative" is added for the da capo repeat of the minuet.
The final movement, in D minor, begins hesitantly with a five note motif of repeated D's, initially pianissimo, but quickly erupting into a "triple [two-part] fugue
Fugue
In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
of real power."
The fugue winds down, and the initial hesitations are repeated (with slight modifications) before the movement ends with a coda
Coda (music)
Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
in D major which includes an eleven measure major-key reprise of the fugue.
Since all of the movements have the same tonic, the work is homotonal
Homotonal
Homotonal is a technical musical term pertaining to the tonal structure of multi-movement compositions. It was introduced into musicology by Hans Keller...
.
Editions
The Cianchettini & Sperati edition of 1807 bears a dedication to HRH the Prince of Wales however. It omits the trumpet and timpani parts, and presents the bassoon part for three of the movements as an appendix. The edition looks like a handwritten score rather than an engraved score, but the Minuet is presented as an appendix (with bassoon part) with an engraved look contrasting with the rest of the score. Stems for half notes face the opposite of the usual direction and the dots for dotted notes are placed farther away than is customarily normal, except for dotted half notes crossing the barline which are presented as is now customary.A more modern edition of the score comes from the Haydn-Mozart Presse in Salzburg, edited by H. C. Robbins Landon
H. C. Robbins Landon
Howard Chandler Robbins Landon was an American musicologist.He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and studied music at Swarthmore College and Boston University. He subsequently moved to Europe where he worked as a music critic. From 1947 he undertook research in Vienna on Joseph Haydn, a composer...
. An engraved score, it is more modern in its notation but it employs the archaic shortcut for dotted note
Dotted note
In Western musical notation, a dotted note is a note with a small dot written after it. The dot increases the duration of the basic note by half of its original value. If the basic note lasts 2 beats, the corresponding dotted note lasts 3 beats...
s across barlines in which instead of a tie to a quarter note only a dot appears. More confusingly, the coda of the minuet has the annotation "Fine II" under its final barline, while the ending of the first go-round at the minuet is labelled "Fine I" even though it is also supposed to be played in the da capo. No metronome markings are provided but the duration of the work is given as "ca. 22 Min."
Beat Briner arranged it for a wind octet of pairs of oboes, clarinets, horns and bassoons.