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...

 completed his Symphony No. 92 in G major

G major

G major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp, F; in treble-clef key signatures, the sharp-symbol for F is usually placed on the first line from the top, though in some Baroque music it is placed on the first space from the bottom...

, Hoboken 1/92, popularly known as the Oxford Symphony, in 1789 as one of a set of three symphonies that Haydn had been commissioned by the French Count d'Ogny to compose.

Background

The symphony is called the "Oxford" because Haydn reportedly conducted it at a ceremony in 1791 in which he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Oxford University. The name is something of a misnomer, because the symphony was actually written earlier for performance in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. Haydn was awarded his degree fairly soon after his first arrival in England, and as he had not yet finished composing any of the twelve "London" symphonies

London symphonies

The London symphonies, sometimes called the Salomon symphonies after the man who introduced London to Joseph Haydn, were composed by Joseph Haydn between 1791 and 1795...

 he ultimately wrote for England, he brought to the ceremony the most recent of his completed symphonies.

Haydn's appearance at Oxford was symbolic of the international success he attained beginning in his late fifties. Charles Burney

Charles Burney

Charles Burney FRS was an English music historian and father of authors Frances Burney and Sarah Burney.-Life and career:...

, who himself had earned his doctorate in music at University College, was the one who suggested an honorary degree for Haydn and who made all the arrangements. Because Haydn arrived from London later than expected, he had to conduct a symphony already familiar to the Oxford musicians, since there was no time for rehearsal. However, we do not know which symphony was actually chosen for the concert following the ceremony.

Haydn was actually scheduled to conduct three concerts in Oxford as a prerequisite for receiving his degree. A rehearsal was scheduled for the second morning, and that evening the symphony we now know as the Oxford was played to the same acclaim it had previously enjoyed at Johann Peter Salomon's concerts in London. (Salomon would soon be the impresario responsible for Haydn's writing his 12 "London" Symphonies.)

Movements

1. Adagio - Allegro spiritoso
2. Adagio cantabile
   Cantabile
   Cantabile is a musical term meaning literally "singable" or "songlike" . It has several meanings in different contexts. In instrumental music, it indicates a particular style of playing designed to imitate the human voice. For 18th century composers, the term is often used synonymously with...
   
   
3. Menuetto
   Minuet
   A minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...
   
   : Allegretto
4. Presto

First movement

Haydn distinguishes each section of the sonata form

Sonata form

Sonata form is a large-scale musical structure used widely since the middle of the 18th century . While it is typically used in the first movement of multi-movement pieces, it is sometimes used in subsequent movements as well—particularly the final movement...

 in this movement by use of strong contrasts of stability and instability. Before revealing the first theme of the symphony, Haydn opens this movement with a slow introduction that begins in the tonic G major and modulates through to the parallel minor and then to the dominant. He begins the first theme in the tonic

Tonic (music)

In music, the tonic is the first scale degree of the diatonic scale and the tonal center or final resolution tone. The triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord...

 but on a dominant seventh chord

Chord (music)

A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...

. This is very unusual of symphonies of the time but it reflects an aspect of Haydn’s unique compositional characteristics. Because the rest of the Oxford will reflect many of the ideas presented in this first theme, this symphony has been termed monothematic.

Following the first theme is the transition

Transition (music)

In music, the transition is the middle section or formal function, while the main theme is the beginning, and the subordinate theme is the ending...

, which allows Haydn to modulate to the dominant. The second theme begins with the opening idea of the movement, but in the dominant

Dominant (music)

In music, the dominant is the fifth scale degree of the diatonic scale, called "dominant" because it is next in importance to the tonic,and a dominant chord is any chord built upon that pitch, using the notes of the same diatonic scale...

 key

Key (music)

In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...

. As this theme progresses it enters a section of minor-mode before entering into the closing theme. Haydn stays in the dominant key through the closing of the first movement. In the development

Musical development

In European classical music, musical development is a process by which a musical idea is communicated in the course of a composition. It refers to the transformation and restatement of initial material, and is often contrasted with musical variation, which is a slightly different means to the same...

 section, Haydn borrows themes from the exposition, then “develops” and embellishes them. He adds sections of subject change and digression from the original theme as well as moments of rest or silence. These qualities of the development are all very characteristic of Haydn. Furthermore, he draws upon the older style of intricate counterpoint

Counterpoint

In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...

 to enhance the galante style

Galante music

A new style of classical music, fashionable from the 1720s to the 1770s, was called Galante music. It consciously simplified contrapuntal texture and intense composing techniques that realized a pattern on the page and substituted a clear leading voice with a transparent accompaniment....

 of the symphony.

Second movement

The second movement is in ternary form with a slow and song-like melody. Haydn, however, adds his own uniqueness to this movement by adding an intense middle section in minor. This minor interlude is based on a motive from the opening section. A shortened return of the major section precedes a section of the movement that features the winds.

Third movement

Haydn composes the third movement in ABA

Ternary form

Ternary form, sometimes called song form, is a three-part musical form, usually schematicized as A-B-A. The first and third parts are musically identical, or very nearly so, while the second part in some way provides a contrast with them...

form with a minuet and trio. Both the minuet and trio are in binary form with repeats. In order to create a more entertaining movement for the listener, Haydn composes the minuet with phrases of six measures as opposed to the normal four-measure phrase and adds syncopations and stops. All of these qualities were found to be humorous by the audiences of Haydn’s time because they were so unusual.

Fourth movement

Haydn’s final movement of the Oxford Symphony is centered on a feeling of tension and release. In order to convey this quality to the listener, Haydn writes this sonata form movement slightly faster and shorter than the first movement of the symphony to create a climactic ending.