The Symphony No. 83 in G minor

G minor

G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. For the harmonic minor scale, the F is raised to F. Its relative major is B-flat major, and its parallel major is G major....

, Hoboken I/83, is the second of the six so-called Paris Symphonies

Paris symphonies

The Paris Symphonies are a group of six symphonies written by Joseph Haydn and performed at the Concert Spirituel, the Concert de la Loge Olympique and the Concert de Amateurs in Paris.-The Symphonies:...

 (numbers 82-87) 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...

 in 1785 and it was published by Artaria in Vienna in December 1787.. It is popularly known as The Hen .

Nickname (the Hen)

The nickname comes from the clucking second subject in the first movement, which reminded listeners of the jerky back-and forth head motion of a walking hen.

Movements

The symphony is in standard four movement form and 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, two 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...

s, two horns

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 ....

, continuo

Figured bass

Figured bass, or thoroughbass, is a kind of integer musical notation used to indicate intervals, chords, and non-chord tones, in relation to a bass note...

 (harpsichord

Harpsichord

A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...

) and strings

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...

.

1. Allegro spiritoso, 4/4
2. Andante, 3/4 in E flat major
   E flat major
   E major or E-flat major is a major scale based on E-flat, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has three flats: B, E, A.Its relative minor is C minor, and its parallel minor is E minor....
   
   
3. Menuet: Allegretto - Trio
   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...
   
   , 3/4 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...
   
   
4. Finale: Vivace, 12/8 in G major

The symphony opens in stormy G minor with the minor triad further intensified by the added dissonance of the C. The dotted rhythms that answer are transformed into fanfares later in the first theme group 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...

 movement.
The second theme in B flat major

B flat major

B major or B-flat major is a major scale based on B-flat, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two flats, B/E .Its relative minor is G minor, and its parallel minor is B minor....

 features dotted repeated notes in a solo oboe against jerky appoggiatura in the first violins. This is the "Hen" motif that gives the symphony its nickname, although it is also related to the dotted rhythm response in the first theme. The development features the exploration of the two themes in different keys. It opens with the first theme in C minor, followed by the second theme in E flat major and F minor. The first theme is then heard contrapuntally leading towards the dominant allowing for a retransition to the tonic for the recapitulation. The first theme is recapitulated in G minor while the second theme is recapitulated in G major.