(1) Act 1 	[55'59"]
(2) Act 2 	[47'03"]

Sophie Klußmann, soprano (Sandrina)
Ines Lex, soprano (Vespina)
Krystian Adam, tenor (Filippo)
Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani, tenor (Nencio)
José Antonio López, baritone (Nanni)

Capella Augustina
Andreas Spering – conductor
Period instruments

August 30/31, 2014, Schloss Augustusburg, Brühl

Haydn's rather obscure opera -- scored to Marco Coltellini's libretto for the Eszterházy court where Haydn was biding his time as composer, and whose royal family, namesake of the tasty dessert, the work was written for -- was premiered in July 1773 and was only heard on three occasions during Haydn's lifetime. It was written for a party in the royal Eszterházy palace to honor the saint day of the princess Maria Anna Luisa, widow of Paul II Anton.

While the recitative is full of snappy, witty retorts, the arias instead are sumptuous, descriptive, gorgeously harmonic, and gallop the plot throughout Haydn's theatrical narrative. This is the inception of opera buffa and undoubtedly paved the way for the later genre, and the framework of Rossini's patented convergences.

There's a harmonic purity throughout the opera, scored in a major key (with just one aria in a minor key). The arias are well-distributed (with the exception of Vespina's) between the five singers, and the opera is an absolutely fluid, organic work where the language of the music forms the traditional narrative we're already accustomed to in Italian opera buffa. --- operachic.typepad.com

The plot of L’infedelta Delusa is typically complex and tends, appropriately, towards the absurd. A father, Fillipo, has a beautiful daughter he intends to marry to a rich man, Nencio. The daughter, Sandrina, loves Nanni the brother of Vespina. Vespina, naturally enough, loves Nencio. Sandrina is obliged to obey her father and lets Nanni know that all is lost, which inspires his sister to embark on a series of disguises in which she impersonates variously an old woman who says that Nencio has abandoned her daughter (thus making Fillipo refuse to allow his daughter to marry him), a servant, a marquis and a notary. Eventually, all four are married, each to the right person, by Vespina’s deception. --- José M Irurzun, musicweb-international.com

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(01) act 1		 [1.03'40"]
(02) acts 2 & 3 	[1.06'13"]

Ana Maria Labin, soprano (La Baronessa Irene)
Raffaella Milanesi, soprano (Rosina)
Hannah Morrison, soprano (Lisetta)
Krystian Adam, tenor (Il conte Errico)
Colin Balzer, tenor (Il Marchese Ernesto)
Jan Kobow, tenor (Masino)
Johannes Weisser, baritone (Villotto)
Jakob Spering, speaking role (Il piccolo figlio di Rosina)

Capella Augustana
Andreas Spering – conductor

Recorded: August 31, 2013, Schloss Augustusburg, Brühl

It's not that Joseph Haydn wasn't prolific. He wrote more than 100 symphonies and 80 or so string quartets, along with hundreds of other chamber works, piano compositions, and choral pieces. And, while we don't often hear them, he also wrote about 30 operas.

Still, when it came to opera, Haydn had a problem. As he put it, "my misfortune is that I live in the country." In Haydn's case, the "country" meant Esterhaza -- the summer palace of his employers, the Esterhazy family, about 40 miles from Vienna. Prince Nicholas Esterhazy was an opera buff, and the family's private theater was as busy as the opera houses in many major cities. Yet Esterhaza was off the beaten path, so Haydn's operas never got much attention. But maybe that's starting to change. Or at least it is this week, with a production of Haydn's True Fidelity -- La Vera Costanza -- an elegant comedy with a sometimes disturbing undercurrent.

Some have suggested that La Vera Costanza was actually written on a commission from the Imperial Court Opera in Vienna. But more likely, it was composed for the Esterhazys, like so many of Haydn's other operas. However it originated, it was at Esterhaza where the opera's premiere took place, in April of 1779.

Not long after that, the Esterhaza opera house burned down, taking the score and parts to La Vera Costanza along with it. Haydn then reconstructed the opera -- largely from memory, it seems -- and it was revived in 1785. That performance also took place at Esterhaza -- where, as luck would have it, the family maintained two opera houses. --- worldofopera.org

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Violin Concerto No. 1 in C major, Hob.VIIa:1	19:01

1: I. Allegro moderato	9:18
2: II. Adagio	5:17
3: III. Finale	4:26

Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major, Hob. VIIb:1	25:38

4: I. Moderato	9:29
5: II. Adagio	9:24
6: III. Allegro molto	6:45

Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major, Hob. VIIb	25:22

7: I. Allegro moderato	15:25
8: II. Adagio	5:34
9: III. Rondo	4:23

Aleksey Gorokhov - violin
Leonid Gorokhow - cello

Ukrainian Radio and Television Orchestra
Theodore Kuchar - conductor

The delightful C major Violin Concerto, like various other Haydn's concerti only relatively recently rediscovered, was composed for the well-known Italian violinist Luigi Tommasini. The exact date of composition is unknown -- it has been ascribed to the year 1769, but only because it appears in a publisher's catalog for that year. No matter when it was composed, it is certainly one of the most attractive concerti (of Haydn's or otherwise) from the middle of the eighteenth century.

The opening movement is energetic and regal, as one would expect from its C major tonality, with virtuoso writing more in the Italian tradition than the northern one -- the solo part has wide melodic leaps, long strings of harmonic sequences, and frequent arpeggiation. The slow movement has become somewhat famous on its own, and rightly so. It is cast in three sections, and the opening and closing sections are built on a simple rising idea in the violin part, supported by a repetitive accompaniment which crescendos to a climax along with the soloist. The central section is sweetly lyrical, with the strings providing gentle support for the violinist's musings. There is an opportunity for the soloist to insert a brief cadenza shortly before the close of the movement. The finale, a lively romp in 3/8 time, is technically quite difficult (and would have been exceedingly troublesome for violinists of the day). ---Blair Johnston, allmusic.com

The Cello Concerto in C major, Hob VIIb:1, dates from the first half of the 1760s, and was almost certainly written for the first cellist of the Esterházy orchestra at that time, Joseph Weigl. Weigl seems to have been a particularly good friend of Haydn’s; his son—later to become a successful composer himself—was Haydn’s godson. One can get an idea of Weigl Snr’s cellistic specialities, not only from this concerto, and from the aria for solo cello that forms the slow movement of Haydn’s contemporaneous symphony No 13, but also from the concertos of Leopold Hoffmann that were (presumably) written for Weigl after he left Esterházy and joined Hoffmann’s orchestra in Vienna. Weigl seems to have been fond of holding long notes, growing in volume throughout (as demonstrated by the cello entries of both the second and third movements of Haydn’s C major concerto), and of brilliant passagework in the thumb position—at that point a fairly new addition to the arsenal of cello technique.

The Cello Concerto in D major, Hob VIIb:2 (Op 101), was written many years later, in 1783. (Haydn actually writes ‘783’ on the manuscript—what’s a thousand years between friends?) By now the first cellist in Esterházy was Herr Kraft, who aside from being a virtuoso cellist, and despite not having written this particular concerto, was no mean composer himself, having studied composition with Haydn. He was renowned for his singing tone—and his skill in playing at the very top of the instrument. Again, it is not only this concerto that offers us evidence of these specialities; it is also Kraft’s own concertos, and the cello part of Beethoven’s triple concerto, which was very probably written for him. Another little Kraft ‘signature’ appears over the first movement’s second theme, in the form of the only fingering indication in either concerto, ‘sul corda g’ (ie, play on the G string). Keeping a phrase on one string is a good way of unifying the tone-colour. This seems to have been something about which Kraft felt strongly: there is an eyewitness account of him urging Beethoven to put a similar marking into the cello part of his Op 1 No 3 piano trio.

These, however, are not the only distinctions between the two concertos; there is also a notable contrast in style. The C major concerto is defiantly instrumental in nature, the melodies subordinate to the vibrancy of the rhythms, the satisfying architecture of the forms, the swift brilliance of the passagework. The D major concerto is far more operatic, looser in structure, full of catchy tunes and vocal flourishes. This makes sense: 1783 was the year of Haydn’s last opera, Armida. It was also the year in which a son, Antonio, was born to Haydn’s lover, the soprano Luigia Polzelli; rumour, Luigia and Antonio himself all believed Haydn to be the father. So perhaps it is not surprising that singing would have been much on Haydn’s mind at the time.

What the concertos have in common, though, is the sheer joy of creation, as well as the freshness and originality that are hallmarks of Haydn’s greatest work. Perhaps Saint-Saëns, in describing the whole of Haydn’s output, put it best: ‘No musician was ever more prolific or showed a greater wealth of imagination. When we examine this mine of jewels we are astonished to find at every step a gem which we would have attributed to the invention of some modern or other.’ ---Steven Isserlis, hyperion-records.co.uk

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Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo "Kleine Orgelmesse", Hob.XXII.7	16:42		

1.Kyrie	2:32		
2.Gloria	1:02		
3.Credo	3:27		
4.Sanctus	1:09		
6.Benedictus	4:45		
6.Agnus Dei	3:47		

The Creation (Die Schöpfung), H.XI/II		

7.Overture-The Representation of Chaos	6:15	

Part 1 (Sung in German)	31:58	
8.Im Anfange schuf Gott Himmel und Erde	2:50		
9.Nun schwanden vor dem heiligen Strahle	3:49		
10.Und Gott machte das Firmament...Mit Staunen sieht das W	4:06		
11.Und Gott sprach...Rollend in schäumenden Wellen	4:45		
12.Und Gott sprach...Nun beut die Flur	5:44		
13.Und die himmlischen Heerscharen...Stimmt an die Saiten	2:33		
14.Und Gott sprach...In vollem Glanze	3:40		
15.Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes	4:31	

Part 2 (Sung in German)	40:01	
16.Und Gott sprach...Auf starkem Fittiche	7:51		
17.Und Gott schuf grosse Walfische	2:11		
18.Und die Engel rührten....In holder Anmut stehn	7:50		
19.Und Gott sprach...Gleich öffnet sich der Erde Schoss	3:46		
20.Nun scheint in vollem Glanze der Himmel	3:49		
21.Und Gott schuf dem Menschen...Mit Wurd' und Hoheit ange	4:44		
22.Und Gott sah jedes Ding...Vollendet ist das grosse Wer	9:50	

Part 3 (Sung in German)	29:52	
23.Aus Rosenwolken bricht	4:48		
24.Von deiner Güt', o Herr und Gott	9:37		
25.Nun ist die erste Pflicht erfüllt	2:29		
26.Holde Gattin !	8:33		
27.O glücklich Paar...Singt dem Herren alle Stimmen	4:25		

Elly Ameling, soprano (Gabriel)
Werner Krenn, tenor (Uriel) 
Tom Krause, bass (Raphael)
Erna Spoorenberg, soprano (Eva)
Robin Fairhurst, bass (Adam)
Peter Planyavsky, organ (1-6)
Wiener Staatsopernchor 
Wiener Philharmoniker
Karl Munchinger, conductor

The Creation is Haydn's masterpiece, based on a lifetime of experience and reflecting the happy confidence of the eighteenth century. Although there are moments that presage the nineteenth century, it has none of the agonising of the Romantic period. Three years from the end of the eighteenth century it is a summation and celebration of that century's ideals by one of its greatest figures. The story is unfolded by three soloists, whose names, taken from Milton, were supplied by the Baron Van Swieten: Gabriel (soprano), Uriel (tenor) and Raphael (bass).

Haydn's Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo is a short mass in the Viennese tradition, although it is thought that it was composed for the Convent Chapel of the Eisenstadt Chapter Haydn's Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo is a short mass in the Viennese tradition, although it is thought that it was composed for the Convent Chapel of the Eisenstadt Chapter of the Brothers of Mercy (Barmherzige Bruder), with which order Haydn had long been on friendly terms (the Viennese Chapter had given the first Vienna performance of his Stabat Mater in 1767). St. John of God is the patron saint of this order, to whom the Mass is dedicated; the Order's hospital at Eisenstadt, and the tiny Chapel in which this Mass was first performed, still exist and are in regular use.

These recordings by Karl Munchinger were the only two of Haydn's sacred works recorded with the Wiener Philharmoniker and received wide critical acclaim on their first release and have long been out of circulation in their CD transfers on Decca's 'Ovation' series. --- hmv.co.jp

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CD1
1. Atto Primo - Ouverture	6:31
2. Atto Primo - Scena 1 - Introduzione "Bella sera ed aure grate"	10:16
3. Atto Primo - Scena 1 - Recitativo "Si figliola"	2:47
4. Atto Primo - Scena 1 - Aria "Quando viene a far l'amore"	5:20
5. Atto Primo - Scena 2 - Recitativo "Povera me! Povero Nanni!"	2:27
6. Atto Primo - Scena 2 - Aria "Che imbroglio e questo"	3:46
7. Atto Primo - Scena 3 - Recitativo "Ora intendo cos'e"	1:13
8. Atto Primo - Scena 3 - Aria "Non v'è rimedio"	3:21
9. Atto Primo - Scena 4 - Aria "Come piglia si bene la mira"	6:12
10. Atto Primo - Scena 4 - Recitativo "Ecco fatto da cena"	1:37
11. Atto Primo - Scena 5 - Duetto "Son disperato"	4:21
12. Atto Primo - Scena 6 - Aria "Chi s'impaccia di moglie cittadina"	7:20
13. Atto Primo - Scena 6 - Recitativo "E qui l'amico"	4:23
14. Atto Primo - Scena 6 - Finale "O piglia questa!"	4:19

CD2
1. Atto Secondo - Scena 1 - Recitativo "ma Che Farai" - Scena 2 - Recitativo "sbrigati!"
2. Atto Secondo - Scena 2 - Aria "ho Un Tumore In Un Ginocchio"
3. Atto Secondo - Scena 3 - Recitativo "che Ne Dite ?" - Scena 4 - Recitativo "ehi Filippo, Sandrina!"
4. Atto Secondo - Scena 4 - Aria "tu Sposarti Alla Sandrina ?"
5. Atto Secondo - Scena 5 - Recitativo "che Faccenda è Cotesta ?"
6. Atto Secondo - Scena 5 - Aria "trinche Vaine Allegramente"
7. Atto Secondo - Scena 6 - Recitativo "ora Ho Scoperto Tutto"
8. Atto Secondo - Scena 6 - Aria "o Che Gusto"
9. Atto Secondo - Scena 7 - Recitativo "il Negozio Comincia"
10. Atto Secondo - Scena 7 - Aria "hotesa La Rete"
11. Atto Secondo - Scena 8 - Recitativo "tira In Qua Quella Tavola"
12. Atto Secondo - Scena 8 - Aria "e La Pompa Un Grand'imbroglio"
13. Atto Secondo - Scena 9 - Recitativo "servo Di Vosustrissima"
14. Atto Secondo - Scena 9 - Finale "nel Mille Settecento"

Nancy Argenta (Soprano), 
Lena Lootens (Soprano), 
Christoph Prégardien (Tenor), 
Markus Schäfer (Tenor), 
Stephen Varcoe (Bass),

La Petite Bande
Sigiswald Kuijken – conductor

According to tradition, L'infedelta delusa (''Infidelity outwitted'') is the work which prompted the Empress Maria Theresa, who saw it at Prince Esterhazy's palace in 1773, to declare that when she wanted to hear a good opera she would go to Esterhaza. Some present-day critics have been more grudging in their praise for it, complaining that its characters all plebeians and deriving from commedia dell'arte types—have no depth and the music lacks the flair for building to a climax at which Mozart excelled. But at this date Mozart was still writing opera seria and had not begun even La finta giardiniera, so the comparison is invalid: let us be content that the opera has an uncomplicated plot, well told, and that the score is full of delightful invention, offering opportunities for brilliant singing. This it certainly receives in this enjoyable recording, which differs from Dorati's equally admirable 1981 Philips performance (nla)—apart from it being on CD by the orchestra employing period instruments (at a lower pitch) and by the inclusion of quite a bit more recitative. The advantage of this last, however, will be lost on many by the extraordinary decision to print the Italian libretto in the booklet in the handwriting—neat but reproduced in very small size—of the nineteenth-century Haydn scholar Pohl, and to provide no translation: a clear case of spoiling the ship for a ha'porth of tar.

Kuijken's Petite Bande play not only with spirit and bite but with a sureness of intonation that, ten years ago, we dared not hope for from period instruments: as compared with the Dorati version the string tone is smaller and the wind more prominent (though this is not entirely constant in the course of the work, presumably because it was recorded in sessions separated by ten months). The leading role is that of the sharp-witted Vespina, who, like her near-namesake Despina, in pursuit of her plans dons various disguises—an old woman, a German manservant, a knight and a notary. The aptly named Nancy Argenta, with her silvery voice, is deliciously vivacious here, with a splendidly free high register, clean fioriture and exemplary enunciation; but (unlike Magda Kalmar in the 1977 Hungaroton recording of the opera—nla) she does not do very much to alter her vocal quality for her different impersonations and Edith Mathis (for Dorati) got greater fun from words like ''patisco a respirar'' (''It hurts me to breathe''). As the unhappy Sandrina, whom her peasant father wants to marry off to a well-to-do farmer, Lena Lootens makes a good impression, particularly in ensembles, though in her first aria she is rather more shrill than was Barbara Hendricks (in the Dorati set). Markus Schafer as the duped suitor is outstanding, with a light, easy production throughout his compass and great flexibility (only ''Chi s'impaccia'' has low notes that elude him, as they also eluded his counterpart for Dorati, Claes Ahnsjo), and he makes every point in the words, especially his misogynistic outburst in Act 1 and his vengeance aria in Act 2. Stephen Varcoe, as Sandrina's true love, has only one aria to sing, an extraordinary one, but he invests it with passionate character. The remaining role is well sung by Christoph Pregardien despite his being rather miscast, as his voice sounds too youthful for Sandrina's father. Despite these small reservations, and an occasional doubt about the placing of singers in the stereo image (two people talking together shouldn't sound from opposite ends of the spectrum), this is a thoroughly entertaining issue of a high-spirited work which can safely be recommended. --- Lionel Salter, Gramophone [4/1990]

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Piano Trio No. 26 In F Sharp Minor, Hob.XV:26 (13:52)
1 	Allegro 	5:33 	
2 	Adagio Cantabile 	3:25 	
3 	Finale: Tempo Di Minuetto 	4:55 	
Piano Trio No. 24 In D Major, Hob.XV:24 (12:20)
4 	Allegro 	7:08 	
5 	Andante - 	2:36 	
6 	Allegro, Ma Dolce 	6:05 	
Piano Trio No. 25 In G Major, Hob.XV:25 (14:46)
7 	Andante 	6:05 	
8 	Poco Adagio, Cantabile 	5:19 	
9 	Finale: Rondo All'ongarese: Presto 	3:22 	
Piano Trio No. 31 In E Flat Minor, Hob.XV:31 (11:37)
10 	Andante Cantabile 	8:17 	
11 	Allegro Ben Moderato 	3:20 	

Kungsbacka Piano Trio: 
Malin Broman – violin
Jesper Svedberg – cello
Simon Crawford Phillips – piano

The Piano Trios, written between 1784 and 1797, represent Haydn’s art at its most enjoyable and fresh. Three of the trios in this recording were dedicated to Rebecca Schroeter, who lived in London and was a close friend of the composer. Trio No. 26 includes a version of the Adagio of Symphony No. 102, which it has been suggested was a favourite of hers. And the G major sports the famous ‘Gypsy Rondo’ finale (Rondo all’ongarese), one of the most ebullient and best loved movements in the entire repertoire. The Kungsbacka is one of the world’s finest trios, and their Mozart trio set received outstanding reviews; “authentically felt and absorbingly communicated.” (Gramophone) --- naxos.com

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1. 1. Stabat Mater Dolorosa	Anthony Rolfe Johnson	9:12
2. 2. O quam tristis et afflicta	Catherine Robbin	6:33
3. 3. Quis est homo, qui non fleret	The English Concert Choir	2:40
4. 4. Quis non posset contristari	Patricia Rozario	6:20
5. 5. Pro peccatis suae gentis	Cornelius Hauptmann	2:38			play
6. 6. Vidit suum dulcem natum	Anthony Rolfe Johnson	6:58	
7. 7. Eja mater, fons amoris	The English Concert Choir	2:55
8. 8. Sancta mater istud agas	Patricia Rozario	7:55
9. 9. Fac me vere tecum flere	Catherine Robbin	6:30
10. 10. Virgo virginium praeclara	Patricia Rozario	7:03
11. 11. Flammis orci ne succendar	Cornelius Hauptmann	1:59		play
12. 12. Fac me cruce custodiri	Anthony Rolfe Johnson	2:58
13. 13a.Quando corpus morietur	Patricia Rozario	2:12
14. 13b. Paradisi gloria / Amen	Patricia Rozario	3:03

Patricia Rozario - soprano, 
Catherine Robbin – mezzo-soprano, 
Anthony Rolfe Johnson - tenor, 
Cornelius Hauptmann – bass.

English Concert Choir
English Concert
Trevor Pinnock – conductor

Stabat make a plate for The English Concert & Choir in the version of Trevor Pinnock. The sacred Bonoventura is regarded as a probable poet of the Stabat make a plate for. Joseph Haydn set his Stabat to music make a plate for the sensitive passion shows itself very clear in his composition in 1767.. The great master creates an atmosphere of a deep, restless suffering which agrees with the atmosphere of the literature completely. The work took his triumphal march in all of Europe very fast. That one of Haydn Setting only the unbelievable ignorance of the persons responsible hardly any role plays to today's literature and performance practice, in this one shows this one so-called classical music and the church music. Haydns Stabat make a plate for is it even superior for the great settings Rossinis, Dvoraks, Pergolesis in my opinion at least a match for, if not. Pinnocks discussion with Franz-Josephs Stabat make a plate for has turned out well in every regard. The English Concert & Choir, the soloists chieftain, Johnson, do justice to Robbin and Rozario for this brilliant work in every regard. CD production and Haydn's work form a wonderful unity. Something like that only very seldom turns out well. ---Uwe from Herford in Westphalia/Germany

At last there is a Haydn Stabat mater within easy reach. The piece is seldom performed and even more rarely recorded, and this despite the fact that it contains some of the composer's most rich and deeply felt writing. One of the few works not written to order (Prince Nikolaus Esterházy was less than keen on encouraging the sacred duties of his Kapellmeister) the Stabat mater is also one Haydn himself grew to respect highly, and Trevor Pinnock's performance makes it clear why.

The Feast of the Seven Sorrows inspired in Haydn writing of similiar length, gravity and meditative concentration as the Seven Last Words were to do some 20 years later. But the almost unrelieved sobriety of minor keys and slow turning harmonies were subtly offset by a wonderfully acute instinct for pulse, melodic shape and vocal and instrumental colour. It is these elements which Pinnock and his colleagues enjoy to the full.

There is Anthony Rolfe Johnson, for instance, ideally cast to care for the opening's long, bending lines, slightly distorted by syncopation, and to catch the breath in the "dum emisit spiritum". There is Cornelius Hauptmann, not over-characterful of voice, yet splendidly incisive in the dislocated rhythms and jagged line which expresses simultaneously the violence and the indignation at the scourging.

When it comes to the almost Handelian length and strength of Haydn's melodic line, it is Catherine Robbin and Patricia Rozario who come into their own. They, too, are cunningly cast. The energetic leaps from chest to head voice in which Haydn both expressed and manipulated response to the Virgin's grief, catch the flare at the top of Robbin's voice, especially where it tunes in to the cor anglais with which Haydn replaces the oboes in the "0 quarn tristis".

Just as her mezzo flows into the upward spiral of sympathy in "Fac me vere tecum flere", so the gummy legato of Rozario's distinctive soprano creates melismas to rival those of any oboe in the "Sancta mater" duet. Some listeners may well prefer a voice of more conventional purity and high agility in this part, but the unique tint of Rozario's soprano plays its own role in the cumulative power of the performance, and nowhere more so than in the sudden surfacing "Amen" in the final vision of Paradise. Unequal temperament, the pungency of The English Concert's woodwind soloists, the often glaring brightness of its strings all make their mark on the work's sensibility. There are passing moments where they strive for unnecessary effect, such as in the long decrescendo over the chorus's "Gladius" which sounds over-engineered. But the strength of the chorus's inner parts, the near spiccaio kindling of the strings in hell, and the sensitivity to Haydn's high fibre string writing in this piece compensates for any passing weakness. (Gramophone, September 1990)

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1. Applause
2. Harnoncourt speaks about The Missa in Tempore Belli

Missa in tempore belli in C
3. Kyrie Eleison
4. Gloria 1 – Gloria in excelsis Deo        play
5. Gloria 2 -  Qui tollis peccata mundi
6. Gloria 3 – Quoniam solus Sanctus
7. Credo 1 – Credo in unum deum
8. Sanctus – Benedictus
9. Agnus Dei

Symphony No 95 in C minor
10. I. Andante moderato
11. II. Andante
12. III. Menuetto – Trio                    play
13. Finale. Vivace

Genia Kuhmeier (soprano), 
Barbara Holzl (contralto), 
Herbert Lippert (tenor),
Timothy Sharp (bass), 
Arnold Schoenberg Choir, 
Concentus Musicus, Vienna
Nikolaus Harnoncourt. – director

BBC Radio 3 Listeners, EBU Haydn Day
Sunday 31st May 2009

In 1795, Paul Anton Esterházy's successor, Nikolaus II, decided to reform the Esterházy orchestra. In the process, he invited Haydn back to serve as active Kapellmeister -- rejuvenating the purely nominal post the composer had held for the previous five years. Compared to his previous 30 years of service to the family, Haydn's new duties were still minimal, but they included the annual composition of a mass to celebrate the name day of Princess Josepha Maria in Eisenstadt, forty kilometers south of Vienna.

On the first page of his autograph manuscript of the C major mass, Haydn wrote, "Missa in tempore belli" (Mass in time of war). At the time, Austria was engulfed in a war with the French, and Napoleon was advancing from victory to victory unchecked. In August 1796, precisely when Haydn was at work on the C major mass, the Austrian government issued an order for general mobilization. Some writers have suggested that the baleful timpani part in the Agnus Dei reflects Haydn's reaction to the escalating military conflict; these timpani passages inspired the work's nickname, "Paukenmesse" (Timpani Mass). The Mass in C major is scored for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass soloists, a four-voice mixed choir and a large orchestra with paired woodwinds, trumpets and continuo (organ). Different recordings may feature varied instrumentation during some parts of the mass, as there exist two versions.

London concert promoter Johann Peter Salomon was in Cologne when he heard of the death of Nikolaus Esterházy I, in September 1790, and immediately went to Vienna to secure Haydn for his concerts. Several unsuccessful attempts had been made in the 1780s to entice Haydn to visit England. Now freed from thirty years of service to the Esterházy family, the composer was ready. The first of Haydn's two excursions to London began in December of 1790 and was, by all accounts, a great success. He remained in London for two concert seasons, returning to Vienna in July 1792. The composer wrote six new symphonies for the concert series (now numbered 93-98), the first six of the so-called "London" symphonies.

Composed in 1791, this symphony was first performed near the end of Salomon's 1791 concert season in London, probably in May or June. There is evidence Haydn initially paired the Symphony No. 95 as with the D major symphony, No. 96. It is unique among the "London" symphonies in its lack of a slow introduction and its minor key. Haydn may have felt the dramatic nature of C minor made a slow introduction unnecessary. It is also his only minor key symphony that includes trumpets and timpani.

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Symphony in D major, Hob.I No.93

1. Adagio, Allegro assai
2. Largo cantabile
3. Menuetto. Allegro, Trio
4. Finale, Prest ma non troppo

Symphony in G major, Hob.I No.94 "Surprise"

5. Adagio. Vivace assai
6. Andante
7. Menuetto. Allegro molto, trio
8. Finale, Allegro di molto

Symphony in C minor, Hob.I No.95

9. Allegro moderato
10. Andante
11. Menuet, Trio
12. Finale, Vivace

New York Philharmonic
Leonard Bernstein – conductor

This five-disc French Import from the "Columbia Legends" series collects all of Leonard Bernstein's performances of Haydn's 12 "London" Symphonies, originally recorded between 1958 and 1975. This music was most recently available in Sony's "Royal Edition" series as two separate volumes. In case you missed one or both of those aforementioned titles (I only previously owned 100-104), this set is the one to get now as the "Royals" have been out-of-print for a few years. Bernstein's accounts of Symphonies Nos. 100-104 were my first, so they will always hold a special place in my heart. But even as I have expanded my collection to include acclaimed performances by Dorati, Davis, Jochum and Beecham among others, the Bernsteins still stand out for their power and precision. For Symphonies 93-99 I was reared on George Szell, but Bernstein's renditions are every bit as good. Even though I should have gotten all these Symphonies years ago, they were certainly worth the wait. --- Michael Brad Richman, amazon.com

Joseph Haydn's last 12 symphonies, commissioned by the London impresario Johann Peter Saloman and composed between 1791 and 1795, are known as the London Symphonies, and are considered the composer's supreme achievements in the form.

These are the grandest of Haydn's symphonies, in both proportion and orchestration. Haydn here offers a compendium of late-18th-century symphonic thought, embracing the full range of style and topics found in the music of the classical period. While the ideas themselves aren't new, they are expressed with a new directness and a heightened sense of profile. Most remarkable of all, perhaps, is how each of these works exhibits its own character while remaining unmistakably the work of one mind.

The last of Haydn's London Symphonies is a work of summation whose nickname ("London") attests to its pride of place in the group. It begins with a weighty introduction in the style of a French overture, full of pathos. In the Andante, a theme-and-variations movement, there's a strong sense of fantasy. The minuet is a brilliant country dance with a hint of the hurdy-gurdy. And the finale opens with an exuberant treatment of a Croatian folk tune over a musette-style drone base. At the end of the movement, in the score he wrote, "Fine Laus Deo" ("The End, Praise God") provides a wonderful ending to this glorious set of 12 symphonies. --- npr.org

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CD 2

Symphony in D major, Hob.I No.96 "The Miracle"

1. Adagio, Allegro
2. Andante
3. Menuetto. Allegretto, Trio
4. Finale. Vivace (assai)

Symphony in C major, Hob.I No.97

5. Adagio, Vivace
6. Adagio ma non troppo
7. Menuetto. Allegretto, Trio
8. Finale. Presto assai

New York Philharmonic
Leonard Bernstein – conductor

Supposedly, at the premiere of this work in London's Hanover Square Rooms in 1791, a chandelier crashed into the hall but didn't injure anyone because the audience had pressed forward to hear Haydn's new symphony. That's how the "Miracle" nickname arose, but it's attached to the wrong symphony; the "miracle" actually occurred during a performance of Symphony No. 102.

Symphony No. 96 opened the first "Haydn season" in London in March 1791, and the composer took pains to present himself as both a learned musician and a composer who could appeal to a wide, bourgeois audience (back in central Europe, he'd been playing to the courtly crowd). So this symphony begins with a brief Adagio, very serious yet neither heavy nor dramatic. This leads to the main Allegro matter with its mildly contrapuntal initial bars that burst into a resounding tutti. This music is busy, vibrant, and celebratory, full of sudden dynamic contrasts geared to keep the unpredictable English audience attentive. Of the 12 "Salomon" Symphonies, this has one of the more interesting development sections, working through the melodic fragments with greater thoroughness and variety than usual. Then after an unusual full stop comes the recapitulation, with a striking trumpet fanfare launching the coda.

The Andante varies a hesitant theme that consists of a brief ascending phrase, an equally brief descending answer, and a fairly long rumination on the terse exchange. Variety comes through orchestration rather than manipulation of the notes themselves, although the melody does sometimes benefit from a contrapuntal treatment. Otherwise, the guises range from the intimate to the pompous, with the former quality prevailing.

The Minuet alternates a brawny statement for full orchestra with a more delicate response for strings and woodwinds. As in the Andante, this answering phrase consists of short, hesitant utterances followed by a smoother, undulating passage. The trio features an oboe solo in a Ländler tune -- a light one, not given the buffoonish treatment that Haydn often prefers.

The finale, Vivace assai, offers one of Haydn's lighthearted, scampering tunes for strings with occasional woodwind doubling. Things remain at a low dynamic level until the first contrasting episode, which is derived from the main theme -- as will be each episode in this movement, which is a cross between rondo and sonata form. The music becomes boisterous only intermittently, including a brief minor-mode incident and the rousing if short conclusion. ---James Reel, Rovi

The first of Haydn's two excursions to London began in December of 1790 and was, by all accounts, a great success. He remained in London for two concert seasons, returning to Vienna in July 1792. The composer wrote six new symphonies for the concert series; these are now numbered 93-98, the first six of the so-called "London" symphonies.

Despite its numbering, Haydn's Symphony No. 97 in C major (H. I:97) was the last of the six initial "London" symphonies he composed. It was first performed on May 3, 1792, in London.

It is the last in a long line of brilliant, festive "trumpet and drum" symphonies in C major. March-like rhythms and fanfare-like motives imbue the first movement with a martial atmosphere. Haydn creates a link between the first movement's slow introduction and the ensuing sonata-form structure by using the cadence from the beginning and end of the introduction to close the exposition, unifying what in other ways are decidedly disparate sections of the piece.

The slow movement, marked Adagio ma non troppo, is a set of variations in which subtle orchestral effects contribute as much to the variants of the theme as do changes in melodic shape and harmonic background.

Subtle alterations in orchestration are also a feature of the Minuet and Trio, in which none of the repeats is literal, allowing for changes in instrumentation and texture while following the traditional pattern of repetition characteristic of the minuet. Haydn's Allegretto tempo keeps the movement in the realm of the minuet as opposed to the quicker scherzo. At the close of the trio is a violin solo with the direction, "Salomon solo ma piano," most likely a gesture of thanks to the impresario who was responsible for the most fulfilling musical and professional experience of the composer's life. The isolation of this single line from the rest of the orchestra, supported by an "oom-pah-pah" accompaniment in the timpani and horns (an unusual use of tone color for the time), as well as the leaping grace notes in the horns and violins on downbeats, are evidence of Haydn's mastery of orchestration.

An amalgam of sonata and rondo forms, the Finale was originally marked Spirituoso, but after his arrival in Vienna in 1792, Haydn changed the direction to Presto assai. Section A is repeated and moves to the dominant, G major. Section B takes up the new key with horns pounding away on G naturals. After a few measures this stark accompaniment shifts to the trumpets and timpani -- another case of unusual scoring. A reference to the "A" theme rounds off section B, which ends on the tonic and is repeated. The central section contains not only new material, but developmental passages based on themes from the first two sections, after which both A and B return in their original forms without repeats. Because section B in its original form ends on C major, there is no reason for any modification at its reprise, but the ensuing coda's further confirmation of the tonic is necessary as the movement closes with snippets of the A theme. ---John Palmer, Rovi

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