George Friedrich Handel.
Handel’s Operas and Oratorios.—Handel was of an irascible disposition, and, living in the artificial atmosphere of London, among wits and satirists like Dr. Johnson, Addison and Pope, he was constantly embroiled with the cabals of his rivals, and the fickleness of the public. He produced a great number of operas, most of them successful; but as theatrical manager he met with severe losses, and finally gave up opera writing in despair, and turned to the composition of oratorios. The result was that in this form he has left his most enduring and elevated compositions; for while his operas were sometimes written down to the popular taste for empty Italian melody, the lofty themes of his oratorios inspired him to his grandest and most sincere style, which, moreover, was rendered the more dramatic and intelligible by his knowledge of the requirements of his audiences.
Handel’s Clavier Works.—Handel was an expert performer on the harpsichord, for which he wrote two sets of Suites, besides a number of single pieces. The Suites, of which the first set is by far the better, are written mostly in the dance forms, but with the interpolation of more serious forms, such as Airs, Variations and Fugues. The contrapuntal style is here most prominent, although with harmonic basis, and with a laxity in the strictness of the voice writing, caused by the occasional use of extra notes to complete chords. Some of the variations are worked up to effective climaxes, and have running passages and broken chords, in which the resources of the clavier are cleverly drawn upon.
Handel’s Last Years.—Handel became blind in 1752, but continued to take part in the performances of his works till the year of his death. Choleric as was his temperament, the known generosity of his nature and his devotion to the ideals of his art made him the idol of the English people. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Mattheson.—A close associate of Handel, when he was in the Hamburg orchestra, was Johann Mattheson (1681-1764), famed for his literary writings on musical subjects no less than for his musical ability. He wrote suites, a sonata and fugues in two parts, for clavier, which were of excellent workmanship.
Bach’s Early Life.—But all other names in the domain of polyphonic instrumental music pale before that of Johann Sebastian Bach, the culmination of the school of voice writing, and the musician who put the stamp of greatness on all former styles, while at the same time acting as guide to future fields of composition. Born at Eisenach in 1685, as a scion of a family the members of which had been musical leaders for generations, he seems to have embodied in himself the sum of the genius of his forefathers. The story of his life is a prosaic one, as he filled it with unflagging industry, carrying out his unswerving ideals of his art, caring little for mere popularity, and rearing a large family of sons and daughters, some of whom proved worthy to continue his work. As a boy, he lost both parents at the age of ten, and was taught clavier playing by his elder brother, Johann Christian, who took him in charge. He seized with avidity every opportunity to study his beloved music, copying hundreds of pages of manuscript, listening to every musical performance possible, drinking in and assimilating the ideas thus gained, to reproduce them later on, stamped with his genius.
Later Life.—At his brother’s death he went to Lüneburg as choir boy, where he became acquainted with Reinken’s work. At eighteen he was violinist in the court band at Weimar, shortly afterward becoming organist at a church at Arnstadt. His next position was as court organist at Weimar, in 1708, where many of his most important organ compositions were written. This post he left in 1717 for that of court chapel-master at Anhalt-Köthen, where he remained six years, after which he went to Leipzig, as Cantor of the Thomasschule, staying there till his death, in 1750.
Incidents of Bach’s Career.—Bach’s life was not altogether a happy one, as he was much annoyed at the persecutions of his rivals; and, like Handel, he was afflicted with blindness in his last years. Never considering the element of mere popularity in his work, his greatness was little appreciated in his lifetime; and it was fifty years after his death before it began to receive recognition. A pleasant incident of his declining years was his cordial reception by Frederick the Great at his court, in 1747, where Bach’s son was in favor as harpsichord player, and where Bach was shown a number of excellent new Silbermann pianofortes. It is a curious circumstance that he and Handel, although born in the same year, were destined never to meet.
The Well-Tempered Clavichord.—It has been stated that Bach adopted the principle of Equal Temperament for clavier tuning. In support of this he wrote twenty-four preludes and fugues, one in each major and minor key, requiring, therefore, equal temperament for their performance; and later added a second similar volume. The whole forty-eight make up the monumental work called the “Well-Tempered Clavichord”; and this work, written originally for the clavichord, has remained the bulwark of piano playing to the present day. Its fugues, written with consummate mastery of the technic of instrumental polyphony, are not only models of skill in voice writing, but also are made the vehicles of genuine moods and emotions; while each preceding prelude gives the keynote of expression to its following fugue, although written in a much freer style, frequently closely allied with the works of the purely harmonic school.
Johann Sebastian Bach.
Bach’s Other Clavier Works.—Bach wrote also sonatas and concertos, the latter for one, two or three claviers, sometimes with string accompaniment. These works, although comprising several movements, do not otherwise coincide with the harmonic sonata form, since their style is more polyphonic, and since they are occupied mainly with the development of a single subject. His suites, of which he wrote two sets, called respectively English and French, are no less important, since in them the dance forms are invested with a seriousness and an artistic finish hitherto unattained. Of other clavier works, his famous “Chromatic Fantasie” has a wealth of harmonic combinations, fiery runs and arpeggios, and dramatic recitative which give it a worthy place in the Romantic school developed much later, and of whose style it was the forerunner. His “Inventions,” studies written originally for his children, in two or three parts, are an excellent introduction to the study of his larger works.
Reforms in Fingering.—Another gift of Bach’s to coming generations was his thorough revision of clavier playing. Raising the hand above the keys from its former flat position, he brought the thumb into use, and by inventing the scale fingering, afterwards universally adopted, he opened the way to the style of brilliant and smoothly running passages which was afterwards so highly developed. Thus Bach, while putting the final touch to the old forms, gave an impetus to the harmonic style, which was then in its infancy, and of which we shall now trace the course.
Musical Illustrations.
Weitzmann’s History, pages 330, 336.
Rimbault.—The Pianoforte, pages 299, 332, 340.
Litolff ed., No. 396, 1st volume of Music by Old Masters.
Augener ed., No. 8297.
Breitkopf Ed., as before.
Works of Handel and Bach, published in all the cheap editions.
Questions.
Compare the Italian and the German tendencies.
Give an account of Hasler.
Tell about Froberger. In what styles did he write?
Tell about Kerl, Pachelbel and the Muffats.
What advances do we find in the works of the composers of the early part of the 18th century?
What forms now begin to take definite shape?
Give a sketch of Handel’s early life.
Give a sketch of Handel’s work in England.
State the characteristics of Handel’s clavier works.
What affliction befell him during the last years of his life?
What associate of Handel’s was famous as writer and composer?
Tell about Bach’s early life.
Tell about Bach’s later life.
What great king invited Bach to visit his court?
Describe the “Well-Tempered Clavichord.”
Mention other clavier works by Bach.
What improvements in technic did Bach introduce?
Formation of Harmonic Design.—Side by side with the ultimate development of polyphonic music in its perfected instrumental form, the forms of the new harmonic style were being worked out, by long processes of development. Finally, just as the Fugue came to be adopted as the highest form of the old school, so the Sonata was chosen as the most dignified exponent of the new art. But, while the old school arrived at a high state of perfection at the hands of Handel and Bach, the necessity for inventing and experimenting with the possibilities of the new forms made the first attempts in this direction seem childish and crude beside Bach’s work; so that it was several generations after him before the harmonic style was brought to the stage at which it could be made to express ideas of equal magnitude, and do it successfully.
Development of the Sonata.—The original plan associated with the Sonata was that of combining several movements in such a way as to appeal, in the completed product, to all kinds of emotion, intellectual, spiritual and physical. In the hands of its founders, the Italian violinists, the exposition of this thought had been mainly contrapuntal. We have seen how Domenico Scarlatti arrived at a style in which a single part, supported by an accompaniment, was applied to the clavier, in a manner which brought out its striking characteristics; and we have now to trace the progress of this style in Germany, up to the point where the various contributions of different composers could be united into a systematic and fixed form, sufficient for the free expression of the highest musical inspiration, and adapted to all the varied demands of instrumental music.
Essential Elements of a Sonata.—Certain points seem to have been generally agreed upon as necessary components of the Sonata. The first was its union of several movements, from two up to five, or occasionally even more. The second was that the first movement should display the most ingenuity and elaboration. This movement thus came to receive the most attention, and showed a process of evolution from the simple dance form consisting of a modulation from a principal key to a contrasting key and back again, to a highly organised and conventional art-form—a form, moreover, of such a capacity that it could be used as the mould for the principal movement of a wide range of compositions, from a short pianoforte sonata to a grand symphony.
Changes in the Old Dance Form.—In this evolution, the first half of the dance form was made to consist of a Subject, either thematic or melodic, clearly defining the key, and then a modulating passage, generally freer in its runs and arpeggios, leading up to the point of contrast; and the first section was then repeated. The greatest changes took place in the second half. At first, this consisted in the repeat of the Principal Theme in the contrasting key, and a return to the first key through modulations similar to those in the first section; later, however, since this design gave little opportunity for a display of the composer’s originality, the enunciation of the Subject in the contrasting key was followed by a free passage, which gave ample scope to the composer’s fancy; after which the subject again appeared in the principal key, with a concluding passage in the same key.
Establishment of the Cyclic Form.—The form as a whole was now practically divided into three sections, and a better balance was given to this division by the omission of the second appearance of the Subject in the contrasting key, and the substitution of other material, either relevant or contrasting. The movement now assumed a cyclic form—a statement, leading to a point of contrast, a free fantasia, and finally the statement, leading to a close. This was practically the course of development of what has been named the Sonata Form, up to the time of Haydn. We are now prepared to consider the especial contributions of composers to this form.
First Printed Clavier Sonata.—The first printed clavier sonata seems to have been published by Johann Kuhnau (1660?-1722). This was in the key of B-flat, and was the last of several pieces in the same volume. In the preface, the author gives a semi-apology for its introduction, saying that he sees no reason why sonatas should not be written for the clavier as well as for any other instrument. This sonata begins with an Allegro, followed by a fugal movement; and in the following Adagio movement, the tendency to put the slow movement into a contrasting key is illustrated, as this is in D-flat major. After another Allegro, there is a Da Capo to the first part.
Other Sonatas by Kuhnau.—It was difficult for the early sonata writers to break away entirely from the old polyphonic style; and when a part appeared in the nature of a Free Fantasia, they generally had recourse to fugal work, having no precedent in harmonic music to fall back upon. Thus, in his seven sonatas published in 1696, entitled “Fresh Fruits for the Clavier,” which show more individuality in melodic invention, Kuhnau uses the fugal style whenever the harmonic forms fail him. These sonatas show a prevalence of ornaments, which, he says, are “sugar to sweeten the fruits.” A remarkable collection of clavier pieces are his six Bible sonatas, in which the form is entirely outside of the development traced above, since the various movements of each sonata simply follow the lines of a Bible story, like that of the “Combat between David and Goliath,” which they illustrate. As samples of program music, they proceed in the steps of Pachelbel, and others on record. Kuhnau studied law, and was from 1682 organist at St. Thomas’ Church, at Leipzig, where he preceded J. S. Bach.
Frederick the Great’s Influence.—A great impetus was given to German clavier music by the interest with which, like all other forms of instrumental music, it was viewed by Frederick the Great of Prussia (r. 1740-86). This warlike but thoroughly Teutonic monarch gathered at his court a brilliant coterie of instrumentalists, delighting to perform with them on his favorite instrument, the flute. Although this musical inspiration was disturbed by the wars in which he engaged, and especially by the Seven Years’ War (1756-63), the growth of clavier music was nevertheless steady.
Musical Journals.—A number of musical journals which appeared from 1760 on, contributed also to this enthusiasm, in giving clavier composers a medium for bringing their works before the public, and also in giving them the chance to profit by one another’s experiments. Many writers thus came to the fore, who aided materially in the elaboration of harmonic music material.
Other Early Composers.—Of these, Gottfried Heinrich Stoelzel (1690-1749), chapel-master at Saxe-Gotha, wrote an “enharmonic” clavier sonata in three parts, a Largo in C minor, in 4/4 time; a short fugue; and a 3/8 movement, in harmonic form, in which experiments in modulation were tried. His successor at Saxe-Gotha was Georg Benda (1721-95), who published a number of clavier pieces and sonatas, besides two concertos for clavier and string quartet, all of which show a desire for genuine expression in the harmonic form. The first four-hand sonatas seem to have been published by Charles Heinrich Müller, of Halberstadt, in 1783, and another appeared in 1784, by Ernst Wilhelm Wolf (1735-92), court chapel-master in Saxe-Weimar, the writer of numerous other clavier sonatas and concertos showing great purity and originality of style. At the court of Frederick the Great, at Berlin, Christoph Nichelmann (1717-62), a pupil of Bach, and Carl Fasch (1736-1800) were successively second harpsichordists. Both wrote sonatas, those of the former in two movements, while those of the latter had generally three, of a brilliant and attractive style. Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg (1718-95), the distinguished Berlin theoretician, was more successful in contrapuntal work than in his sonatas, written in freer style.
Georg Christoph Wagenseil (1715-77), pupil of J. J. Fux, court music teacher and celebrated clavier virtuoso, wrote sonatas for clavier and violin and a number for clavier alone.
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach.—Perhaps the most striking developments, however, were at the hands of the sons of J. S. Bach, who were all, having come under his direct instruction, of refined musical judgment, while some of them possessed marks of his genius. Of these, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710-84), the eldest, called the Bach of Halle, from his long residence there, studied at the University of Leipzig, distinguishing himself in mathematics; was organist at Dresden and Halle successively, and finally came to Frederick the Great’s court, at Berlin, through the influence of his brother Carl. Although he possessed great gifts as a player and composer, his dissipated habits brought him to disgrace, and he died in poverty. He wrote many clavier compositions, showing a bold use of harmonies, and including sonatas which have decidedly instrumental themes and development. A large number of his father’s manuscripts known to have been in his possession have been irretrievably lost.
Johann Christian Bach, the London Bach, youngest of J. S. Bach’s sons, was born at Leipzig in 1735, and died at London in 1782. He studied with his brother, Carl, after his father’s death, and, afterwards going to Italy, became organist at the Milan Cathedral. Gaining great favor in this capacity, he was appointed concert-director at London in 1759, and there he became a popular favorite, producing several operas and receiving the appointment of music master to the royal family. His Italian experiences influenced his sonata writing, as his subjects are in the style of the popular, though somewhat trivial Italian melody. Yet he introduced some striking improvements, notably that of employing a second contrasting subject, instead of a mere modulating or closing passage, at the end of the first and third sections of the sonata form. His graceful and melodious works were fashionable in London society.
C. P. E. Bach.
C. P. E. Bach.—The third and greatest of Bach’s sons was Carl Philip Emanuel Bach, the Berlin Bach. Inheriting his father’s love of genuine and forceful expression, he had no less lofty ideals of his art, though recognizing his inferiority in talent. Also, perceiving that the harmonic school was in the line of progression, he devoted himself to it, thus producing purely harmonic works, which were only limited by the lack of resources thus far discovered. He was born at Weimar, in 1714, and, though a student of law and philosophy at Leipzig, he finally decided to give rein to his natural bent toward the musical profession. Conducting and composing for a musical society at Frankfort, he was appointed first clavier player at the court of Frederick the Great, at Berlin, where he stayed from 1740 to 1767, in high favor on account of his sterling musicianship, and enjoying the society of many distinguished musicians of the day. In 1767, he became musical director of the principal church in Hamburg, where he remained till his death, in 1788. A vigorous worker throughout his life, he left a large number of compositions, including two hundred and ten clavier pieces and fifty-two concertos for clavier and orchestra, besides much chamber music, eighteen symphonies, oratorios and cantatas.
C. P. E. Bach’s Sonatas.—His most enduring and important work was in connection with the pianoforte sonata, since under his hands it began to assume definite shape. In the six sets of sonatas published, the number of movements is generally fixed at three, of which the third is frequently in the harmonic form of the Rondo, which consists in the recurrence of a principal theme, with modulatory episodes between its appearances. Hence the order of movements, which, in the earlier writers, took all sorts of forms from fugue to dance form, becomes Allegro, Adagio, Rondo. Bach’s themes are also made very characteristic, founded upon some easily-recognized instrumental figure. In the development portion of the sonata form he does not resort to the polyphonic style, but uses phrases or sections from the first part in new combinations and keys. Sometimes, also, the direction is given in the repeat of the first section, to introduce variations of the text at will.
His Theoretical Works.—Bach published at Berlin, in 1753, an essay on “The True Method of Playing the Clavier,” in which he gives a definite exposition of his father’s reforms in playing, treating the position of the hand, embellishments and artistic rendering, which he says should touch the hearts of the hearers. A second part, published in 1762, discusses the science of accompaniment and improvisation.
Adoption of the Piano.—The clavichord, notwithstanding its feeble tone, remained his favorite instrument on account of its powers of expression, in which he delighted. His brother, Johann Christian, was one of the first definitely to adopt the new pianoforte. J. G. Müthel published in 1771 what were probably the first compositions mentioning the pianoforte for their performance, a duet for two pianofortes or harpsichords; after the time of C. P. E. Bach, clavier compositions were written in general distinctively for the pianoforte and not for the clavier.
Musical Illustrations.
Weitzmann, pages 338, 340, 342-355.
Rimbault.—“The Pianoforte,” pages 357-368.
Edition Litollf, Augener, Breitkopf, as for Chapter IV.
Works of C. P. E. Bach, in Peters’ edition.
Questions and Suggestions.
What forms of composition were being worked out while the polyphonic style was reaching a culmination?
What style had been most prominent in the early sonata?
What points had been agreed upon as necessary in the construction of the sonata?
What changes were made from the simple dance form?
In what part of the sonata did the greatest change occur?
What was the course of development in sonata form up to Haydn?
Tell about Kuhnau and his work.
Tell about other early composers.
Tell about Wilhelm Friedemann Bach.
Tell about Johann Christoph Bach.
Tell about Carl Philip Emanuel Bach.
Tell about Carl Philip Emanuel Bach’s contribution to the development of the sonata.
What other works did C. P. E. Bach write?
A comparison of the dates from Kuhnau’s published work in Sonatas to that of C. P. E. Bach, the immediate predecessor and model for Haydn, shows that the form took definite shape in the course of about fifty years.
Franz Joseph Haydn.
The Three Great Sonata Writers.—In the year of C. P. E. Bach’s death, 1788, three men had already entered the arena as champions of that Sonata Form to which he contributed so much. Haydn was then fifty-six, Mozart thirty-two and Beethoven eighteen years of age. All three added to the glory of Vienna by making it their dwelling-place in their later years; and the three formed a triumvirate which not only gave to the Sonata a permanent and complete form, but also brought this form into absolute subservience to the expression of every variety of emotional thought.
Haydn’s Childhood.—Franz Joseph Haydn, a native of Rohrau, in lower Austria, was born on March 31, 1732, the second of a family of twelve children. His father, an humble wheelwright, was accustomed to bring his family together in the evenings and holidays, as was the German custom, to unite in song; and the true ear and feeling for rhythm of little “Sepperl,” as Joseph was called, was quickly noticeable. So a cousin of his father, who was a schoolmaster at Hainburg, was allowed to take the boy home with him, placing him in the school choir, and directing his studies, which included singing, and the playing of the violin and other instruments.
St. Stephen’s Choir, Vienna.—George Reutter, precentor of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, at Vienna, paid a visit to the school and was attracted by the child’s “sweet, weak voice,” as he expressed it, and offered him a position in his choir. As this was considered a rare opportunity, he was allowed to go, and at the age of eight we find him installed in the choir school at Vienna, attending the daily service and choir practice, besides the regular school studies. But Reutter seems to have lost his personal interest in the lad, neglecting him in various ways, doing nothing with his work in musical theory, and finally dropping all his tuition. Haydn was fond of mischief; and when his voice began to break and his brother Michael became soloist in his place, his cruel master took the pretext of some trifling prank to turn him adrift, penniless, into the street.
Hardships in Vienna.—At the age of seventeen, therefore, he wandered the streets all of one rainy November night, with no friend to whom to turn. Finally, in the morning, he met an acquaintance formerly at the school, Spangler, a tenor singer, himself nearly as poor as Haydn. Nevertheless, he took the outcast home to his garret, where he was eking out an existence with his family; and thus temporarily provided for, Haydn set about finding work to do. Small jobs, like playing in bands, or at weddings and baptisms, and singing in choirs, he eagerly sought; his spare moments he occupied in writing music for serenades or garden-parties. While undergoing these hardships, however, he was becoming familiar with the music dear to the people’s heart, and also with the varied effects of instrumental combinations.
Studies and New Friends.—In 1750, he rented a garret in a house in Vienna, and, having secured a dilapidated spinet, set himself diligently to work to study all available musical compositions, notably those of the new sonata order, and especially the sonatas of C. P. E. Bach. Theoretical works, also, like the “Gradus ad Parnassum” of J. J. Fux, and Mattheson’s work on conducting, were eagerly devoured by the youthful enthusiast. By a piece of good fortune, Metastasio, the popular opera librettist, roomed in the same house, and learning of the talent hidden away in the garret, sought Haydn out, gave him Italian lessons, and ultimately started him on the road to success by recommending him as clavier teacher to a Spanish lady, to whose daughter he gave lessons.
Connection with Porpora.—Her singing master was the renowned opera composer, Porpora, who recognized Haydn’s talent as accompanist, and proceeded to make him useful to himself, giving him instruction in composition in return for his services, which were frequently of even a menial nature. Accompanying Porpora on his journeys, he met musicians like Wagenseil and Gluck; and at the age of twenty had written many compositions, including a mass in F, an opera and many works of the sonata order, founded on the style of C. P. E. Bach.
Better Times.—Better times now opened before Haydn. Gaining influential friends, he won, through them, the post of music director and composer to Count Morzin, a position which he held only a short time, since the Count gave up his musical establishment soon. But he was immediately engaged by the wealthy and cultivated Prince Paul Esterhazy, who had been charmed at hearing a symphony of Haydn’s, as assistant director of music at his estate at Eisenstadt. The same year Haydn made an unhappy marriage with the daughter of Keller, a wigmaker, which he had cause to regret for the remainder of his life.
Orchestras in Germany.—To understand Haydn’s work with the Esterhazy family, it will be necessary to review the state of music in Germany at this time. When the orchestral overtures of the Italian operas had become used as concert pieces, a great stimulus was given to this kind of music. Concertos, string quartets, trios, and, most important of all, symphonies, came to be written in great numbers; and throughout Germany a mania for orchestral music arose. Wealthy families vied with each other in the size and prestige of their musical establishments, which included instrumentalists and vocalists; and the smaller gentry even pressed their domestic servants into the service, inducing them to study instruments, and to perform string quartets and the like on occasions. Inasmuch as a great part of the music written for these was not published, and exchange of music in manuscript between different establishments was attended with some difficulty, it was necessary that the music director should have the ability to write his own music, as well as to direct it.
Haydn’s Work at Esterhazy.—A rare opportunity therefore opened to Haydn, with his exceptional gifts as a composer, when he was placed at the head of an establishment like that of the Esterhazys’, which was perhaps the most brilliant and competent in Europe. He remained in active service with this family for thirty-three years, during which Prince Nicolas Esterhazy succeeded his brother Paul, upon the death of the latter, in 1762. Nicolas, called the “Great,” on account of his love of magnificence and his lavish style of living, built a sumptuous summer palace near Süttor, in Bohemia; and here he spent most of his time, with his troup of retainers, entertaining royalty, in a style comparable with that of Versailles. Werner, his head director, who had never appreciated Haydn’s gifts on account of his old-school principles, died in 1766, and Haydn, who had made a firm friend of Prince Nicolas, was given his place. The orchestra and singers were now entirely under his command; the former was increased from the original number of sixteen to thirty, all capable performers; so that his life was spent in a round of rehearsals, dramatic performances and concerts for the numerous entertainments constantly in progress. Two well-equipped theatres, one for operas and dramas, and the other for marionette plays, gave him an opportunity for adequate performances; he thus had an exceptional chance to study the effects in his numerous quartets, trios, symphonies and operas, at first hand.
Journeys to Vienna.—On several occasions, Prince Nicolas took his entire troupe of musicians to Vienna, where Haydn conducted the performances, meeting also the distinguished musicians of the day. It was on one of these journeys, in 1785, that he met Mozart, whose genius he was quick to appreciate, and who, from being his pupil, finally gave to Haydn the added inspiration of his own brilliant thoughts. Haydn’s reputation had now spread abroad, and his compositions were eagerly looked for throughout the musical world.
Haydn in London.—On Prince Nicolas’ death, in 1790, Prince Anton, his brother, succeeded, who, however, dismissed the orchestra, providing for Haydn by a liberal pension. Haydn’s time was now his own; and he decided to settle in Vienna; but an English impresario and publisher named Salomon now offered him such exceptional inducements to come to London that he accepted the offer. He was received with great honor, being granted the degree of Doctor of Music from Oxford University. He also conducted twelve grand symphonies, especially written for this visit, which were, moreover, some of his finest productions. On a second visit, in 1794-5, he excited even greater enthusiasm; and he returned to Vienna supplied with money sufficient to insure an old age free from pecuniary want. Some of his latest works were the Austrian National Hymn, and his oratorios of “The Creation” and “The Seasons,” which immediately attained a popularity that has even yet hardly diminished.
Honors.—Haydn, in his old age, was showered with honors both at home and abroad; a culminating point was reached when, on his seventy-sixth birthday, at a performance of “The Creation,” his friends, including many representatives of royalty, united to do him honor. His genial, child-like disposition won him the sobriquet of “Papa Haydn”; and this brightness and simplicity of thought he so transmitted to his compositions that they carry his atmosphere of sunshine wherever they are performed. He died in Vienna, soon after its capture by the French, in the Napoleonic wars, May 31, 1809.
Importance of His Work.—Haydn has been called the father of the Symphony and the String Quartet. In neither case is this strictly true, since he had predecessors in both fields; but his work was none the less important, since he collected the scattered threads of their attempts, and wound them into a concise and definite art form, stamped with the hallmarks of his own genius. The seal of artistic completeness which he placed on the form of the Sonata was his greatest achievement; and, written in this form, his symphonies and quartets were simply an enlargement of his clavier works, the symphonies having an added Minuet movement between the second and last movements of the clavier form of sonata, thus extending the piece to larger proportions.
Sonata-Form as Fixed by Haydn.—In these clavier sonatas, Haydn fixed the form which had been the subject of so many experiments, once and for all. The number of movements with him is almost invariably three, of which the first, at least, is in the sonata-form. This consists of a first section, the Exposition, in which the first subject, a distinct melody having the Teutonic individuality, is stated, defining the principal key; and a second subject, more lengthy and diverse in character, brings on a close in the contrasting key. In the second section, or Development, phrases or motives from the first section are cleverly intertwined in modulating keys, with running scales or arpeggios as connecting links. These, however, lead naturally into the first subject, in its original key, which opens the third section, or Reprise. This section is practically like the first, save that the second subject and the close are transferred into the principal key, in which the movement ends.
The Second Movement.—The second, or slow movement, is cast sometimes in the same form, abbreviated, and sometimes in a simpler form. The lack of sustaining power in Haydn’s pianoforte, and his attempt to atone for this by trills and ornaments, make this less successful than the other movements; a result which is also caused by the fact that intensity and depth of emotion had not yet been developed in the harmonic school of music. In key, this movement was contrasted with the first, sometimes quite sharply, as in one of the sonatas in E-flat, in which the slow movement is in E major.
Third Movement.—The lively third movement is frequently in the lighter form of the Rondo, or it may be a set of Variations, or a Minuet. This movement, though sprightly, is apt to be somewhat thin in its harmonies, and trivial in development. Nevertheless, these last two movements show an expansion of the forms of the older writers, and a definiteness of character which insured their future development.
Definiteness and Unity.—This element of absolute definiteness is the most striking feature of Haydn’s work—definiteness none the less in the general form than in each individual component. Each part of each section ends with a cadence, giving it absolute finality, and making the whole a combination of small entities, which, though distinct, are yet relevant and nicely balanced.
Humor and Freshness.—Another quality which he introduced was that of humor, which is prominent not only in the general tone of geniality, but in little unexpected twists of harmony, melody or rhythm, which give an irresistibly comic effect. Especially is this true in his symphonies, where the various tone colors are used for such results. Especial mention should also be made of his Masses, in which tunefulness of melody and sprightly rhythms combine to give an enduring popularity. Altogether, Haydn’s work is redolent of the spring of musical activity, where the novelty of each harmonic effect is employed with an outburst of joy, and where one travels, as it were, through a sunny garden, filled with the flowers of musical thoughts.
Who are the three great sonata writers?
Tell about Haydn’s childhood.
Tell about Haydn’s life in Vienna.
Give an account of Haydn as a student.
What great singing master did he meet?
What patrons did Haydn gain? What was the value to the musical art of the patronage of the great nobles and princes?
Describe Haydn’s duties and opportunities in Prince Esterhazy’s service.
What great composer did Haydn meet in Vienna in 1785?
When Haydn’s service ceased, to what city did he go? What works did he bring out there?
What was the importance of his work to the Sonata and the Symphony?
Describe the first movement-form as fixed by Haydn.
Describe the second movement as fixed by Haydn.
Describe the third movement as fixed by Haydn.
Name certain qualities characteristic of Haydn’s music.
What great American was born in the same year as Haydn?
Name men and women of prominence who were contemporaries of Haydn.
While Haydn’s genius was shining steadily as a fixed star, Mozart flashed across the musical heaven, meteorlike, throwing a flood of light over the music world. The knowledge which others spent years in acquiring seemed his by birthright; and thus, although the years of his life were few, the period of his artistic activity was proportionately long.
Mozart’s Early Musical Training.—Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born at Salzburg, January 27, 1756. His father, himself of some reputation as a composer and as the author of the first German violin method, was quick to perceive the child’s sensitiveness toward music; and began instruction in clavier playing when Wolfgang was but four years old, teaching also his daughter, Maria Anna, five years older. Wolfgang was an exceedingly delicate and receptive child; and at the age of six he had not only acquired remarkable proficiency on the instrument, but had composed a number of little pieces, and a clavier sonata.
First Concert Tours.—Realizing the remarkable talent of his children, Mozart, the father, in 1762, ventured on a concert trip with them to Munich, and later to Vienna, where their playing became the sensation of the hour, and where they were received by the Emperor, Franz Josef I, at his palace. Having been presented with a small violin, Mozart acquired facility in its technic with extraordinary quickness, as also was the case when he attempted the use of organ pedals. The brilliant French court was then the Mecca of artists; and in 1763, the children were taken to Paris, where their successes were redoubled, and where they gave two brilliant concerts, after having played before the royal family at Versailles. At Paris, moreover, the opus 1 and opus 2 of the little Mozart were published, each comprising two sonatas for harpsichord, with accompaniment of violin or flute.
England.—Proceeding now to England, the children won fresh laurels, remaining there fifteen months; during which time Wolfgang excited the admiration of the king, George III, by his sight-reading of works by Handel, Bach and others. He also wrote other sonatas, and his first symphonies. Returning to Salzburg, after a three years’ absence, Mozart applied himself to serious study, composing his first oratorio and opera, which latter was not performed in public, and also appearing as conductor at a concert in which his “Solemn Mass” was performed.
Honors in Italy.—Renewed triumphs awaited him in Italy, where his father took him in 1769, and where his genius was immediately recognized in the leading cities. At Rome he was honored by the Order of the Golden Spur, conferred by the Pope; and in Bologna was admitted to membership in the exclusive Philharmonic Academy, passing with ease an examination which would have appalled many mature musicians; in Milan his opera “Mitridate” was received enthusiastically, and given twenty consecutive performances, under his own direction.
Journey to Paris.—Returning to Salzburg, Mozart took up the post previously given him of music director to the Archbishop; but his emolument, at first wholly wanting, was insignificant, and the Archbishop, having little appreciation of his abilities, proved a thankless taskmaster. During this time he made several journeys to Milan, producing new dramatic works there; and in 1777, as his Salzburg position had become intolerable, he resolved to give it up, and to repair to Paris. Starting on this journey with his mother, he stopped at Munich, and then at Augsburg, where he became interested in the Stein pianofortes, henceforth adopting them for his concert work. At Mannheim he heard the famous orchestra, of which Stamitz was the founder, whose command of instrumental brilliancy and color made so powerful an impression upon him that he transmitted it to his succeeding orchestral compositions.