Symphony No. 13 (Haydn)
Encyclopedia
Joseph Haydn
's Symphony No. 13 in D major was written in 1763 for the orchestra
of Haydn's patron, Prince Nikolaus Esterházy
, in Eisenstadt
.
The work can be precisely dated thanks to a dated score in Haydn's own hand in the National Library of Budapest
. Two other Haydn symphonies are known to have been written in the same year: the Symphony No. 12
and the Symphony No. 40
.
s and horn
s and string instrument
s, but the Eisenstadt orchestra had recently taken on two new horn players, and Haydn wrote this symphony for an expanded ensemble of one flute
, two oboes, four horns, timpani
and strings (violin
s divided into firsts and seconds), viola
s, cello
s and double bass
es), with bassoon
doubling the bass-line. The timpani part in the autograph score is not in Haydn's hand, but it is quite possibly authentic: he may have written it on a separate sheet, with somebody else adding it to the score at a later date.
The first movement opens with held chords in the winds and the strings playing a simple figure based on an arpeggio
:
The movement can be considered to be in sonata form
, with a repeated first half beginning in the home key
of D major
and modulating
to A major
, then a second half beginning with a development of previously heard material (passing through B minor
) followed by a recapitulation of the first half, now entirely in D major (this second half also repeated). However, there is little "second subject" to speak of - following the key change in the first half, the music is mainly based on simple scale passages.
The second movement, marked adagio cantabile (slowly, singing), in G major
, features a solo cello playing a melody against simple chords from the rest of the strings. The winds do not play in this movement. In Haydn's day, the cello part would have been played by the principal cellist of the Eistenstadt orchestra, Joseph Franz Weigl
.
The D major third movement is a minuet
and trio
in ternary form
, with the flute prominently featured in the trio. The last movement is based around a four-note figure which seems to foreshadow the last movement of Mozart
's Jupiter Symphony:
The figure, which appears in various keys throughout the movement, is treated in a manner which hints at fugue
. Near the end it is heard in the strings in stretto
(overlapping entries, a new one beginning before the last has ended).
A typical performance of the whole piece will last a little over twenty minutes.
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...
's Symphony No. 13 in D major was written in 1763 for the orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
of Haydn's patron, Prince Nikolaus Esterházy
Nikolaus Esterházy
Nikolaus Esterházy was a Hungarian prince, a member of the famous Esterházy family. His building of palaces, extravagant clothing, and taste for opera and other grand musical productions led to his being given the title "the Magnificent"...
, in Eisenstadt
Eisenstadt
- Politics :The current mayor of Eisenstadt is Andrea Fraunschiel ÖVP.The district council is composed as follows :* ÖVP: 17 seats* SPÖ: 8 seats* Austrian Green Party: 2 seats* FPÖ: 2 seats- Castles and palaces :...
.
The work can be precisely dated thanks to a dated score in Haydn's own hand in the National Library of Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. Two other Haydn symphonies are known to have been written in the same year: the Symphony No. 12
Symphony No. 12 (Haydn)
The Symphony No. 12 in E major is a symphony by Joseph Haydn. The symphony was composed in 1763.It is scored for 2 oboes, bassoon, 2 horns, strings and continuo The symphony is homotonal and in three movements:#Allegro, 2/2...
and the Symphony No. 40
Symphony No. 40 (Haydn)
The Symphony No. 40 in F major, Hoboken I/40, is a symphony by Joseph Haydn. Despite its number, Haydn had composed this symphony by 1763, long before the other symphonies numbered in the 30s and 40s in Hoboken's catalog Chronologically, the symphony belongs with no...
.
Movements
A typical symphony at this time was written for a pairs of oboeOboe
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 and horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
s and string instrument
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
s, but the Eisenstadt orchestra had recently taken on two new horn players, and Haydn wrote this symphony for an expanded ensemble of one 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 oboes, four horns, timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
and strings (violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s divided into firsts and seconds), viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
s, cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
s and double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
es), with 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...
doubling the bass-line. The timpani part in the autograph score is not in Haydn's hand, but it is quite possibly authentic: he may have written it on a separate sheet, with somebody else adding it to the score at a later date.
- Allegro molto, 4/4
- Adagio cantabile, 4/4
- MenuetMinuetA 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...
& Trio, 3/4 - Finale. Allegro molto, 2/4
The first movement opens with held chords in the winds and the strings playing a simple figure based on an arpeggio
Arpeggio
An arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
:
The movement can be considered to be in 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...
, with a repeated first half beginning in the home 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...
of D major
D major
D major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor....
and modulating
Modulation (music)
In music, modulation is most commonly the act or process of changing from one key to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature. Modulations articulate or create the structure or form of many pieces, as well as add interest...
to A major
A major
A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps.Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor...
, then a second half beginning with a development of previously heard material (passing through B minor
B minor
B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. The harmonic minor raises the A to A. Its key signature has two sharps .Its relative major is D major, and its parallel major is B major....
) followed by a recapitulation of the first half, now entirely in D major (this second half also repeated). However, there is little "second subject" to speak of - following the key change in the first half, the music is mainly based on simple scale passages.
The second movement, marked adagio cantabile (slowly, singing), 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...
, features a solo cello playing a melody against simple chords from the rest of the strings. The winds do not play in this movement. In Haydn's day, the cello part would have been played by the principal cellist of the Eistenstadt orchestra, Joseph Franz Weigl
Joseph Franz Weigl
Joseph Franz Weigl was a Bavarian and Austrian cellist. He was a cellist in the orchestra of the Esterházy family. He played under the directorship of Joseph Haydn, who also was godfather to the cellist's son, and it is thought that Haydn wrote his cello concerto in C major Joseph Franz Weigl (19...
.
The D major third movement is a minuet
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...
and trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
in ternary form
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...
, with the flute prominently featured in the trio. The last movement is based around a four-note figure which seems to foreshadow the last movement of Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's Jupiter Symphony:
The figure, which appears in various keys throughout the movement, is treated in a manner which hints at fugue
Fugue
In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
. Near the end it is heard in the strings in stretto
Stretto
The term stretto comes from the Italian past participle of stringere, and means "narrow", "tight", or "close".In music the Italian term stretto has two distinct meanings:...
(overlapping entries, a new one beginning before the last has ended).
A typical performance of the whole piece will last a little over twenty minutes.
External links
- The William and Gayle Cook Music Library at the Indiana University School of Music has posted the score of the symphony.