Symphony No. 60 (Haydn)
Encyclopedia
The Symphony No. 60 in C major
, Hoboken I/60, was written by Joseph Haydn
. It is sometimes given the nickname Il Distratto (The Distracted), or in German, »Der Zerstreute«.
, given a German revival in 1774 by Karl Wahr under the German title »Der Zerstreute« (Il Distratto is the title that appears on Haydn's incidental music, however). Symphony no. 60 contains the overture, four entr'actes and finale from the music composed for the five-act play.
s, two horns
, two optional trumpet
s, timpani
, and strings
.
The slow introduction to the first movement overture opens with a fanfare similar to the one that opens the 50th symphony
which also served an overture to a stage work. The ensuing Allegro is in sonata form. The second theme has a section that is notably marked perdendosi ("dying away") which Sisman associates with the absent-mindedness of the main character of the play. In the development section, the falling arpeggio
motif that opens the Farewell Symphony
is quoted and repeated at different pitch levels.
The slow movement features an alternation between a lyrical string motif and an oboe/horn fanfare
. From a theatrical standpoint, this suggests a dialogue between two characters in the play — a well-bred young lady and a carousing soldier — but Haydn had also juxtaposed these types of themes in the slow movements of his 28th
and 65th
symphonies. The development section contains a parody of a French folk dance
.
The courtly and pompous minuet is contrasted by the reappearance of the absent-minded main character in the trio, which features an exotically wandering, rising and falling motif over a bagpipe-like drone.
The fifth movement (adagio) briefly introduces timpani and trumpets, not to be found again in a Haydn symphonic slow movement until Symphony No. 88
.
The finale features one of Haydn's famous musical jokes: the energetic prestissimo opening grinds to a sudden halt following a spectacularly discordant orchestral flourish, as the violins discover that they seemingly "need" to retune their strings
— which they noisily proceed to do for 10 to 15 seconds before they resume playing.
C major
C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
, Hoboken I/60, was written by Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
. It is sometimes given the nickname Il Distratto (The Distracted), or in German, »Der Zerstreute«.
Nickname
It was completed in or by 1775 (most likely, November 1774.) The symphony makes use of music Haydn wrote for a play, Le Distrait, by Jean-François RegnardJean-François Regnard
Jean-François Regnard , "the most distinguished, after Molière, of the comic poets of the seventeenth century", was a dramatist, born in Paris, who is equally famous now for the travel diary he kept of a voyage in 1681....
, given a German revival in 1774 by Karl Wahr under the German title »Der Zerstreute« (Il Distratto is the title that appears on Haydn's incidental music, however). Symphony no. 60 contains the overture, four entr'actes and finale from the music composed for the five-act play.
Movements
The symphony is scored for two 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, two horns
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
, two optional trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, 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
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...
.
- Adagio, 2/4 - Allegro di molto, 3/4
- Andante, 2/4 in G majorG majorG 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...
- MenuettoMinuetA 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...
- TrioTernary formTernary form, sometimes called song form, is a three-part musical form, usually schematicized as A-B-A. The first and third parts are musically identical, or very nearly so, while the second part in some way provides a contrast with them...
, 3/4 (Trio in C minorC minorC minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. The harmonic minor raises the B to B. Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with naturals and accidentals as necessary.Its key signature consists of three flats...
) - Presto, 2/4 in C minor and major
- Adagio (di Lamentatione), 2/4 in F majorF majorF major is a musical major scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat . It is by far the oldest key signature with an accidental, predating the others by hundreds of years...
- Finale: Prestissimo, 2/4
The slow introduction to the first movement overture opens with a fanfare similar to the one that opens the 50th symphony
Symphony No. 50 (Haydn)
The Symphony No. 50 in C major, Hoboken I/50, by Joseph Haydn was written partly in 1773 and partly in 1774.Scored for 2 oboes, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings. Since the trumpets double the horns at the same pitch for most of the piece, Antony Hodgson has suggested the trumpets may be...
which also served an overture to a stage work. The ensuing Allegro is in sonata form. The second theme has a section that is notably marked perdendosi ("dying away") which Sisman associates with the absent-mindedness of the main character of the play. In the development section, the falling 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...
motif that opens the Farewell Symphony
Symphony No. 45 (Haydn)
Symphony No. 45 in F-sharp minor, known as the "Farewell" Symphony , was composed by Joseph Haydn in 1772....
is quoted and repeated at different pitch levels.
The slow movement features an alternation between a lyrical string motif and an oboe/horn fanfare
Fanfare
A Fanfare is a relatively short piece of music that is typically played by trumpets and other brass instruments often accompanied by percussion...
. From a theatrical standpoint, this suggests a dialogue between two characters in the play — a well-bred young lady and a carousing soldier — but Haydn had also juxtaposed these types of themes in the slow movements of his 28th
Symphony No. 28 (Haydn)
Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 28 in A major, Hoboken I/28, was written in 1765.The work is scored for 2 oboes, bassoon, 2 horns, and strings with continuo.The work is in four movements:#Allegro di molto, 3/4#Poco adagio, 2/4#Menuetto e Trio, 3/4...
and 65th
Symphony No. 65 (Haydn)
The Symphony No. 65 in A major, Hoboken I/65, is a symphony by Joseph Haydn which was composed by 1778.-Movements:The symphony is scored for two oboes, two horns and strings...
symphonies. The development section contains a parody of a French folk dance
Folk dance
The term folk dance describes dances that share some or all of the following attributes:*They are dances performed at social functions by people with little or no professional training, often to traditional music or music based on traditional music....
.
The courtly and pompous minuet is contrasted by the reappearance of the absent-minded main character in the trio, which features an exotically wandering, rising and falling motif over a bagpipe-like drone.
The fifth movement (adagio) briefly introduces timpani and trumpets, not to be found again in a Haydn symphonic slow movement until Symphony No. 88
Symphony No. 88 (Haydn)
The Symphony No. 88 in G major was written by Joseph Haydn. It is occasionally referred to as The Letter V referring to an older method of cataloguing Haydn's symphonic output.The symphony was completed in 1787...
.
The finale features one of Haydn's famous musical jokes: the energetic prestissimo opening grinds to a sudden halt following a spectacularly discordant orchestral flourish, as the violins discover that they seemingly "need" to retune their strings
Musical tuning
In music, there are two common meanings for tuning:* Tuning practice, the act of tuning an instrument or voice.* Tuning systems, the various systems of pitches used to tune an instrument, and their theoretical bases.-Tuning practice:...
— which they noisily proceed to do for 10 to 15 seconds before they resume playing.
External links
- BBC Discovering Music (browse for .ram file for this work)
- Description of Il Distratto and its history
- Klassika page on the symphony Has instrumentation, composition date