Behind the Score: Salomon and Haydn

JOHANN SALOMON - Thomas Hardy

Johann Salomon became a dear friend and close colleague of Haydn. Today, he is most famously remembered for bringing the composer to London in both 1791 and 1794. This was deemed at the time to be such an exciting event that it was announced proudly in The Morning Chronicle to the general public on December 29th, 1790:

TITLE PAGE OF FIRST PUBLISHED EDITION OF ONE OF SALOMON’S ARRANGEMENTS

Mr. Salomon, having taken a journey to Vienna purposely to engage the celebrated Haydn, Chapel-Master to his present Highness Prince Esterhazy, to come to England, most respectfully acquaints the Nobility and the Gentry that he has actually signed an agreement with Mr. Haydn. (They) hope to be in London before the end of December, when Mr. Salomon will have the honour of submitting to the Publick a Plan of a Subscription Concert, which he flatters himself will meet with its Approbation and Encouragement.

Salomon was a German violinist, composer, and impresario in his own right. He was born in Bonn around 1745 and began working in the court orchestra at just thirteen years of age. Clearly a precocious talent, he became the concertmaster there before he was even twenty.

He moved to London in the 1780s where he became well known as a concertmaster, soloist, composer and chamber musician. As a concertmaster, he led many of the premieres of Haydn’s works in London, and Haydn’s London Symphonies are sometimes even referred to as the Salomon Symphonies.

Interestingly, Salomon was one of only a few whom Haydn permitted to arrange his works. The title page of the first edition of his arrangements of the London Symphonies states that the works were “Composed for Mr. Salomon’s concerts and arranged for five instruments,” - two violins, a German flute, a tenor (viola) flute and violoncello with the accompaniment of an ad libitum keyboard. It is unclear whether Haydn played any role in this particular instrumentation.

In examining the treatment of Haydn’s music within the arrangements, it is clear that Salomon possessed a deep understanding of Haydn’s musical genius and remained faithful to it. He never sought to overshadow the music with any sense of his own spirit and at all times the music remains as close as possible to Haydn’s original. Salomon’s decision to pair the flute with strings manages to capture the energy of a much fuller orchestra and, at times, even gives that illusion.

In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, chamber arrangements of larger-scale works were common. It was a popular way for composers to promote their works as well as to make money through purchases by amateur musicians to perform them with friends. Another reason was so that people could hear the works again or for the first time, often in their own home. Today this could be compared to listening to a recording or sharing a playlist on Spotify.

A view From the Bassoon

We asked bassoonist Simon Rickard a few questions about our upcoming program, his role as bassoonist and what really went on in eighteenth century orchestras.

Question: Haydn is well known for his ability to include humour with drama and beauty. The Farewell Symphony is one of his most famous pieces. How does he achieve this in that Symphony, and what makes it such a well known work? 

Simon: Haydn’s quicksilver wit and effortless elegance are nowhere more evident than in this famous symphony, which earned the nickname ‘Farewell Symphony’ (Abschiedssinfonie) from the deliberately anticlimactic ending Haydn wrote for it.

It is easy to forget that in Haydn’s day musicians were no more than glorified servants. Haydn’s patron, Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, maintained a small orchestra of musician-servants who accompanied him to his summer palace each year for his private entertainment. One year, the stay at the summer palace was very long, and the musicians, wanting to return home to their own families, appealed to Haydn to intercede with the prince on their behalf.

Ever ingenious and creative, Haydn composed this symphony as a message to the prince. At the end of the last movement, each musician snuffed out the candles on his music stand and left the stage one by one, until only a single violinist was left on stage to finish the symphony. This subtle hint must have worked, because the next morning the prince moved his court back to Eisenstadt, and the musicians were returned to their families.

Question: The bassoon doesn’t always have an independent part in this program, yet it is playing most of the time. What role did it have in the eighteenth century?

Simon: The bassoon was the workhorse of the eighteenth century bass section. As such, most eighteenth century orchestras had more bassoons than cellos or double basses. For example, the famous orchestra at the Dresden court, under Hasse in 1768, had five bassoons but only three cellos and three double basses. The orchestra at the theatre of Versailles in 1773 had six bassoons, with only five cellos and four double basses.

Haydn’s early orchestras had two bassoons but only one cello and one bass. However, by the end of his career, the role of the bassoon had changed from being part of the tutti bass section, to become a solo tenor voice. The classical orchestra became standardised at this time, with only two or three bassoons, each playing their own independent part, outnumbered by a greater number of cellos and basses.

Question: J.C. Bach’s symphony is very dramatic and, like Haydn’s Farewell, could be termed a Sturm und Drang work. What does that mean and what should audiences expect?

Simon: Sturm und Drang was a proto-romantic movement in the second half of the eighteenth century that expressed itself in both literature and music. The term is usually translated from German as ‘Storm and Stress’. However the word ‘Drang’ also suggests an urge, yearning or drive. This sums up the nature of this turbulent style perfectly. Full of driving rhythmic energy in the fast movements and languishing affectation in the slow ones, unexpected harmonic progressions and abrupt dynamic changes, this style always keeps the listener on the edge of their seat.

Sturm und Drang is one of my favourite musical movements. I find it absolutely thrilling hearing its exponents, such as CPE and JC Bach, Haydn and even the young Mozart, trying to express romantic concepts using essentially baroque musical language. If only this unique musical movement had lasted longer!

AHE September 2018 News

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View this email in your browser UP NEXT Beethoven & Haydn Tour October 4th - 12th It's not long now until our Beethoven & Haydn tour begins with the first performance on October 4. This program highlights our love of unearthing forgotten composers and rediscovering unknown historical chamber versions of the classics. We present the Australian premiere of two rare chamber versions: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 and Haydn’s Symphony No. 44 (The Trauer). The program also includes a string sextet by Albrechtsberger and a virtuosic Flute Quartet in D minor by Ries, the lesser known contemporaries of Haydn and Beethoven. Join Skye McIntosh and AHE for this exciting exploration of premieres. Beethoven & Haydn tours in the coming weeks to: Canberra | Thursday 4 October, 7pm  Berry | Friday 5 October, 7pm Southern Highlands | Saturday 6 October, 5pm  Sydney | Monday 8 October, 7pm Newcastle | Thursday 11 October, 7pm Sydney | Friday 12 October, 7pm  Program   Haydn Symphony No. 44 in E minor (The Trauer) arr. Hague (1810) Ries Flute Quartet in D minor WoO 35 No. 1 Albrechtsberger String Sextet in E flat major Op. 13 No. 1 (Adagio and Fugue) Beethoven Symphony No. 1 in C major arr. Masi (1800)   Schubert Songs with David Greco - Reviews are out!  ★★★★ "... a rich and satisfying concert." Limelight Magazine It was such a privilege working with David Greco on this special project. If you weren't able to be at one of the Schubert Songs concerts you can hear David singing Schubert on his new ABC Classics Album: Schubert Winterreise with our dear friend Erin Helyard. It's Album of the week on ABC Classic FM this week too! Click HERE to see the album on the ABC Classic FM website.   Vi King Lim in conversation about arranging Beethoven & Mozart We talk to our fabulous arranger, Vi King Lim all about what it's like to take a full scale Symphony and make a chamber arrangement in the style of the C18th.    Ferdinand Ries - More than just Beethoven's Secretary Ries is generally remembered for his role as Beethoven's student and copyist, but he was so much more than that. He was one of the most celebrated pianists of his day and also a composer in his own right. In our next tour, we perform his virtuosic Flute Quartet in D minor with Melissa Farrow. Listen to this recording of his Grand Sextuor for 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass and piano on YouTube to give you a taste of his compositional style. AHE at the Tyalgum Festival We had a wonderful time performing at the Tyalgum Festival in Northern NSW recently. It is a beautiful part of the world and we were so happy to perform at such a wonderful event. Our Artistic Director Skye McIntosh has a special connection to the area having grown up there. In fact, one of her very first public performances was at the Festival as part of its Young Artists concerts back in 1990! Copyright © 2018 Australian Haydn Ensemble, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: The Australian Haydn Ensemble Level 1/16-18 Oxford Square Darlinghurst, 2010 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.