Part 9 (1/2)

Esterhaz once more

There is little to say about Haydn's labours as Capellmeister of the Esterhazy household at this time Apparently he was only at Eisenstadt for the summer and autumn Down to 1802, however, he always had a mass ready for Princess Esterhazy's name-day in September These compositions are Nos 2, 1, 3, 16, 4 and 6 of the Novello edition No 2, Pohl tells us, was composed in 1796, and called the ”Paukennus No 3 ritten in 1797 It is known in England as the Imperial Mass, but in Ger been perfor Nelson's visit to Eisenstadt in 1800 On that occasion Nelson asked Haydn for his pen, and gave hie

The Austrian Hymn

It was shortly after his return to Vienna--in January 1797, to be precise--that he composed his favourite air, ”God preserve the Emperor,”

better known as the Austrian Hy with some minuteness Its inception was due to Count von Saurau, I in 1820, the count said:

I often regretted that we had not, like the English, a national air calculated to display to all the world the loyal devotion of our people to the kind and upright ruler of our Fatherland, and to awaken within the hearts of all good Austrians that noble national pride so indispensable to the energetic fulfilln This seeent at a period when the French Revolution was raging most furiously, and when the Jacobins cherished the idle hope of finding a the worthy Viennese partisans and participators in their crins [The scandalous Jacobin persecutions and executions in Austria and Hungary took place in 1796] I caused that meritorious poet Haschka to write the words, and applied to our immortal countryman Haydn to set the anything approaching in in of our national hymn

It would not have been difficult to ,” the ards the words, has been the butt of countless satirists Beethoven wrote in his diary that he ” they have” in that ”national disgrace” If Haydn regarded it as a ”blessing,” he certainly did not take it as aat it fro of the national anthem kind that has ever been written The E on his birthday, February 12, 1797, at the National Theatre in Vienna, and through Count Saurau sent the coold box adorned with a facsimile of the royal features ”Such a surprise and such a ards the portrait of my beloved ment of my poor talents”

Haydn's Love for It

We have several indications of Haydn's predilection for this fine air, which has long been popular as a hymn tune in all the churches He wrote a set of variations for it as the Andante of his ”Kaiser Quartet”

Griesinger tells us, too, that as often as the eather and his strength per the last few years of his life, he used to be led into his back rooht play it on the piano It is further related by Dies that, during the bombardment of Vienna in May 1809, Haydn seated hiive forth the sound of the favourite song Indeed, on May 26, only five days before his death, he played it over three tiree of expression that astonished himself” As one writer puts it, the air ”seee when kings were beheaded and their crowns tossed to the rabble”

Haydn's first sketch of thehis papers after his death We reproduce it here, with an improvement shown in sht differences between the draft and the published version of the air:

[figure: a ure: a musical score excerpt fro of what Tennyson called ”the chips of the workshop”

is not as a rule an edifying business, but the evolution of a great national air iarisht perhaps be added that Dr Kuhac, the highest authority on Croatian folk-song, asserted in an article contributed to the Croatian Review (1893) that the Austrian National Hy Kuhac's collection of Croatian1600 exareement with Kuhac, and adds that Haydn employed Croatian themes not only in ”God preserve the Ees of his other works These statements must not be taken too seriously Handel purloined wholesale fro about it

The artistichis character as we do, we may be perfectly sure that if he had of set purpose introduced into any of his compositions music which was not his own he would, in so for plagiarisiarisms at all but mere coincidences--coincidences which are anda nuisance, and it is the duty of every serious writer to discredit the practice The composer of ”The Creation” had no need to borrow his melodies from any source

CHAPTER VII ”THE CREATION” AND ”THE SEASONS”

Haydn's Crowning Achieveon” of the Libretto--The Sti Effect of London--Haydn's Self-Criticism--First Performance of ”The Creation”--London Performances--French Enthusiasm--The Oratorio criticized--”The Seasons”

Haydn's Crowning Achievement

Haydn rounded his life with ”The Creation” and ”The Seasons” They were the summit of his achieve his years, as ”Falstaff” was to be expected froeniuses flower late It was only now, by his London syenius blosso suddenness a more certain than this, that if he had not come to London he would not have stood where he stands to-day The best of his symphonies ritten for London; and it was London, in effect, that set him to work in as for hi to the production of an oratorio which at once took its place by the side of Handel's master-pieces, and rose to a popularity second only to that of ”The Messiah” itself

”The Creation” suggested

The connection thus established between the na, for there can be little question that Haydn was led to think of writing a large choral work chiefly as the result of frequently hearing Handel's oratorios during his visits to the”The Creation” to Haydn is indeed assigned to Salomon, but it ishis thoughts It has been explicitly stated [See note by CH

Purday in Leisure Hour for 1880, p 528] that, being greatly impressed with the effect produced by ”The Messiah,” Haydn intimated to his friend Barthelemon his desire to compose a work of the same kind He asked Barthelemon what subject he would advise for such a purpose, and Barthele to a copy of the Bible, replied: ”There! take that, and begin at the beginning” This story is told on apparently good authority But it hardly fits in with the stateraphers, Saloinally selected for Handel from Genesis and Paradise Lost by Mr Lidley or Liddell That this was the libretto used by Haydn is certain, and we may therefore accept it as a fact that Haydn's reat ht him to London, and had drawn from him the finest of his instrumental works

”The Creation” Libretto