Haydn: Morning, Noon, and Evening

from tabulaplenamusica.com

Joseph Haydn’s sixth, seventh, and eighth symphonies are called Le matin, Le midi, and Le soir (morning, noon, and evening). I love to play Haydn’s symphonies while I work. I’ve the Dorati set on my iPad and the Fischer set on CDs and my iPod. These three early symphonies, though, are among my favorites: short pieces that suggest by their titles a good day.

I know that Wikipedia is not supposed to be a source to quote, but nevertheless I like the writer’s words about #6: “Haydn wrote this, his first symphonic work for his new employer Prince Nikolaus Eszterházy, in the spring of 1761, shortly after joining the court. The Eszterházys maintained in permanent residence an excellent chamber orchestra and with his first contribution for it in the symphonic genre, Haydn fully exploited the talents of the players. In this, Haydn was consciously drawing on the familiar tradition of the concerto grosso, exemplified by the works of Antonio Vivaldi, Giuseppe Tartini, and Tomaso Albinoni then much in vogue at courts across Europe. All three symphonies (Nos. 6, 7 and 8) feature extensive solo passages for the wind, horn and strings, including rare solo writing for the double bass and bassoon in the third movement of No. 6. ...

“It has been commonly suggested that Haydn's motivation was to curry favour [sic] both with his new employer (by making reference to a familiar and popular tradition) and, perhaps more importantly, with the players upon whose goodwill he depended. Typically during this period, players who performed challenging solo passages or displayed unusual virtuosity received financial reward. By highlighting virtually all of the players in this regard, Haydn was, literally, spreading the wealth.”

Here is #6 in a period interpretation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwUKZG-fFZI&list=PLBC69B5E8CA5BBD23

And here is #7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJapgNM15Z0&list=PLBC69B5E8CA5BBD23

And here is #8: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9hqn_kq2hY&list=PLBC69B5E8CA5BBD23