Symphony No. 29 (Michael Haydn)

Michael Haydn's Symphony No. 29 in D minor, Opus 1 No. 3, Perger 20, Sherman 29, MH 393, written in Salzburg in 1784, is the only symphony he wrote in a minor key. It is the first of four D minor symphonies attributed to Joseph Haydn.

Scored for 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani [Michael Downey, "Review" "Musical Times" 114 1559 (1973): 39. "Perger includes timpani in the instrumentation, but Jenö Vécsey, who edited the score (Editio Musica), states that 'there are no kettle drums in the original'."] and strings. The bassoons are almost always in unison with the cellos. The Jenő Vecsey edition of 1960 does not show a timpani part, but this is easily enough reconstructed from the trumpet part by tuning the timpani to A and D a fourth apart and using the same rhythms and pitch-classes as the trumpets.

The first movement, Allegro brillante, is a sonata form that begins with a theme which is basically a D minor scale going up, followed by i and V arpeggiations. The second subject theme uses syncopations and has a dance-like character. The horns are in F, trumpets in D.

The second movement, Andantino in B-flat major, gives the ornamented version of the theme first, in the strings. The trumpets in thirds, reinforced by the other winds, then give the unadorned version of the theme. Horns are B-flat basso and trumpets are in B-flat.

The third movement is a rondeau, Presto scherzante. Horns are in F, trumpets in D. The A theme could be seen as a metamorphosis of the first subject of the first movement. The final statement of the A theme in D minor is almost the same as the first except the horns are absent while they change crooks to F. After a fermata on V⁷ chord, the A theme is given in D major, the only difference from the first statement being the key signature.

Discography

When Charles Sherman compiled his first catalog of Michael Haydn's symphonies in 1982, there were three different recordings available on LP: V. Tatrai conducting the Hungarian Chamber Orchestra, Charles Mackerras conducting the English Chamber Orchestra and Miron Raţiu conducting the Oradea Philharmonic. Of these, it seems only the Raţiu recording has been remastered to CD, on the Olympia label, a disc which also includes Erwin Acel conducting Symphonies No.s 18 and 30. Raţiu's recording does not include timpani. Mackerras's does for the outer movements. [Downey (1973) ibid. "Has the drum part been improvised from the trumpet parts (as it may have been in the 18th century) or has a drum part been found (which would perhaps explain why drums are omitted in the slow movement)? Mackerras's performance is exciting, faster and with more prominent brass than the earlier records, but misses the undercurrent of dejection beneath the nervous energy in this composer's solitary minor key symphony."]

References

* A. Delarte, "A Quick Overview Of The Instrumental Music Of Michael Haydn" "Bob's Poetry Magazine" November 2006: 10 - 42 [http://bobspoetry.com/Bobs03No.pdf PDF]
* Charles H. Sherman and T. Donley Thomas, "Johann Michael Haydn (1737 - 1806), a chronological thematic catalogue of his works". Stuyvesant, New York: Pendragon Press (1993)
* C. Sherman, "Johann Michael Haydn" in "The Symphony: Salzburg, Part 2" London: Garland Publishing (1982): lxviii

External links

The Classical Archives has the first movement in a MIDI format file at [http://www.classicalarchives.com/main/h.html the H page] . There is no figured bass realization and the tempo is almost half of the Raţiu recording (so almost twice the duration). Timpani are not included.