Symphonien Nos. 83 - 101 & 104

Abstract

Haydn's six "Paris" Symphonies (Nos. 82-87) mark a turning point in the composer's career. At the time of their composition (1785-86), Haydn was experiencing a sort of compositional monotony in his works for the Esterházy court, while commercial considerations made it difficult for him to experiment in the works he wrote at the behest of publishers. It isn't difficult to see why the composer jumped at the commission for these symphonies, which gave him a chance to stretch his musical wings and create something personal and original. All six of the "Paris" Symphonies are are scored for one flute and two each of oboes, bassoons, and horns, plus strings; Nos. 82 and 86 are augmented with timpani and two trumpets.

The Symphony No. 83 in G minor (1785) is not as well known as its five brethren, and yet Haydn's genius is no less in evidence in this work than elsewhere. Haydn opens the first movement directly, sans introduction, with a main theme that slowly outlines an unsettling diminished triad that resolves to a descending dotted-rhythm figure. After the arrival of the light, detached secondary theme in the first violins, Haydn combines it with the earlier dotted rhythm played by a single oboe, a figure that gave rise to the work's nickname, "La Poule" (The Hen). Throughout the development, which is nearly as long as the exposition, the rising triad, the dotted figure, and the secondary theme each undergo various permutations. Haydn provides all-new transitional material in the recapitulation and resolves the secondary theme to G major, whereupon G minor has breathed its last in the work.

The Andante, in E flat major, is in slow-movement sonata form—that is, it has no development section. Haydn does, however, indulge in some development at the reprise of the first theme. Detached repeated notes suggest an echo of the first movement, as do Haydn's use of grace notes and a secondary theme in B flat major.

The symphony's developmental tendencies continue in the G major Minuet and Trio, marked Allegretto. The stately, eight-measure opening theme is conventional enough, but the second part of the Minuet does not follow the traditional pattern of new material rounded off by the first theme. Instead, Haydn constructs the second part from fragments of the first while never actually stating the first theme in full. The texture lightens in the Trio, whose theme is played piano by a solo flute doubled by violins.

The monothematic 12/8 finale, marked Vivace, is a movement of boundless energy. The development section is a continuous series of triplet figures over changing harmonies, while real thematic development occurs in the recapitulation.