Keyboard Works, Vol. 1.

Abstract

Haydn wrote three, and only three, organ concertos, all in close succession and all are similar in several respects. Although each is conceived and originally written for organ, all contain no pedal part and all have frequently been performed as harpsichord concertos. All are decidedly Baroque in nature and were already considered retro in the time they were first performed, and all three date from Haydn's impoverished youth and the time before he found his lifetime position at the court of Esterházy. But the scoring is greatly different and the result is a unique sound for each. The first adds oboes and French horns to the string orchestra and the effect is a warmer, more supportive sound. At nearly nineteen minutes, the first is the longest of the three and sounds most like a Classical orchestral work with Baroque organ obbligato. All three works are skillfully crafted early Haydn and show the young genius in possession of a range of different styles at this point in his career.