Repertoire: The Haydn Symphony CRUSADE (No. 26) "Lamentatione" 

Here we go. Back on track. I even pulled out my old Dorati set to keep up with you. Keep ‘em coming.

Symphony 26 on 6/26. Was wondering if the duration might be 26:00 but delighted we got an extra ~3 minutes.

The "Lamentatione" is one of my favourite symphonies by Haydn, and it was the first, which convinced me that Haydn was much more than a predecessor of Mozart and, even more, Beethoven. Your interpretation of the meaning resembles to mine (or vice versa): In my opinion, the symphony deals with death and the hope for salvation. The first two movements confront man with death, but the church gives an answer (the chorals are "church music"); the last movement is a dance of death - and confronted with this, the consolation is silent. It`s a real dark and disturbing symphony, and, I think, one of the best ever written. Great talk, and great crusade! Thank you so much for thies glorious idea!

That ‘hiccup’ in the finale reminds me of the trombone in the first movement of DSCH 9th Symphony.

Thanks for another interesting talk in the Haydn Crusade series. Nicholas Kenyon, the writer of the liner notes to the Trevor Pinnock recording of 26, has an interesting theory on the last movement minuet which is somewhat similar to yours, after dismissing the idea that a final movement is lost or lacking - "perhaps the very incompleteness of the work mirrors the uncompleted drama of Holy Week, the suffering of the Passion before the triumph of Easter."

David, your crusade got me into it. I’ve been listening to the London Symphonies. I’m on 99 so far. I heard a strong similarity in the Largo of 93 to a passage in Beethoven’s 6th, just by the way.

Good Lord, that second movement gets me every single time. I wasn't totally sure from the video which elements of that slow movement feature Gregorian Chant melodies, though.

Is it true that in the late 1760s Haydn was junior to the court Kapellmeister, who had been placed in charge of liturgical music? Seems that an Easter symphony would have brought on particular scrutiny by Haydn’s senior. The symphony could be in part the result of some very interesting conversations between the two.

It’s a point well made that any hack can write a piece in a minor key and expect the work to be received as a miserable masterpiece - to have a work of genius, it still has to be composed by a genius. Haydn and Symphony No. 26 fit the bill. One of my favorite parlor tricks is Pharrell Williams writing a pop song called “Get Happy” in F Minor - according to some of the ancient tomes, the most miserable key of all.

DH,,,,,Haydn has been given the monikers of”Father of the Symphony” and “Father of the String Quartet.” What do you think. Do these terms have any credibility or are they silly attempts at “labeling.” Thank you for all that you are doing.

Hi Dave. I find the performances of the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra conducted by Adam Fischer (on Brilliant Classics, 1987-2001) very well played. An advantage: they don't use a harpsichord... What do you think of these recordings? So far I compared nos. 25 to 51 with your examples from the Naxos label.

Silly question: are we sure he just didn't finish it?

I thought I read that Haydn lamented "why doesn't someone invent a new minuet (or did he say third movement)." It appears he forgot his own achievement in 26. It's quite astonishing! In general, I don't find the classical minuet to be very interesting and prefer the scherzo's of Beethoven and beyond.