Farewell Symphony. What do musicians traditionally do during the performance of Haydn's Farewell Symphony? Why Haydn called the 45th symphony farewell
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So, Joseph Haydn "Farewell Symphony"
The peculiarity of this symphony is that it is performed by candlelight, fixed on the music consoles of the musicians; the finale, traditional in form, is followed by an additional slow part, during which the musicians stop playing one by one, extinguish the candles and leave the stage. First, all wind instruments are excluded. In the string group, double basses are turned off, then cellos, violas and second violins. The symphony is played out only by the first 2 violins (on one of which Haydn himself played at one time, since the first violinist was also the conductor of the orchestra), which, after the end of the music, extinguish the candles and leave after the others (from Wiki)
However, the history of its creation is not as unambiguous as it is written in school textbooks of musical literature.
One, according to Haydn himself, was preserved in the memoirs of his contemporaries. At the time of writing this symphony, Haydn served in the chapel of Prince Esterhazy, one of the Hungarian magnates, whose wealth and luxury rivaled those of the emperor. In January 1772, Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy ordered that during his stay on the estate, the families of the chapel musicians (there were 16 of them at that time) lived there. Only in the absence of the prince could the musicians leave Estergaz and visit their wives and children. An exception was made only for the bandmaster and the first violinist. That year, the prince stayed at the estate for an unusually long time, and the musicians, exhausted by the bachelor life, turned to their leader, the bandmaster, for help. Haydn wittily solved this problem and managed to convey the request of the musicians to the prince during the performance of his new, Forty-fifth Symphony.
According to another version, the request concerned a salary that the prince had not paid to the orchestra for a long time, and the symphony contained a hint that the musicians were ready to say goodbye to the chapel.
Another legend is just the opposite: the prince himself decided to dissolve the chapel, leaving the orchestra members without a livelihood.
And, finally, the last, dramatic, put forward by the romantics in the 19th century: The Farewell Symphony embodies farewell to life. However, the title is missing from the manuscript of the score. The inscription at the beginning - partly in Latin, partly in Italian - reads: “Symphony in F sharp minor. In the name of the Lord from me, Giuseppe Haydn. 772", and at the end in Latin: "Praise be to God!".
The first performance took place in Estergaz in the autumn of the same 1772 by the princely chapel under the direction of Haydn.
The material is taken from the website of the Murmansk Philharmonic Orchestra.
This is how Yuri Levitansky wrote about this work
Haydn's Farewell Symphony
The birch trees in the autumn forest are quietly dying out, the mountain ash is burning out.
And as the foliage flies from the autumn aspens,
The forest becomes more and more transparent, exposing such depths,
That the whole secret essence of nature becomes clear.
I love these days when the idea is clear and the theme is guessed,
And then faster and faster, obeying the key -
As in the "Farewell Symphony" - closer to the final you remember Haydn
The musician, having played his part, extinguishes the candle.
And he leaves - everything is more spacious in the forest now - the musicians leave, -
Foliage score burns line by line -
The candles in the orchestra go out one by one - the musicians leave -
Soon, soon in the orchestra, all the candles will go out one by one.
Everything is more spacious, everything is quieter in the autumn forest - the musicians are leaving.
Soon the last violin will fall silent in the violinist's hand.
And the last flute will freeze in silence - the musicians leave.
Soon, soon the last candle in our orchestra will go out ...
And here is a humorous interpretation of her ending - watch from the fourth minute
"The lonely violins still freeze"... Joseph Haydn. Symphony No. 45 (Farewell)Composer Joseph Haydn was a very cheerful person. His music was just as cheerful and cheerful.
In almost every symphony - and he wrote more than a hundred - there is something unexpected, interesting, funny.
Either he will portray a clumsy bear in the symphony, then the clucking of a chicken - these symphonies are then called so: "Bear", "Chicken", then he will buy various children's toys - whistles, rattles, horns and include them in the score of his "Children's" symphony. One of his symphonies is called "The Hours", the other - "Surprise" because there, in the middle of slow, quiet and calm music, a very loud blow is suddenly heard, and then again slowly, as if nothing had happened, the calm, even what some important music.
All these inventions, all these "surprises" were due not only to the cheerful nature of the composer. There were other, much more important reasons as well. Haydn began to write music when works in the form of a symphony were just beginning to appear. That is why this wonderful German composer invented so much when he wrote his music - he tried, searched, created a new kind of musical work.
It is now almost impossible for us to imagine that the "father of the symphony", the "great Haydn", as he was called during his lifetime, was only the court bandmaster of the Austro-Hungarian prince Nicolò Esterhazy.
It is hard to believe that the composer, whom all of Europe knew, whose concerts were expected in Paris and London, like a holiday, this same composer each time had to ask "the master" for permission to leave the Esterhazy estate to arrange his concerts.
The prince loved music, but not enough to refuse such a "profitable" servant.
Kapellmeister Haydn's contract stipulated his numerous duties. Haydn was in charge of the Esterhazy home chapel - a choir, soloists and an orchestra. Haydn was responsible for all the problems, for all quarrels and deviations from the rules of behavior of the servants-musicians. He was also responsible for the quality of music performance, as he was a conductor. He had to compose any music at the request of the prince, without having any rights to his own compositions - they also belonged to the prince, like Haydn himself.
And he could not even dress according to his desire and taste. The form of clothing - from stockings to a wig - was established by the prince.
Haydn lived with Esterhazy for thirty years and remained a "serf servant" for thirty years. So he called himself, so did Prince Nicolò Esterhazy.
And yet the composer Haydn was a cheerful man!
One of his symphonies - "Farewell" - ends with music that can be called sad rather than cheerful. But it is this symphony that comes to mind when you want to talk about Haydn - a cheerful and kind person.
The musicians of Prince Esterhazy were not given a vacation for a long time and were not paid money. Their "father Haydn" could not achieve this with any pleas and requests. The musicians became sad, and then they began to grumble. How Haydn knew how to get along with his musicians, and then they stopped listening to him - it became difficult to work, rehearse. And the prince demanded the performance of a new symphony at the upcoming holiday.
And Haydn wrote a new symphony.
What kind of music this was, the prince did not know, and perhaps he was not very interested - in this he completely trusted his bandmaster. But only the musicians suddenly showed an extraordinary zeal for rehearsals...
The day of the holiday has come. The prince informed the guests about the new symphony in advance, and now they were looking forward to the start of the concert.
Candles were lit on the music stands, notes were opened, instruments were prepared ... A thick, stocky "father Haydn" came out in full dress and a freshly powdered wig. The symphony sounded...
Everyone listens to music with pleasure - one part, another ... the third ... finally, the fourth, the finale. But then it turned out that the new symphony has one more part - the fifth and, moreover, slow, sad. It was against the rules: a symphony was supposed to be written in four movements, and the last, fourth, should be the most lively, the fastest. But the music is beautiful, the orchestra plays very well, and the guests leaned back in their chairs again. Listen.
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Symphony no. 45 (fis-moll), "Farewell" The second part - adagio - is light and serene, refined and gallant. It sounds predominantly a string quartet (the part of double basses is not highlighted), moreover, the violins are with mutes, the dynamics are within pianissimo. The sonata form is used with similar themes, with a development performed by only strings, and a compressed reprise in which the main part is decorated with the "golden move" of the horns. The third movement, the minuet, is reminiscent of a village dance with constant juxtaposition of piano (only violins) and forte (entire orchestra) effects, with a clearly defined theme and an abundance of repetitions. The trio begins with the “golden move” of the horns, and at the end of it an unexpected darkening occurs - the major gives way to the minor, anticipating the mood of the finale. The return of the first section makes you forget about this fleeting shadow. The fourth part figuratively echoes the first. The side part is again not melodically independent, but, unlike the main minor part, it is painted in carefree major tones. Development, however small, is a true classic example of the mastery of motivated development. The reprise is gloomy, does not repeat the exposure, but suddenly breaks off on the rise ... After a general pause, a new adagio with variations begins. The tender theme, stated in thirds, seems serene, but the sonority gradually fades away, a feeling of anxiety arises. One by one, the instruments fall silent, the musicians, having finished their part, extinguish the candles burning in front of their consoles, and leave. After the first variations, the brass players leave the orchestra. The departure of the string band starts with the bass; the viola and two violins remain on the stage, and, finally, the duet of violins with mutes quietly finishes their touching passages. Such an unprecedented finale always made an irresistible impression: “When the orchestra players began to extinguish the candles and quietly retire, everyone’s heart ached ... When, finally, the faint sounds of the last violin died away, the listeners began to disperse hushed and touched ...” - wrote the Leipzig newspaper in 1799. “And no one laughed, because it was not written for fun at all,” Schumann echoed her almost forty years later. |
The music is sad and seems to complain a little. Suddenly... What is it? The prince furrows his brows angrily. One of the horn players played some bars of his part; closed the notes, then carefully folded his instrument, put out the candle on the music stand... and left!
Haydn does not notice this, continues to conduct.
Wonderful music flows, a flute enters. The flutist played his part, just like the horn player, closed the notes, put out the candle and also left.
And the music continues. No one in the orchestra pays attention to the fact that the second horn player, followed by the oboist, calmly leaves the stage without haste.
One by one, the candles on the music stands go out, the musicians leave one after another... What about Haydn? Doesn't he hear? Doesn't he see? To see Haydn, however, is quite difficult, since at the time in question, the conductor was sitting facing the audience, with his back to the orchestra. Well, he heard it, of course, perfectly.
Now it is almost completely dark on the stage - only two violinists remained. Two small candles illuminate their serious bowed faces.
What an amazing "musical strike" Haydn came up with! Of course, it was a protest, but so witty and elegant that the prince probably forgot to be indignant. And Haydn won.
Written on such a seemingly random occasion, the "Farewell" symphony lives on to this day. Until now, the orchestra players, one by one, leave the stage, and the orchestra sounds quieter, weaker: the lonely violins still freeze ...
So, today we have Saturday, July 29, 2017, and we traditionally offer you answers to the quiz in the Q&A format. The questions we meet are both the most simple and quite complex. The quiz is very interesting and quite popular, but we just help you test your knowledge and make sure that you have chosen the correct answer out of the four proposed. And we have another question in the quiz - What do musicians traditionally do during the performance of Haydn's Farewell Symphony?
- Extinguish candles
- Sending air kisses
- Putting on hats
The correct answer is A. EXTINGUISH THE CANDLES
Everyone listens with pleasure to the beautiful music of Haydn - one part of the symphony, another, third ... finally the fourth, the finale. And then it turned out that the new symphony has one more part - the fifth, and, moreover, slow, sad. It was unexpected and unusual: a symphony is supposed to have four movements, and the last should be the most lively, the fastest. The listeners look at each other. But the music is excellent, they play beautifully, and the guests again leaned back in their chairs. Listen.
... The music is sad and seems to be complaining. Suddenly… What is it?! The prince furrows his brows angrily. One of the horn players played some measures of his part, closed the notes, then carefully put the instrument down, put out the candle on the music stand and... left!
Haydn does not notice this, continues to conduct. (Do you remember? After all, he stands with his back to the orchestra.)
Wonderful music plays. The flute enters. The flutist played his part ... then, just like the horn player, he closed the notes, put out the candle and also left.
The music keeps going. No one in the orchestra pays attention to the fact that there is already a second horn player, followed by an oboist, without haste, calmly put down the instruments, extinguish the candles and leave the stage.
One by one, the candles on the music stands go out, the musicians leave one by one... What about Haydn? Doesn't he hear? Doesn't he see?
Seeing Haydn, as we know, is rather difficult. Well, he heard it, of course, perfectly.
The stage is almost completely dark. Only two violinists remained. Two small candles slightly illuminate their serious, violin-inclined faces.
What an amazing "musical strike" the composer and bandmaster Haydn came up with! Of course, it was a protest, but so witty and elegant that the prince probably even forgot to be indignant and, of course, perfectly understood the hint. Haydn won.
Prepared by Yulia Bederova
One of the few minor symphonies by Haydn and the only symphony of the 18th century, written in the key of F-sharp minor, which was uncomfortable at that time. In the finale, the musicians take turns leaving the stage, the parts of different instruments are gradually turned off from the music, and at the end only two violins remain to sound.
According to legend, the customer, Prince Esterhazy Haydn served as bandmaster for the prince, and the Esterhazy family actually owned the rights to all of his music and even disposed of the musicians' free time., owed the members a vacation (according to another version - a salary) - that is what they hinted at with such an unusual ending. It is not known whether justice was achieved by this witty device, but the slow finale of the Farewell Symphony, whose music was affected by the influence of the sturmerism "Sturm und Drang"(German: Sturm und Drang) is a pre-romantic literary and artistic movement that influenced many composers in music, from Haydn and Mozart to Beethoven and the Romantics. Representatives of the movement are called sturmers., in turn, influenced the further history of symphonies - from Beethoven to Tchaikovsky and Mahler. After the Farewell Steel, slow finals are possible, which the classical model did not foresee.
J. Haydn "Farewell Symphony"
An amazing legend is associated with the "Farewell Symphony" by J. Haydn. Even more surprising is the impression this work makes on listeners who do not expect such an unusual ending. What is the secret of Symphony No. 45 Joseph Haydn And why is it called "Farewell"? The beautiful and understandable music of the Great Viennese classic, which fascinates and captures from the first bars, will appeal to everyone, and its history of creation will leave a mark in the heart of the listener for a long time.
History of creation Symphonies No. 45 Haydn, which has the name "Farewell", read the content and many interesting facts about the work on our page.
The history of the creation of the "Farewell Symphony"
Just imagine that you are in such a difficult situation: your employer keeps you in the service for more than the allotted time and does not understand any hints that you want to go home. Today, this is unimaginable, but a few centuries ago - easily. The great Austrian composer and his musicians found themselves in such an unpleasant situation.
Of course, the first thought that will arise in anyone is who could keep the composer like that, whose name glorified his country to the whole world? Unfortunately, at the time of Haydn, musicians had a dependent position and, despite their fame, they were listed at the palaces of noble persons at the level of servants. So Prince Esterhazy, with whom the composer served for about 30 years, treated him like a servant.
The great Viennese classic was forbidden to leave the palace without consent, and all the masterpieces written during this time belonged only to the prince. The duties of J. Haydn were unlimited, he had to lead the chapel at the palace, perform music at the whim of the prince, train the orchestra, be responsible for all musical materials and instruments, and, finally, write symphonies, operas at the request of N. Esterhazy. Sometimes, he gave only one day to compose another masterpiece! But in all this there were pluses for the musician. He could listen to his masterpieces in live performance at any time and hone them, as a master works on a precious stone. But sometimes, there were situations when Haydn was forced to use all his talent and ingenuity to help himself and his musicians.
Once, Prince Esterhazy dragged out his stay in the summer palace for too long. With the advent of cold weather, the musicians began to get sick, the swampy area was to blame. They suffered greatly from endless illnesses, and most importantly, from a long separation from their families, because they were forbidden to see them in the summer, and the orchestra members had no right to leave the service. But Haydn figured out how to get out of this difficult situation - he wrote a special work, which was called "". Just imagine, Prince Esterhazy with his guests gathered in the hall to listen to another masterpiece of the great maestro, but instead of the usual cheerful music, he was presented with sad and slow music. The first, second, third and fourth parts have passed, it would seem that now there will be a final, but no! The fifth part begins and then the musicians stand up one by one, extinguish the candles on the music stands and silently leave the hall. The reaction of the audience can be predicted. So, only two violinists remain on the stage, the part of one of them is performed by Haydn himself, and their melody becomes more and more sad until it subsides altogether. The remaining musicians also leave the stage in the dark. Prince Esterhazy understood the hint of his Kapellmeister and ordered everyone to get ready to move to Eisenstadt.
Interesting Facts
- The unusualness of Haydn's Symphony No. 45 is also due to the choice of tonal plan. F-sharp minor was very rarely used in those days by composers and musicians. Also infrequently one could meet the eponymous major, in which the finale of the symphony sounds.
- An additional adagio that sounds at the end of the work is sometimes called the fifth part of the cycle. However, real five-part cycles are found in his work - this is the symphony "Noon". Haydn also composed three-part works, but this was only at the beginning of his career.
- Some of Haydn's symphonies are programmatic. So, he has symphonic cycles with the name "Bear", "Chicken". In the symphony "Surprise", a blow is suddenly heard in the middle part, after which the music continues again quite calmly and unhurriedly. It is believed that Haydn decided to “stir up” the too stiff English public with such a trick.
- Serving in the chapel of Prince Esterhazy, Haydn I was forced to dress strictly according to the established model. So, a special uniform was stipulated in the contract.
- According to the memoirs of many contemporaries, in 1799, after the premiere of the Farewell Symphony in Leipzig, after the finale, the audience left the hall hushed and touched, which was very unusual at that time. The work made such a strong impression on them.
- Few people know, but there are other versions why Haydn's Symphony No. 45 is called "Farewell". There is a legend that Prince Esterhazy planned to dissolve the entire chapel, which would leave the musicians without funds. Another version indicates that this work symbolizes farewell to life. This assumption was put forward by researchers in the XIX century. It is noteworthy that there is no title at all in the manuscript itself.
- The Farewell Symphony is currently being performed as Haydn intended it to be. In the final, the musicians one of the one leave their seats. Sometimes the conductor himself leaves the stage.
- In fact, only a small part of Haydn's symphonies has its own program: "Morning", "Noon", "Evening". It was these works that the composer himself gave the name to. The rest of the names belong to the listeners and express the general character of the symphony or the features of the orchestration. It is noteworthy that Haydn himself preferred not to comment on the figurative content of the works.
- It is noteworthy that in the period of the 60-70s, Haydn appeared a number of minor symphonies: No. 39, 44, 45, 49.
The symphony begins immediately with the introduction of the main part, without any introduction and is pathetic in nature. In general, all First part kept in the same spirit. Dancing and even quite graceful features of the main part set the general mood of the movement. Dynamic reprise only reinforces this image.
Exquisite and light The second part performed mainly by a string group (quartet). The themes are very subdued, the violins perform parts with mutes on pianissimo. In the reprise, Haydn uses the famous "golden move horn ”, which decorates the main party.
The third part- this is minuet , but Haydn made it very unusual by comparing two effects: the melody performed by the violins on the piano and the sound of the entire orchestra on the forte. This movement also features the "golden horn move" that the composer used in the trio. At the end of the minuet, a minor appears suddenly. This is no coincidence, because with this technique Haydn anticipates the general mood of the finale.
Fourth part at first echoes the first, its graceful theme. A gloomy atmosphere arises only in the reprise, which suddenly breaks off, moreover, on the very rise. After a short pause, an adagio with variations sounds. The theme itself is presented rather serenely, the feeling of anxiety begins to grow as soon as the sonority fades away. The instruments fall silent one by one, having played their part. The first to leave the orchestra are the musicians who play the wind instruments, after which the basses leave the stage and Joseph Haydn "Farewell Symphony"