JOSEPH HAYDN 31st MAY, 1809

(Franz) Joseph Haydn (b. 1732), affectionately known as Papa Haydn, the father of the symphony and the string quartet, died in Vienna 200 years ago, on 31 st May, 1809. Towards the end of his long and productive life Haydn wrote a series of six masses and two oratorios: Die Schöpfung ("The Creation") and Die Jahreszeiten ("The Seasons").

Haydn was criticized by the catholic authorities because his church music was too joyful. But the composer himself declared that the words of the Agnus Dei ("O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world") and the mere thought of God filled him with joy. Like Bach, he dedicated his work to the glory of God. It was his normal practice to began a composition with the words "in nomine Domini" ("in the name of the Lord") and conclude with "Laus Deo" ("praise be to God").

The Seasons (1801) is a musical description of the four seasons as experienced from the point of view of peasant life. It has also been described as an allegory of the Christian life.

However, "The Seasons" has been overshadowed by his earlier oratorio "The Creation" (1798). During his visits to England, Haydn heard some of Handel's oratorios, including Israel in Egypt with its descriptive orchestral effects. Haydn was offered a libretto that had once been offered to Handel but declined by him because of its verbosity (remember that English was not Handel's mother tongue, which sometimes led him to make errors in setting English words to music). The libretto was the story of the creation of the world and of Adam and Eve, based on the Book of Genesis, the Psalms and Milton's "Paradise Lost".

The libretto was translated into German by Baron van Swieten and set to music by Haydn. Then van Swieten retranslated the text back into English to correspond to the rhythms of Haydn's music. The intention was to be able to produce a bilingual oratorio that used exactly the same music. This differed from the later case of Mendelssohn's "Elijah", where the composer made slight alterations to the music to fit the rhythms of the English translation for performance in England. So in neither case do the English Bible quotations correspond to the Authorised Version, but are translated from German. However, van Swieten's English was not as good as his German, and the English text is rather unsatisfactory.

"The Creation" begins with an orchestral introduction depicting pre-creation chaos. It is a masterpiece composed by a master of the orchestra. Haydn's first attempt was in his opinion too transparent in texture, so he rewrote it to make it sound more dense and murky. This effect can best be appreciated when heard on authentic period instruments in a cathedral or other large church with resonant acoustics.

Haydn declared, "Nie war ich so fromm als bei der Komposition der "Schöpfung". Täglich fiel ich auf die Knie und bat Gott, daß er mich stärke für mein Werk." ("I was never so devout as when I was at work on The Creation; I fell on my knees each day and begged God to give me the strength to finish the work.")

As a composer Haydn has been described as suffering from the shadow of Mozart. However, Haydn's religious and church music expresses true faith in God, whereas in his Vienna years, after leaving the service of the Archbishop of Salzburg, Mozart did not complete either of his major church works (the C minor mass and Requiem).

Mozart did, however, produce a German version of Handel's Messiah ("Der Messias"), but re-orchestrated and re-arranged it. So in his native land, Handel's greatest work is not so well known as the composer himself intended it.

In this Handel-Haydn-Mendelssohn jubilee year we are conscious of the chain that these German-speaking composers formed in the development of English oratorio. And we are grateful for their faith in God.