3 CD - 82876 60602 2 - (p) 2005

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) The Paris Symphonies (Nos. 82.-87) Sinfonie Nr. 82 C-dur, Hob. I:82 "L'Ours" (1786) 32' 54" - Vivace assai 12' 06" CD1-1 - Allegretto 7' 45" CD1-2 - Menuet / Trio 4' 52" CD1-3 - Finale Vivace 8' 11" CD1-4 Sinfonie Nr. 83 g-moll, Hob. I:83 "La Poule" (1785) 31' 08" - Allegro spiritoso 10' 44" CD1-5 - Andante 11' 00" CD1-6 - Menuetto Allegretto / Trio 3' 53" CD1-7 - Finale Vivace 5' 41" CD1-8 Sinfonie Nr. 84 Es-dur, Hob. I:84 (1786) 32' 30" - Largo / Allegro 12' 45" CD2-1 - Andante 6' 32" CD2-2 - Menuet Allegretto / Trio 3' 50" CD2-3 - Finale Vivace 9' 23" CD2-4 Sinfonie Nr. 85 B-dur, Hob. I:85 (1785) 27' 15" - Adagio / Vivace 12' 47" CD2-5 - Romance Allegretto 6' 46" CD2-6 - Menuet Allegretto / Trio 4' 31" CD2-7 - Finale Presto 3' 11" CD2-8 Sinfonie Nr. 86 D-dur, Hob. I:86 (1786) 31' 15" - Adagio / Allegro spiritoso 12' 35" CD3-1 - Capriccio largo 6' 47" CD3-2 - Menuet Allegretto / Trio 5' 40" CD3-3 - Finale Allegro con spirito 6' 35" CD3-4 Sinfonie Nr. 87 A-dur, Hob. I:87 (1785) 29' 59" - Vivace 11' 16" CD3-5 - Adagio 7' 18" CD3-6 - Menuet / Trio 4' 55" CD3-7 - Finale Vivace 6' 30" CD3-8   Concentus Musicus Wien Nikolaus Harnoncourt   Luogo e data di registrazione Mozartsaal, Konzerthaus, Vienna (Austria) - 10-15 dicembre 2001 & 4-5 giugno 2002 Registrazione live / studio studio Producer / Engineer Martin Sauer / Michael Brammann / Teldex Studio Berlin Prima Edizione CD Deutsche Harmonia Mundi - 82876 60602 2 - (3 cd) - 64' 18" + 59' 50" + 61' 40" - (p) 2005 - DDD Prima Edizione LP - Notes Haydn’s "Paris" symphonies were commissioned in 1784 by the directors of the “Concert de la Loge Olympique”, and they were probably first performed as soon as the scores arrived in the French capital in 1787. We do not know in what order they were planned. The first edition was published (against Haydn's will because of the legal situation) by Artaria in Vienna in the following order: 87, 85, 83, 84, 86, 82. Not long after this, Longman & Broderip published them in England. Forster printed them ca.1788 from copies that Haydn sent to him (i.e. authentic material!). Imbault of Paris (according to the autograph manuscript in the collection of the Loge Olympique) brought them out as follows: 83, 87, 85, 82, 86, 84. Thus are three 3 authentic sequences: 1. Numerical 2. Artaria 3. Irnbault Every symphony introduces new elements and many innovations, and Haydn disappoints all of the listener's expectations with the immense diversity of ideas and forms. Symphony no. 82 “L’Ours" (The Bear), 1786 Title added later in ? C major. Probably used by Mozart as a model for his “Jupiter” symphony, which is likewise a masterpiece of counterpoint. Mov. I. - Proud, martial - the lyrical element, bars 5-8, and the second subject, bar 70, are episodes. A kind of Orlando furioso who is made even wilder by every attempt to placate him, until he finally collapses in exhaustion. Hero or clown? The movement is dominated by this dualism. Mov. II. - A song as a rondo. The theme here seems to follow a poem line-by-line: it could even be a ballad. There are countless poems with this verse scheme. F minor - heavy melancholy, a sad story with two basic elements: request and rejection. 2 comic elements: in a reprise, the oboes burst out in cheeky laughter, mocking the sensitive little soul, while towards the end we hear a rustic pedal point (peasants' dance) - no such problems here! Mov. III. - The minuet is the most ‘nor|'nal’ of the movements (1 man,1 woman), only the trio is a dialogue in Ländler style such as is still found today in the Salzkammergut region of Austria. Mov. IV. - The origin of the symphony’s name is to be found here: the low drone of a bagpipe or a dancing bear (from bar 12) is heard in the woodwind for a few bars. This is a boisterous, rustic piece, with carousing, laughter and tears, and time and again the pedal points that drone in the background for nearly half of the movement (129 bars). This is radical music with no lyrical contrast. Symphony no. 83 “La Poule" (The Hen), 1785 Title added later in ? G minor (displeasure, resentment, reluctance - the key of death) Old saying: "Hens are like people, and their conflicts caricature our own". A work about conflict - and dispute. Mov. I. - Both the themes of the first movement end with an angry climax - and one of these actually leads to a collapse (bar 116). At bar 146, the terror rnotif is converted into a motif of happiness (G major!). Mov. II. - Big andante concept, a grand and sad story is interrupted by angry nightmares and frightened reactions. Is this perhaps supposed to depict a drearn, a brooding reflection of the first rnovement? E flat: the inevitable pleas andthe search for a way out; a heavy, dark end. Mov. III. - Minuet. The conflict is turned into comedy: there's no way you can dance a minuet like this! The dancer cannot help but trip up. G major, a cheerful, stumbling dance. Mov. IV. - The finale is a hunt: all energetic and jolly - but the shots are real, the prey takes flight, and at bars 85-87 some listeners will make out the sound of a wounded beast. Symphony no. 84, 1786 E flat major - serious and solemn, the key used for religious and state ceremonies. Mov. I. - Dialogue: it would be nice <-> no chance: stubborn, full of grim resolution-dogrnatic; then in F major (bar 148) happy at last. Mov. II. - A complex double variation form: a theme in the major (up to bar 16) is answered by a theme in the minor (from bar 17). This situation is open to a wealth of variation. Mov. III. - A fast and cheeky dance - not really a minuet any rnore -, which is almost swept away by the lively trio. Mov. IV. - The finale surprises with a lyrical beginning and an operetta-like reaction to it. All this is developed with a certain thoughtlessness-yes-no-ever rnore defiant. A lengthy and soft detour before the reprise. All very witty and bizarre. Symphony no. 85, B flat major “La Reine”,1785 The title refers to Marie Antoinette, who liked this symphony so much that she repeatedly played the romance from it on the harpsichord while she was in captivity. The symphony no. 85 is really a suite: I. Overture - II. Gavotte - III. Menuet - IV. Contredanse Mov. I. - The first movement opens in the style of a traditional French overture, and even the Vivace section is danceable. But at bar 62 the key switches to F minor and the music becomes temporarily dark and dramatic. Mov. II. - Romance, an enchanting poem in the form of a gavotte with 4 variations. Mov. III. - The minuet and the trio really have the character of a waltz, perhaps Haydn wanted to send the Queen a greeting from her native Vienna. Mov. IV. - The finale is a contredanse in rondo forrn. Symphony no. 86, D major,1786 Mov. I. - A dramatic introduction with an extrerne emphasis on harrnony... And the Allegro, too, lives from harmony: it opens with modulations, A major then E minor, only changing to D major at bar 5. In the development, Haydn surprises his audience at every step: this symphony shows entirely new skills on the composers part, particularly where harmony is concerned - the listener finds himself in a labyrinth. Mov. II. - Capriccio - a totally unpredictable piece where the composer follows his comical ideas without paying attention to form - this is how a capriccio was! The results are bizarre in places and not without pathos. Mov. III. - In the minuet, Haydn again fools the dancers by changing time, but also by magical scales that distract us from the dance. The trio that follows, however, is a genuine Ländler. Mov. IV. - The finale is light and witty in the extreme, even comical in places. Only occasionally do defiance and terror rear their heads. Symphony no. 87, A major, 1785 A rare key, an extreme story, a totally unusual form! Mov. I. - Drama and paralysis, bar 27: espressivo, bar 37: violence (E major) - bar 47: what can I do to stop this violence? The development becomes increasingly dramatic and intense, and the music subsides into confusion before the reprise (bars 107-130). Mov. II. - A grand emotional tale rich in harmony, with a concertante in the wind section before the coda (bars 86-97). Mov. III. - Nothing short of amazing, the variety of music that Haydn sells as “minuets“! Here, it is a droll, expressive dance with a trio literally "Hoffmannesque" in character. Mov. IV. - The finale is a rondo with many insistent small repetitions, but also with unusual plays with sound and modulations. Nikolaus Harnoncourt Translation: Clive Williams Nikolaus Harnoncourt (1929-2016)