Haydn: Symphony 85 - 87

 

As soon as we began Haydn's Paris Symphonies, it seems just as soon we bid adieu.

Symphony no. 85 in B-flat Major is nicknamed 'The Queen' due to France's monarch's favor towards this work. Indeed, the stately introduction of the first movement and the proliferation of dotted rhythms seems to be a musical honorarium from Haydn towards the country and its residents.

As with the previous trio of symphonies meant for Paris, I sense Haydn really fills out his symphony with full expositional treatment. The composer contrasts a long held-out lyrical melody with racing string figures, eventually giving way to a minor interlude. The development and recapitulation really give the movement some substance, easily one of the longer first movements from the composer so far.

A set of variations takes up the second movement. Here, the variations seem to be rather decorous in nature, more concerned with gilding the genial melody rather than putting the orchestra or the theme through their paces. It is the flute which receives the most counter-motion to the main musical ideas.

The Allegretto tempo of the second movement is carried over into the third-movement Minuet and Trio, where Ádám Fischer stays true to the tempo relationship, imbuing a heavier tread into the latter. The stately Minuet leads to bassoon and violin taking the melody together in the Trio, eventually handing the focus over to the rest of the winds for solo moments.

A speedy Presto finishes off Hob.1:85, made up of a jaunty Rondo idea with a developmental section. Oddly, the final movement is the shortest of the symphony's movements, with a relatively sizeable third movement preceding it.

An Adagio introduction open the first movement of Symphony no. 86 in D Major. Daringly, Haydn uses the D-Major setup to start the following Allegro off on a stranger chord progression. He brings this musical idea back as thematic material throughout the first movement, and it is great every time it returns. Another well-fleshed out sonata-allegro form makes the first movement take a importance over the symphonies other movements, if nothing else than through sheer length, front ended across the work.

I have only seen Largo used in a second movement once before in a Haydn symphony, and its tempo partner Capriccio only appeared once before in a final movement as well. The tempo choice is rather broad from the composer, and I am not sure I hear the capriciousness either. Instead, there is weight here, supporting what is a quite lovely melody, one primarily given over to first violin or flute.

Well, if I thought the Minuet and Trio from the previous symphony was elongated, the third-movement in Hob. 1:86 takes the cake. It is the second part of the Minuet which just seems to go on and on and on. Ádám Fischer does give this movement a rather nice lilt though, and I love the harmonic movement amidst the chained series of sequences very much. Once again, bassoon and violin take over the first part of the Trio, only to hand it off to the rest of the winds in its second half. I detect just the slightest hint of folksiness from Fischer in this Trio too.

The timpani add to the powerful dash to the end in a lively Rondo-form fourth movement. As opposed to the last symphony, this finale is made of greater stuff, at least in relation to the scope of the previous movements in the symphony. Such a substantial statement makes Haydn's convivial ending more than just a mere toss off.

Just as the numerically first Paris Symphony, Hob. 1:82, was actually the last composed, so the last numbered Symphony no. 87 in A Major was the first to be written.

I love the key of A Major; it has such a bright sounding tonal center, conveyed well across this work. I enjoy how Haydn layers the winds and strings here to not only color the music, but interact in interesting ways. They often imitate, take over musical ideas, and overlap each others' sections in creative manners. This may be my favorite first movement amongst the Paris works, something I hope I didn't say in the my previous volume entry.

The winds are given another meaty role in the second-movement Adagio, bearing many of the positive facets I already previously mentioned in the opening Vivace. As ever, pastoral effects are not lost on me, and this is another stunner.

The shortest Minuet and Trio amidst this trio of symphonies is still fairly substantial. This time, solo oboe takes the spotlight all to itself in the Trio, while the Minuet mixes and matches string and wind treatments, as if continuing the standout applications from what came before.

The harmonic motion in the last movement is moderately paced, something I noticed in the opening as well. This allows the melody instruments to bebop all over the place with various arpeggiated figures, while forging ahead. This conclusion is a little more prim and proper, ending on a rather gentle note comparatively.

Works
Symphony 85 in B-flat Major 'Queen', Hob. 1:85 (23.52)
Symphony 86 in D Major, Hob. 1:86 (26.45)
Symphony 87 in A Major, Hob. 1:87 (22.35)

Performers
Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra
Ádám Fischer, conductor

Label: Brilliant Classics
Year: 1991-94; 2002
Total Timing: 73.42