Kantaten mit Orchester fur das Furstenhaus Esterhazy, and: Arien und Szenen mit Orchester, 1. Folge, and: Volksliedbearbeitungen Nr. 101-150: Schottische Lieder fur William Napier (review)

Abstract

Joseph Haydn's contributions to music are mainly acknowledged in the instrumental genres, specifically his role as the "father" of the symphony and string quartet and his elevation of these genres to central positions in Western art music. Arguably, this appellation could expand to cover Haydn's keyboard sonatas and piano trios as well. Such hyperbole is not so easily applied to the composer's vocal works, however, which have, with the exception of the Masses and the two late oratorios, taken a secondary or tertiary place within Haydn's oeuvre and within the history of their genres. The repertory in the three recently published volumes of the Joseph Haydn Werke here under review can be counted among the least familiar of Haydn's vocal output: the Italian cantatas with orchestra composed in the 1760s for particular occasions within the Esterházy princely house; a series of insertion and substitute arias for Haydn's adaptations and enhancements of operas for performance by the Eszterháza opera troupe; and a group of Scottish folk song arrangements published by William Napier in 1795. These volumes also embrace a wide spectrum of contexts and requirements, ranging from virtuoso professionals in the princely chamber and theater to rank amateurs of minimal technical accomplishments performing in drawing rooms.