HAYDN AND MOZART

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LI, Issue 43, 15 October 1924, Page 21

HAYDN AND MOZART

By SOPHIE HALL for the" N.Z. Tablet"

All Rights Reserved

"Come lets away to prison; We two alone will sing like birds i the cage; When thou dost ask me blessing, I'll kneel down And ask of thee forgiveness; so we'll live And pray, and sing, and tell old tales; and laugh At gilded butterflies." —King Lear, v., iii. Genius has been described inadequately as an infinite capacity for taking pains. The world, however, continues to believe that it consists in the existence of certain special powers not vouchsafed to the typical man. Industry can never supply the place of inspiration, and the musical genius of a Beethoven is not to be explained by reference to his thematic note books. But no genius marches triumphant without knowledge, Michaelangelo and Raphael had to learn how to paint. Beethoven had to study counterpoint. So, too, the interpretative musician may have genius, as Liszt undoubtedly had; but like him, his successors must have keen penetrative analysis, based on knowledge. The wider and deeper this knowledge the more serviceable it will be. Liszt had a masterful acquaintance with the history of his art, and when he embarked on his exploration of the resources of the piano, he knew whence he was starting and, like a second Columbus, he might guess where he was likely to arrive. So we venture to assert that the interpreting musician who may have a complete technic, and impeccable taste, genuine temperament, and a lively imagination, together with a sound theoretical groundwork, is still insufficient if he lacks that broader and inspiring view which is to be obtained from the illuminating historical retrospect. A knowledge of the history of music is invaluable to every lover of music, and every scholar of \ music,, first by its broadening of the imagination, and . secondly, by its vital force in the development of style. ' ''^ : ; Every lover .of the music of the ' period of polished taste, that of which Haydn . proclaimed Mozart to be the foremost Master, will know that the piano style of Mozart was- not exclusively the outcome of the; man's individuality but partly andjlargely of the possibilities of his instrument, and also of tfee stock of harmonic materials acquired by the . musical world in the iattef' half- of the 18th century. '•'■'. And the student of musical history possesses a treasury of information which enables him to discern the aim, the direction, and the achievement of Haydn's and Mozart's art,—for with Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven— last of the great Classicists,—the classical forms known as the Sonata and the Symphony reached their highest mark. Classical music is music written by men of the highest rank in their art, — corresponding with the "classici" of ancient Rome. It is music written according to widely accepted laws, disclosing the highest degree of perfection on its technical and formal side, but preferring aesthetic beauty to emotional content, and refusing to sacrifice form to poetic, dramatic, or characteristic expression. The Sonata became the dominant form in all kinds of instrumental music in the middle of the 18th century, and has remained the dominant form ever since. Like everything else in this world it was a growth. .When the term "sonata" was first used it served only to distinguish pieces that were sounded (Italian "Suonare" to sound) or played on an instrument, as distinct from "cantata"— to be sung. Later on, however, the use of the term became restricted, being applied only to works which, like the modern sonata, consisted of several movements. A modern sonata consists of two, three, or four movements, each movement must be of a character consistent with the first one, and this, and the last movement are always in the same key, though not invariably in the same style. The first movement is generally in rapid tempo;

the second movement is generally in slow tempo, and is usually one of the rondo forms. The final movement is in rapid tempo either in rondo form or sonata fdrm. A Symphony is a work for orchestra constructed on similar lines to those of the sonata. The first sonata was written by Johanh Kuhhau who died in 1722. The sons of the great Johan Sebastian Bach helped to develop the form of the sonata; but the classical form did hot reach its height Until it had been treated by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. The sonata form contains within itself the vital principles of all musical form, and therefore the essential methods of attaining musical beauty in any type of composition. The history of the symphony is the history of all art. It moves in cycles; it marks a parabola. It began as a naive expression of feeling'; it learned little by little how to master its own working material. As soon as new instruments for producing it were perfected it immediately expanded its style to correspond to the new possibilities. In Haydn we see it _ as naive, folklike, tuneful music not highly imaginative, somewhat smacking of the soil. The substance of all Haydn's best work is the folk music of the Croatians; a branch of the, Slavic race; its gaiety, elasticity, and ingenuousness are Slavic rather than Haydnish. It is true he idealises the music of his people as a gifted individual will always idealise any popular art he touches; but he remains true to his source, and accurately representative of it, just as the finest tree contains only those elements which it can draw from the soil in which it grows.. Mozart, ; more personal than Haydn, shares with him his aloofness, the reticence of classicism. The symphony in Mozart's hands reaches a. stage of classic perfection which may be compared to Raphael's paintings. Hardly a touch of the picturesque, the romantic, or the realistic mars its serene beauty; it smiles on all alike; it is not for you or, for —but for everyone. And how delightful are Mozart's digressions; he often enlivens you with a story,by the way, but he always manages to preserve the. continuity of his material. ' Haydn' could : ;also-Write : melodies with elegance of outline, and .vocal fluency. .Melody, that mainstay of musical expression, dances on ; through every measure suggesting sometimes the rough homespun of .the peasant and sometimes the glittering adornments of the courtier. Haydn had the people's. blood in his veins; and their homesongs and dances, crop out inevitably through his artistic settings. Joseph Haydn was born in Rohrau, Austria, on April 1, 1732. His father was a poor wheelright, whose ancestry was Slavic rather than German, —the name was originally Hajden, a name which is common in Croatia,his mother had been a nobleman's cook but both were musical, in fact the father could play the harp without knowing a note of music. In his early childhood the talent of the boy was discovered from his delight and ability to play upon the drumsinstruments to which he was accustomed from his infancy. At the age of six he went to study with a relative; at eight he joined the famous choir at St. Stephens's Cathedral in Vienna, where he stayed for over nine years, studying and singing. Here he obtained free support and free instruction in singing, receiving lessons from the cathedral choir master, Reuter. It is said that Haydn practised at least sixteen hours a day during this period of his studies. At the age of sixteen his habit of playing practical jokes caused him to be expelled from the choir: he had bought a new pair of scissors and in order to find how sharp they were, he tried them on the pigtail of a fellow chorister; the pigtail was cut clean off the wig, and the joker was condemned •to be caned,— then told to go. Being penniless and unable to find employment for some time,