Papa haydn was encouraged to write the seasons by the great success of his previous oratorio the creation, which was performed all over europe. But in the case of the seasons matters were a little different. Essentially a series of lovingly painted frescoes, this least solemn of oratorios fuses. Its all there in his final masterpiece the seasons. The seasons the beecham collection, an album by franz joseph haydn, sir thomas beecham on spotify we and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. But the seasons is a masterpiece in its own right and i am delighted we are performing it again. It describes nature and peoples relationship to nature during the year. The seasons depicts many aspects of rural life through the four seasons of the year. Haydn was a natural, hardworking person, who strived to meet the many deadlines for commissions ordered by his patrons.
An oratorio is a long musical work with orchestra, choir and solo singers. The picture of thy life behold haydns oratorio the seasons. When the roof drips its eyes i wont take it as a sign that i may run into you and well be just fine. Haydn the seasonsdie jahrezeiten autumnder herbst 14.
But thanks to rene jacobs and his extraordinary singers and players, we have a seasons that for the first time fully realizes the dramatic extent of the work and, most impressively, the expressive range of the huge orchestral force that haydn created and for which he so masterfully scored. I have to confess that haydns the seasons has never been one of my favourite oratorios. Yannick nezetseguin conductorjoe miller directorregula muhlemann sopranowerner gura tenormatthew rose bassphiladelphia symphonic choir mixed chorus programhaydn the seasons this is one of his greatest masterpieces, says yannick about haydns the seasons. The seasons was the last big work that haydn composed. The magnificent haydn oratorio depicts the four seasons through musical imagery including a hunt, a crashing thunderstorm, and a striking sunrise. The seasons 17991801 joseph haydn 17321809 the seasons is scored for pairs of woodwinds plus piccolo and contrabassoon, three horns, three trumpets, three trombones, timpani, percussion,piano and strings. Christ on the mount of olives, does not succeed, nor do most of those occasioned by the. Mark berrys booklet note talks of haydn suffering, for posterity, for not being mozart, and in in my case with an oratorio like the seasons you could add that he suffers for not being handel. Mozart had died ten years earlier, and beethoven was a young man who was just starting to become famous. The seasons nikolaus harnoncourt salzburg 20, hd 1080p faces of classical music 6. The seasons rene jacobs on allmusic 2004 embodying the highest ideals of the. Ludwig van beethovens single oratorio, christus am olberg 1803. Joseph haydn the seasons oratorio for three voices, choir and orchestra 0. He was at the very height of his creative powers, and his inspiration had received a new jolt, as beethovens and schuberts were later to do, through his exposure to handel.
Haydn objected to the text, both directly and abstractly. Mar 02, 2019 joseph haydn was born in an era when nature touched every part of life, and he died in an age of revolution. Haydn followed these instructions quite carefully, showing both his innate modesty and his ability to use any good idea, even if it came from someone whose level of composition was a great deal below his own. Haydn was nearly 80 years old and his health was not good. The inspiration appears to have come from van swieten, whose text was another with an english language source, but on this occasion one about which there was no mystery. Please consider purchasing a learning cd cyberbass learning cds. Haydn s oratorio or whatever the seasons received its first performance in 1801, the 70th year of the composers life. Oct 16, 2004 haydn the seasons marlis petersen soprano, werner gura tenor, dietrich henschel baritone, rias chamber choir, freiburger baroque orchestrajacobs harmonia mundi hmc 901829.
A man for all seasons sometime before the first public performances of the creation, haydn had embarked on a new oratorio intended to form a kind of sequel. He helped establish the forms and styles for the string quartet and the symphony. From the stadthalle oberhausen, germany, january 1992 annegeer stumphius soprano alexander stevenson tenor wolfgang schone bass gachinger kantorei bachcollegium stuttgart helmulth rilling. Small errors in some instrumental parts have been tacitly corrected, as have inconsistent lengths of final notes in choral parts. Live performance at palais des beauxarts, brussels on 3 june 2012 chorus. This is a powerful performance of haydn s seasons oratorio, beautifully sung and beautifully recorded. Haydn cued percussion at the end of the drinking chorus, without leaving any music.
Undeservedly underrated in comparison to its predecessor the creation, haydns final oratorio 1801 is nevertheless a masterpiece. When i first joined plymouth philharmonic choir, the first concert i was to conduct had already been decided by my predecessor so the haydn was not my own choice. It shows his powers of invention at their height in a work celebrating the rural way of life over the course of the natural year and its parallels with human existence. By this time he was the most famous composer in europe. The audience at the annual handel commemoration concerts in westminster abbey in june 1791 included a particularly distinguished visitor in the person of joseph haydn.
The seasons is not an especially complex work to edit, although it is clear that the original printed score was only cursorily proofed. It usually tells a story from the old testament of the bible. We love a piece that ducks and dives and bobs and weaves all over the place get some insider knowhow on haydns the seasons before 2. Haydns oratorio or whatever the seasons received its first performance in 1801, the 70th year of the composers life. Gundula janowitz hanne, peter schreier lukas martti talvela simon, wiener singverein, wiener symphoniker, kurt rapf cembalo, karl. Helmuth rilling conducts haydn the seasons youtube. The seasons the beecham collection by franz joseph. Joseph haydn was born in an era when nature touched every part of life, and he died in an age of revolution. Live performance at palais des beauxarts, brussels on 3 june 2012 orchestra. The seasons haydn simple english wikipedia, the free. The seasons an oratorio, though its content is secular and its form a loosely articulated series of evocative pieces. In his old age haydn achieved fame and fortune in london following visits here in the 1790s. Ilya poletaev piano, nicholas di eugenio violin, ashley bathgate violoncello during haydns second stay in london in 17945, he composed a number of keyboard trios.
This is a powerful performance of haydns seasons oratorio, beautifully sung and beautifully recorded. After the phenomenal success of the creation, premiered in vienna in the spring of 1798, the librettist, baron gottfried van swieten, lost no time in proposing another oratorio text to haydn, again with a british source. London philharmonic choir haydn the seasons youtube. Jan 17, 2018 from the stadthalle oberhausen, germany, january 1992 annegeer stumphius soprano alexander stevenson tenor wolfgang schone bass gachinger kantorei bachcollegium stuttgart helmulth rilling.
The fact that haydn begins with the spring and ends with the winter makes it clear that this music is as much about the seasons of our lives as the seasons of the year. First, however, they were joined by simon rattle for the seasons, haydns. Haydn was led to write the seasons by the great success of his previous oratorio the creation 1798, which had become very popular and was in the course of being performed all over europe. Qatar philharmonic orchestra may 14, 2014 howard arman, conductor felicitas fuchs, soprano andrew staples, tenor reinhard hagen, bass. The creation 1798 soprano chorus rehearsal aid alto chorus rehearsal aid tenor chorus rehearsal aid bass chorus rehearsal aid nelson mass 1798no. It touches on friendship and love, success and hardship, and. Haydns the seasons 1st soprano chorus rehearsal aid.
Haydn was led to write the seasons by the great success of his previous oratorio the creation. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Joseph haydn, in full franz joseph haydn, born march 31, 1732, rohrau, austriadied may 31, 1809, vienna, austrian composer who was one of the most important figures in the development of the classical style in music during the 18th century. He is reported to have said of the seasons that it broke my back. The seasons thomas beecham on allmusic 2004 when thomas beecham died and went to heaven, he. First heard in the palais schwarzenberg in vienna on 24 april 1801 with the same unanimous approval as the creation haydns words, the seasons is a joyous evocation of the world in which the composer, a masterwheelwrights son, had grown up. The grant park orchestra and chorus first performed the work on august 16, 1980, ottowerner mueller.