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diff --git a/old/67827-0.txt b/old/67827-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b4312d4..0000000 --- a/old/67827-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3885 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Life of Haydn, by Louis Nohl - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Life of Haydn - Biographies of Musicians - -Author: Louis Nohl - -Translator: George P. Upton - -Release Date: April 13, 2022 [eBook #67827] - -Language: English - -Produced by: D A Alexander, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by Cornell - University Digital Collections) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF HAYDN *** - - -[Illustration: JOSEPH HAYDN.] - - - - - _BIOGRAPHIES OF MUSICIANS._ - - LIFE OF HAYDN - - BY - LOUIS NOHL. - - TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN - - BY - GEORGE P. UPTON. - - “_Heart and Soul must be free._” - - CHICAGO: - JANSEN, McCLURG, & COMPANY. - 1883. - - - - - COPYRIGHT, - BY JANSEN, MCCLURG, & CO. - A. D. 1882. - - - STEREOTYPED, AND PRINTED - BY - THE CHICAGO LEGAL NEWS COMPANY. - - - - -INTRODUCTION. - - -The abridged Life of Haydn, by Dr. Nohl, prepared originally as a -contribution to a series of biographies, which is issued in popular -form in Germany, is so simple in its narrative, that it would hardly -need an introduction, were its subject-matter confined to the record -of Haydn’s life, with its many musical triumphs, or to the portraiture -of this genial, child-like and lovable master. The trials and troubles -of his youth, their intensification in his married life, his marvelous -musical progress, his seclusion at Eisenstadt, his visits to London -and his introduction to its gay world in his old age, followed by -such wonderful musical triumphs, make a story of extraordinary -personal interest, which the author has heightened with numerous -anecdotes, illustrating his rare sweetness and geniality. There are -many discursions, however, in the work, in which Dr. Nohl analyzes the -component parts of Haydn’s musical creations, and traces the effect of -his predecessors as well as of his cotemporaries upon his development -as an artist. To understand these, it must be remembered that the -author deals with music from a philosophical standpoint, choosing -Schopenhauer for his authority, the philosopher whom Wagner admires -so much, and who makes the Will the basis of all phenomena. Applied -in a musical sense therefore, music is not a matter of sweet sounds, -whether melody or harmony, nor is its principal office the creation -of pleasure by these sounds, but it is the chief agent of the Will -in giving expression to its impulses. What this theory is, has been -stated by Richard Wagner himself in his “Essay on Beethoven,” in the -following words: “The mere element of music, as an idea of the world, -is not beheld by us, but felt instead, in the depths of consciousness, -and we understand that idea to be an immediate revelation of the -unity of the Will, which, proceeding from the unity of human nature, -incontrovertibly exhibits itself to our consciousness, as unity with -universal nature also, which indeed we likewise perceive through -sound.” The definition will afford a clue to some of the author’s -statements, and may help to make clearer some of his musical analyses. -The rest of the work may safely be left to the reader. It is the record -of the life not only of a great musician, but of a lovable man, who is -known to this day among his own people, though almost a century has -elapsed since his death, by the endearing appellation of “Papa.” - - G. P. U. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I. - - HIS YOUTH AND EARLY STUDIES. - - Haydn’s Birth and Family--His Early Talent--First Studies with - Frankh--Chapel-boy at St. Stephens’--Ruetter’s - Instructions--Early Compositions--His Mischievous Tricks and - Dismissal--Anecdote of Maria Theresa--Acquaintance with - Metastasio--Influence of Philip Emanuel Bach--The Origin of - his First Opera, “The Devil on Two Sticks.” 7-39 - - - CHAPTER II. - - AT PRINCE ESTERHAZY’S. - - Haydn’s Studies with Porpora--His Italian Operas--Engagement - with Count Von Morzin--His First String Quartet--An - Unfortunate Marriage--Domestic Troubles without - End--Appointment as Capellmeister at Esterhaz--His Orchestra - and Chorus--Rapid Musical Progress--His Most Important - Earlier Compositions--Development of the Quartet--Personal - Characteristics and Anecdotes--The Surprise - Symphony--Influence of his Life at Esterhaz upon his Music. 40-89 - - CHAPTER III. - - THE FIRST LONDON JOURNEY. - - A Winter Adventure--The Relations of Mozart and Haydn--Mozart’s - Dedication--The Emperor Joseph’s Opinions--Letters to Frau - Von Genzinger--A Catalogue of Complaints--His Engagement - with Salomon--The London Journey--Scenes on the Way--A - Brilliant Reception--Rivalry of the Professional - Concerts--The Händel Festival--Honors at Oxford--Pleyel’s - Arrival--Royal Honors--His Benefit Concert--Return to - Vienna. 90-135 - - - CHAPTER IV. - - THE EMPEROR’S HYMN--THE CREATION AND THE SEASONS. - - Criticisms at Home--His Relations to Beethoven--Jealousy of - the Great Mogul--His Second London Journey--The Military - Symphony--His Longings for Home--Great Popularity In - England--Reception by the Royal Family--His Gifts--Return - to Vienna--Origin of the Emperor’s Hymn--The Creation and - the Seasons--Personal Characteristic--His Death--Haydn’s - Place in Music. 136-195 - - - - -THE LIFE OF HAYDN. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -1732-1753. - -HIS YOUTH AND EARLY STUDIES. - - Haydn’s Birth and Family--His Early Talent--First Studies with - Frankh--Chapel-boy at St. Stephen’s--Reutter’s Instructions--Early - Compositions--His Mischievous Tricks and Dismissal--Anecdote of - Maria Theresa--Acquaintance with Metastasio--Influence of Philip - Emanuel Bach--The Origin of his First Opera, “The Devil on Two - Sticks.” - - -“See, my dear Hummel, the house in which Haydn was born; to think that -so great a man should have first seen the light in a peasant’s wretched -cottage.” Such were the words of Beethoven, upon his death-bed in 1827, -as he spoke of the father of the symphony and quartet, both of which he -himself brought to their highest perfection. - -Joseph Haydn was born March 31, 1732, at the market-town of Rohrau, -near Bruck, on the river Leitha, which at that point separates Lower -Austria from Hungary. The little place belonged to the Counts Harrach, -who erected a memorial to his honor in their park upon his return from -his London triumphs in 1795. - -Haydn’s father was a wheelwright, and the craft had long been -followed by the family. He had traveled as a master-workman, and in -his wanderings had been, it is said, as far as Frankfort-on-Main. -His marriage was blessed with twelve children, six of whom died very -young. They were brought up religiously in the Catholic faith, and as -they were poor, they were also accustomed to economy and industry. In -his old age, Haydn said: “My parents were so strict in their lessons -of neatness and order, even in my earliest youth, that at last these -habits became a second nature.” His mother watched over him most -tenderly, but his father alone lived to enjoy the recompense of such -care, when his son was installed as Capellmeister. The manner in which -he remembered his mother’s grave many years later in his will reveals -the strength of her influence. - -His father, who was “by nature a great lover of music,” had a fair -tenor voice, and during his travels accompanied himself on the -harp without knowing a note. After the day’s toil, the family sang -together, and even when an old man, Haydn recalled with much emotion -these musical pleasures of his boyhood. The little “Sepperl,” as he -was called, astonished them all with the correctness of his ear and -the sweetness of his voice, and always sang his short simple pieces to -his father in a correct manner. More than this, he closely imitated -the handling of a violin-bow with a little stick, and upon one such -occasion a relative, from the neighborhood, observed the remarkable -feeling for strict tone and time, in the five-year-old boy. This -relative, who was the schoolmaster and choir-leader in the neighboring -town of Hainburg, took the lad, who was intended for the priesthood, -to that place, that he might study the art which it was thought would -undoubtedly open a way to the accomplishment of this purpose. After -this, Haydn only returned home as a visitor, but that he remembered -it and his poor relatives all his life with esteem and affection, -is evidenced by this remark in his old age: “I live not so much for -myself as for my poor relatives to whom I would leave something after -my death.” His “Biographical Notices” say he was so little ashamed -of his humble origin that he often spoke of it himself. In his will, -he remembers the parish priest and schoolteacher as well as the poor -children of his humble birth-place. In 1795, when he revisited it, -upon the occasion of the dedication of the Harrach memorial, before -alluded to, he knelt down in the familiar old sitting-room, kissed -its threshold, and pointed out the settle where he had once displayed -in sport that childish musical skill which was the indication of his -subsequent grand artistic career. “The young may learn from my example -that something may come out of nothing; what I am is entirely the -result of the most pressing necessity,” he once said, as he recalled -his humble antecedents. - -In Hainburg, Haydn learned the musical rudiments and studied other -branches necessary to youth, with his cousin Matthias Frankh. In an -autobiographical sketch, about the year 1776, which may be found in the -“_Musikerbriefe_” (Leipsic, 1873, second edition), he says: “Almighty -God, to whom I give thanks for all His unnumbered mercies, bestowed -upon me such musical facility that even in my sixth year I sang with -confidence several masses in the church choir, and could play a little -on the piano and violin.” Besides this, he learned there the nature -of all the ordinary instruments, and could play upon most of them. “I -thank this man, even in his grave, for making me work so hard, though -I used to get more blows than food,” runs one of his later humorous -confessions. Unfortunately, the latter complaint corresponded to -the rest of his treatment in his cousin’s house. “I could not help -observing, much to my distress, that I was getting very dirty, and -though I was quite vain of my person, I could not always prevent the -spots upon my clothes from showing, of which I was greatly ashamed--in -fact, I was a little urchin,” he says at another time. Even at that -time he wore a wig, “for the sake of cleanliness,” without which it is -almost impossible to imagine “Papa Haydn.” - -Of the style of musical instruction in Hainburg, we have at least one -example. It was in Passion week, a time of numerous processions. Frankh -was in great trouble, owing to the death of his kettle-drummer, but -espying little “Sepperl,” he bethought himself that he could quickly -learn. He showed him how to play and then left him. The lad took a -basket, such as the peasants use for holding flour in their baking, -covered it over with a cloth, placed it upon a finely upholstered -chair, and drummed away with so much spirit that he did not observe -the flour had sifted out and ruined the chair. He was reprimanded, as -usual, but his teacher’s wrath was appeased when he noticed how quickly -Joseph had become a skillful drummer. As he was at that time very short -in stature, he could not reach up to the man who had been accustomed -to carry the drum, which necessitated the employment of a smaller man, -and, as unfortunately he was a hunchback, it excited much laughter in -the procession. But Haydn in this manner gained a thoroughly practical -knowledge of the instrument and, as is well known, the drum-parts in -his symphonies are of special importance. He was the first to give -to this instrument a thorough individuality and a separate artistic -purpose in instrumental music. He was very proud of his skill, and, -as we shall see farther on, his ideas were of great assistance to a -kettle-drummer in London. - -This first practical result convinced his teacher that Haydn was -destined for a musical career. His systematic industry was universally -praised, and his agreeable voice was his best personal recommendation. -The result was, that after two years of study he went to Vienna, under -happy, we may even say the happiest, of auspices. - -The Hainburg pastor was a warm friend of Hofcapellmeister Reutter. It -happened that the latter, journeying from Vienna on business, passed -through Hainburg and made the pastor a short visit. During his stay he -mentioned the purpose of his journey, namely, the engagement of boys -with sufficient talent as well as good voices for choir service. The -pastor at once thought of Joseph. Reutter desired to see this clever -lad. He made his appearance. Reutter said to him: “Can you trill, my -little man?” Joseph, thinking perhaps that he ought not to know more -than people above him, replied to the question: “My teacher even can -not do that.” “Look here,” said Reutter, “I will trill for you. Pay -attention and see how I do it.” He had scarcely finished, when Haydn -stood before him with the utmost confidence and after two attempts -trilled so perfectly that Reutter in astonishment cried out, “bravo,” -drew out of his pocket a seventeen-kreuzer piece, and presented it to -the little virtuoso. This incident is related by Dies, the painter, who -was intimate with Haydn from 1805 until his death, and who published in -1810 the very interesting “Biographical Notices” of him. - -The little fellow meanwhile devoted himself to vocal practice until his -eighth year, when he was to enter the chapel, for the Hofcapellmeister -had made this stipulation when he promised the father to advance his -son. As he could find no teacher who was versed in the rules, he -studied by himself, and following the natural method, learned to sing -the scales and made such rapid progress that when he went to Vienna, -Reutter was astonished at his facility. - -The chapel was that of St. Stephen. In addition to frequent religious -services, the boys were also obliged to work at various kinds of -outside labor, so that their musical improvement was considerably -hindered. In spite of this, Haydn says that besides his vocal -practice, he studied the piano and violin with very good masters, and -received much praise for his singing, both at church and court. The -general course of studies included only the scantiest instruction in -religion, writing, ciphering and Latin; and art, the most important -of all to him, was so much worse off that at last he became his -own teacher again. Reutter troubled himself very little about his -chapel-scholars, and was a very imperious master besides; “and yet,” -said Haydn afterward, “I was not a complete master of any instrument, -but I knew the quality and action of all. I was no mean pianist and -singer, and could play violin concertos.” Singing chiefly occupied his -time and strength, for he contended that a German instrumental composer -must first master vocal study in order to write melodies. He considered -this all his life as of the greatest importance and often complained -because so few composers understood it. Among all the results of his -youthful artistic training, secured in his ten years’ chapel service -in Vienna, these two were the most important. He continually heard _a -capella_, that is, pure choral music with its contrapuntal texture, -and also learned all forms of solo singing and instrumental music, and -so thoroughly also that he was at home in all of them. And yet, “honest -Reutter” had only given him two lessons in musical theory! - -Dies relates other characteristic anecdotes of his youthful time. -Notwithstanding his advancement had been neglected, Joseph was -contented with his position, and for this reason only, that Reutter was -so delighted with his talent that he told his father if he had twelve -sons he would take care of all of them. Two of his brothers indeed -came to the chapel, one of them Michael Haydn, afterward Capellmeister -at Salzburg, with whom Mozart’s biography has made us acquainted, and -Joseph had the “infinite pleasure” of being compelled to instruct -them. Even under such circumstances, he busily occupied himself with -composition. Every piece of paper that came into his hands he covered -with staves, though with much trouble, and stuck them full of notes, -for he imagined it was all right if he only had his paper full. At one -time Reutter surprised him just at the moment when he had stretched -out before him a paper more than a yard long, with a _Salve Regina_ for -twelve voices, sketched upon it. “Ha! what are you doing, my little -fellow?” said he. But when he saw the long paper he laughed heartily -at the plentiful rows of _Salves_, and still more at the ridiculous -idea of a boy writing for twelve voices, and exclaimed: “O, you silly -youngster! are not two voices sufficient for you?” These curt rebuffs -were profitable to Haydn. Reutter advised him to write variations to -his own liking upon the pieces he heard in church, and this practice -gave him fresh and original ideas which Reutter corrected. “I certainly -had talent, and by dint of hard work I managed to get on. When my -comrades were at their sports, I went to my own room, where there was -no danger of disturbance, and practiced,” says Haydn. - -Dies, speaking further of this time in Haydn’s youth, says: “I must -guess at many details, for Haydn always spoke of his teacher with a -reserve and respect which did honor to his heart”--feelings all the -more to his credit when we consider the following statements, from the -same authority: “What was very embarrassing to him and at his age must -have been painful, was the fact that it looked as if they were trying -to starve him, soul and body. Joseph’s stomach observed a perpetual -fast. He went to the occasional ‘academies,’ where refreshments were -provided as compensation for the choir-boys, and once having made this -valuable discovery, his propensity to attend was irresistible. He tried -to sing as beautifully as he could that he might acquire a reputation -and thus secure invitations which would give him the opportunity of -appeasing his gnawing hunger.” At such times, when not observed, he -would fill his pockets with “nadeln” or other delicacies. Reutter -himself had very little income from which to pay his choir-boys, so -they had to famish. - -Notwithstanding he sensitively felt the misery of his condition, -Haydn’s youthful buoyancy did not desert him. Dies says: “At the time -the court was building the Summer Palace at Schonbrunn, Haydn had to -sing there with the church musicians in the Whitsuntide holidays. -When not engaged in the church he joined the other boys, climbing the -scaffolding and made considerable noise on the boards. One day the -boys suddenly perceived a lady; it was Maria Theresa herself, who at -once ordered some one to drive away the noisy youngsters, and threaten -them with a whipping if they were caught there again. On the very next -day, urged on by his temerity, Haydn climbed the scaffolding alone, was -caught and received the promised punishment which he deserved. Many -years afterward, when Haydn was engaged in Prince Esterhazy’s service, -the Empress came to Esterhaz. Haydn presented himself and offered his -humble thanks for the punishment received on that occasion. He had to -relate the whole story, which occasioned much merriment.” - -At that time we behold our hero in an exalted and dignified position, -but how thorny was the upward course! - -“The beautiful voice with which he had so often satisfied his hunger, -suddenly became untrue and commenced to break,” says Dies. The Empress -was accustomed to attend the festival of St. Leopold at the neighboring -monastery of Klosterneuburg. She had already intimated to Reutter, -in sport, that Haydn “could not sing any more, he crowed.” At this -festival, therefore, he selected the younger brother, Michael, for the -singing. He pleased the Empress so much that she sent him twenty-four -ducats. As Haydn was no longer of any service to Reutter in a pecuniary -way, and particularly as his place was now filled, he decided to -dismiss his superfluous boarder. Haydn’s boyish folly accelerated -his departure. One of the other choir-boys wore his hair in a queue, -contrary to the style, and Haydn had cut it off. Reutter decided that -he should be feruled. The time of punishment came. Haydn, now eighteen -years of age, sought in every way to escape, and at last declared that -he would not be a choir-boy any longer if he were punished: “That will -not help you. You shall first be punished and then march.” - -Reutter kept his word, but he counseled his dismissed singer to become -a soprano, as they were very well paid at that time. Haydn, with -genuine manliness, would not consent to the tempting proposal, and late -in the autumn of 1749 he started out in the great world in which he was -such a stranger, “helpless, without money, with three poor shirts and a -thread-bare coat.” After wandering about the streets, distressed with -hunger, he threw himself down on the nearest bench and spent his first -night in the damp November air, under the open heavens. He was lucky -enough to meet an acquaintance, also a choir-singer, and an instructor -as well. Though he and his wife and child occupied one small chamber, -he gave the helpless wanderer shelter--a trait of that Austrian -humanity which, at a later period, was reflected in the exquisite tones -of Haydn’s art. “His parents were very much distressed,” says Dies -again; “his poor mother, especially, expressed her solicitude with -tearful eyes. She begged her son to yield to the wishes and prayers of -his parents and devote himself to the church. She gave him no rest, -but Haydn was immovable. He would give them no reasons. He thought -he expressed himself clearly enough when he compressed his feelings -into the few words: ‘I can never be a priest.’” In his seventy-sixth -year, he said to the choir-boys who were presented to him: “Be really -honest and industrious and never forget God.” It is evident, therefore, -that it was not the lack of sincere piety that kept him from the -priesthood. He felt that he was called to another and more fitting -sphere, and we now know that his feelings and impulses did not deceive -him. - -Necessity, however, came near forcing him into the life he had so -resolutely refused, for he got little money from the serenades and -choir-work in which he took part, though at other times it left him -the wished-for leisure for study and composition. The quiet loneliness -in that little dark garret under the tiles, the complete lack of -those things which can entertain an unoccupied mind, and the utter -piteousness of his condition, at times led him into such unhappy -reveries that he was driven to his music to chase away his troubles. -“At one time,” says Dies, “his thoughts were so gloomy, or more likely -his hunger was so keen, that he resolved, in spite of his prejudices, -to join the Servite Order so that he could get sufficient to eat. This, -however, was only a fleeting impulse, for his nature would never allow -him to really take such a step. His disposition happily inclined to -joyousness and saved him from any serious outbreaks of melancholy. When -the summer rain or the winter snow, leaking through the cracks of the -roof, awoke him, he regarded such little accidents as natural, and made -sport of them.” - -For some time he was not positively sure what course to pursue, and he -projected a thousand plans, which were abandoned almost as soon as they -were formed. For the most part hunger was the motive that urged him on -to rash resolves, for instance, a pilgrimage to the Maria cloister in -Styria. There he went at once to the choir-master, announced himself -as a chapel-scholar, produced some of his musical sketches, and -offered his services. The choir-master did not believe his story and -dismissed him, as he became more importunate, saying: “There are too -many ragamuffins coming here from Vienna, claiming to be chapel-boys, -who can’t sing a note.” Another day, Haydn went to the choir, made the -acquaintance of one of the singers and begged of him his music-book. -The young man excused himself on the ground that it was against the -rules. Haydn pressed a piece of money into his hand and stood by him -until the music commenced. Suddenly he seized the book out of his -hands and sang so beautifully that the chorus-master was amazed, and -afterward apologized to him. The priests also inquired about him and -invited him to their table. Haydn remained there eight days, and, as -he said, filled his stomach for a long time to come, and afterward was -presented with a little purse made up for him. - -Among the bequests in Haydn’s will of 1802 is the following: “To the -maiden, Anna Buchholz, one hundred florins, because her grandfather -in my youth and at a time of urgent necessity lent me one hundred and -fifty florins, without interest, which I repaid fifty years ago.” This, -for him a considerable loan, enabled him for the first time to have a -room of his own where he could work quietly. This was not far from the -year 1750. Dies relates, in the year 1805: “Chance placed in Haydn’s -hands, a short time before, one of his youthful compositions which -he had utterly forgotten--a short four-voiced mass with two obligato -soprano parts. The discovery of this lost child, after fifty-two -years of absence, was the occasion of true joy to the parent. ‘What -particularly pleases me in this little work,’ said he, ‘is its melody -and positive youthful spirit,’ and he decided to give it a modern -dress.” The mass was by this means preserved and may be regarded as his -first large work. We are thus enabled to date it at the beginning of -the year 1750. - -At that time Haydn lived in the Michaeler house (which is still -preserved), in the Kohlmarket, one of the choicest sections of the -city, but was again under the roof and exposed to the inclemency of the -weather. At one time the room had no stove, and winter mornings he had -to bring water from the well, as that in his wash-basin was frozen. -There were some distinguished occupants in the house; the princess -Esterhazy, whose son, Paul Anton, became Haydn’s first patron, and the -famous and talented poet Metastasio, who not long after confided to him -his little friend Marianna Martines as a piano scholar, and paid his -board as compensation. The child must have been well grounded in music, -for thirty years later Mozart frequently played four-handed pieces -with her. Her instruction, after the style of the time, obliged Haydn -to write little compositions. These early pieces circulated freely -but they have all been lost. He considered it a compliment for people -to accept them, and did not know that the music-dealers were doing a -flourishing business with them. Many a time he stopped with delight -before the windows to gaze at one or another of the published copies. -That this work, however, was very distasteful to him is evident from -his own words: “After my voice was absolutely gone, I dragged myself -through eight miserable years, teaching the young. It is this wretched -struggle for bread which crushes so many men of genius, taking the -time they should devote to study. It was my own bitter experience and -I should have accomplished little or nothing if I had not zealously -worked at night upon my compositions.” Urgent as his necessity was, he -declined to take a permanent and good paying position in a Vienna band, -and thereby sell his entire time. “Freedom! what more can one ask for?” -said Beethoven. Haydn insisted upon having it at least for his genius. -Many times in his life he gave expression to this feeling. In his old -age he said to Griesinger: “When I sat at my old worm-eaten piano, I -envied no king his happiness.” We shall see that he had more of real -inward happiness as a composer, than as a pianist. - -With such a disposition he easily retained his good humor and -equanimity, and, many of his youthful traits clearly reflect the Haydn -of the genial minuets and humorous finales. For the entertainment of -his comrades, who were never lacking, he once tied a chestnut roaster’s -hand-cart to the wheels of a fiacre, and then called to the driver of -the latter to go on, while he quietly made off, followed by the curses -of the two victims. At another time he conceived the idea of inviting -several musicians at a specified hour to a pretended serenade. The -rendezvous was in the Tiefengraben, where Beethoven lived for a few -years after his arrival in Vienna. They were instructed to distribute -themselves before different houses and at the street-corners. Even -in the High Bridge street, where Mozart lived at a later period, -stood a kettle-drummer. Very few of the musicians knew why they were -there, and each had permission to play what he pleased. Dies concludes -his description of this roguish trick as follows: “Scarcely had the -horrible concert begun when the astonished occupants threw open their -windows and commenced to curse the infernal music. In the meantime -the watchmen approached. The players scampered off at the right time, -except the drummer and one violinist, who were arrested. As they -would not name the ringleader, they were discharged after a few days’ -imprisonment.” - -It was at this time of his early struggles that he went out one day to -purchase some piano work suitable for study, and acting upon the advice -of the music-dealer took a volume of the sonatas of Philip Emanuel -Bach, the composer, who first placed piano music upon an independent -and so to speak, poetical foundation. “It appears to me,” says this -gifted son of the great Bach, in an autobiographical sketch, “that it -is the special province of music to move the heart.” To such an one -the genial and imaginative nature of our genuine Austrian musician did -involuntary homage from the very first. “I never left my piano until -I had played the sonatas through,” said Haydn, when old, with all -the enthusiasm of youth, “and he who knows me thoroughly can not but -find that I owe very much to Bach, for I understood and studied him -profoundly. Indeed, upon one occasion he complimented me upon it.” -Bach once said that he was the only one who completely understood him -and could make good use of his knowledge. Rochlitz informs us that -Haydn said: “I played these sonatas innumerable times, especially -when I felt troubled, and I always left the instrument refreshed and -in cheerful spirits.” A sketch of this same Bach, dated 1764, says: -“Always rich in invention, attractive and spirited in melody, bold and -stately in harmony, we know him already by a hundred masterpieces, but -not as yet do we fully know him.” - -In reality, instrumental music was now for the first time entering with -self-confidence and strength upon the freer path of the opera. The end -of that path, though far distant, was individual characterization. Bach -himself once wrote a preface to a trio for strings. He says in it that -he has sought to express something which otherwise would require voices -and words. It may be regarded as a conversation between a sanguine and -a melancholy person who dispute with one another through the first and -second movements, until the melancholy man accepts the assertion of the -other. At last, they are reconciled in the finale. The melancholy man -commences the movement with a certain feeble cheerfulness, mixed with -sadness, which at last threatens to become actual grief, but after a -pause, is dissipated in a figure of lively triplets. The sanguine man -follows steadily along, “out of courtesy,” and they strengthen their -agreement, while the one imitates the other even to his identity. From -such germs, in which the intellectual idea is more than its artistic -expression, Haydn evolved that which made him the founder of modern -instrumental music, the extreme limit of which is the representation of -the world’s vital will. - -Melody, in other words, the vital will illuminated by reason, also -begins at this point to assert its sure mastery, as the song and the -dance were then the essential type of this modern instrumental music. -Key, accent, rhythm, even the rests, now became the conscious means of -fixed color and tone, in which every emotion, every aspiration, every -exertion of our powers has its full value. Harmonic modulations help -to maintain and to deepen the given tone-color. Above all else, the -dissonance is no longer a matter of mere chance or transient charm to -the ear, but the road to an absolute effect, designed by the composer. -Bach many a time sought for it, but Haydn gave it poetical effect. He -does not hesitate, for example, in the finale of the great E flat major -sonata, to introduce the augmented triad, which Richard Wagner uses in -such a strikingly characteristic manner, bringing it in as a prepared -dissonance, but at the same time allowing it to enter freely. And still -more, they had before them the boundless treasures of Sebastian Bach, -which Mozart and Beethoven at a later period opened so fully and which -they emphasized with such heart-stirring power. - -The difference of keys moreover became recognized as of greater -value, and the ground-color of pieces is more individual. It does not -follow, however, on this account that the marvelous gifts of native -counterpoint were thrown aside. On the other hand, Haydn, in his -treatment of the so-called thematic development in the second part of -the first movement and in the finale of the sonata, brings them out -according to their proper intellectual value, so that this music also -must be “heard with the understanding.” Finally, the salient points -of the whole style, which was called the “galante,” because it did -not belong to the church or to the erudite but to the salon, is as, -we may say, the grand architectural gradations and building up of the -whole, which gives to it an arrangement of parts like the symmetry of -the Renaissance art, and the same similarity modern music in general -holds to the Gothic of the German counterpoint. Haydn by nature and -every vital function, belonged to active life, with its manifold forms -of thought and changing mental conditions, and, therefore, found the -sonata-form the very best for the depositing of his musical wealth, -and for the magnifying of his own inner powers and capacities by its -further development. It was for this reason that he played the Bach -“Sonatas for Students and Amateurs” with such delight and sat at his -piano so gladly, for it aroused in him a freer activity of fancy and -heartfelt emotions of similar form. - -Philip Emanuel Bach’s instruction book, the “Versuch uber die wahre -Art das Clavier zu spielen,” published in Berlin in 1753, with which -Haydn became acquainted shortly afterward, was, in his judgment, “the -best, most thorough and useful work which had ever appeared as an -instruction book,” and Mozart as well as Beethoven expressed the same -opinion, and yet the ridiculous accusation was made after this that -Haydn had copied and caricatured Bach, because Bach was not on good -terms with him. The story may perhaps have arisen from the fact that -Bach in his autobiography (1773) sought to attribute the decline of the -music of his day to “the comedian so popular just now.” This, however, -referred to something entirely different, and in 1783, Bach publicly -wrote: “I am constrained by news I have received from Vienna to believe -that this worthy man, whose works give me more and more pleasure, is -as truly my friend as I am his. Work alone praises or condemns its -masters, and I therefore measure every one by that standard.” Dies even -declares that Haydn, in 1795, returned from London by way of Hamburg to -make the personal acquaintance of Bach, but arrived too late, for he -was dead. Bach died in 1788, and could it be possible that Haydn was -not aware of it? The journey by way of Hamburg had another purpose. - -Haydn still kept up his violin practice, and received further -instruction from his countryman and friend, Dittersdorf, afterward the -composer of “The Doctor and Apothecary.” Dies says: “Once they strolled -through the streets at night and stopped before a common beer-house, -in which some half drunk and sleepy musicians were wretchedly scraping -away on a Haydn minuet. ‘Let us go in,’ said Haydn. They entered the -drinking-room. Haydn stepped up to the first fiddler and very coolly -asked: ‘Whose minuet is this?’ The fiddler replied still more coolly, -and even fiercely: ‘Haydn’s.’ Haydn strode up to him, saying with -feigned anger: ‘It is a worthless thing.’ ‘What! what! what!’ shrieked -the interrupted fiddler, in his wrath, springing up from his seat. The -rest of the players imitated their leader, and would have beaten Haydn -over the head with their instruments, had not Dittersdorf, who was of -larger stature, seized him in his arms and shoved him out of doors.” - -Dittersdorf himself, in his biography, narrates another instance of -this intimacy. In 1762, he accompanied Gluck to Italy. During his -absence, the famous Lolli appeared in Vienna with great success. On -his return, he resolved to surpass Lolli’s fame, and feigning sickness -he kept his room for an entire week, and practiced incessantly. Then -he reappeared and achieved a success. The universal verdict was, that -Lolli excited wonder and Dittersdorf too, but that the latter played -to the heart also. He adds: “The rest of the summer and the following -winter, I was frequently in the society of the gracious Haydn. Every -new piece of other composers which we heard we criticised between -ourselves, commending what was good and condemning what was bad.” - -But let us return to the year 1750. Dies says: “When about twenty-one -years of age, Haydn composed a comic opera with German text. It was -called ‘Der Krumme Teufel,’ (‘The Devil on Two Sticks’) and originated -in a singular way. Kurtz, a theatrical genius, was at that time the -manager of the old Karnthnerthor theater, and amused the public as -_Bernardon_. He had heard Haydn very favorably mentioned, which induced -him to seek his acquaintance. A happy chance soon furnished the -opportunity. Kurtz had a beautiful wife, who condescended to receive -serenades from the young artists. The young Haydn (who called this -‘Gassatim gehen,’ and composed a quintet for just such an occasion in -1753) brought her a serenade, whereat not only the lady but Kurtz also -felt honored. He sought Haydn’s closer acquaintance, and after this, -the following scene occurred in his house. ‘Sit down at the piano,’ -said Kurtz, ‘and accompany the pantomime which I will perform for you, -with fitting music. Imagine that _Bernardon_ has fallen into the water -and is trying to save himself by swimming!’ Kurtz calls an attendant -and sprawls across a chair, while it is drawn here and there about the -room, flinging out his arms and legs like a swimmer, Haydn meantime -imitating the motion of the waves and the action of swimming in 6/8 -time. _Bernardon_ suddenly sprang up, embraced Haydn, and, nearly -smothering him with kisses, exclaimed: ‘Haydn, you are the man for -me. You must write me an opera!’ This was the origin of ‘Der Krumme -Teufel.’ Haydn received twenty-five ducats for it, and thought himself -very rich. It was brought out twice with great applause and was then -prohibited on account of the offensive personality of the text.” - -Here, therefore, we have an example of the fruitful germs of invention -which Haydn displayed in motives and melodies, showing us, as it were, -a personal presence possessing those musical characteristics which -Mozart and Beethoven developed with such striking fidelity to life, -and which by their efforts again invested dramatic representation with -a new language. What the Italian had accomplished only in the way of -a certain native grace of melody, and the French, on the other hand, -with too partial a study in their dramatic recitative and piano music, -German intelligence, and above all, German feeling, accomplished by -the unprejudiced acceptance of melody itself. We also observe, mingled -with these elements, that vein of German humor which first welled up in -complete spontaneity and fullness in Haydn’s music, so that we have, as -it were, all the successive steps of development in the building up of -his artistic individuality. At this point his youth and the main part -of his early education close. We have reached the period of his first -original creation, but it may be of interest, before we close this -first chapter, to add a few words about the opera itself, in order that -we may appreciate the real nature of this first original accomplishment -of the artist as it deserves. - -We observe, first of all, that in the test of his skill he was to -illustrate a storm at sea and the struggle of a drowning man, and -that Haydn’s fingers at last involuntarily fell into the movement, -(6/8 time), which the comedian wished. In the piece itself, an old, -love-sick dotard was to be cured and the good-natured devil must help. -The details of this story and many other incidents of that period of -art in Vienna may be found in C. F. Pohl’s “Joseph Haydn,” Vol. I -(Berlin, 1875). But the principal point to be observed here is the -close union of absolute music with the dramatic element, especially -with the action, and that it was the perfection of the genuine humor -of the popular Vienna comedies of that time which first directed -Haydn’s fancy to the expression of pantomime in tones. When the “Krumme -Teufel” was finished, Haydn brought it to Kurtz, but the maid would -not let him in, so we are told, because her master was “studying.” -What was Haydn’s astonishment when looking through a glass door he -beheld _Bernardon_ standing before a large mirror, making faces and -acting comical pantomime! It was the “free, sprightly comedy” which the -Vienna harlequin possessed, and which was now revealed to Haydn in its -complete individuality by personal observation. But finally, while this -humor was kept down at this time by its own crudeness and narrowness, -as soon as the higher dramatic poetry of the German language sprung up -in Austria, it reappeared in a nobler form in music, and it is Haydn -who represented this genuine German popular humor in our art. The last -Vienna harlequin, _Bernardon_, and his buffoonery disappeared, but the -comedy was preserved in full and permanent inheritance by Haydn in his -comic opera, “Der Krumme Teufel.” The opera itself we do not possess, -but its healthy and noble promise is realized all through Haydn’s -instrumental music, to the origin of which we now come. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -1754-1781. - -AT PRINCE ESTERHAZY’S. - - Haydn’s Studies with Porpora--His Italian Operas--Engagement - with Count Von Morzin--His First String Quartet--An Unfortunate - Marriage--Domestic Troubles without End--Appointment as - Capellmeister at Esterhaz--His Orchestra and Chorus--Rapid Musical - Growth--His Most Important Earlier Compositions--Development of the - Quartet--Personal Characteristics and Anecdotes--The Surprise - Symphony--Influence of his Life at Esterhaz upon his Music. - - -“His hours were occupied with lesson-giving and studies. Music so far -monopolized his time that at this period no other than musical books -came into his hands. The only exceptions were the works of Metastasio, -and these can hardly be called an exception, as Metastasio always wrote -for music, and therefore a Capellmeister who had determined to try -his powers in opera ought to have been acquainted with his writings,” -says Dies. We know from Haydn himself that an Italian singer and opera -composer was his last instructor in thorough-bass; and that he had -composed much but was not firmly grounded, that is, was not correct -and strong until he had the good fortune to study the fundamental -principles of composition, with the famous Porpora. - -The Neapolitan, Nicolo Porpora was in Vienna from 1753 to 1757. He -belonged to that early school of Italian opera which dominated nearly -all Europe. The charm of melody predominated at this time and with it, -the art of singing. They had reached their highest point. Smoothly -flowing melody, however, was considered the main essential, and above -all things, clearness and very simple harmonic structure characterized -this school. Haydn played the accompaniments when Porpora gave singing -lessons to the ten-year-old Martines and to the mistress of an -ambassador, and was paid with lessons in composition from the impetuous -and supercilious old master. “Ass, vagabond, blockhead,” alternating -with blows, greeted this not very accomplished “Tedesco” (German). For -three months he filled the position of servant and blacked his master’s -shoes. “But I improved in singing, in composition and in Italian very -much,” says the modest mechanic’s son, who, plain and simple himself, -loved his art above all else. In fact, compared with the German music -before him, or even with Philip Emanuel Bach’s sonatas, Haydn’s style -at once shows not only that he had abandoned the “Tudesk” (German), of -which the Italians complained, but that he had obtained a more refined -phrasing of melody and a greater clearness of harmony, whereas the art -of Bach had not advanced beyond the intellectual and characteristic. He -also gave up embellishments and manifested a strong desire for the pure -lines, and above all recognized that symmetry of construction which was -rare among the Germans themselves, and yet constitutes an essential -feature of modern German instrumental music. - -The first larger works of Haydn were also Italian operas. He prized -them very much himself, and they were also very pleasing to others; -and it was only a deep, inward feeling for the calling he had chosen -and a happy chance, which gave him the opportunity of satisfying that -feeling, that saved him from a course which certainly might have -secured him speedy fame and fortune, but not that immortal halo of -glory which crowns the “Father of the Symphony.” He even declined -an invitation from Gluck, at that time the most celebrated of the -Italian opera-composers, to go to Italy! Apart from this, it may be -said incidentally, we learn of no nearer relations between these two -artists. Temperament, character and the objects of their ambition kept -them widely apart. - -Haydn now devoted himself still more earnestly to studies of a -theoretical nature. From sixteen to eighteen hours daily work was his -rule, two-thirds of the time being devoted to the necessities of life. -Mattheson’s “Vollkommener Capellmeister” and the “Gradus ad Parnassum” -of Fux, the Vienna Hofcapellmeister, were his text-books. “With -unwearied determination Haydn sought to master the theory of Fux,” says -Griesinger, the councilor, who met him frequently in 1800, and in 1810 -published the “Biographical Notices” of him. He says: “Haydn studied -out the problems, laid them aside some weeks, then looked them over -again and reviewed them often enough to make sure he was master of -them.” Haydn called this work (“Fux’s Theorie”), a classic, and kept -a much worn copy of it all his life. Mattheson’s book was found among -his relics, “completely gone.” This work certainly did not extend his -knowledge of composition, but he prized the method, and educated many a -scholar in it during his life, and among those scholars was--Beethoven. - -“He officiated as organist at a church in the suburbs, wrote quartets -and other pieces which commended him still more favorably to amateurs, -so that he was universally recognized as a genius,” says Dies. One of -these amateurs was the councilor, Von Furnberg, “from whom I received -special marks of favor,” says Haydn himself. Von Furnberg, who was -already indebted to Haydn for several trios, was accustomed to have -chamber-music at his villa in Weinzerl, played by the pastor of the -place, his own steward, a violoncellist, and Haydn, and one day -encouraged the latter to write a string quartet. Thus an accident of -his surroundings turned his inventive spirit toward that particular -form of chamber-music, the string quartet, which was destined to be so -wonderful in results. This occurred in 1750. - -Much had been already written for the four stringed instruments, but -Haydn gave to the quartet the movements and organic form which he -had found in the sonatas. By the force of his knowledge of harmony -he gave a more spontaneously melodious capacity to the divisions of -the quartet which had hitherto been merely vague and sketchy, so that -their development captivated the player and listener. It was, as it -were, a scene in which four individualities, acting together, play out -a complete and concrete life-picture,--artistic performances, which -appeal to the player, as well as to the artist and poet, in a higher -degree than the simple, plain sonata. Hence the invention of the string -quartet marked an epoch in the history of music. - -The first quartet (B flat, 6/8), met with such an instant success and -so actively inspired Haydn himself, that in a short time he produced -eighteen works in this style. And yet a Prussian major who had been -made a prisoner in the Seven Years’ War, who heard these early -productions, says that although every one was in raptures over his -compositions, Haydn was modest even to timidity, and could not bring -himself to believe that they were of any account. Twenty years later, -even, he looked up to Hasse, at that time indeed famous throughout the -world, as a great composer, and declared he would treasure his praise -of his “Stabat Mater” like gold, though it was undeserved, “not on -account of the opinion itself, but for the sake of a man so estimable.” -Who knows Hasse to-day, and who that knows anything of music is not -familiar with Joseph Haydn and his quartets? The English music-hunter, -Burney, mentions that in 1772 he heard them played at Gluck’s! - -It contributed greatly to his activity in composition that he was now -in better circumstances. Furnberg had secured for him the appointment -of “director” in the establishment of a music-loving count. The first -quartets breathe the full, joyous humor of his child-like spirit. -Though at first many a one protested against the lowering of music to -mere trifling and was of the opinion that there was no earnest effort -in his compositions, the verdict this time declared itself in favor -of the creator of this style, and many a deeply earnest tone in these -works is a souvenir of happy hours, which even now a quartet-evening -with Haydn affords. - -The Count, who in 1759 had installed Haydn as his director--and one -in that position must also be a composer--was the Bohemian nobleman, -Franz von Morzin. He passed his winters in Vienna and his summers at -his country house at Lukavec, where he kept his orchestra, and while -with him Haydn wrote his first symphony. There were symphonies indeed -long before Haydn. Originally, all music in several parts was thus -designated--at first, vocal pieces with instrumental accompaniments, -but after the seventeenth century, instrumental music only. The -instrumental preludes to the Italian operas, in particular, were called -symphonies. The symphony in regular form consisted of an Allegro, an -Adagio and a second Allegro. Haydn made the three movements, which he -had transferred from the sonata-form to the quartet, richer and more -independent, and added to them the Minuet, so that four movements -became the rule. Haydn’s progress, therefore, was exemplified in the -symphony by the freedom and vivacity which he gave to the separate -instruments, but above all, by their skillful combination and the -dynamic gradations of the ensemble. For these he had his models in -the compositions of the Mannheim school, which Mozart so much admired -afterward. - -Haydn’s first symphony, in D major, is a prominent example of the -clearness of his method in such larger orchestral work. We shall soon -see that he developed it still farther. His position with the Count, -satisfactory so far as compensation was concerned, might have been -the source of prolific creation, for the Count and his young son were -enthusiastic musical amateurs, but the contract stipulated that he -should remain unmarried. Haydn was then twenty-seven years of age, and -it was not until that time that the charms of the other sex attracted -his attention, and it happened then only by an accident which reveals -to us the innocence of his youth. In his later years he was fond -of telling the story that once when he was accompanying the young -Countess in her singing, she stooped over, so as to see better, and -her neckerchief became disarranged. “It was the first time I had ever -witnessed such a sight. I was embarrassed, my playing ceased, and my -fingers lay idly on the keys,” he told Griesinger. “What has happened, -Haydn,” said the Countess, “what are you doing?” With perfect respect, -Haydn replied: “Who could retain his self-command in your gracious -ladyship’s presence?” The sequel to such an unexpected revelation was -not long in following. - -In the autumn of 1760, Haydn was again with his scholars in Vienna. -Among them were two daughters of Keller, a wig-maker, in the -Ungargasse, who had frequently assisted him before this time. The -younger daughter was so attractive to him, that in spite of the -Count’s order, which only made her still more alluring to the fiery -young fellow, he determined to marry her, but to his sorrow, she chose -to enter a convent. “Haydn, you ought to marry my eldest daughter,” -jokingly said the father one day, for he was particularly pleased with -the smart and gifted young director;--and Haydn did so. Whatever may -have been the reason--gratitude, ignorance, helplessness in practical -matters, or the wish to have a wife right away--whatever may have been -the motive, he married, and sorely he had to suffer for it. - -His wife was older than he, and this of itself made the relations -between them very uncertain. Besides this, Dies says that she was an -imperious and unfeeling woman, who was incapable of any consideration, -and had earned the reputation of being a spendthrift. The proofs of -her quarrelsomeness and of her heartless treatment of her husband -reveal to us a perfect Xantippe. As compared with the simple, frank -and joyous-hearted Haydn, she was an extreme bigot and prude. Only -a person of his disposition could have endured such a wretched, and -above all, childless marriage. “We were affectionate together, but for -all that, I soon discovered that my wife was extremely frivolous,” he -very mildly said to Dies. He told Griesinger that he was obliged to -carefully conceal his earnings from her on account of her passion for -finery. She was also fond of inviting priests to dine, urging them to -say many masses, and giving more money to them for charity than she -could afford. Very many of Haydn’s masses, and smaller church-pieces, -especially those scattered about in the Austrian convents, are due to -the fact that she availed herself of her husband’s talent to appear -generous. Under such circumstances he naturally did not accomplish his -best work, but wrote in a careless style. Once, when Griesinger, for -whom he had done some favor for which he would not accept anything, -asked permission to make his wife a present, he resolutely replied: -“She does not deserve anything. It is little matter to her whether -her husband is an artist or a cobbler.” She was also particularly -malicious, and purposely tried to offend her husband, using his notes, -for instance, as curl-papers, and in pie dishes, occasioning the -loss, undoubtedly, of many of his earlier scores. One day, when she -complained that there was not money enough in the house to bury him, in -case he died suddenly, Haydn called her attention to a row of canons -which were framed and hung upon the wall of his chamber, in lieu of any -other decoration, and told her that they would bring enough for his -funeral expenses. Notwithstanding his patience and good-heartedness, -he could not overcome an intuitive feeling of repugnance for his wife. -In the year 1805, when the violinist Baillot was visiting him, they -happened to pass a picture in the hall. Haydn stopped, and grasping -Baillot by the arm, said: “That is my wife. Many a time she has -maddened me.” - -Is it not natural, then, and excusable also, that at times he sought -solace away from home? * * * An Italian singer, in particular, Luigia -Polzelli, won his affections in later years, and bestowed upon him -a loving sympathy. He writes to her from London in 1792, thirty-two -years after his unfortunate marriage, in furious terms: “My wife, -_bestia infernale_, has written so much stuff, that I had to tell her -I would not come to the house any more, which has brought her again to -her senses.” A year later he says, in a gentler and almost sorrowful -tone: “My wife is ailing most of the time and is always in the same -miserable temper, but I do not let it distress me any longer. There -will sometime be an end of this torment.” The remark in Lessing’s -“Jungere Gelehrten,” “I am obliged to admit that I have had no other -aim than this: to practice those virtues which enable one to endure -such a woman,” exactly apply to Haydn’s case. At last he could bear it -no longer. He procured board for her with the teacher Stoll, at Baden, -who is spoken of in Mozart’s letters, and she died there in 1800. Haydn -dearly earned that exquisite peace which characterized so many of his -adagios, but it was the true rest of the soul, and it is only here and -there that a softly sighing chord reminds us of Wotan’s words: “The -victory was won through toil and trouble from morning until night.” The -unrestrained outpourings of love Haydn could not express. When Adam and -Eve in “The Creation,” or Hannchen and Lucas sing their fond strains, -you never think of Constance and Pamina, and yet Haydn wrote both these -works long after Mozart was dead. The fullness and dignity of true -womanly nature, in which his own wife was wanting, he was elsewhere to -learn and value, as we shall yet see. The tenderer and deeper notes of -the heart are not wanting in his compositions; on the contrary, he was -the first to introduce them in music in all their perfection. - -We now resume the course of our narrative. Dies says: “Six months -passed by before Count Morzin knew that his Capellmeister was married. -Circumstances occurred which changed Haydn’s affairs. It became -necessary for the Count to reduce his large expenses and to dismiss his -musicians, and thus he lost his position.” Prince Esterhazy, however, -a short time before, had become acquainted with some of his orchestral -pieces and admired them. His growing fame, his admirable personal -character, besides Morzin’s hearty commendations, secured for him the -position of Capellmeister to the Prince in the same year (1761), and he -held it nearly to the close of his life. This position settled Haydn’s -future as a composer. - -The Esterhazy residence is in the little town of Eisenstadt, in -Hungary, where the Prince’s castle supplied accommodation for every -style of musical and dramatic performances. Music in particular -had been patronized by the family for many generations. Here, in -undisturbed quiet, Haydn actively devoted himself to those remarkable -compositions which deservedly proclaim him the founder of modern -instrumental music. The Prince had a pretty complete orchestra, though -it was small, and a modest chorus, with two soloists. It was also -expected that the servants and attendants, after the custom of that -time, would assist as musicians. The entire force of musicians was -placed under the direction of the new Capellmeister, who was raised to -an official position. By virtue of his rank, he was obliged to appear -daily in the antechamber and receive instructions with regard to the -music. He was also expected to compose what music was necessary and -drill the singers. His contract of May 1, 1761, commends the duty -required of him to his skill and zeal, and hopes that he will keep the -orchestra up to such a standard as will reflect honor upon him and -entitle him to further marks of princely favor. - -Rarely, indeed, has a hope been more fully realized. The orchestra -was soon a superior one, and it was not long before the works written -for it by Haydn became famous throughout the world. The very first -of the Esterhazy symphonies in C major, known as “The Noon,” showed -that he was determined to bring the Prince as well as the orchestra -to a realization of the work before them. It makes demands upon the -orchestra which this one could not supply till much later, as it -was written in a very large and broad style. It also has in it a -foreshadowing of Beethoven’s dramatic style, in a recitative for violin -with orchestra, introduced in one movement. He himself was also more -thoroughly grounded in his own artistic work. The ever-increasing -interest which the Prince took in him (to Paul Anton, succeeded the -next year, Nicholas, Anton following him in 1790, and a second Nicholas -following Anton in 1795) was a fresh incentive to his creative talent, -so that the confinement in his rural situation during the twenty years -that he passed with the first two Princes did not weigh very heavily -upon him. After 1766, he spent many of the winter months with his -Prince in Vienna. “My Prince was always satisfied with my works. I not -only had the encouragement of steady approbation, but as leader of the -orchestra, I could experiment, observe what produced and what weakened -effects, and was thus enabled to improve, change, make additions or -omissions, and venture upon anything. I was separated from the world, -there was no one to distract or torment me, and I was compelled -to become original.” Such a statement as this, which was made to -Griesinger, shows what an important influence his life at this period -had upon his artistic development. - -There are many other interesting details of this Esterhazy life. -Griesinger says: “Fishing and hunting were Haydn’s favorite pleasures -during his stay in Hungary.” Think for a moment what an influence -such an unbroken, restful life in God’s free nature must have had -upon him, especially when it is considered that this had continued -for thirty years and had been his only recreation outside of his own -profession. “The dew-dropping morn, O how it quickens all,” says -Eve in “The Creation.” In the early morning, the best time for his -favorite pleasure, when the sun rose, shining in its full splendor, -“a giant proud and joyous,” or at evening the moon “stole upon” the -home-returning hunter with “soft step and gentle shimmer,” how his -heart must have expanded as the sublime solitude of Nature revealed -itself to him and spoke its own language! It was a time when the sense -of nature rose superior to all the artifices of custom, and her majesty -and chaste purity made a deep impression upon every noble feeling. In -this sacred solitude, which with his beloved art filled his life with -its only happiness and contentment, he stripped off his powdered wig -and stood up clothed in his own pure manhood. What the result was may -be seen in his exuberant melodies, earnest as well as passionate, which -picture the innocent joy of Nature. - -Many other things he learned to picture at this time. It was only -that free and appreciative contemplation of Nature, which continual -intimate intercourse with her produces, which enabled him to keenly -observe the characteristics of every one of her phenomena and to give -them conscious expression in his old age, in “The Creation” and “The -Seasons.” The “Noon” symphony was soon followed by the “Morning.” That -he intended to express in this music the “awakening of impressions upon -arriving in the country,” is shown by a concerto which appeared soon -afterward, “The Evening,” and which closes with a storm. According to -Dies, his Prince had commissioned him to make the divisions of the -day subjects for composition. We know by their reception that these -works revealed an entirely new world of music. Beethoven, with his -incomparably deeper feeling for Nature, received his first impulses of -that feeling from this music. The original can only be found in Haydn’s -quiet life at Eisenstadt with Prince Esterhazy. We shall find further -confirmation of the influence of this life in the following details: - -The bearing of Prince Nicholas, then in his fortieth year, corresponded -with his surroundings. Rich and distinguished as he was, he had noble -passions. His appearance at Court was brilliant, while the richness -of his jewels was proverbial. But his love of art and science was far -greater than his fondness for show and court display, and in true -Hungarian fashion, music was the dearest of all to him. He was a -genuine Austrian cavalier of the best old times. Goodness of heart, -magnanimity and kindly feeling were his prominent traits of character, -and he manifested these qualities especially toward his orchestra. -“During the entire period of his rule, his records, nearly all of -which begin with the declaration, ‘God be with us,’ are a continuous -series of releases from moneyed as well as other obligations, and -rarely was a request refused,” says Pohl, in his reliable biography of -Haydn. Still he could be severe without retaining animosity. His own -instrument was the baryton, at that time very much admired, which has -long since been superseded by the noble violoncello. Apropos of this -instrument, the following characteristic event occurred: - -The Prince played only in one key. Haydn practiced for six months, day -and night, upon the instrument, often disturbed by the abuse of his -wife, and upon one occasion incurred the censure of the Prince for -neglecting his compositions. Thereat, impelled by a fit of vanity, -he played upon the instrument at one of the evening entertainments -in several keys. The Prince was not at all disturbed, and only said: -“Haydn, you ought to have known better.” At first he was pained by the -indifference of his honored master, but he immediately felt it was -a gentle reproof, because he had wasted so much time and neglected -his proper work to become a good baryton player, and turned to his -compositions again with renewed earnestness. For the baryton alone, he -has written upwards of one hundred and seventy-five pieces. - -Haydn’s real feelings towards the Prince are shown by his words in his -autobiography of 1776:--“Would that I could live and die with him.” -Upon the accession of the new administration, his salary was increased -one-half, and afterward six hundred florins were added, besides which -he received frequent gifts from the Prince. This helped to appease his -longing to go abroad, particularly to Italy--a longing which many a -time must have arisen in his solitude. He recalled, even in his old -age, with grateful feelings the good and generous Prince Nicholas, who -had twice rebuilt his little house after it had been reduced to ashes -by fires in the city. Though he wrote much, very much, simply for the -Prince’s personal gratification, and consequently much that had little -value, yet the Prince’s knowledge of music was sufficient to realize -Haydn’s constant development and to actively foster it. Haydn was not -under personal restraint, at least not more than was customary in a -court at that time of “literal, primitive despotisms.” Though he was -not the less a courtling, he remained an artist, and clove to his own -rank. “I am surrounded by emperors, kings and many exalted persons, and -I have had much flattery from them, but I will not live upon familiar -terms with them; I prefer the people of my own station,” he said to -Griesinger. In his later years, indeed, he personally asserted his -dignity before his Prince and master. On his return from London, he -bitterly complained because he was addressed by the customary “Er,” as -an inferior, and after that he was always called “Herr von Haydn,” and -“Respected Sir,” or “Dear Capellmeister von Haydn.” Upon one occasion -the young Prince Nicholas expressed his disapproval of a rehearsal, -and Haydn replied: “Your Highness, it is _my_ duty to attend to these -matters.” A glance of displeasure was the only response of His Highness. - -With the orchestra itself, which numbered many excellent players, -Haydn had trouble many a time. The easy lenity of the Prince made it -careless, and what the habits of musicians were at that time Mozart’s -biography shows. “The appeals of Haydn are touching and heart-reaching -when he intercedes for those who have erred only through -carelessness,” says Pohl. He also helped to appease the Prince with -specially arranged compositions. To these probably belongs the symphony -in five movements, called “Le Midi,” with a recitative for the first -violinist, Tomasini, who was a special favorite of the Prince--a proof -that the images of his fancy were already influencing him, and that, -like Gluck, he was determined not to be “a mason,” but an “architect.” -That he put his whole soul into these compositions is shown by the -inscriptions at the beginning and end--“In nomine Domini,” “Laus Deo,” -etc. - -His most important compositions during his earlier years at Esterhaz -were Italian operas. The Prince had engaged foreign actors, and -the festival occasions at the palace, which as we know were often -attended by royal personages, were made brilliant by these theatrical -performances. During his thirty years stay at Esterhaz more than a -dozen of these works were brought out, some of which Haydn himself -esteemed. They certainly show a copious richness of detail, of harmonic -beauty and of instrumental effects. “When Cherubini looked through -some of my manuscripts, he always hit upon places which were deserving -of attention,” said Haydn to Griesinger, and Cherubini, at that time -an opera composer _par excellence_, might well be concerned about the -superiority of Haydn’s operas. But the qualities which were conspicuous -in Haydn’s instrumental music, the sure movement of the whole work -and the freedom of the intellectual development, were wanting in his -operas. This was Gluck’s contribution to the opera. Haydn had no part -in it. He recognized himself that his operas in originality of form -could scarcely equal those of Gluck in the more modern period. And yet -we shall find that one of his operas was performed in London. - -A criticism in the _Vienna Zeitung_ during the year 1766 gives us -another picture of his varied acquirements and of his successful -activity as well as of the character of his genius. He is enumerated -among the distinguished composers of the imperial city at that time -under the title of “Herr Joseph Haydn, the favorite of the nation, -whose gentle character is reflected in every one of his pieces. His -compositions possess beauty, symmetry, clearness, and a delicate and -noble simplicity, which impress themselves upon the listener even -before he has become specially attentive. His quartets, trios and other -works of this class are like a pure, clear strip of water, ruffled by a -southern breeze, quickly agitated and rolling with waves but preserving -its depth. The doubling of the melody by octaves originated with him -and one can not deny its charm. In the symphony, he is robust, powerful -and ingenious; in his songs, charming, captivating and tender; in his -minuets, natural, merry and graceful.” - -One can see that in all his leading qualities Haydn was recognized in -his own time. Rigid masters, like Haydn’s predecessor in service, the -Capellmeister Werner, a genuine representative of the old contrapuntal -school, were freely at hand with such epithets as “fashion-hunter” and -“song-scribbler.” But the acute Berlin _Critic_, at that time hostile -to everything South German, declared Haydn’s quartet, op. 19, and the -symphony, op. 18, that they displayed the most “original humor and -sprightly agreeable spirit.” It is J. F. Reichardt who says this: -“Never,” says he, “has there been a composer who combines so much unity -and variety with so much agreeableness and popularity. It is extremely -interesting to consider Haydn’s works in their successive order. His -first works, twenty years ago, showed that he had an agreeable humor -of his own, and yet it was rather mere pertness and extravagant mirth, -without much harmonic depth. But by degrees his humor became more -manly and his work more thoroughly considered, until through elevated -and earnest feeling, riper study, and above all, effect, the matured, -original man and trained artist were manifest.” “If we had only a -Haydn and Philip Emanuel Bach, we Germans could boldly assert that we -have a style of our own, and that our instrumental music is the most -interesting of all,” he says in conclusion. - -Haydn had also transferred to the richer string quartet and full -orchestra, the sonata-form founded by Philip Emanuel Bach, the organic -character of which is shown by the theory and history of music. How -he developed this form in its final perfection it is not necessary -to consider in detail at this time. He established, as we know, its -four-part form in the Allegro, Adagio, Minuet and Finale, and by his -great productivity and popularity brought this form into universal use. -He was the first to give to the Minuet, which is attractive in itself, -a popular, genial, and above all, a cheerful, humorous spirit. He very -materially broadened, arranged and elevated the first movement of the -sonata-form, gave to it more fullness and meaning through the organic -development of its own motive substance, deepened the Adagio from a -simple song (cavatina), to a completely satisfying tone-picture, and -above all, by thematic treatment, produced in the Finale the veritable -wonders of the mind and of life. That Haydn greatly heightened the -effect of the symphony by giving to the various instruments their -full development is apparent at once in his music, and yet it should -not be forgotten that Mozart, who had studied the performances of the -orchestras at Mannheim and Paris, also influenced him, above all in -his operas. But the crowning result of Haydn’s work will always remain -the germ of active life which he imparted to this form, and which he -developed so freely that it presented a definite and finished shape. -Haydn first gave the quartet and symphony that style which may be -called its own. - -Philip Emanuel Bach’s “Sonatas for Students and Amateurs,” always have -something which may be called studied about them. They are thoughtful -and considered, above all skillful and intellectual; but the free -expression of feeling only appears at intervals, especially in the -Adagio where Bach could depend for his effect upon the operatic aria -and the feeling of the original German Lied. The great Sebastian Bach’s -instrumental works are cyclopean structures, pelasgic monuments, -often the elementary mountains themselves. Many a time there looks -out of the stone, as it were, a visage, but it is a stony-face, like -that on the Loreley or the romantic Brocken--apparition: “And the -long rocky noses, how they snore, how they blow.” They are stone -giant-bodies, mighty Sphynx-images, which conceal more than they tell. -In the sharpest contrast with this music was the opera of that time, -in which fashionable puppets affected an outward, stilted appearance -of dramatic activity. Gluck first stripped off the gaudy tinsel and -revealed the concealed earnestness of the reality. The instrumental -music of the French and Italians suffered also from this affectation -and superficiality of the theatrical music, and Scarlatti, Corelli -and Couperin made the utmost effort to restore the free expression of -feeling and unrestrained nature to their own place in music. - -He who first revealed this “natural,” this inborn, and therefore -spontaneous art, in music, speaking through its own nature and with its -own voice, was our Haydn, and it was for this that Beethoven called -him great and posterity has called him immortal. And, as the Italians -say, that no man can paint a more beautiful head than he has himself, -so, though we have seen this Haydn physically and intellectually, what -matters it, if his portrait appears to us reversed in his music? - -Haydn was slender but strong, and below the medium height, with legs -disproportionately short, and seeming all the shorter, owing to his -old-fashioned style of dress. His features were tolerably regular, -his face serious and expressive, but at the same time attractive for -its benignity. “Kindliness and gentle earnestness showed themselves -in his person and bearing,” says Griesinger. When he was in earnest, -his countenance was dignified, and in pleasant conversation he had a -laughing expression, though Dies says he never heard him laugh aloud. -His large aquiline nose, disfigured by a polypus, was, like the rest -of his face, deeply pitted by smallpox, so that the nostrils were -differently shaped. The under lip, which was strong and somewhat -coarse, was very prominent. His complexion was very brown. One of his -biographical sketches mentions that he was called a Moor. He considered -himself ugly, and mentioned two Princes who could not endure his -appearance, because he seemed deformed to them. He stuck to his wig, -which has been already mentioned, in spite of all the changing modes, -through two generations, even to his death, but it concealed, to the -disadvantage of the general expression of his physiognomy, a large part -of his broad and finely developed forehead. Lavater, looking at his -silhouette, said: “I see something more than common in his nose and -eyebrows. The forehead also is good. The mouth has something of the -Philistine about it.” - -“There was great joyousness and mirth in his character,” says Dies, -and in his old age he said himself: “Life is a charming affair.” Joy -in life was the fundamental characteristic of his existence and his -compositions. His individual lot and his satisfaction with common -things contributed to this. “Contentment is happiness,” says the -philosopher. The unvarying simplicity of his life secured him the -luxury of good health, and next to that, the feeling of joy in living. -But in reality it is not this life-joyousness alone that is reflected -in his works. Though the influence of his outward life and of his inner -development were conducive to quiet reflection and earnest thought, he -preferred to give a sprightly turn to conversation. We have already -learned how deep were his personal attachments and gratitude. He -was also very beneficent and kindly disposed. “Haydn’s humanity was -exhibited to the high and low,” Dies once said, and modesty was his -simple Austrian virtue. Griesinger justly attributes religion as the -basis of all these qualities, which with him was the simple piety of -the heart--not a mere passing impulse, but the All and the Eternal -reflected in him. The result of this beautiful influence upon him -was that he was never imperious or haughty, notwithstanding all the -fame that was so profusely showered upon him during his life. “Honor -and fame were the two powerful elements that controlled him, but I -have never known an instance,” says Dies, “where they degenerated -into immoderate ambition.” He regarded his talent as a blessed gift -from Heaven, and no one was more ready to give new comers their just -deserts. He always spoke of Gluck and Handel with the most grateful -reverence, just as he did of Philip Emanuel Bach. Of his incomparably -beautiful relations with Mozart we shall soon learn. Nevertheless he -was not ignorant of his own worth. “I believe I have done my duty, and -that the world has been benefited by my works. Let others do the same,” -he used to say. He could not endure personal flattery and when it was -offered would resent it. He never allowed his goodness to be abused and -if it were attempted he would grow irritated and satirical. - -“A harmless waggishness, or what the English call humor, was a leading -trait in Haydn’s character. He delighted in discovering the comical -side of things, and after spending an hour with him you could not help -observing that he was full of the spirit of the Austrian national -cheerfulness,” says Griesinger. We may well conceive that in his -younger days he was very susceptible to love, and in his old age he -always had compliments for the ladies; but we must understand his -remark that “this is a part of my business,” in the same sense that -Goethe’s “Elegie Amor” is “stuff for song,” and the “higher style” to -the romantic poets. In fact, without some such personal inspiration, -like the ever-glowing and universal fire that animates humanity, many -of his pieces, especially his adagios, can not be understood. “It -has a deep meaning; it is rather difficult, but full of feeling,” -he once said of a sonata, to his highly esteemed friend, Frau von -Genzinger, whom we shall soon meet. It is the one, according to all -the indications, which the letters give, whose Adagio Cantabile is in -B sharp major, 3/4, and has in the second part a grand and mystical -modulation, with shifting of melody in the treble and bass by means of -the crossed hands. The first Allegro is also constructed like a quiet -conversation between a male and female voice. “I had so much to say to -Your Grace and so much to confess, from which no one but Your Grace -could absolve me,” he writes. He begs that he may call her a friend -“for ever,” and the Minuet, which she had asked of him in a letter a -short time before, wonderfully expresses the request. - -At a later period in London, he took an English singer, Miss -Billington, under his protection, whose conduct was not highly regarded -and had even been severely criticised in the public press. “It is said -that her character is faulty, but in spite of all this, she is a great -genius, though hated by all the women because she is handsome,” he -writes in his diary. The diary also contains letters from an English -widow, Madame Schroter, who loved him devotedly. “She was still a -beautiful and attractive woman, though over sixty, and had I been -free, I should certainly have married her,” he said upon one occasion -to Dies, with his peculiar roguish laugh. A single extract from -these tender letters is enough for us to understand the depth of her -devotion: “My dearest Haydn, I feel for you the deepest and warmest -love of which the human heart is capable.” Unless it has something to -feed upon, however, the hottest fire will be extinguished. He could not -comprehend in his later life, how so many beautiful women had fallen in -love with him. “My beauty could not have attracted them,” he said in -1805, to Dies, and when the latter replied, “you have a certain genial -something in your face,” he answered: “One may see that I am on good -terms with every one.” “He did not fancy that he was made of any better -material, nor did he seek, through assumed purity, to place himself on -any higher plane of morality than his own opinion justified,” explains -Dies. He was the unaffected child of his Austrian home in a time when -one seemed still to wander in Paradise and life had no thorns. - -Thus, from every point of view, Joseph Haydn stands before us an -original, well defined personality, passing, as his life-long bearing -shows us, from an artificial and unnatural time in every way, to -a period of the renewed free assertion of individuality and its -involuntary expression of feeling. He tells us with the utmost naivete, -that it was not composition but inclination and enthusiasm that had -been his inspiration. “Haydn always sketched out his works at the -piano,” says Griesinger. “I seated myself and began to compose,” says -Haydn, “whatever my mood suggested, sad or joyous, earnest or trifling. -As soon as I seized upon an idea, I used my utmost efforts to develop -and hold it fast in conformity with every rule of the art. The reason -why so many composers fail is that they string fragments together. -They break off almost as soon as they have commenced, and nothing is -left to make an impression upon the heart.” He always wrote, impelled -by inspiration, but at first only the outlines of the whole. That it -was this poetico-musical impulse that urged him on, is shown by the -following anecdote: - -“About the year 1770, Haydn was prostrated with a burning fever, and -his physician had expressly forbidden him to do any musical work -during his convalescence,” says Griesinger. “His wife shortly afterward -went to church one day, leaving strict instructions with the servant -about the doctor’s orders. Scarcely had she gone, when he sent the -servant away upon some errand, and hurriedly rushed to the piano. -At the very first touch the idea of a whole sonata presented itself -in his mind, and the first part was finished while his wife was at -church. When he heard her coming back he quickly threw himself into bed -again and composed the rest of the sonata there. Mozart and Beethoven -certainly did not at first need the piano in composing, and it is by no -means certain that Haydn also did not find that first movement in bed. -In any case, the anecdote shows the simple, artistic, involuntary power -that moved him.” - -From the same source also proceeded the vital personal impulse of his -joyous expression, and the individual physiognomy of the themes and -motives in his compositions. His melody throughout reminds one of the -aria, not in the affected rococo style of Louis Fourteenth’s time, -but based upon grammatical declamation; and it is only a certain -regularly recurring pattern of the melody that makes us feel it belongs -to the very time in which he was living. The separate parts of the -sonata-form were infused with a stronger vitality by this virile humor -and elevated and refined feeling. In this connection Griesinger’s -remark is specially pertinent. “This humor is extremely striking in -his compositions, and this is specially characteristic of his Allegros -and Finales, which playfully keep the listener alternating from what -has the appearance of seriousness to the highest style of humor, -until it reaches unrestrained joyousness.” Dies calls it “popular -and refined, but in the highest sense, original musical wit.” This -musical frolicsomeness opened in reality a new and richly profitable -province for art. It aroused a spirit which had hitherto slumbered, and -from Mozart and Beethoven, even to Schumann and Wagner, we find this -simplest soul-voice and these wonderfully expressive tones, ravishing -and at the same time sorrowful in their nature, springing up; for the -basis of this voice is the involuntary but deep feeling for human life, -sorrowing with its sorrow, merry with its folly, and always intimately -associated with all human actions. - -Haydn himself attributes to this state of mind many features of -his Adagios as well as of his Minuets and Finales. The increasing -intellectual progress brought in time “ideas which swept through his -mind and which he strove to express in the language of tones.” He -himself told Griesinger that in his symphonies he often pictured “moral -attributes.” In one of the oldest the prominent idea was that God spoke -to a hardened sinner, beseeching him to repent, but the careless sinner -gave no heed to the admonition. A symphony of the year 1767 is called -“The Philosopher;” a divertimento, “The Beloved Schoolmaster;” and -another work of a later period, “The Distracted One.” - -An anecdote of the year 1772 shows us a characteristic illustration -of this artistic life-work. After the year 1766 the Prince made a -summer-residence of the castle at Esterhaz, on the Neusiedler-See, -where he remained fully half the year, accompanied by the best of his -musicians. “I was at that time young and lively, and consequently -not any better off than the others,” said Haydn with a laugh, -especially in reference to the longing of his musicians to go home to -their wives and children. “The Prince must have known of their very -natural home-sickness for some time, and the ludicrous appearance -they presented when he announced to them that he had suddenly decided -to remain there two months longer, amused him very much,” says Dies. -The order plunged the young men into despair. They besieged the -Capellmeister, and no one sympathized with them more than Haydn. Should -he present a petition? That would only expose them to laughter. He put -a multitude of similar questions to himself, but without answer. What -did he do? Not many evenings after, the Prince was surprised in a very -extraordinary manner. Right in the midst of some passionate music one -instrument ceased, the player noiselessly folded up his music, put out -his light and went away. Soon a second finished and went off also; a -third and fourth followed, all extinguishing their lights and taking -their instruments away. The orchestra grew smaller and more indistinct. -The Prince and all present sat in silent wonder. Finally the last but -one extinguished his light, and then Haydn took his and went also. -Only the first violinist remained. Haydn had purposely selected this -one, as his playing was very pleasing to the Prince and therefore he -would be constrained to wait to the end. The end came. The last light -was extinguished and even Tomasini disappeared. Then the Prince arose -and said, “If all go, we may as well go too.” The players meanwhile -had collected in the ante-room, and the Prince said smiling, “Haydn, -the gentlemen have my consent to go to-morrow.” It was the composition -which afterward became well known under the name of “The Surprise -Symphony.” - -In like manner Haydn through his music, so to speak, could reduce his -ideas and emotions to practical reality. The Chapter of the Cathedral -at Cadiz desired some music for Good Friday which should follow at the -end of and complete the interpretation of the Seven Words of the Savior -on the Cross, after they had been spoken and explained by the priest. -Haydn himself says in a letter to London, that any text of the nature -of the Seven Words can only be expressed by instrumental music; that it -made the deepest impression upon his mind; and that he justly esteemed -it as one of his best works. It was performed twice at a later period -in London under his own direction. In the Finale he has an earthquake -effect, which was called for the third time at his own benefit concert -there, and is the precursor of the imagery of “The Creation.” The work -as a whole is of decidedly characteristic quality. This was in the year -1780 and that Haydn was selected for the work, shows not only how far -his fame had extended at that time, but above all, that his artistic -ability to invest instrumental music with the gift of language was -unmistakably recognized. Thus the master’s art was firmly established -abroad, and he did not have to wait long before grander themes of -larger proportions were tendered him. - -We close with a selection of characteristic expressions made by -Haydn in these earlier years of his work, about his art and artistic -progress, most of which are to be found in the “Musical Letters.” - -In the year 1776, he says in that autobiography which was requested of -him for a “Learned National Society” in Vienna, that in chamber-music -he has had the good fortune to please almost all people except the -Berliners. His only wonder was that “these judicious Berlin gentlemen” -kept no medium in their criticisms, at one time elevating him to the -stars, and at another “burying him seventy fathoms deep in the earth,” -and this without any good reason. But he knew the source of all these -attacks upon his artistic work. - -The Vienna Pensions Verein for artists’ widows which to-day bears the -name of Haydn, and for which he had written the oratorio “The Return -of Tobias,” stipulated as a condition of his admission to membership, -that besides the above work, he should bind himself to furnish some -composition every year for the benefit of the Society, and in case -of failure to do so should be dismissed. Haydn at once demanded his -deposit back, and addressed them in the following manner: “Dear -friends, I am a man of too much feeling to constantly expose myself to -the risk of being cashiered. The free arts and the beautiful science -of composition can endure no fetters upon their handiwork. _Heart and -soul must be free!_” - -This was in the year 1779. It marks the full development of his -artistic consciousness. He was more and more convinced of the lofty -mission of an art which has its source in such creations. In the year -1781, he expressed the wish to have the opinion of the Councilor Von -Greiner, one of the most distinguished connoisseurs in Vienna, often -mentioned in Mozart’s biographies, with regard to the expression of -his songs, and assures his publisher, Artaria, that for variety, -beauty and simplicity, they excel any other he has written. The French -admired exceedingly the pleasing melody of his “Stabat Mater,” work -of that kind not having been heard in Paris, and very rarely indeed -in Vienna. This is all the more remarkable, as Gluck at that time had -already written and brought out his great dramatic works collectively. -Some of his songs had been “wretchedly” set to music by the Vienna -Capellmeister Hoffmann, Haydn goes on to relate, and as this swaggerer -believed that he alone had scaled Parnassus, and sought to crush Haydn -down in certain circles of the great world, he had set the same songs -to show this pretended great world the difference. “They are only -songs, but not Hoffmannish street-songs, without ideas, expression, -and above all, melody,” he closes. We can no longer doubt from this -that he would not suffer his creations to be despoiled of their -spiritually-poetic nature. He would not allow his songs to be sung by -any one until he himself had brought them out in the concert-room. -“The master must maintain his rights by his own presence and correct -performance,” says he. It is this distinctive nature and form of -modern music which is fully revealed for the first time in Mozart and -Beethoven, and music which has been created by the intellect can only -be properly judged by the intellect. - -There was also that inner something, “the musical nature,” which -impelled him and urged him on to his most characteristic creations. -“One is seized upon by a conscious mood which will not endure -restraint,” he once said. In like manner at another time he made the -characteristic remark: “The music plays upon me as if I were a piano.” -Apropos of the technical side of music, he characteristically remarked -to Dies in 1805: “If an idea struck me as beautiful and satisfactory -to the ear and the heart, I would far rather let a grammatical error -remain than sacrifice what is beautiful to mere pedantic trifling.” - -Finally, that we may point out to the player some instances of this -actual life-painting in tones, let us take the well-known Peters’ -Edition, which is easily accessible to every one. First of all, -among the thirty-four piano sonatas, the one in C sharp minor is a -beautiful piece of earnest work and full of character, the Minuet -very melancholy and illustrating the national melody of that southern -people. No. 5 is the clearest picture of buoyant health. One can see -young life at play in the spring-meadows. In No. 7 the music assumes a -strange capriciousness, and in the Largo in D minor, notwithstanding -it is barely eighteen measures long, shows the grand tragic style -of Beethoven, as well as its humor, which recalls the variations in -F minor, whose color and rhythm suggest the funeral march in the -Eroica. The Adagio of the A flat major sonata, No. 8, is a gem of the -intellectual development of all harmonic and contrapuntal means, and -in the Larghetto of No. 20, surely all the nightingales of life are -deliciously warbling. Both of these are complete lyric scenes. Above -all, the first as well as the last sonata of Haydn’s shows a plastic -touch, which clearly reveals this master’s natural and artistic -feeling, and often fills us with overwhelming astonishment at the power -of genius, which in such small limits and with such simple means can -utter things that to-day are immediately recognized, wherever feeling -exists and is capable of manifesting itself in the comprehension of the -mission of human life. - -Richer, greater, more inwardly finished, if not always esthetic in -the highest sense throughout, this appears in the quartets, and here, -above all else, we first discover that Haydn in that style was the -forerunner of Mozart and Beethoven alike, and still further, that -he was the original source of the success of the later Italians who -copied his sprightliness, his thoughtful style, amiability and natural -spirit, while the German heroes found their native power and their -free mental conception and method in his own inner life, culminating -in the matchless melody of Franz Schubert. These spirited first -movements, these flowing Finales, these Minuets, these Adagios, full -of ever-increasing and exuberant wit, how irresistibly they seize -upon one! How their warm affection satisfies! It is, in fact, “Idea, -Expression, Melody.” Glance only at the pieces which may be found in -the Peters’ Edition: Op. 54, with the highly characteristic Minuet -and the Finale, is remarkable in itself for a Presto contained in the -Adagio, as well as for being the precursor of the Adagio of Beethoven’s -sonata, op. 31, No. 1. The Adagios in op. 74, op. 76 and op. 77, are -still grander in tone, but not more beautiful or fervent than those of -op. 54 and op. 64. The Adagio in op. 103 has in its concluding measures -somewhat of the blessed and elevated nature of the close of that most -beautiful of all soul-poems which pure music has created,--the Lento of -op. 135, Beethoven’s grave-song. We need not mention the symphonies, -those well-known works of Haydn. Everywhere in his music we meet what -Goethe calls the absolute source of all life--“Idea and Love.” - -We have seen that isolation enriched and prospered Haydn. We arrive -now at a period when by his intimate personal association with Mozart, -and his entrance into the great changing outer world, he was destined -to develop his genius to its fullest extent. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE FIRST LONDON JOURNEY. - -1781-1792. - - A Winter Adventure--The Relations of Mozart and Haydn--Mozart’s - Dedication--The Emperor Joseph’s Opinions--Letters to Frau - von Genzinger--A Catalogue of Complaints--His Engagement with - Salomon--The London Journey--Scenes on the Way--A Brilliant - Reception--Rivalry of the Professional Concerts--The Händel - Festival--Honors at Oxford--Pleyel’s Arrival--Royal Honors--His - Benefit Concert--Return to Vienna. - - -“I am already at home in Vienna by my few works, and if the composer is -not there his children always are in all the concerts,” replied Haydn -to that Charity for artists’ widows, which wished to elect him as a -“foreigner,” upon such severe conditions. We meet with a characteristic -instance of this popularity about the year 1770, when he once, as was -his habit, went to Vienna on business. - -It was winter. Over his somewhat shabby garments he had thrown a fur -cloak, whose age was also conspicuous. An uncombed wig and an old -hat completed his costume. Haydn, so great a friend of neatness, on -this occasion would hardly have been recognized. He looked like a -masquerader, when he entered Vienna. At the residence of a Count in -Karnthner Street he heard the music of one of his own symphonies. The -orchestra was powerful, the players good. “Stop, coachman, stop.” -Haydn sprang out of the carriage, hurried up to the house, ascended -the steps, entered the vestibule and listened quietly at the door. A -servant approached, surveyed the strange apparition from head to foot, -and at last thundered out: “What are you doing here, sir?” “I would -like to listen a little.” “This is no place for listening; go about -your business.” Haydn pretended not to hear the abuse. The servant at -last seized him by the cloak with the words: “You have heard enough, -now pack off or I will pitch you out doors.” Haydn handed him a couple -of Kreuzer pieces. As soon as the Allegro was finished the servant -again urged him to go. Haydn wanted to hear the Adagio, and was -searching his pocket anew, when by chance the door was opened, and he -was recognized by one of the players. In an instant the hall resounded -with a loud greeting. “Haydn, Haydn,” was on every lip! The doors -were thrown open and more than twenty persons surrounded the revered -master and bore him into the salon, a part of them greeting him as an -acquaintance and the rest seeking an introduction. In the midst of the -loud acclamation, a shrill voice above them cried out: “That is not -Haydn; it is impossible. Haydn must be larger, handsomer and stronger, -not such a little insignificant man as that one there in the circle.” -Universal laughter ensued. Haydn, more astonished than any of the -rest, looked about him to see who had disputed his identity. It was an -Italian Abbe who had heard of Haydn and admired him very much. He had -mounted a table in order to see him. The universal laughter only ended -with the commencement of the Adagio but Haydn remained until the close -of the symphony. - -“My only misfortune is my country life,” Haydn writes in the spring -of 1781, but he could be in Vienna two of the winter months at least, -and there it was he found the artist, who more than all others, not -excepting even Philip Emanuel Bach, influenced him and helped to raise -his fame “to the stars”--Mozart. - -Their personal acquaintance first commenced in the spring of 1781, when -Mozart came to Vienna and permanently remained there. The letters of -Mozart’s father, during the journeys of 1764 and 1768, make no mention -of Haydn, and in the summer of 1773, when Mozart passed a short time in -Vienna, Haydn as usual was at Esterhaz. Mozart’s own letters however -show that even as a boy he knew and admired Haydn. He sent for his -Minuets from Italy, and also created a taste for the German Minuet -among the Italians. The actual acquaintance between these two artists, -so widely apart in years, the true foundation of which both in life -and in their works, rested above all upon that cordiality which is so -intimate a part of German life, must have brought them very closely -together. How Mozart felt towards Haydn, a statement of Griesinger’s -shows. Haydn once brought out a new quartet in the presence of Mozart -and his old enemy, the Berliner, Leopold Kozeluch, in which some bold -changes occurred. “That sounds strange. Would you have written that -so?” said Kozeluch to Mozart. “Hardly” was the reply, “but do you know -why? Because neither you nor I could have hit upon such an idea.” -At another time, when this talentless composer would not cease his -fault-finding, Mozart excitedly exclaimed: “Sir, if we were melted down -together, we would be far from making a Haydn.” - -Association with the circles, in which at this golden time of music in -Vienna, Haydn’s compositions were cherished with pleasure and love, and -even with actual devotion, by artists and connoisseurs, inspired him -to accomplish something of equivalent value. As early as the autumn of -1782, he commenced to write a series of six quartets, and the Italian -dedication of them to Haydn is the most beautiful instance of unselfish -admiration that can be conceived. It was written in the autumn of 1785, -and the translation reads: - - MY DEAR FRIEND HAYDN: - - When a father sends his sons out into the wide world, he should, - I think, confide them to the protection and guidance of a highly - celebrated man, who by some happy dispensation is also the best - among his friends. So to this famous man and most precious friend, - to thee, I bring my six sons. They are, it is true, the fruit of - long and laborious toil, but the hope which my friends hold out to - me leads me to anticipate that these works, a part at least, will - compensate me, and it gives me courage and persuades me that some - day they will be a source of happiness to me. You, yourself, dearest - friend, expressed your satisfaction with them during your last visit - to our capital. Your judgment above all inspires me with the wish - to offer them to you, and with the hope that they will not seem - wholly unworthy of your favor. Take them kindly, and be to them a - father, guide and friend. From this moment I resign all right in - them to you, and beg you to regard with indulgence the faults which - may have escaped the loving eyes of their father, and in spite of - them to continue your generous friendship towards one who so highly - appreciates it. Meantime I remain with my whole heart, your sincere - friend. - - W. A. MOZART. - -He called Haydn “Papa,” and when some one spoke of his dedication, -replied: “That was duty, for I first learned from Haydn how one should -write quartets.” How Haydn with his simple modesty always bowed to -divinely inspired genius, is shown by a letter from Mozart’s father, of -the fourteenth of February of the same year, 1785, which may be found -complete in the book: “Mozart, after Sketches by his Cotemporaries,” -(Leipsic, 1880). It reads: “On Saturday evening Herr Joseph Haydn was -with us. The new quartets were played, which complete the other three -we have. They are a little easier but delightfully written. Herr Haydn -said to me: ‘I declare to you, before God and upon my honor, your son -is the greatest composer with whom I am personally acquainted. He has -taste and possesses the most consummate knowledge of composition.’” -That was truly an expression of “satisfaction,” and to such a “father” -Mozart might well entrust his “children.” He understood their merits -and character. “If Mozart had composed nothing else but his quartets -and his ‘Requiem’ he would have been immortal,” the Abbe Stadler heard -Haydn remark afterwards. During a discussion of the well-known discord -in the introduction to the C major quartet, he declared that if Mozart -wrote it so, he had some good reason for it. He never neglected an -opportunity of hearing Mozart’s music, and declared that he could not -listen to one of his works without learning something. Kelly in his -Reminiscences, tells of a quartet performance about the year 1786, in -which Haydn, Dittersdorf Mozart and Banhall took part--certainly an -unprecedented gathering. Dittersdorf, of whose virtuoso playing mention -has already been made, must have played the first violin. - -In the year 1787, “Don Juan” was brought out in Prague, and as Mozart -could not entertain a proposition for a second opera, application was -made to Haydn. He wrote from Esterhaz, in December, one of the most -beautiful of all his letters. It is contained in Mozart’s Biography: -“You desire a comic opera from me,” he says. “Gladly would I furnish -it, if you desired one of my vocal compositions for yourself alone, -but if it is to be brought out in Prague, I could not serve you, -because all my operas are so closely connected with our personal circle -at Esterhaz, and they could not produce the proper effect which I -calculated in accordance with the locality. It would be different, if -I had the inestimable privilege of composing an entirely new work for -your theater. Even then, however, the risk would be great, for scarcely -any one can bear comparison with the great Mozart. Would that I could -impress upon every friend of music, and especially upon great men, -the same deep sympathy and appreciation for Mozart’s inimitable works -that I feel and enjoy; then, the nations would vie with each other in -the possession of such a treasure. Prague should hold fast to such a -dear man, and also remunerate him, for without this the history of a -great man is sad indeed, and gives little encouragement to posterity -for effort. It is for the lack of this, so many promising geniuses are -wrecked. It vexes me that this matchless man is not yet engaged by some -imperial or royal court. Pardon me if I am excited, for I love the man -very dearly.” - -The above reproach was superfluous so far as Mozart was concerned, for -he had at that time been appointed chamber-composer at the imperial -court, though Haydn, being in Eisenstadt, did not know it; but without -any doubt the reproach was applicable in another case--that of Haydn -himself. The recognition of his special work had as yet made but little -progress among the professional musicians, critics and influential -circles. His letters are full of protests against this injustice and -misfortune, and the statements of Mozart, already quoted, show how just -they were. The elegant leaders of Italian fashion and Spanish etiquette -were not more likely to encourage a low-born Esterhaz Capellmeister -in uncivilized Hungary than they were the national humor, pleasantry -and vivacity which had for the first time found proper expression in -music, and the liberties which these qualities permitted, contrary -to the accepted style, were either not recognized at all, or looked -upon as mistakes. It was all the more unfortunate for him that Joseph -II was the very embodiment of this foreign manner. The well-known -Reichardt, who met the Emperor in Vienna in 1783, relates: “I thought -at least in a conversation about Haydn, whom I named with reverence, -and whose absence I regretted, we should agree. ‘I thought,’ said -the Emperor, ‘you Berlin gentlemen did not care for such trifling. I -don’t care much for it, and so it goes pretty hard with the excellent -artist.’” This in a measure is confirmed by a conversation between -Joseph and Dittersdorf, two years later: “What do you think of his -chamber-music?” “That it is making a sensation all over the world, and -with good reason.” “Is he not too much addicted to trifling?” “He has -the gift of trifling without degrading his art.” “You are right there.” - -While such malicious partiality and miscomprehension must have -distressed Haydn very much, it secured for him the renewed good opinion -of Mozart and recognition of his elevated character, and he did not -refrain from giving expression to it. “It was truly touching when he -spoke of the two Haydns and other great masters. One would have thought -he was listening to one of his scholars rather than to the all-powerful -Mozart,” says Niemetscheck, speaking of Mozart’s visit to Prague. -Rochlitz also reports the following opinion which Mozart expressed: -“No one can play with and profoundly move the feelings, excite to -laughter and stir the deepest emotions, each with equal power, like -Joseph Haydn.” Such reverence must have given the master the fullest -conviction of his artistic power, for who was better qualified to -pass such judgment than such a genius? Meanwhile this judgment was -confirmed by unprejudiced hearers all over the world. As we learn from -Gyrowetz’s Autobiography, a symphony of this young master was played -in Paris as a favorite composition in all the theaters and concerts, -because it was mistaken for a work of Haydn’s. He also had to specially -protect his music from being clandestinely copied and engraved. - -It is not surprising therefore to hear him say at the close of a letter -in 1787, in which he offers a London publisher the “Seven Words,” six -“splendid” symphonies, and three “very elegant” nocturnes: “I hope -to see you by the close of this year, as I have not yet received any -reply from Herr Cramer as to an engagement for myself this winter in -Naples.” The London invitation concerned the so-called professional -concerts. A year afterward, J. P. Salomon contracted with him for -concert-engagements in the Haymarket theater. Mozart writes to his -father in 1783 as follows: “I know positively that Hofstetter has twice -copied Haydn’s music,” and Haydn himself in 1787 writes to Artaria: -“Your own copyist is a rascal, for he offered mine eight ducats this -winter to let him have the ‘Seven Words.’” He justly complains that -he is not paid sufficiently for his works, and on one occasion thanks -Artaria “without end for the unexpected twelve ducats.” “I have until -now kept it from my readers that Haydn declared on the occasion of -my first visit to him he had been in straightened circumstances to -his sixtieth year,” says Dies, and he adds that in spite of all his -economy and the generosity of Prince Nicholas at his death, and thirty -years of hard toil, his entire property consisted of a small house and -five hundred florins in gold. Besides this he had about two thousand -florins in public funds which he had laid aside against a time of -need. Dies rightly attributes such penury after such industry to the -extravagance of his wife. But notwithstanding the Esterhazy goodness, -the fact remains that Haydn often found himself longing for a change. -It mattered little that he had equal fame with Gluck and Mozart. Such -a Prince should have kept the purse of a man of such sensitive and -exalted feeling well filled. - -“My greatest ambition is to be recognized by all the world as the -honest man which I really am,” he writes about the year 1776, and -dedicates all the praises he had received “to Almighty God, for to -Him alone are they due.” His wish was neither to offend his neighbor -nor his gracious Prince, and above all, the merciful God. Now that -he realized the beautiful divine pleasure of reverence, and that his -unworthy situation with its constant restrictions and distress pressed -upon his artistic feeling, he longed for a change more ardently than -ever. “I had a good Prince, but at times had to be dependent on base -souls; I often sighed for release,” he writes from London in 1791. -His determination to accept the London invitation must have been very -strong, for a letter of 1781 closes: “Meanwhile I thank you very much -for the lodgings offered me.” His gratitude actually prevented him from -traveling, though he was literally besieged by his friends, and, as we -have seen, was invited from abroad. “He swore to the Prince to serve -him until death should separate them and not to forsake him though he -were offered millions,” Dies heard him say. The Prince in times of -pressing necessity allowed him to draw upon his credit, but Haydn -availed himself of this privilege as seldom as possible, and was always -satisfied with small sums. - -Among impressions so varied in their nature, the letters were written -which belong to the following year and from which we must present a few -short extracts. They are addressed to Frau von Genzinger in Vienna, -the wife of a physician who was also physician in ordinary to Prince -Esterhazy. She was very intimate with our master in his later years, -for she had made his friendship in connection with his art, having -arranged symphonies of his for the piano. In reading these letters, -one truly feels the noble aspirations of Haydn’s soul. The influence -which this excellent lady had upon the poetical character of his works -is evident in the beautiful sonata whose Adagio “meant so much.” Here -indeed vibrate accords as full of life and longing as music was capable -of expressing at that time in her soft measures. - -In the house of this “ladies’ doctor,” as he was universally called in -Vienna, Mozart, Dittersdorf, Albrechtsberger, afterward Beethoven’s -teacher, and Haydn, when he was in Vienna, met regularly on Sundays, -and it must have been doubly painful to him to go back to his wretched -solitude from these delightful gatherings where he could sit near -her ladyship and hear the masterpieces of Mozart played. Alas! the -separation came sooner than Haydn wished. “The sudden resolution of my -Prince to withdraw from Vienna, which is hateful to him, is the cause -of my precipitate journey to Esterhaz,” he writes in 1789. In contrast -with the other magnates, who were fond of displaying their splendor and -gratifying their tastes, and nowhere was this so true as in Vienna, -Prince Nicholas with his increasing years grew more and more unpopular -in that city. Haydn himself gives the most forcible expression to his -dissatisfaction with his surroundings. - -The address: “High and nobly born, highly esteemed, best of all, Frau -von Genzinger,” shows us the style of the time, and the following -letter of February 9, 1790, tells us the whole story: - -“Here I sit in my wilderness, deserted like a poor orphan, almost -without human society, sad, full of the recollections of past happy -days, yes, past, alas! And who can say when those delightful days will -return--those pleasant gatherings, when the whole circle were of one -heart and soul--all those charming musical evenings which can only be -imagined, not described? Where are all those inspired moments? All are -gone, and gone for a long time,” he writes, and it was only his native -cheerfulness that could allay this feeling of loneliness. “Wonder -not, dear lady, that I have delayed so long in writing my gratitude. -I found everything at home torn up. For three days I was uncertain -whether I was Capellmeister or Capell-servant. Nothing consoled me. -My entire apartment was in confusion. My piano, which I love so much, -was inconstant and disobedient, and it vexed instead of tranquilizing -me. I could sleep but little, my dreams troubled me so. When I dreamed -of hearing ‘The Marriage of Figaro,’ a fatal north-wind awoke me and -almost blew my night-cap off my head.” In his next remarks we learn -of a composition, about which he had written a short time before to -his publisher, saying that he had in his leisure hours composed a new -capriccio for the piano, which by its taste, originality and close -finish would be sure to receive universal applause. “I became three -pounds thinner on the way,” he continues, “because of the loss of my -good Vienna fare. Alas, thought I to myself, when in my restaurant I -had to eat a piece of fifty-year-old cow instead of fine beef, an old -sheep and yellow carrots instead of a ragout and meat balls, a leathery -grill instead of a Bohemian pheasant! alas, alas, thought I, would that -I now had many a morsel which I could not have eaten in Vienna! Here, -in Esterhaz, no one asks me, ‘Would you like chocolate? Do you desire -coffee with or without milk? With what can I serve you, my dear Haydn? -Will you have vanilla or pine-apple ice?’ Would that I had only a piece -of good Parmesan cheese, so that I might the more easily swallow the -black dumplings! Pardon me, most gracious lady, for taking up your time -in my first letter with such piteous stuff. Much allowance must be made -for a man spoiled by the good things in Vienna. But I have already -commenced to accustom myself to the country by degrees, and yesterday I -studied for the first time quite in the Haydn manner.” - -An event shortly after occurred which for the time greatly stimulated -his creative ability. The Princess died, and the Prince sank into such -melancholy that he wanted music every day. At this time he would not -allow him to be absent for twenty-four hours. He speaks often of his -deep distress of heart and of his many disappointments and ill-humors. -“But, thank God, this time will also pass away,” he says at the close -of a letter, in which he is looking forward to the winter. “It is sad -always to be a slave, but Providence so wills it,” he says on another -occasion. “I am a poor creature, continually tormented with hard work, -and with but few hours for recreation. Friends? What do I say? One -true friend? There are no longer any true friends, save one, oh! yes, -I truly have one, but she is far away from me; I can take refuge, -however, in my thoughts; God bless her and so order that she shall -not forget me.” “My friendship for you is so tender that it can never -become culpable, since I always have before my eyes reverence for -your exalted virtue,” he also wrote in reply to Frau von Genzinger, -concerning a letter which to his regret had been lost. - -We now come to a time when the “ill-humors” ceased, and Haydn secured -a better situation, and, more than all, complete freedom. The Prince -died and crowned his generosity with the legacy of a pension of one -thousand gulden. The new Prince, Paul Anton, added four hundred gulden -more to it, so that Haydn could now live comfortably upon a stipend of -two thousand eight hundred marks. He discharged the orchestra and only -required of Haydn that he should retain the title of Capellmeister at -Esterhaz. Haydn called this position “poorly requited” and added that -he was on horseback, “without saddle or bridle,” but hoped one day or -other by his own service, “for I can not flatter or beg,” or by the -personal influence of his gracious Prince, to be placed in a higher -position. But this did not occur until a later time, and then by the -help “of his fourth Prince.” He soon removed to Vienna, and declined -the invitation of Prince Grassalkowic to enter his service. It was -not long before his affairs took a happy turn in another direction, -and in the place of rural restraint he enjoyed the widest and most -unrestricted public liberty. - -The violinist, J. P. Salomon, a native of Bonn, who had played in -Haydn’s quartets long before and occupied a distinguished place in -the musical world of London, entered his room one evening and curtly -said: “I am Salomon, of London, and have come to take you away. We will -close the bargain to-morrow.” He was on his travels engaging singers -for the theatrical manager Gallini, and on his return to Cologne, -heard of the death of Prince Esterhazy. Haydn at first offered various -objections--his ignorance of foreign languages, his inexperience in -traveling and his old age; but Salomon’s propositions were so brilliant -that he wavered. Five thousand gulden, and the sale of his compositions -were something worth unusual consideration in the straightened -circumstances of a simple musician, entering upon old age. Besides, he -had plenty of compositions finished which no one knew of outside of -Esterhaz. He made his assent conditional upon the Prince’s permission -and gave no further heed to Salomon’s persuasions. Mozart himself, who -had traveled much about the world, interposed his objections with the -best intentions. “Papa” was too old. He was not fitted for the great -world. He spoke too few languages. A man of fifty-eight ought to remain -quietly among his old and sure friends. “I am still active and strong, -and my language is understood all over the world,” he replied. - -The Prince did not refuse his permission, and the expenses of the -journey were advanced. Haydn sold his little house at Eisenstadt, took -the five hundred gulden which he had saved up, consigned his bonds to -his “highly cherished” Vienna friend to whom he commended his wife, -and made all his preparations for the journey which was to establish -his fame all over the world. He started Dec. 15, 1790. Mozart did -not leave his beloved “Papa” the whole day. He dined with him, and -tearfully exclaimed at the moment of separation: “We are saying our -last farewell to-day.” Haydn was also deeply moved. He was twenty-four -years older, and the thought of his own death alone occurred to him. -It was but a year later that he heard of Mozart’s death, and shed -bitter tears. “I shall rejoice in my home and in embracing my good -friends like a child,” he wrote at a later time to Frau von Genzinger, -“only I lament that the great Mozart will not be among them, if it -be true, which I hope not, that he is dead. Posterity will not find -such talent again for a century.” He was the one who was destined to -be the heir of Mozart, and it was his London visit which broadened his -intellectual horizon and gave his fancy freer development. He was then -the direct guide of Beethoven, whose sonatas, quartets and symphonies -were more closely developed and patterned upon the works which Haydn -had then written than upon Mozart’s, the marvelous beauty of whose -music was more like an inspiration from above, which could scarcely be -appropriated or imitated by his followers. - -His letters to Frau von Genzinger abound in information about the -events of this journey, and, thanks to the detailed investigation of -C. F. Pohl in his little book, “Mozart and Haydn in London” (Vienna: -1867), we are now placed in full possession of them, but we shall -confine ourselves only to those details which are indispensable to a -record of Haydn’s progress. - -In Munich, Haydn became acquainted with Cannabich, who had so greatly -promoted symphony performances in Germany--an acquaintance which must -have been of two-fold interest to the founder of the symphony. In Bonn, -particularly, where his music had many friends, and had been played -exceedingly often in churches, theaters, public and chamber-concerts -(see Beethoven’s Life, Vol. I), he was astonished on one occasion, -according to Dies’ narrative. Salomon took him on Christmas night to -the mass. “The first chords revealed a work of Haydn’s. Our Haydn -regarded it as an accident, though it was very agreeable to him to -listen to one of his own works,” it is said. Towards the close, a -person approached him and invited him to enter the oratory. Haydn was -not a little astonished when he saw that the Elector Maximilian had -summoned him. He took him by the hand and addressed his musicians in -these words: “Let me make you acquainted with your highly cherished -Haydn.” The Elector allowed him time for them to become acquainted, -and then invited him to his table. The invitation caused him a little -embarrassment, for he and Salomon had arranged a little dinner in -their own house. Haydn took refuge in excuses, and thereupon withdrew -and betook himself to his residence, where he was surprised by an -unexpected proof of the good will of the Elector. At his quiet command, -the little dinner had changed into a large one for twelve persons, -and the most skillful of the musicians had been invited. Could the -Elector’s court organist, Beethoven, have been among the guests? He -was at that time twenty years old, and certainly was among the most -skillful of the musicians. - -Haydn writes about the remainder of the journey and his arrival in -London, to his friend in Vienna. He remained on deck during the entire -passage, that he might observe to his heart’s content that huge -monster, the sea. He might have thought with an ironical smile of the -storm in “The Devil on Two Sticks.” He was completely overwhelmed “with -the endlessly great city of London, which astonishes me with its varied -beauties and wonders,” but it still further broadened his experience to -see with his own eyes the representatives of a great free people like -those of England. His arrival had already caused a great sensation, and -for three days he went the rounds of all the newspapers. After a few -days he was invited to an amateur concert, and leaning upon the arm of -the director, passed through the hall to the front of the orchestra -amid universal applause, “stared at by all and greeted with a multitude -of English compliments.” Afterward he was conducted to a table set for -two hundred guests, where he was requested to sit at the head, but he -declined the honor, since he had already dined out, that noon, and -eaten more than usual; but in spite of this he was obliged to drink the -harmonious good health of the company in Burgundy. - -This brilliancy of welcome characterized Haydn’s London visit until -its close. Both socially and as an artist he knew how to win hearts -to himself. His countryman, Gyrowetz, introduced him to fashionable -families which gave entertainments, where Haydn was the center of -attraction. His simple and cordial manner and its great contrast -with the imperious manner which the Italian artists assumed upon the -strength of their long residence, suited the English, and when he rose -from the table, seated himself at the piano and sang the cheerful -German songs, all, even the most prejudiced, circulated his fame. -Instances like that of the insulting slur of the once so celebrated, -but at that time old and conceited, Italian violinist, Giardini, who -received the announcement of his visit with the remark, “there is -nothing for me to learn from the German dog,” were rare, but Haydn -instead of being angry only laughed at his folly. In contrast with -such arrogance, he cherished genuine artists, as we know from his -association with the great organ-player, Dupuis. Sir G. Smart, so -well known to us from “Beethoven’s Life,” relates that he saw him -listening with close attention to Dupuis’ playing at St. James church, -and that when the latter came out of the chapel, Haydn embraced and -kissed him. The unanimous recognition of others’ merits was a natural -characteristic of Haydn as well as of Mozart. The newspapers had -something to say about him every day, but already that envy and malice -began, against which he, like every other one of prominence, had had -to contend from youth up. They discovered that his powers were in -their decadence, and on that account it was useless to longer expect -anything like his earlier productions. And this, too, when the Salomon -concerts had commenced and achieved the highest success, since every -new work of the master brought him new fame. The Professional Concerts, -under the direction of the violinist Cramer, who had offered him an -engagement in 1787, were his worst enemies. It was the professors, or -the professional musicians, who arranged these, and society rivalry led -them to look upon his success with an envious eye. And yet Haydn was -present at their first concert of the season which preceded the Salomon -concerts, and had complimented them upon performing his symphonies so -well without having had the opportunity of hearing them. - -Salomon’s first concert met with decided success. It was of special -advantage that Haydn in his judicious way knew how to secure a -particular freedom of performance from his orchestra. He would flatter -his players and delicately mingle blame and praise. He invited the -best among them to dine, and besides all this, he took pains to -practically explain his ideas to them, so that the result, as Dies -emphatically says, was affection and inspiration. He would induce the -Italian singers themselves, who sedulously avoided every difficulty -and discord, to execute his frequently surprising modulations and -intonations. “Never, perhaps, have we had richer musical enjoyment,” -says the _Morning Chronicle_, speaking of the concert, “and the -Adagio of his symphony in D was encored--a very rare occurrence.” His -opera “Orpheus and Eurydice” for Gallini’s new theater, though nearly -completed, was not performed, as the opening of the stage was not -allowed. It has numbers of equal merit with the best that Haydn has -written, but as a whole it is modeled upon the usual Italian pattern -of separate airs. Haydn’s genius revealed itself otherwise in his own -special sphere, and except the quartets, the most of his instrumental -music which has come down to us had its origin at this time in -London, especially the twelve London symphonies. They display in the -clearest manner the increased development of his ideas and fancy, the -deepening of his thought and the rich and firm handling of instruments -which place Haydn on the same plane as Mozart and Beethoven. He had -an orchestra which in strength and skill was second to none in -the world at that time; at the same time, the efforts to produce -artistic impressions, which seize upon the mind and heart, aroused and -invigorated his large and sympathetic, if not always really musical, -audiences. It was Haydn who first created the love of pure instrumental -music in the heart of the great public of London, where vocal music -since Handel’s time had been more highly valued than elsewhere, and -this, too, not alone for its earnest, but for its humorous moods, which -were more readily appreciated by Englishmen. It was, however, his -quartets which were sought by the real friends and students of music, -and the best of these also were written in and for London. - -At the end of May, Haydn attended the great Handel Festival, which -had been given every year since 1784, and in which over one thousand -musicians took part. Even the sight of the great assemblage was -brilliant and magnificent, but beyond all this, he had the opportunity -of hearing Handel’s music in its full majesty. More than twenty of -his large and minor works were performed, and the powerful personal -influence of the master dominated the performance. When the -world-renowned “Hallelujah” rose in great waves of sound, and the -thousands, with the king at their head, stood up, there was scarcely -a dry eye. Haydn, who stood near the king’s box, wept like a child, -and completely overcome, exclaimed: “He is the master of us all.” The -sublimity of the all-overmastering Eternal he never displays in his -own works. He was, so to speak, forced out of the church into life, -and never found his way back again to its sublime earnestness, but the -religious feeling and simple piety of the heart were active, living -principles in Haydn’s nature, and gave to his forms that breath of -living creation which transforms them into the “divine likeness.” The -perfect innocence and the touching and beautiful earnestness which -often appear in his works, come from the same source as Handel’s -majestic sublimity. His “Creation” is a still more convincing -illustration of this. Its origin was due to the London visit, and many -a large and important choral piece bears witness to the fact that Haydn -had now met and seen this Handel face to face. He was to him what -Sebastian Bach was to Mozart and Beethoven, whom he had not known so -well as they. On the 8th of July, 1791, after his brilliant season had -come to a close, Haydn received a special mark of distinction. The -degree of Doctor of Music was conferred upon him by the University of -Oxford. At the last festival concert, when he entered, clad in his -black silk doctor’s gown and four-cornered cap, he was enthusiastically -received. He seized the skirt of his gown, and held it up with a loud -“I thank you,” which simple expression of gratitude was greeted with -universal applause. This respect for England served to make him still -more famous. Salomon was warranted in announcing, a month later, that -they would continue their concerts in the same style as those which had -made such a success in the winter. - -Meanwhile, an entirely unexpected summons to return to Esterhaz reached -him. He was expected to write the opera for a festivity at the Prince’s -court. Evidently he could not comply, for he had signed new terms of -agreement with Salomon, and thus had to encounter the Prince’s anger -for his desertion of duty. - -“Alas, I now expect my discharge, but I hope that God will be gracious -and help me in some measure to efface my losses by my industry,” he -wrote to Frau von Genzinger, September 17, 1791, and this industry was -made less burdensome as he had spent the summer in the country, amid -beautiful scenery, with a family whose hearts, he writes, resemble -the Genzingers. How much must he, who was so accustomed to Nature, -have appreciated such a country visit! “I am, God be thanked, in good -health, with the exception of my customary rheumatism. I am working -industriously, and think every morning, as I walk alone in the woods -with my English grammar, of my Creator, of my family, and of all the -friends I have left behind,” he writes in his seclusion, which, as we -see, brought him the most beautiful outward and inward happiness. Added -to this was his consciousness of being free. “O, my dear gracious lady, -what a sweet relish there is in absolute liberty,” he writes again; -“I have it now in some degree; I appreciate its benefits, although my -mind is burdened with more work. The consciousness that I am no longer -a servant requites all my toil.” He realized there also a striking -confirmation of the happiness of rising “from nothing.” His landlord, -a rich banker, was so impressed with his narrative of his youthful -trials, that he once swore that he was getting on too well in the -world. He realized for the first time that he was not happy. “I have -only an abundance and I loathe it,” he exclaimed, and wished he had a -pistol that he might shoot himself, an event, however, which did not -happen, much to Haydn’s pleasure. - -After his return to London he encountered exciting times, for the -Professional musicians bent all their energies to surpass the Salomon -concerts, and their public assaults had such an extended influence -that inquiries came from Vienna about the actual condition of his -circumstances. Even Mozart believed these reports and thought he must -have depreciated very much. “I can not believe it,” Haydn simply -writes, and refers him to his banker, Count Fries, in whose hands he -had placed five hundred pounds. “I am aware that there is a multitude -of envious persons in London, the most of whom are Italians, but they -can not hurt me, for my credit with the people has been settled many -years,” he says, and adds with confident feeling: “Those above them are -my support.” - -As their next move, the Professionals sought to secure him for -themselves by higher offers, but he would not break his word or injure -his manager, whose outlay had been so large, by the gratification of -sordid motives. So they renewed their assaults upon his age and the -pretended decadence of his ability, and announced that they had secured -his pupil Pleyel. The latter, a neighbor and countryman of Haydn, -was at that time thirty-four years of age and twenty-five years the -younger. Mozart had expressed a favorable opinion of his talent. He -writes to his father in 1784 about Pleyel’s new quartets: “If you do -not yet know them, try to get them; it is worth the trouble. You will -at once recognize his master. It will be a good and fortunate thing for -music if Pleyel in his day is able to supply Haydn’s place for us.” He -was unquestionably innocent in the matter of the invitation to come to -London, and really made his appearance in the season of 1792. - -Meanwhile, Haydn had spent two days with the Duke of York, who had -married the seventeen-year-old Princess Ulrica, of Prussia, daughter -of King Frederick William II. In 1787, her music-loving father had -sent him a ring, which he wore as a talisman, and a very complimentary -letter, for six new quartets. “She is the most charming lady in the -world, is very intelligent, plays the piano and sings very agreeably,” -writes Haydn. “The dear little lady sat near me and hummed all the -pieces, which she knew by heart, having heard them so often in -Berlin. The Duke’s brother, the Prince of Wales, played the ’cello -accompaniment very acceptably. He loves music exceedingly, has very -much feeling but very little money. His goodness, however, pleases me -more than any self-interest,” he says in conclusion. The Prince also -had Haydn’s portrait painted for his cabinet. - -Many more personal attentions of a similar kind were paid him. One -Mr. Shaw made a silver lid for a snuff-box which Haydn had given him, -and inscribed thereon, “Presented by the renowned Haydn.” His very -beautiful wife--“the mistress is the most beautiful woman I have ever -seen,” he writes in his diary--embroidered his name in gold upon a -ribbon which he preserved even when a very old man. It was at this -time he received with bitter tears the news of Mozart’s death. “Mozart -died December 5, 1791,” he simply writes in his diary, but we know -the beautiful remark he made to his friend in Vienna who had so often -played Mozart’s masterpieces for him. At a later period he said in a -similar strain to Griesinger: “Mozart’s loss is irretrievable. I can -never forget his playing in my life. It went to the heart.” In the year -1807, speaking to other musical friends in Vienna, he said with tears -in his eyes: “Pardon me, I must always weep at the name of my Mozart.” -Indeed, at this time he must have deeply felt the contrast between the -brilliancy of this genius and the darkness of his own outer life in -these declining years. And yet he felt all the more the importance of -preserving the respect for German art. In the midst of such times as -these Pleyel arrived. “So there will now be a bloody harmonious war -between master and scholar,” he writes, but on the other hand they -were frequently together. “Pleyel displayed so much modesty upon his -arrival that he won my love anew. We are very often together, which is -to his credit, and he knows how to prize his father. We will share our -fame alike, and each one will go home contented,” he says. He too must -have longed for his Austrian home, or he would have acted differently -towards “Papa.” - -One of the newspapers rightly understood the situation. “Haydn and -Pleyel are offset against each other this season, and both parties are -earnest rivals, yet as both belong to the same rank as composers, they -will not share the petty sentiments of their respective admirers,” says -the _Public Advertiser_, and so it eventuated, though not until after -many painful experiences for both the men, for with the others’ plans -there was mingled very much of personal animosity. The Professionals -announced twelve new compositions of Pleyel’s. Early in 1792 Haydn -writes to Vienna: “In order to keep my word and support poor Salomon, -I must be the victim, and work incessantly. I really feel it. My eyes -suffer the most. My mind is very weary, and it is only the help of God -that will supply what is wanting in my power. I daily pray to Him, for -without His assistance I am but a poor creature.” The best hours of the -day he was compelled to devote to visits and private musicals. “I have -never written in any one year of my life as much as in the last,” he -says, and yet his works show all the charming freshness of youth, with -the contrast of greater depth and richer illustration. He found time to -arrange twelve Scotch songs, and he says, “I am proud of this work, and -flatter myself that it will live many years after I am gone.” But they -made a complete failure, and the publishers therefore made a subsequent -application to Beethoven. - -The professional concerts at this time again had the precedence, and -it is a fair illustration of their rivalry, that at the commencement -they brought out a symphony of his and sent him a personal invitation. -“They criticise Pleyel’s presumption very much, but I admire him -none the less. I have been to all his concerts, and was the first to -applaud him,” he writes to Vienna. In his first concert he also brought -out a symphony of Pleyel’s. His own new symphony, notwithstanding -he thought the last movement was weak, made “the deepest impression -upon his audience.” The Adagio had to be repeated, and the entire -work was performed again in the eighth and eighteenth concerts, by -“request.” For the second concert he wrote a chorus, “The Storm.” It -was the first which he had composed with English text, and it met with -extraordinary success, because in it were united the most striking -qualities of his art, skill, and good humor. As he himself writes, he -gained considerable credit with the English in vocal music and this was -destined to have a decisive result. - -At the sixth concert, March 23, 1792, the symphony with the kettle-drum -effect was given. Haydn says of it: “It was a convenient opportunity -for me to surprise the public with something new. The first Allegro -was received with innumerable bravas, but the Andante aroused the -enthusiasm to the highest pitch. ‘Encore, encore,’ resounded on every -side, and Pleyel himself complimented me upon my effects.” Gyrowetz -visited him after its completion to hear it upon the piano. At the -drum-passage, Haydn, certain of its success, with a roguish laugh, -exclaimed: “There the women will jump.” Dies gives the current version -of the original cause of the work as follows: The ladies and gentlemen -in the concerts, which took place after the late English dinners, often -indulged in a nap, and Haydn thought he would waken them in this comic -manner. The English call the symphony, “The Surprise,” and among all -the twelve, it is to this day, the favorite. - -How deeply Haydn’s music impressed his English hearers, and how -clearly it appears that they for the first time recognized the soul -of music, disclosing to the popular mind its mysterious connection -with the Infinite, is evident from a strange entry in Haydn’s diary. A -clergyman, upon hearing the Andante of one of his symphonies, sank into -the deepest melancholy, because he had dreamed the night before its -performance, that the piece announced his death. He immediately left -the assemblage, and took to his bed. “I heard to-day, April 25, that -this clergyman died,” writes Haydn. It is the elementary revelations of -the deepest feeling and individual spiritual certitude that speak to us -in Haydn’s music, and they have, so to speak, the most powerful grasp -upon our individual existence. Indeed, they explain the irresistible -and immeasurable influence of music. It is the image of Infinity -itself, while the other arts are only the images of its phenomena. Its -influence is so much more powerful and impressive than that of the -other arts, because, as the philosopher would say, they represent only -the shadow of things, while music represents their actual existence. A -people so pre-eminently metaphysical and serious in character as the -English, must have taken this simple, but deeply thoughtful Haydn and -his symphonies into their very hearts. How could they have awarded the -palm to any one living at that time over him? He had himself thoroughly -comprehended the deep-lying genius of this nation, and in the province -of _his_ genius he could lead it to a point its own nature could not -reach. Every one of his compositions written for London, as well as -those subsequently, show this, and many of his utterances illustrate -his esteem for the English public. “The score was much more acceptable -to me because much of it I had to change to suit the English taste,” -he writes in March, 1792, when his long wished-for symphony in E major -had been forwarded to him from Vienna. And it should be remembered -among all these events that Handel had written all his oratorios in and -for London, and Beethoven’s Ninth was “the symphony for London.” - -In May, 1792, Haydn had a benefit concert, at which two new symphonies -were performed, and this, like the last concert, met with such favor, -that Salomon offered the public an extra concert with the works that -had been most admired during the season. “Salomon closed his season -with the greatest eclat,” says the _Morning Herald_, and Pohl simply -and appropriately adds: “Haydn was in all his glory, beloved, admired -and courted. His name was the main stay of every concert-giver. -Painters and engravers immortalized their art by his picture.” One -such, a highly characteristic profile portrait, by George Dance, is -given with the English edition (1867) of the “Musical Letters.”[A] It -confirms the description of his appearance, which has already been -given, in every feature. - -Before his departure, he had another experience, which clearly -indicates and reveals the source of music in his nature. At the yearly -gathering of the Charity Scholars at St. Paul’s cathedral, he heard -four thousand children sing a simple hymn. “I was more touched by this -devout and innocent music than by any I ever heard in my life,” he says -in his diary, and he adds in confirmation of it: “I stood and wept like -a child.” - -With this impression were unconsciously associated the most active -memories of his own home, from which he had been absent so long. The -home-image never rises so vividly in our hearts as when we see these -little ones who are so particularly the active genii of the house and -home. He stated, as the principal reason for his return, his wish to -enjoy the pleasure of his fatherland; and he wrote in December, 1791, -that he could not reconcile himself to spend his life in London, even -if he could amass millions. Other artists have also borne testimony -to the influence of the Festival alluded to above. In 1837, Berlioz -attended it with the violinist Duprez and John Cramer. “Never have -I seen Duprez in such a state; he stammered, wept, and raved,” says -Berlioz. The latter, in order to get a better view of the whole scene, -donned a surplice, and placed himself among the accompanying basses, -where, more than once, “like Agamemnon with his toga,” he covered his -face with his music sheets, overcome with the sight of the children and -the sound of their voices. As they were going out, Duprez exclaimed -in delight, speaking in Italian instead of French, in his excitement: -“Marvelous! marvelous! The glory of England!” - -Haydn might well have thought the same, for he had already made a deep -impression upon the nation, and touched its heart with the kindly -feelings of life. - -It was his last great experience “in the vast city of London,” and -to Haydn’s inner nature it gave in brief all that he had given and -all that was due to him. It was the first time he had seen a vast -multitude of human beings in a great and eagerly listening throng, and -it expanded his own nature, which had been restricted, to the widest -bounds, without in any way modifying its power. He had experienced the -full measure of English humor, manifesting itself in those relations -of personal affection which the “beautiful and gracious” Mrs. Schroter -had expressed for him and his “sweet” compositions--an affection which -she herself regarded as “one of the greatest blessings of her life,” -and which had bound her to him in an indissoluble attachment. “My -heart was, and still is, full of tenderness for you, yet words can -not express half the love and affection which I feel for you. You are -dearer to me every day of my life,” she says at another time. That it -was the deep principle and character of his life which had aroused -such a passionate affection in the already aged lady, these words -confess: “Truly, dearest, no tongue can express the gratitude which I -feel for the unbounded delight your music has given me.” The fact that -this loving esteem was meant for Haydn himself, makes it all the more -beautiful. - -Such were the satisfying and grateful feelings which filled his soul -at the moment of parting. Outwardly and inwardly blessed, he returned -to Vienna in July, 1792, and not two years later, he was again on the -Thames. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE EMPEROR’S HYMN--THE CREATION AND THE SEASONS. - -1793-1809. - - Criticism at Home--His Relations to Beethoven--Jealousy of the - Great Mogul--His Second London Journey--The Military Symphony--His - Longings for Home--Great Popularity in England--Reception by the - Royal Family--His Gifts--Return to Vienna--Origin of the Emperor’s - Hymn--The Creation and the Seasons--Personal Characteristics--His - Death--Haydn’s place in Music. - - -On his journey back, in July, 1792, Haydn again visited Bonn. The -court musicians gave him a breakfast at the suburb of Godesburg, and -Beethoven laid before him a cantata, probably the one written on the -death of Leopold II, to which the master gave special attention and -“encouraged its author to assiduous study.” The arrangements were -unquestionably made at that time, by which the young composer afterward -became Haydn’s scholar, “for Beethoven even then had surprised every -one with his remarkable piano playing.” - -Since the death of Gluck and Mozart, Haydn had been recognized in -Vienna, and indeed in all Germany, as the first master. In the spring -of 1792 the _Musikalische Correspondenz_ declared that his services -were so universally recognized, and the influence of his numerous -works was so effective, that his style appeared to be the sole aim of -composers, and they approached more closely to perfection the nearer -they approached him. The fame he had won in England was no longer -doubted or disputed. Every account spoke of him in a manner that -betrayed a feeling of national pride, says Dies, and all the more -was this the case after he had brought out his six new symphonies in -the Burg Theater, on the 22nd and 23rd of December, to which very -naturally, eager attention was given in Vienna. His success was of -great advantage to that same Tonkunstler Societat which had once -treated him so shabbily. He was elected a member, exempt from dues, but -it was never necessary to make any claim upon him. - -The “country of wealth” had so materially improved his fortune that he -bought a little house in a “retired, quiet place” in the suburb of -Gumpendorf, which his wife, with the utmost naivete, had picked out -for herself, when she should become a widow, but which became his own -resting-place in his old age. He added a story to it afterward and -lived there until his death, surviving his wife about nine years. - -Composition and instruction still remained his regular quiet work. The -lessons at this time, in the case of one scholar at least, were pretty -troublesome. “Haydn has announced that he shall give up large works -to him, and must soon cease composing,” one writes from Bonn, at the -beginning of 1793, referring to Beethoven. It was a characteristic of -the old master that he advised the young scholar, three of whose trios -(op. 1) had been played before him and about which he had said many -complimentary things, not to publish the third, in C minor. He feared -that the rest of the music, in contrast with such “storm and stress,” -would appear tame and spiritless, and that it would rather hurt than -help him in the estimation of the public. This made a bad impression -upon the easily suspicious Beethoven. He believed Haydn was envious -and jealous and meant no good to him. Thus it appears, that from the -very beginning _all_ confidence in the instruction was destroyed, and, -besides this, it had little prospect of success, since the still more -revolutionary youth had gone far beyond his fame-crowned senior in his -innovations. Still he remained until the end of the year 1793, and -the greater youth never forgot what he owed the great master. “Coffee -for Haydn and myself,” and other observations of a like character -in Beethoven’s diary, show, that besides the matter of instruction -there was a personal friendly intercourse between them. Ostensibly it -discontinued when Haydn’s second journey offered a fitting pretext, -but, as a matter of fact, he was at that time a scholar of Schenk, who -is mentioned in Mozart’s biography. He had very often complained to -other musicians that he did not get on well with his studies, since -Haydn was occupied altogether too much with his work and could not -devote the requisite attention to him. Schenk, who had already heard -Beethoven extemporize at one of his associates’, the abbe Gelinek, -met him one day, as he was returning from Haydn, with his music -under his arm, glanced it over and found that several errors remained -uncorrected. This decided Beethoven’s change and choice. - -Notwithstanding all this, it was reported in Bonn from Vienna, in the -summer of 1793, that the young countryman made great progress in art, -and this was to Haydn’s credit, who, with the help of his Fux and -Philip Emanuel Bach, was able to collect and arrange the well acquired -theoretical knowledge of the “genial stormer,” in a practical manner, -and thereby substantially raised him to his own rank, although he did -not comply with the understood wish of his teacher that he would place -“Scholar of Haydn” upon the sonatas (op. 2), dedicated to him, because, -as he declared in justification of his refusal, that he had not learned -anything from him. This remark refers to the higher instruction in -composition, where their ideas differed. Yet in 1793, he went with -Haydn to Eisenstadt, and he had even intended to go with him the -next winter to England. Beethoven’s pupil, Ries, also expressly says -that Haydn highly esteemed Beethoven, but as he was so stubborn and -self-willed, he called him “the great Mogul.” How entirely free from -envy Haydn was towards younger artists at this time, is shown by a note -to his godson, Joseph Weigl, afterward the composer of the “Schweizer -Familie.” “It is long since I have felt such enthusiasm for any music -as yesterday in hearing your ‘Princess of Amalfi,’” he writes to him, -January 11, 1794. “It is full of good ideas, sublime, expressive, in -short, a masterpiece; I felt the warmest interest in the well deserved -applause that greeted it. Keep a place for an old boy like me in your -memory.” He had always helped to open the way for the young scholar -into the best musical circles of Vienna, and now that the teacher was -again about to depart, the scholar could seek his own fortune without -going astray. - -The preparation of the necessary works for this second journey had -been the too constant occupation of the old man. It must have been -undertaken however for other reasons than these; for Haydn knew that -he must have something to live upon, even in his simple manner, in -his unemployed old age. It was not right that a self-willed young -beginner, who paid nothing for his instruction, as he had no other -means of support except his salary from the Elector, should take -up too much of his valuable time. It was enough to impart the main -points of instruction without giving any attention to little and -merely incidental errors which would disappear of themselves in time. -We know Haydn’s views of such things, and there was a characteristic -illustration of them in his later days. The contrapuntist, -Albrechtsberger, Beethoven’s subsequent teacher, who, according to -the latter’s witty statement, at best only created musical skeletons -with his art, insisted that consecutive fourths should be banished -from strict composition. “What is the good of that?” said Haydn. -“Art is free and should not be tied down with mechanical rules. Such -artifices are of no value. I would prefer instead that some one would -try to compose a new minuet.” Beethoven actually did this, and called -it, in his op. 1, Scherzo. “Haydn rarely escaped without a side cut,” -says Ries of Beethoven--but however all this may be, we may not only -imagine but we know that this opposition between the two artists, which -arose from their different temperaments, made no real difference in -Beethoven’s respect for Haydn. - -We now come to the second London journey. This time the Prince -interposed objections. He desired indeed no personal service, but -he had a pride in Haydn and his fame, and thought he had secured -sufficient glory. He may also have thought that a man sixty years old -ought not to expose himself to the hardships of a distant journey, and -the persecutions of envy. Haydn appreciated his good intentions, but he -still felt strong, and preferred an active life to the quiet in which -his Prince had placed him. Besides, he knew that the English public -would still recognize his genius, and he had engaged with Salomon to -write six more symphonies, and had many profitable contracts with -various publishers in London. The Prince at last gave way and allowed -Haydn to go, never to see him again, for he died shortly afterward, -and Haydn had the fourth of the Esterhazys for patron and master, upon -whose order he composed a requiem while in London as a tribute to the -departed. - -On the 19th of January, 1794, the journey began. While at Scharding, -an incident happened which clearly shows Haydn’s good humor. The -customs officers asked what his occupation was. Haydn informed them, -“A tone-artist;” (Tonkunstler), “What is that?” they replied. “Oh! -yes, a potter,” (Thonkunstler), said one. “That’s it,” averred Haydn, -“and this one,” (his faithful servant, Ellsler) “is my partner.” At -Wiesbaden, he realized with much satisfaction the greatness of his -fame. At the inn his Andante with the kettle-drum effect, which had -so quickly become a favorite, was played in a room near by him. Dies -says: “He regarded the player as his friend, and courteously entered -the room. He found some Prussian officers, all of whom were great -admirers of his works, and when he at last disclosed himself they would -not believe he was Haydn. ‘Impossible! impossible! you, Haydn! a man -already so old! this does not agree with the fire in your music.’ The -gentlemen continued so long in this strain that at last he exhibited -the letter received from his king, which he always carried in his -chest for good luck. Thereupon the officers overwhelmed him with their -attentions, and he was compelled to remain in their company until long -after midnight.” - -This time Haydn lived very near to his friend and admirer, Frau -Schroter, yet we learn nothing further of their relations to each -other. The leading accounts of this second visit have not been kept, -but in reality they repeat the events of the first. His name this time -was free from detraction. They agreed that his power had increased, -and that one of the new symphonies was his best work. His name was in -request for every concert-programme, and the repetition of his pieces -was as frequent as during his first visit. “In geniality and talent who -is like him?” says the _Oracle_, March 10, 1794. - -Sir G. Smart in 1866, then in his ninetieth year, and who was a violin -player with Salomon, relates a neat story of this time, to Pohl, the -biographer. At a rehearsal there was need of a drummer. Haydn asked: -“Is there any one here who can play the kettle-drum?” “I can,” quickly -replied young Smart, who never had had a drum stick in his hand, but -thought that correct time was all that was necessary. After the first -movement, Haydn went to him and praised him, but intimated to him that -in Germany they required strokes which would not stop the vibrations -of the drum. At the same time he took the sticks and exhibited to the -astonished orchestra an entirely new style of drumming. “Very well,” -replied the undaunted young Smart, “if you prefer to have this style, -we can do it just as well in England.” Haydn’s first drum lessons with -his cousin Frankh, in Hamburg, will readily occur to the reader. - -On the 12th of May, 1794, the Military Symphony, another favorite among -all Haydn’s friends, was performed for the first time. It overflows -with genial merriment, and often with genuine frolicsome humor. Not -long afterward, the news reached him that the new Prince Nicholas -wished to reorganize the orchestra at Eisenstadt, and had appointed him -anew as Capellmeister. Haydn received this news with great pleasure. -This princely house had assured him a living, and, what was of still -more importance, had given him the opportunity of fully developing his -talent as a composer. His profits in London far exceeded his salary -in the Fatherland, and a persistent effort was made to keep him in -England, but he decided as soon as his existing engagements were -concluded to return to his old position. - -A secret but very powerfully operating reason may also have been the -same which to-day actuates that greatest of natural tone artists, -Franz Liszt--wherever he may go, he always returns to Germany. It is -the spirit of music itself which permeates every fiber of our life, in -the earnest feeling of which we bathe and find health. Notwithstanding -the attractive performance of the orchestra and of the virtuosi, the -most of whom were Germans, the master did not find London and England -peculiarly musical. What he thought of the theater is recorded in his -diary: “What miserable stuff at Saddler’s Wells! A fellow screamed -an aria so frightfully and with such ridiculous grimaces that I -began to sweat all over. N. B. He had to repeat the aria! _O che -bestie!_” There yet remained much of the English jockey style in these -musico-theatrical performances, and the value of music was reckoned -upon another standard than that which belongs to intellectual things. -Thus we may readily believe, though Haydn himself pretended not to -hear it, that the rough mob in the gallery, hissing and whistling, -cried out, “Fiddler, Fiddler,” when the orchestra rose to honor him, -an artist and a foreigner, upon his first appearance in the theater. -After these not very agreeable experiences of English musical taste, -Haydn looked upon it as a comical proof of his reputation, when, as -Griesinger relates, Englishmen would approach him, measure him from -head to foot, and leave him with the exclamation, “You are a great man.” - -Still another circumstance shows how absolutely he preferred his -Austrian home. In August, 1794, he visited the ruins of the old -abbey of Waverly. “I must confess,” he writes in his diary, “that -every time I look upon this beautiful ruin, my heart is troubled as -I think that all this once occurred among those of my religion.” His -continual abode among people of the Protestant confession, so opposed -to his own Catholicism, disturbed those feelings and ideas of the -simple man in these later years which had swayed his inner nature for -two generations. This is a matter of personal feeling, and does not -affect that toleration which in all religious matters characterized -his beautiful nature. Finally, political freedom, which had made -England so powerful, was not agreeable to his primitive manner of life. -While he says not a word of the excellencies of the life of a great -free people, he several times alludes to the rude noises and frantic -shouts of the “sweet mob” (suessen Poebels) in London festivals and -at the theaters. Socially considered, notwithstanding the political -freedom, the barriers that separated classes were just as distinct -and insurmountable as they are to-day. Nowhere in the world, indeed, -is custom more formal--reason enough in itself to make him love his -Fatherland all the more fervently. - -His fame in England, however, continually increased. He was already -called a genius inferior to no one, and this, too, in the same -connection with the mention of a performance of Hamlet, which he had -attended. His sportive humor allied him very closely to the great -English tragic poet: if not so deep and so quickly moving to tears, -he still derived his power doubtless from the same simple source of -feeling. He himself mentions one instance of his roguish humor while -in London, according to Dies and others. He was intimately acquainted -with a German who had acquired boundless dexterity in the violin -technique, and was addicted to the common practice of always making -effects in the extremely high tones. Haydn wished to see if he could -not disgust him with this dilettantist weakness and induce a feeling -for legitimate playing. The violinist often visited one Miss Janson, -who played the piano very skillfully, and was accustomed to accompany -him. Haydn wrote a sonata for them, called it “Jacob’s Dream,” and sent -it anonymously to the lady, who did not hesitate to perform it with the -violinist, as it appeared to be an easy little work. At first it flowed -easily through passages which were begun in the third position of the -violin. The violinist was in ecstasies. “Very well written. One can -see the composer knows the instrument,” he murmured. But in the close, -instead of lowering to a practical place, it mounted to the fifth, -sixth, and at last to the seventh position. His fingers continually -crowded against and through each other like ants. Crawling around -the instrument and stumbling over the passages, he exclaimed with -the sweat of misery on his brow: “Who ever heard of such scribbling? -The man knows nothing about writing for the violin.” The lady soon -discovered that the composer meant to illustrate by these high passages -the heavenly ladder which Jacob saw in his dream, and the more she -observed her companion stumbling around unsteadily upon this ladder, -reeling and jumping up and down, the thing was so comical that she -could not conceal her laughter, which at length broke out in a storm, -from which we may fancy that it cured the dilettante of his foolish -passion. It was not discovered until five or six months afterward who -the composer was, and Miss Janson sent him a gift. - -Haydn’s influence upon the public during his second visit to London is -observed even in still higher degree. Salomon, indeed, said, though -somewhat figuratively, yet openly, to “proud England,” that these Haydn -concerts were not without their influence upon the public interests, -since they had created a permanent taste for music. In the spring of -1795, Haydn saw the royal pair several times. The first time it was at -the house of the young and musical Duchess of York, whom the Prince -of Wales had introduced to him. The Hanoverian George III. was already -prepossessed in Handel’s favor. Philip Emanuel Bach writes of him in -1786: “The funniest of all is the gracious precautions that are taken -to preserve Handel’s youthful works with the utmost care.” But on this -evening, when only Haydn’s works were played by the royal orchestra, -under Salomon’s direction, and of course, excellently, he showed great -interest in them also. “Dr. Haydn,” said he, “you have written much.” -“Yes, Sire, more than is good.” “Certainly not; the world disputes -that.” The King then presented him to the Queen, and said he knew that -Haydn had once been a good singer and he would like to hear some of -his songs. “Your Majesty, my voice is now only so large,” said Haydn, -pointing to the joint of his little finger. The King smiled, and Haydn -sang his song, “Ich bin der Verliebteste.” Two days afterward, there -was a similar entertainment at the residence of the Prince of Wales, -who required his presence very often. - -He related to Griesinger that upon that occasion he directed twenty-six -musicians, and the orchestra often had to wait several hours until the -Prince rose from the table. As there was no compensation for all this -trouble, when Parliament settled up the bills of the Prince, he sent in -an account of one hundred guineas, which was promptly paid. Haydn was -not very well pleased about the matter, although upon the occasion of -his first acquaintance in 1791, he had written that the Prince loved -music exceedingly, had very much feeling, but very little money, and -that he desired his good will more than any self-interest. Still he -had, as his will shows, many poor relatives, who had claims upon him, -and was it right that he should lose at the hands of the princely -son of the richest land in the world, upon whom he had bestowed such -faithful artistic services? While yet in London he met with a bitter -proof of what he was to endure on account of these relatives. He was -compelled to immediately settle the debt of a married nephew, who was -the major-domo of the Esterhazy family, and we see by his will that -these relatives had squandered more than six thousand florins of his -through his great kindness. His remarkable goodness was as much an -obligation in his estimation, as nobility or genius in others, and he -never allowed any possible means of practicing it to escape without -some good cause. - -He was repeatedly invited to the Queen’s concerts, and was also -presented by her with the manuscript of Handel’s “Savior at the Cross.” -As Germans, both she and the King were eager to keep him in England. “I -will give you a residence at Windsor for the summer,” said the Queen, -“and then” with a roguish glance at the King, “we can some times have -tete-a-tete music.” “O, I am not jealous of Haydn,” said the King, “he -is a good and noble German.” “To maintain that reputation is my highest -ambition,” quickly exclaimed Haydn. After repeated efforts to persuade -him, he replied that he was bound by gratitude to the house of his -Prince, and that he could not always remain away from his fatherland -and his wife. The King begged him to let the latter come. “She never -crosses the Danube, still less the sea,” replied Haydn. He remained -inflexible on this point, and he believed that it was on this account -that he received no gift from the King, and that no further interest -was manifested in him by the court. The real and deeper reason for his -decision we have already learned. - -The concerts of the year 1795 were laid out upon a more magnificent -scale than before, as political events upon the continent had disturbed -the interest in them in various ways. Haydn, Martini, Clementi, and -the most distinguished players and singers from all countries--London -had never witnessed more brilliant concert-schemes. Haydn opened the -second part of every concert with a symphony. The _Oracle_ says of one -of these: “It shows the fancy and style of Haydn in forms that are not -at the command of any other genius.” After he gave his benefit concert, -May 4, 1795, upon which occasion the Military Symphony and the Symphony -in D major, the last of the twelve London series, were played, he -wrote in his diary: “The hall was filled with a select company. They -were extremely pleased and so was I. I made this evening four thousand -florins. It is only in England one can make so much.” These pleasant -experiences gave him the idea of writing a work of the style which -was very popular and greatly esteemed in England--the oratorio. He -had begun one such with English text, which was unfinished, however, -because he could not express himself with sufficient feeling in that -language. - -He was the recipient of many gifts at this time, among them a cocoanut -cup with a silver standard from Clementi; a silver dish, a foot in -width, from the well-known Tattersall, for his help in the work of -improving the English church music; and even nine years later, the -influences of his London visit were apparent in a gift sent to him of -six pairs of woolen stockings, upon which were embroidered six themes -of his music, like the Andante from the drum symphony, the “Emperor’s -Hymn,” etc. He was the first, since Handel’s time, who had universally -and permanently succeeded with his music in London, and had impressed -his listeners with an earnest and realizing sense of the real meaning -of music. He was the first, for when Mozart, and afterward Beethoven, -were known in London, a new dynasty began. Now Haydn ruled as firmly -as Handel had previously. He had established his pre-eminence by -the immense number of works of all kinds he had written. Griesinger -gives a list in his own catalogue comprising in all seven hundred -and sixty-eight pages, among which, besides the opera of “Orpheus” -and the twelve London symphonies, whose subjects are given in the -volume, “Haydn in London,” there are six quartets, eleven sonatas, and -countless songs, dances and marches--indeed, there is no end to them. -The work that made his sway absolute was “The Creation,” the text of -which had been given to him by Salomon while still in London, where he -had acquired “much credit in vocal music,” and the crowning close, so -to speak, of his London visit was made at home. - -In August, 1795, Haydn returned to Vienna by way of Hamburg and -Dresden, as the French held possession of the Rhine. This time his -journey had been very profitable. His second visit had added an equal -amount to the twelve thousand florins made in his first, and he also -retained his publisher’s royalties in England as well as in Germany and -Paris. He could now contemplate his old age without any apprehensions -since he had a certainty to live upon, though a modest one. “Haydn -often insisted that he first became famous in Germany after he had been -in England,” says Griesinger. The value of his works was recognized, -but that public homage, which surpassing talent usually enjoys, first -came to him in old age, and for this reason now we call him “our -immortal Haydn.” On the 18th of December, 1795, he gave a concert -again in Vienna with his new compositions, but this time for his own -personal profit. Three new symphonies were played. He was overwhelmed -with attentions and his receipts were more than a thousand guldens. -Beethoven assisted in this concert, a proof of the good feeling -existing at this time between teacher and scholar. - -One day the Baron Van Swieten, who is well known in connection with -the time of Beethoven and Mozart, and whom he had known for twenty -years or more, said to him: “We must now have an oratorio from you -also, dear Haydn.” “He assisted me at times with a couple of ducats -and sent me also an easy traveling carriage on my second journey -to England,” says Haydn. The Emperor’s librarian, Van Swieten, was -secretary of an aristocratic society, whose associates illustrated -the real meaning of that term, as they comprised the entire musical -nobility of Europe--Esterhazy, Lobkowitz, Kinsky, Lichnowsky, -Schwartzenberg, Auersperg, Trautmannsdorf and others. They had been -accustomed for years to bring out large vocal works in the beautiful -library-hall of the imperial city. Handel was the chosen favorite, and -Mozart had arranged for these concerts the “Acis and Galatea,” “Ode -to St. Cecilia,” “Alexander’s Feast” and “The Messiah.” They did not -possess or they did not yet know anything of this style in Germany, for -Sebastian Bach had not been discovered in Vienna. Haydn’s “Ruckkehr -des Tobias,” like Mozart’s “Davidde penitente,” was written in a style -which belonged to the opera, and the “Requiem” was already at hand and -had been performed, but they were the only things of their class. On -the other hand the “Zauberfloete” had drawn thousands to the theater, -year in and year out. Why could they not hear this characteristic pure -German music in the concert-hall? In this work there was, so to speak, -a specimen of the “Creation” with animals, beings and the Paradise on -every hand, in which the loving pair, Pamina and Tamino, are solemnly -tested. How much more varied appear the life-pictures in Lidley’s -“Creation”--a poem which Haydn had placed in Van Swieten’s hands! The -society, without doubt upon Swieten’s suggestion, guaranteed the sum -of five hundred ducats and the latter made the translation of the -English text. Three years later the most popular of all oratorios, “The -Creation,” was completed. - -Meanwhile, with the exception of the Mass, which was the product of the -war-time of 1796, in which the Agnus Dei commences with kettle-drums -as if one heard the enemy already coming in the distance, an artistic -event occurred which, if not reaching the limits of musical art as -such, yet in the most beautiful manner fulfilled its lofty mission of -welding together the conceptions and feelings of all times and peoples, -and directing them to a high mission--it was the composition of “God -Save the Emperor Francis.” - -This song has its origin in the revolutionary agitations of the -year (1796), brought over from France, which determined the Imperial -High Chancellor, Count Saurau, to have a national song written which -should display “before all the world the true devotion of the Austrian -people to their good and upright father of his country, and to arouse -in the hearts of all good Austrians that noble national pride which -was essential to the energetic accomplishment of all the beneficial -measures of the sovereign.” He then applied to our immortal countryman, -Haydn, whom he regarded as the only one competent to write something -like the English “God Save the King.” In reality this minister aroused -the noblest German popular spirit, and established it in a beautiful -setting, far exceeding his restricted purpose at the outset. Haydn -himself had already arranged the English national hymn in London. More -than once, upon the occasion of public festivals, it had afforded him -the opportunity of learning in the most convincing manner the strong -attachment of the English to their royal house, the embodiment of -their State. He had also preserved his own devotion to his Fatherland -through many a sharp test. His long continued stay in a foreign land -had only served to fully convince him what his Austrian home and -Germany were to him. Above all, the music represents not merely his own -most original utterance of the people, and he, who had already learned -the Lied in the childhood of the people itself, had been the first to -introduce it in a becoming and all-joyous manner in the art of music. - -Thus his full heart was in this composition, and the commission came to -him, as it were, direct from his Emperor. Far more than “God Save the -King,” this Emperor’s Hymn is an outburst of universal popular feeling. -The “Heil dir im Siegerkranz,” or any special Fatherland-song, could -not be the German people’s hymn, and the “Deutschland, Deutschland -uber Alles” has only become so, because it was set to Haydn’s melody, -which accounts for its speedy and universal adoption as the people’s -hymn. The German people realize in it the spirit of their own life, -in its very essence, as closely as music can express it. In reality, -there is no people’s hymn richer, or, we might say, more satisfying -in feeling, than this. The “God Save the King,” so fine in itself, of -which Beethoven said he must sometime show the English what a blessing -they had in its melody, appears poor and thin in contrast with such -fullness of melodic rhythm and manifold modulation. In the second -verse the melody produces with most beautiful effect that mysterious -exaltation which enthralls us when in accord with the grandest impulses -of the people, and the responsive portion of the second part--the -climax of the whole--carries this exalted feeling, as it were, upon -the waves of thousands and thousands of voices to the very dome of -Eternity. The construction of the melody is a masterpiece of the first -order. Never has a grander or more solid development been accomplished -in music with such simple material. “God Save the Emperor Francis,” as -a worldly choral, stands by the side of “Eine feste Burg.” It reveals -the simplest and most popular, but at the same time in the most graphic -manner, the characteristic mental nature of our people, and in like -manner has compressed it within the narrowest compass, just as music -for centuries has been the depository of the purest and holiest -feelings of the Germans. Had Haydn written nothing but this song, all -the centuries of the German people’s life would know and mention his -name. We shall yet hear how much he esteemed the song himself. Not long -afterward he revealed his musical “blessing” in the variations upon its -theme in one of his best known works, the so-called “Kaiser Quartet.” - -“On the 28th of January, 1797, Haydn’s people’s hymn received the -imprimatur of Count Saurau,” says a chronology of his life. The people, -however, set its real seal of universal value upon this song when -they affectionately and enthusiastically appropriated it as their -own property. “On the 12th of February, the birthday of the Emperor -Francis, Haydn’s people’s hymn was sung in all the theaters of Vienna, -and Haydn received a handsome present in compensation,” it is further -related. We recognize him in all his modesty in the following note to -Count Saurau: “Your Excellency! Such a surprise and mark of favor, -especially as regards the portrait of my good monarch, I never before -received in acknowledgment of my poor talent. I thank Your Excellency -with all my heart and am under all circumstances at your command.” -To this day there is generally no patriotic festival in all Germany -at which this song is not sung or played as an expression of genuine -German popular or patriotic feeling. It is a part of our history as -it is of our life. Richard Wagner’s “Kaiser March” is the first that -corresponds with it as an expression of popular feeling. In its poesy -it is a hymn in contrast with that mere Lied, and, notwithstanding -its most powerful and soaring style as a composition, it is, like the -Marseillaise, a set scene which arouses the national pride of our time -in a glittering sort of way; but Haydn’s song, though belonging to -the more primitive era of the nation, still remains as the expression -of our most genuine national feeling. Finally it accomplishes a -most important work in its special province of art. It reflects the -heartiness of the German people in a grand composition, as Mozart -had already done in the “Magic Flute,” and is set in a crystalline -vase, as it were, for the permanent advantage of art. This is the -historical significance of Haydn’s creation. Together with Mozart’s -“Magic Flute,” it marks the consummate triumph of German music, and -has, like the deep purpose of the preceding epoch of the North German -organ-school, especially Sebastian Bach, gradually opened the way to -the transcendent dramatic creations of Richard Wagner. - -“Haydn wrote ‘The Creation’ in his sixty-fifth year, with all the -spirit that usually dwells in the breast of youth,” says Griesinger. “I -had the good fortune to be a witness of the deep emotions and joyous -enthusiasm which several performances of it under Haydn’s own direction -aroused in all listeners. Haydn also confessed to me that it was not -possible for him to describe the emotions with which he was filled as -the performance met his entire expectation, and his audience listened -to every note. ‘One moment I was as cold as ice, and the next I seemed -on fire, and more than once I feared I should have a stroke.’” How -deeply he infused his own spirit into this composition is shown by -another remark: “I was never so pious as during the time I was working -upon ‘The Creation.’ Daily I fell upon my knees and prayed God to -grant me strength for the happy execution of this work.” - -One may see that his heart was in his work. “Accept this oratorio with -reverence and devotion,” wrote his brother Michael, himself no ordinary -church-composer. The most remarkable characteristic of the work is -not, that his choruses rise to the Infinite, as his brother expresses -it. Handel has accomplished this, and Bach also, with inexpressibly -greater majesty and spiritual power. The heartfelt nature of his music, -its incomparable naturalness, its blissful joyousness, its innocence -of purpose, like laughter in childhood’s eyes--these are the new -and beautiful features of it. A spring fountain of perennial youth -gushes forth in melodies like “With Verdure Clad,” “And Cooing Calls -the Tender Dove,” “Spring’s Charming Image.” And how full of genuine -spirit is some of the much talked of “painting” in this work. The -rising of the moon, for instance, is depicted so perceptibly that it -almost moves us to sadness. How well Haydn knew the value of discords -is shown by the introductory “Chaos!” How his modulations add to the -general effects, as for instance, in the mighty climax in the finale -of the chorus, “The Heavens are telling the Glory of God!” The stately -succession of triads in the old style never fails at the right moment. - -This new development of the spontaneous emotions of life, from the -fascinating song of the nightingale to the natural expression of -love’s happiness in Adam and Eve, could only come from a heart full of -goodness, piety, and purity of thought. It is a treasure which Austria -has given to the whole German people out of its very heart, and is as -meritorious as our classical poetry, and as permanent. This enduring -merit of the work transcends all that the esthetic or intellectual -critics can find to criticise in the painting of subjects not musical. -The ground tone is musical throughout, for it comes from the heart of -a man who regards life and the creation as something transcendently -beautiful and good, and therefore cleaves to his Creator with -child-like purity and thankful soul. - -“The Divinity should always be expressed by love and goodness,” Dies -heard him say very expressively. This all-powerful force in human -existence is the source of the lovely fancies which float about us in -the melodies of the “Creation,” enchanting every ear and familiar to -every tongue. A criticism made at that time upon Haydn’s measures is to -the effect that their predominant characteristics are happy, contented -devotion, and a blissful self-consciousness of the heavenly goodness. -This is the fundamental trait in all of Haydn’s music, particularly -of the “Creation.” He was always certain that an infinite God would -have compassion upon His infinite creation, and such a thought filled -him with a steadfast and abiding joyousness. That Handel was grand in -choruses, but only tolerable in song, he says himself; and this is a -proof of his deep feeling for natural life and its individual traits. -Still, on the other hand, he guards himself in these pure lyric works -from dramatic pathos, and is right when he leaves this to the stage. -He acknowledges in his exact recognition of the various problems and -purposes of art, that Gluck surpassed others in his poetic intensity -and dramatic power. He, himself, with his artistic sense, could sketch -the ideal types of nature, inspire them with the breath of life, -give them the sparkle of the eye, and the inward gracious quality -of his own true, loving and soulful nature. This places him above -even his renowned predecessors, contemporaries and followers--Graun, -Hasse, Philip Emanuel Bach, Salieri, Cherubini, and the rest, and in -this province of art exalts him to the height of the classic. Many of -these melodies will certainly live as long as German feeling itself, -particularly among youth and the people whose manhood ever freshly -renews itself. - -The scope and style of the work were also in consonance with its -performance. It was first given with astonishing success at the -Schwartzenberg Palace, and then, March 19, 1799, at the Burg Theater, -and brought him in, according to Dies, four thousand florins. A year -later, Beethoven’s very picturesque and attractive Septet was played -for the first time at the Schwartzenberg and much admired. “That is my -Creation,” Beethoven is said to have remarked at that time. In fact, -the form and substance of the “Creation” melodies are manifest in it, -but he has gained the power of developing them with greater effect; and -yet Beethoven composed one Creation piece, which was unquestionably -the result of Haydn’s work--the ballet, “Creations of Prometheus.” The -following conversation occurred between the two composers not long -afterward: “I heard your ballet yesterday; it pleased me very much,” -said Haydn. (It was in the year 1801 that the work was performed.) -Beethoven replied: “O, dear Papa, you are very good, but it is far from -being a ‘Creation.’” Haydn, surprised at the answer and almost hurt, -said, after a short pause: “That is true. It is not yet a ‘Creation,’ -and I hardly believe that it will ever reach that distinction,” -whereupon they took leave of each other in mutual embarrassment. - -If the prejudices of the old master on this occasion against the -conceited “Great Mogul” appear to be somewhat too actively displayed, -we see him on the other hand in all his modesty, in a letter to -Breitkopf and Haertel, the publishers of the _Allgemeine Musikalische -Zeitung_: “I only wish and hope, now an old man, that the gentleman -critics may not handle my ‘Creation’ too severely nor deal too hardly -with it,” he wrote, in sending them the work in the summer of 1799. -“They may find the musical grammar faulty in some places, and perhaps -other things also, which I have been accustomed for many years to -regard as trifles. But a true connoisseur will see the real cause as -quickly as myself, and willingly throw such stumbling stones one side. -This is, however, between ourselves, or I might be accused of conceit -and vanity, from which my heavenly Father has preserved me all my life.” - -In the same letter he writes: “Unfortunately my business increases with -my years, and yet it almost seems as if my pleasure and inclination to -work increase with the diminishing of my mental powers. Oh, God! how -much yet remains to be done in this glorious art, even by such a man -as I. The world pays me many compliments daily, even upon the spirit -of my last works, but no one would believe how much effort and strain -they cost me, since many a time my feeble memory and unstrung nerves -so crush me down that I fall into the most melancholy state, so that -for days afterward, I am unable to find a single idea until at last -Providence encourages me. I seat myself at the piano and hammer away, -then all goes well again, God be praised.” Griesinger speaks of another -method which, he employed in his old age to arouse himself to renewed -labor: “When composition does not get on well, I go to my chamber, and, -with rosary in hand, say a few Aves, and then the ideas return,” said -Haydn. - -What further remains? We have spoken of the Kaiser Quartet, and we -know that there were several other pieces, among them the op. 82, -which has only two movements. “It is my last child,” said he, “but it -is still very like me.” As a Finale, he appended to it, in 1806, the -introduction of his song, “Hin ist alle meine Kraft” (“Gone is all my -power”), which he also had engraved as a visiting card in answer to -friends who made inquiries about his condition. In a letter to Artaria, -in 1799, he also speaks of twelve new and very charming minuets and -trios. His principal composition, however, was a second oratorio, -which the Society before spoken of desired, after the success of the -“Creation,” and for which Van Swieten again translated the text. It was -the “Seasons,” after Thomson. - -“Haydn often complained bitterly of the unpoetical text,” says -Griesinger, “and how difficult it was for him to compose the ‘Heisasa, -Hopsasa, long live the Vine, and long live the Cask which holds it, -long live the Tankard out of which it flows.’” He was frequently -very fretful over the many picturesquely imitative passages, and, in -order to relieve the continual monotony, he hit upon the expedient of -representing a drinking scene in the closing fugue of the “Autumn.” “My -head was so full of the nonsensical stuff that it all went topsy-turvy, -and I therefore called the closing fugue the drunken fugue,” he said. -He may have been thinking of the scene he witnessed at the Lord Mayor’s -Feast in London, where “the men, as was customary, kept it up stoutly -all night, drinking healths amid a crazy uproar and clinking of -glasses, with hurrahs.” - -He especially disliked the croaking of the frogs and realized how much -it lowered his art. Swieten showed him an old piece of Gretry’s in -which the croak was imitated with striking effect. Haydn contended that -it would be better if the entire croak were omitted, though he yielded -to Swieten’s importunities. He wrote afterward, however, that this -entire piece, imitating the frog, did not come from his pen. “It was -urged upon me to write this French croak. In the orchestral setting -the wretched idea quickly disappears, and on the piano it can not be -done. I trust the critics will not treat me with severity. I am an old -man and liable to make mistakes.” At the place “Oh! Industry, O noble -Industry, from thee comes all Happiness,” he remarked that he had been -an industrious man all his life, but it had never occurred to him to -set industry to music. Notwithstanding his displeasure, he bestowed -all his strength upon the work in the most literal sense, for shortly -after its completion, he was attacked with a brain-fever from which -he suffered torments, and during which his fancies were incessantly -occupied with music. A weakness ensued which constantly increased. -“The ‘Seasons’ have brought this trouble upon me. I ought not to have -written it. I have overdone,” he said to Dies. - -The imperious Swieten, who thought he understood things better than -the teacher and professor, annoyed him very much. He complained of -the aria where the countryman behind his plow sings the melody of -the Andante with the kettle-drum, and wanted to substitute for it a -song from a very popular opera. Haydn felt offended at the request, -and replied with just pride: “I change nothing. My Andante is as -good and as popular anyhow as a song from that opera.” Swieten took -offense at this, and no longer visited Haydn. After a lapse of ten or -twelve days, actuated by his overmastering magnanimity, he sought the -haughty gentleman himself, but was kept waiting a good half hour in an -ante-room. At last he lost his patience and turned to the door, when he -was called back and admitted. He could no longer restrain his passion, -and addressed the Director as follows: “You called me back at just the -right time. A little more and I should have seen your rooms to-day for -the last time.” As we think of the “Great Mogul,” and the scene with -Goethe at Carlsbad, we feel, especially from a social point of view, -that a full century lies between Haydn and Beethoven. Art was become of -age and with it the artist. Haydn himself had helped open the way to an -expression of the deeper value of our nature, and brought it, as he -did pure instrumental music, to a higher standard of merit. Swieten had -already personally experienced Haydn’s anger. That epistolary complaint -about the “frog-croak” had certainly not been made public from anything -of his doing, but yet it was very sincerely intended. Swieten made him -experience his displeasure for a long time afterward, but there is -nowhere any indication that he took it specially to heart. - -The first performance of the “Seasons” took place April 24, 1801. -Opinions were divided about the work. At this time occurred the -meeting of Haydn with his scholar, Beethoven, and the conversation -about the “Prometheus.” “Beethoven manifested a decided opposition -to his compositions, although he laughed repeatedly at the musical -painting, and found special fault with the littleness of his style. -On this account the ‘Creation,’ and the ‘Seasons’ would many a time -have suffered had it not been that Beethoven recognized Haydn’s higher -merits,” relates his scholar, Dies. Haydn himself expressed the -difference between his two oratorios very nicely. At a performance of -the “Seasons,” the Emperor Francis asked him to which of the two works -he gave the preference. “The Creation!” answered Haydn. “And why?” “In -the ‘Creation’ the angels speak and tell of God, but in the ‘Seasons’ -only peasants talk,” said he. “In his mouth there is something of the -Philistine,” said Lavater of Haydn’s face. In comparison with the -ideal types of the “Creation” melodies, we find again in the “Seasons” -the melodious and modulatory effects of the good old times, and the -humor itself is home-made. Notwithstanding this, there is much of -the genuine Haydn geniality and freshness in this his last work, and -the tone-painting is much in the style of the “Creation.” In these -two oratorios of Haydn, and in Mozart’s “Magic Flute,” we constantly -recognize the remote precursors of the powerful musical painting in -Richard Wagner’s “Ring des Nibelungen.” - -From this period Haydn’s biography is no longer the record of his -creative power, but of his outer life, though his fame continually -increased. In 1798 the Academy of Stockholm, and in 1801 that at -Amsterdam, elected him to their membership. In the year 1800, copies -of the “Creation” were circulated in Europe, and the musicians of the -Paris opera, who were the first to perform it, sent him a large gold -medal with his likeness on it. “I have often doubted whether my name -would survive me, but your goodness inspires me with confidence, and -the tribute with which you have honored me, perhaps justifies me in the -belief that I shall not wholly die,” he replied to them. The Institut -National, the Concert des Amateurs and the French Conservatory, also -sent him medals. In 1804 he received the civic diploma of honor from -the city of Vienna, while the year before, in consideration of the -performance of his works for the benefit of the city hospitals, a -gold medal had been presented him. These concerts brought in over -thirty-three thousand florins, so great was Haydn’s popularity at -that time. In 1805 the Paris Conservatory elected him a member, which -was followed by election to the societies of Laybach, Paris and St. -Petersburg. - -He was thoughtful of his end, and in 1806 made his will, which is -characterized by many beautiful and humane features. No one at his -home, or in its immediate neighborhood, was forgotten, and there were -very many in the list which may be found in the “Musical Letters.” -It closes: “My soul I give to its all-merciful Creator; I desire my -body to be buried in the Roman Catholic form, in consecrated ground. -For my soul I bequeathe No. 1, ‘namely,’ for holy masses twelve -florins.” “I am of no more use to the world; I must wait like a child -and be taken care of. Would it were time for God to call me to Him,” -he said to Griesinger. The agreeable change to this retired life in -his quiet little house, for his wife was no longer living, showed -him in what respect, friendship and love he was held, both by visits -and letters. A striking proof of the source from which his creations -arose is his letter of 1802 to distant Rugen, where his “Creation” had -been performed with piano accompaniment. “You give me the pleasing -assurance, which is the most fruitful consolation of my old age, that -I am often the enviable source from which you and so many families, -susceptible to true feeling, obtain pleasure and hearty enjoyment in -their domestic life--a thought which causes me great happiness,” he -writes to those musical friends. “Often, when struggling with obstacles -opposed to my works--often, when strength failed and it was difficult -for me to persevere in the course upon which I had entered--a secret -feeling whispered to me, ‘there are few joyful and contented people -here below; everywhere there is trouble and care; perchance your labor -sometime may be the source from which those burdened with care may -derive a moment’s relief.’” - -He no longer cared much for his youthful works. “Dearest Ellsler: Be -so good as to send me at the very first opportunity the old symphony, -called ‘Die Zerstreute,’ as Her Majesty, the Empress, expresses a -desire to hear the old thing,” he humorously writes to Eisenstadt in -1803. He composed nothing more after this time, although he sent twelve -pieces to Artaria in 1805, and thought the old Haydn deserved a little -present for them, though they belonged to his younger days. - -In the spring of 1804, C. M. Von Weber writes: “I have spent some time -with Haydn. The old man is exceedingly feeble. He is always cheerful -and in good humor. He likes to talk of his adventures, and is specially -interested in young beginners in art. He gives you the impression of a -great man, and so does Vogler (the abbe), with this difference, that -his literary intelligence is much more acute than Haydn’s natural -power. It is touching to see full grown men approach him, call him -‘papa,’ and kiss his hand.” At this time also, he received a letter -from Goethe’s friend, Zelter, at Berlin, in which he wished Haydn -could hear with what “repose, devotion, purity and reverence,” his -choruses were sung at the Sing Akademie. “Your spirit has entered -into the sanctuary of divine wisdom. You have brought down fire from -heaven, to warm our earthly hearts, and guide us to the Infinite. O, -come to us! You shall be received as a god among men.” Thus writes with -enthusiastic rapture this dry old master mason, wedded to forms, who -could nevertheless appreciate the special quality of Haydn’s music--its -popular and simple humor. Griesinger tells us how he regarded flattery. -A piano player began in this wise: “You are Haydn, the great Haydn. -One should fall upon his knees before you. You ought to live in a -splendid palace, etc.” “Ah! my dear sir,” replied Haydn, “do not speak -so to me. You see only a man to whom God has granted talent and a good -heart. It went very hard with me in my young days, and, even at that -time, I wearied myself with the struggle to preserve my old age from -the cares of life. I have my comfortable residence, enough to eat and a -good glass of wine. I can dress in fine cloth, and, if I wish to ride, -a hackney coach is good enough for me.” - -For the thorough quiet of his life at this time he was indebted to his -last Prince, more than to any other. “The friends of harmony often -flatter me and bestow excessive praise upon me. If my name deserves -commendable distinction, it dates from that moment when the Prince -conceded larger scope to my liberty,” he said to Dies, when the latter -asked him how he could, in addition to his regular service, have -written two oratorios. The family of his illustrious patron frequently -visited him, and, in order to spare his feelings as much as possible, -they personally brought him the news of the death of his beloved -brother, Johann, who had also been in their service. In 1806, the -Prince increased his compensation fully six hundred gulden, so that he -could enjoy still more comfort. His excellent servant, Ellsler, father -of the famous danseuse, took most faithful care of him. He had such -a feeling of affectionate reverence for Haydn, that many a time when -he was fumigating the sick chamber, he would stop before his master’s -picture and fumigate it. Tomaschek, at that time a young musician from -Prague, who is mentioned in the work “Beethoven, according to the -description of his Cotemporaries,” visited him in the summer of 1808, -and has given us a very detailed picture of his style and appearance. - -“He sat in an arm-chair. A prim and powdered wig with side locks, -a white collar with golden buckle, a richly embroidered white -waistcoat of heavy silk stuff, a stately frill, a state dress of -fine coffee-brown material, embroidered ruffles at the wrist, black -silk knee breeches, white silk hose, shoes with large curved silver -buckles over the instep, and upon the little table standing on one -side, near his hat, a pair of white leather gloves--such were the -items of his dress upon which shone the dawn of the 17th (18th?) -century,” says Tomaschek. To this we may add Griesinger’s remark: -“When he expected company, he placed his diamond ring on his finger, -and ornamented his attire with the red ribbon to which the Burgher -medal was attached.” “The tender feelings inspired by the sight of the -fame-crowned tone-poet disposed me to sadness,” continues Tomaschek. -“Haydn complained of his failing memory, which compelled him to give -up composition altogether. He could not retain an idea long enough -to write it out. He begged us to go into the next room and see his -souvenirs of the ‘Creation.’ A bust by Gyps induced me to ask Haydn -whom it represented. The poor man, bursting into tears, moaned rather -than spoke, ‘My best friend, the sculptor Fischer; O, why dost thou -not take me to thyself?’ The tone with which he said it pierced me to -the heart, and I was vexed with myself for having made him mournful. -At sight of his trinkets, however, he grew cheerful again. In short, -the great Haydn was already a child in whose arms grief and joy often -reposed together.” - -The 27th of March witnessed one of the grandest displays of respect -Haydn had ever experienced. “The old man at all times loved his -fatherland, and he set an inestimable value upon the honors he -received in it,” so Dies begins an account of the performance of the -“Creation” in Italian, which took place in this year (1808), under -Salieri’s direction. On alighting from the Prince’s carriage, he was -received by distinguished personages of the nobility, and--by his -scholar Beethoven. The crowd was so great that the military had to keep -order. He was carried, sitting in his arm-chair, into the hall, and -was greeted upon his entrance with a flourish of trumpets and joyous -shouts of “long live Haydn.” He occupied a seat next his Princess, -the Prince being at court that day, and on the other side sat his -favorite scholar, Fraulein Kurzbeck. The highest people of rank in -Vienna selected seats in his vicinity. The French ambassador noticed -that Haydn wore the medal of the Paris Concert des Amateurs. “Not alone -this, but all the medals which have been awarded in France you ought -to have received,” said he. Haydn thought he felt a little draft. The -Princess threw her shawl about him, many ladies following her example, -and in a few moments he was covered with shawls. Eibler, Gyrowetz and -his godson, Weigl, were also present. Poems by Collin and Carpani, -the adapter of the text, were presented to him. “He could no longer -conceal his feelings. His overburdened heart sought and found relief in -tears,” continues Dies. “He was obliged to refresh himself with wine to -raise his drooping spirits.” When the passage, “And there was Light,” -came, and the audience broke out into tumultuous applause, he made a -motion of his hands towards Heaven and said, “it came from thence.” He -continued in such an agitated condition that he was obliged to take -his leave at the close of the first part. “His departure completely -overcame him. He could not address the audience, and could only give -expression to his heartfelt gratitude with broken, feeble utterances -and blessings. Upon every countenance there was deep pity, and tearful -eyes followed him as he was taken to his carriage.” - -“It was as if an electric fire flowed through Haydn’s veins, so -powerfully had the events of that day excited his spirits,” says -Dies, speaking of a visit to him eight days afterward. But Tomaschek -declares: “The tremendous applause which was given to the ‘Creation’ -soon cost the old man his life.” We are now perceptibly approaching -that event, and yet he was permitted to live to experience still -another honor--the brilliant success of his scholar, Beethoven, in the -grand concert given in December of that same year. - -“As Haydn’s illness increased, Beethoven visited him less frequently,” -says Van Seyfried, and he adds, with a correct knowledge of the -circumstances, “chiefly from a kind of reserve, since he had already -struck out upon a course which Haydn did not entirely approve.” -Notwithstanding this, the amiable old man eagerly inquired after his -Telemachus, and often asked: “What is our great Mogul doing?” Above -all things else, well defined formalism in artistic work suited him, -like that of Cherubini, who, after repeated visits, begged for one -of his scores upon the occasion of his departure from Vienna, in the -spring of 1806. “Permit me to call myself your musical father and -you my son,” said Haydn, and Cherubini “burst into tears.” In 1788, -Cherubini heard for the first time, in Paris, a Haydn symphony, and was -so greatly excited by it, that it forcibly moved him from his seat. “He -trembled all over, his eyes grew dim, and this condition continued long -after the symphony was ended,” it is said. “Then came the reaction. His -eyes filled with tears, and from that instant the direction of his work -was decided.” He could all the more easily come to an understanding -with the old “papa,” as he had declared with reference to the “Leonora -overture,” brought out this year, he could not, on account of the -confused modulations, discover the key note. - -In characteristic fashion, neither Dies nor Griesinger devote more than -a word to Haydn’s relations to Beethoven, and yet the quartets op. 18, -had appeared some time before, and were admired in Vienna by the side -of Haydn’s and Mozart’s. “Fidelio,” and the first symphonies had also -met with success. The Fifth and Sixth were brought out in the concert -of December, 1808, and surely friends told him of the powerful works -of the new master, who was really “thoughtful, sublime, and full of -expression,” and it could only increase Haydn’s own fame as the creator -of this kind of music. He himself was now too old to rightly appreciate -the character of a Beethoven, who represented an entirely new world. - -He occupied the long and often tedious time with prayers and -reminiscences of his old adventures, particularly of those days in -England, which he cherished as the happiest of his life. He had a -particular little box, which was filled with his gifts from potentates -and musical societies. “When life is at times very irksome, I look upon -all these and rejoice that I am held in honor all over Europe,” he -said to Griesinger. Then he would occupy himself with the newspapers, -go through the little house accounts, entertain himself with the -neighbors and the servants, particularly with his faithful Ellsler, -play cards with them in the evening, and was very happy if he won a -couple of kreutzers. Music was a trouble to him at last, and there -is a very remarkable illustration of this in connection with his -“Kaiserlied,” “I am actually a human piano,” he said to Dies in 1806. -“For several days, an old song, ‘O Herr, wie lieb ich Dich von Herzen’ -is played in me. Wherever I go or stay, I hear it above all else, but -when it torments me and nothing will deliver me from it, if only my -song, ‘God save the Emperor,’ occurs to me, then I am easier. It cures -me.” “That does not surprise me. I have always considered your song -a masterpiece,” replied Dies. “I have always had the same opinion, -though I ought not to say it,” said Haydn. During this mentally as well -as physically weak condition of the old man, then in his 77th year, -occurred the Austrian war of Freedom of 1809. “The unhappy war crushes -me to the earth,” he complained with tearful eyes. “He was continually -occupied with thoughts of his death during his last year, and prepared -himself for it every day,” says Griesinger. In April of that year he -read his will to his dependents, and asked them if they were satisfied. -They thanked him with tearful eyes for his kind provision for their -future. On the 10th of May, while engaged in dressing, the sound of -a cannon-shot was suddenly heard in the near suburb of Mariahilf. A -violent shudder overcame him. After three more shots, he fell into -convulsions. Then he rallied all his strength and cried out: “Children, -fear not. Where Haydn is, nothing can happen to you.” In fact, during -the next fourteen days he pursued his customary manner of life, only it -was noticed after the actual occupation by the French, he maintained a -severe aspect, which he managed to forget while he played his favorite -composition, “The Emperor’s Hymn.” As he had long been accustomed to -see distinguished foreigners, and had received men like Admiral Nelson -and Marshal Soult, he in like manner accepted visits from several -of the French officers, one of whom he received while enjoying his -afternoon rest in bed. It was the last visit. He was Sulemy, a French -captain of hussars. He sang to the master, whom he so greatly revered -that he would have been contented if only to see him through the -key-hole, the aria “In Native Worth,” and so beautifully that Haydn -burst into tears, sprang up and embraced him with kisses. On the 26th -of May he played his “Kaiserlied” three times in succession, with an -expression that surprised himself. He died May 31st, 1809, and passed -away in an unconscious state. His funeral ceremonies were very simple, -on account of the war-time, yet the French authorities noticed his -death in a very respectful manner. Eleven years later his remains were -taken to Eisenstadt. - -Haydn’s works, according to a catalogue made by himself in 1805, which -however is not complete, consist of 118 symphonies, 83 quartets, 19 -operas, 5 oratorios, 15 masses, 10 small church-pieces, 24 concertos -for various instruments, 163 (?) pieces for the bariton, 44 sonatas, -42 songs, 39 canons, 13 songs for several voices, 365 old Scotch songs -and numerous five-and-nine-part compositions in various instrumental -forms--truly, a genuine fruitfulness of the creative spirit. “There -are good and badly brought up children among them, and here and -there a changeling has crept in,” said he. There could have been no -more suitable epitaph for him than “Vixi, Scripsi, Dixi,” though he -earnestly declared, “I was never a rapid writer, and always composed -with deliberation and industry.” Above all things, it commends his -works to the connoisseur that they in good part have the enduring -form. “The record of Haydn’s life is that of a man who had to struggle -against manifold obstacles, and by the power of his talent and untiring -effort worked his way up, in spite of them, to the rank of the most -prominent men of his profession,” Griesinger truly says. He also makes -a just estimate of his works as follows: “Originality and richness of -ideas, genial feeling, a fancy dominated by close study, versatility -in the development of simple thoughts, calculation of effects by the -proper division of light and shade, profusion of roguish humor, the -easy flow and free movement of the whole.” Were one to add to these -the specially prominent characteristic of his music, it would be -the distinct German character of his works which on the one hand is -reflected in refreshing heartiness and naturalness, and on the other -in spirited humor; and which essentially embodies the earnestness and -loftiness of those two older Germans, Bach and Handel, and founded -that era in which German instrumental music achieved the mastery -of the world. In form as well as in substance, Haydn created the -artistic pattern of the symphony and the quartet, and, never let it be -forgotten, was the one who from his genuine nature and his love of the -people, evolved the first German National Hymn. - - -THE END. - - - - -FOOTNOTE: - -[A] [This portrait, copied from the original, will be found in the -frontispiece of this volume.--TRANSLATOR.] - - - - -TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: - - - Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. - - Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - - Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized. - - This book does not use umlauts in German words, except in the case of - _Händel_ in the chapter descriptions. - - Archaic or alternate spelling has been retained from the original. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF HAYDN *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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