Haydn’s ‘Morning’ Symphony
Haydn’s Symphony No. 6 Le Matin (The Morning)
Haydn’s so called 'Times of Day' Symphonies are among his most popular works, and for good reason. The Le Matin (Morning) Symphony is without a doubt, one of his most beautiful compositions.
Haydn wrote the three 'times of day' symphonies (Le Matin, Le Midi and Le Soir) in 1761 when he first arrived to work for the Esterházy family. The prince requested that Haydn write works on the times of day theme, and it is thought that Haydn took this opportunity to win the favour of the resident musicians by including solos for various instruments throughout.
Interestingly, in the context of our two previous posts, we see another example of Haydn writing a ‘sunrise’ theme in the opening of the 1st movement of the Le Matin. He begins with soft strings and then builds by adding winds. This layering effect, combined with a long crescendo throughout the first phrase, creates the sense of the sun rising. Haydn then introduces a new section that features wind solos, commencing with the flute, to conjure up a sense of having ‘woken up’ and also incorporates elements of nature with ‘twiddling’ motifs that imitate bird calls.
Things to listen for:
Observe how Haydn creates the sunrise effect at the opening with a gentle rising figure starting with the strings and then layers the entries of the winds. Can you hear how the gradual increase from soft to loud helps towards a feeling of the sun rising?
Note how he completely changes the mood of the music with a switch from the opening ‘adagio’ tempo to ‘allegro’ at [0:55]. The music then becomes bouncy and jaunty. This creates a sense of having ‘woken up’.
Can you hear at [1:33] how he passes the ‘bird’ motifs between the winds?
LISTEN HERE:
Recording: Australian Haydn Ensemble for ABC Classics
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