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Haydn

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Born / died

1732-1809

Movement

Classicism

Location

Worked in Vienna

Friends / contemporaries

Ludwig van Beethoven, Joseph Haydn, Antoine Reicha +3 more

role: composer · 90%era: Baroquemovement: Classicism1732–1809

Movement

Classicism · Wikipedia

Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthetic attitude dependent on principles based in the culture, art and literature of ancient Greece and Rome, with the emphasis on form, simplicity, proportion, clarity of structure, perfection and restrained emotion, as well as explicit appeal to the intellect. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint and compression we are simply objecting to the classicism of classic art. A violent emphasis or a sudden acceleration of rhythmic movement would have destroyed those qualities of balance and completeness through which it retained until the present century its position of authority in the restricted repertoire of visual images." Classicism, as Clark noted, implies a canon of widely accepted ideal forms, in the Western canon that he was examining in The Nude (1956).

How this movement sounds

steady pulsebasso continuocounterpointornamentationdance rhythmsterraced dynamics

Baroque listening cues: a steady pulse, energetic rhythmic drive, and lots of repeating patterns and sequences that feel like the music is constantly in motion.

Texture is often built from basso continuo (a bass line plus chords, frequently harpsichord or organ) and counterpoint: several independent lines weaving together (fugue-like thinking even when it's not a fugue).

Baroque expression is often about articulation and rhythm more than massive crescendos. Dynamics can be terraced (step-like) and the emotional character is often sustained rather than dramatically 'swung' every few bars.

Listen for dance rhythms in suites (courante, sarabande, gigue) and for how harmony supports long, flowing lines: tension is created by rhythmic drive and line-shape, not by sudden harmonic shocks.

If you're new to the sound: try following just the bass line (continuo). When you can hear that steady foundation, the rest of the counterpoint becomes much easier to 'read' by ear.

How Haydn sounds

counterpointdance rhythmssteady pulseornamentssequences

Baroque music often sounds rhythmically steady and patterned, with repeating figures and clear harmonic direction.

You will frequently hear counterpoint (multiple independent lines) and dance-derived pulses underneath the surface.

Ornamentation (trills, turns) tends to decorate the melody, and intensity builds by layering lines rather than by sudden harmonic shocks.

Wikipedia

Franz Joseph Haydn ( HY-dən; German: [ˈfʁants ˈjoːzɛf ˈhaɪdn̩] ; 31 March 1732 – 31 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period.Wikipedia

He was pivotal in the evolution of chamber music forms like the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led him to be called "Father of the Symphony", "Father of the String quartet" and "Father of Sonata form".Wikipedia

Haydn arose from humble origins, the child of working people in a rural village. He established his career first by serving as a chorister at St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna, then through an arduous period as a freelance musician.Wikipedia

Eventually he found career success, spending much of his working life as music director for the wealthy Esterházy family at their palace of Eszterháza in rural Hungary. Though he had his own orchestra there, it isolated him from other composers and trends in music so that he was, as he put it, "forced to become original". During this period his music circulated widely in publication, eventually making him the most celebrated composer in Europe.Wikipedia

Notable works include the Paris and London symphonies. With the death of his patron Nikolaus Esterházy in 1790, Haydn was free to travel, and augmented his fame as a performer before the public in both London and Vienna. Late in life, he composed the oratorios The Creation (1798) and The Seasons (1801).Wikipedia

The last years of his life…Wikipedia

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