1

Proposal

The topic I will be researching is Haydn and the development and the symphony, or more
specifically, how his style contributed to the growth in popularity of symphonic form through
various techniques and methods he cultivated. Ideas being explored are his ideas around
harmony, how both style galant and Sturm und Drang influenced his writing and contributed to
his popularity and the gradual widespread acceptance of the symphony as a public artform.

Other ideas include his use of tone-colour, including various motif developments,
instrumentation and rhythm. This will be followed by an analysis of a movement or two of his
Paris symphonies to understand the background behind their popularity and an analysis from part
of his London symphonies to demonstrate the appeal of his music, based on the full maturation
of his form.
 2

Essay Outline
Question: How did Haydn influence the public opinion of the symphony and shed new light on
it?

Introduction
 Introduction to Haydn
 Introduction to the late Classical era and symphonic form

Body Paragraphs
1. Use of new methods and techniques
 Brief intro to Haydn’s style
 More advanced and experimental use of harmony
o Includes modulations
 Sturm und Drang vs Steel Galant
o Using both emotional depth and simplicity/tunefulness to engage and
captivate a wider array of audience, rather than just members of the court
 Use of color
o “Turkish” sound in symphony
o Imitating different instruments, such as bagpipes
o Extreme dynamics
o Rhythm?
2. Writing for the public and reception to his works
 Paris symphonies and their effect on the public
2. Analysis of London Symphony
 One or two movements to demonstrate public appeal of Haydn’s music based on
the maturation of his style

Conclusion
 Tie all points together to show the evolution of the public opinion of the symphony.
 3

Sample Paragraphs
What set Haydn apart from other composers of the time was his distinct style with the new

methods and techniques used to create highly original masterpieces, that the public would take

with great liking. Taking elements from the newly emerging galant style, the German equivalent,

empfindsamer Stil, and even small components from the reactionary Sturm und Drang

movement, Haydn could churn large scale works at a fairly quick pace. This was in part due to

his position at the Eszterháza Palace, in which the isolation from the rest of Austria, forced him

to invent his own original signature. From these influences, he wrote melodic lines inspired by

folk tunes of Eastern Europe, with phrase clarity and symmetry being a must. His symphonic

writing was typical of the era with four movements, closely following concerto form. The first

movement would be a fast sonata form, often with an adagio or slow introduction that leads into

the statement of the primary theme.1 Phrases are fully balanced, with a strong, central cadential

point, which is contrasted with patches of dissonance n from the orchestra in between, creating

feelings of strong tension and subsequent resolution in the audience. 2Haydn’s expositions will

often take small rhythmic or melodic motives already established and construct new and

interesting variations with them. The development would augment the existing themes in various

techniques such as sequencing. His recapitulations were sometimes hidden to trick the audience,

who would be listening for it; an example of Haydn’s witty practice. The opening theme will be

redesigned in some way that is typical of the section, but in a more obscure way.

Monothematicism, where one main theme that is continually varied and developed over multiple

movements is a significant part of Haydn’s works and was a key aspect of his outer movements.

The second movement would either be in sonata form or theme and variations, especially in his

1 Textbook, 530-2 Grout and Palisca

2 Ibig pg. 531
 4

later works, and would be in either a subdominant or dominant key from the original tonic. Slow

and lyrical, this movement features aria-like instrumental writing, without taking away from the

orchestra. The third movement is a minuet and trio in ABA form, and according to Grout “relax

the audience after the music tensions of the initial movement”. He also states how “the minuet

will have a ‘urban’ or courtly character, whereas the trio will contrast that with a ‘country dance’

feel”. 3 The finale is the fastest movement, with the same level of tension and drama from the

first movement. Most often a theme and variations in rondo or sonata form, there will be plenty

of modulations that help drive home the tonality of the work.

As according to Palisca and Grout, “Haydn greatly expanded the harmonic palate from earlier

symphonies with more modulations.” One of the ways this was achieved was through sonata

form harmony, which became a standard of Classical music. Edward Cone describes this as

"Any important thematic idea stated in a non-tonic key, must be restated in either the tonic or a

closely related key”. 4 In Haydn’s case, he did not simply return to the tonic to satisfy the need

for resolution, he also felt obliged to state previous non-tonic passages in the home key. To him,

this would mean that passages in the exposition that are not in the tonic, should be introduced

into the tonic in the recapitulation. 5Because of this key principle, his writing style reflected a

concept of unity, where everything must show a connection to each other on an obvious physical

level; it is visible to the listener that everything is related to each other. While Haydn’s harmonic

output was majority diatonic, he started to introduce key elements of chromaticism, particularly

in his London Symphonies, where he employs greater use of modulation to distant keys, an

3 Burkholder, Grout and Pasilica, Western Music, 531

4 Edward Cone, Music Form and Musical Performance, New York, 1986, 76-7
5 Ethan Haimo, Haydn's Symphonic Forms: Essays in Compositional Logic, Oxford University Press, 1995, 4
 5

increase in non-diatonic chords, such as augmented, diminished or Neopolitian chords, and a

more liberal use of embellishments such as suspensions or pedal tones. 6

Haydn’s style was shaped by the galant movement that swept through Europe from the 1720-70s.

Driven by the reaction to the previous Baroque style, the galant style signaled a shift to a simpler

approach to music; more tunefulness, more melodically centric music. Haydn adopted this style

to match the public appeal for less harmonically complex music. As a result, there is a noticeable

absence of counterpoint in the music, and the accompaniment is simplistic in comparison to the

melody. While this was Haydn’s character of writing for the latter half of his career from the

1780s to his death, from the 1760-70s his style was darker, more passionate and with a minor

tonality, common with the Sturm und Drang movement that would characterize German

literature in the 18th century.7 In contrast to the galant style, counterpoint is intricately used, with

greater scope of dynamics, and much stronger, more pronounced dissonance. 8 These traits

marked a significant period in Haydn’s writing style, with a new sense of passion and

dramaticism that the New Grove says “lends a similarity to his vocal writing” 9. While there is

debate among scholars, whether this period is actually Sturm und Drang since it appears before

the rise in the literary genre, it is still important to discuss in regards to his emotional output and

mastering of his craft. William Grim talks about how it was this “drive and passion from” this

era that was later adapted in his galant style, abit in a much more relaxed approach and this is

what contributed to his later success as a writer for public symphonies. 10

6 EDUQAS “Teachers Notes on London Symphonies” accessed Feburary 22nd, 2019

7 Reinhart G. Pauly, Music in the Classical Period, (Pearson, 1999), 96
8 Linn VanMeter-Drew “The Musical Sturm und Drang” (Master’s Theses, Western Michigan University, 1984)
22-24
9 Daniel Heartz and Bruce Alan Brown, New Grove Online, “Sturm und Drang” accessed Feb. 26th, 2019
10 William E. Grim, Haydn’s Sturm und Drang symphonies: form and meaning, (E. Mellen, 1990), 21
 6

One of Haydn’s most ingenious techniques was his use of orchestral colour, to suggest ideas of a

supposedly programmatic nature and capture audiences attention by listening for certain

elements or motives. Haydn was especially inspired by Eastern European folk-melodies of

Austria, Hungary, and Romania, with their relatively simple yet pleasing nature, fit the popular

galant style and appealed to the public while being easily workable to his liking. In his

Symphony No. 104, Haydn employs the use of the “Lombard snap” as a reoccurring motif in

both his third and fourth movement, first as a melodic flourish, later incorporated as its own line.
11
. He also begins the fourth with an open drone in the cello and horn, reminiscent of a bagpipe

and inviting the audience to imagine a Scottish flavour through the latter half of the work. There

are other examples of tone color being at the forefront; Haydn creates a “Turkish” feel, by

adding snare drum, bass drum and triangle to decorate the March in the second movement of his

Military Symphony (No. 100), giving the audiences a taste of foreign colour.

11 EDUQAS “Teachers Notes on London Symphonies”

 7

Bibliography

Burkholder, Peter J., Donald Jay Grout, and Claude V. Palisca A History of Western Music.
New York. W.W. Norton. 2013
 Used for the basics of Haydn’s style and the concert style that was common in symphonic writing
of the time.

EDUQAS. “Analysis of Haydn’s London Symphony No. 104: Movement One”. Teacher’s
Notes.
accessed Feburary 23, 2019
 Used for an analysis of Haydn’s harmonic practices, key motives that are redevelopmed, and for
an overview of his London Symphony

Pauly, Reinhart G. Music in the Classical Style. Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall. 1999.
96
 Used for a comparison of Haydn’s music to the Sturm und Drang movement in both literature
and music.

VanMeter-Drew, Linn. “The Musical Sturm und Drang” Master’s Theses, Western Michigan
University, 1984) 22-24
 Used for characteristics of Sturm und Drang, specifically the relation to Haydn’s symphonies of
the period.

Heartz, Daniel, and Bruce Alan Brown. "Sturm und Drang." Grove Music Online.
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/o
mo-9781561592630-e-0000027035 (accessed Feb 27th 2019.)
 Used for identifying characteristics of Sturm und Drang style

Haimo, Ethan. Haydn's Symphonic Forms: Essays in Compositional Logic. Oxford University
Press (1995)
 Used for analysis of Classical sonata and symphonic forms and their relationship in Haydn’s works.

Grim, William E. Haydn’s Sturm und Drang Symphonies: Form and Meaning. E. Mellen Press
(1990)
 Shows the relationship between Haydn’s Sturm und Drang phase and his later, more popular works to
the public.