A Peasant in the Palace

Radio Record, Volume V, Issue 43, 6 May 1932, Page 3

A Peasant in the Palace

A talk on the famous composer

Haydn, broadcast from 2YA

by

Karl

Atkinson

OON after Haydn composed his first svmmphony

and thus struck the second keynote of his originality he had the good fortune to attract the attention of a man whose

family has since become intimately associated with musical genius in Germany; this was old

Prince Esterhazy. "What! You don’t mean to say that little blackamoor" (alluding to Haydn’s brown complexion and small stature) "composed that symphony ?" "Surely, Prince!" replied the director. Friedburg. to Haydn, who advanced toward the orchestra "Tittle Moor," says the old gentleman, "you shal! enter my service. Iam Prince Esterhazy. What's y your name?" . "Haydn." "Ah! I’ve heard of you. Get along and dress yourself like a Cappelmeister. Clap on a new coat, and mind your wig is curled. You're too short; you shall have red heels; but they shall be high, thar your stature may correspond with your merit." Thus, the one who had been born a peasant passed into the palace, where he lived and worked for thirty vears.

Everything we know about Haydn proves him -#6 have been as simple and appealing as the music hich he bequeathed to posterity. Children were invariably fond of him. Many women loved him, and he used to congratulate himself that it must have been something deeper than beauty they saw in him, for beautiful he certainly was not. Even his clothes, since he never troubled to keep pace with the fashions, were comically out of date. Still, though earelace of fachion. he was alwavs dapper. His one

mistake in life was his wife. In her he caught a veritable Tartar, who nagged without ceasing and cut up his MSS. for curl-papers. Haydn, with his daily time-table of long hours and methodica! ways, gives a complete lie to the prevalent notion that genius is anything but an infinite capacity for taking pains. The astonishing thing is that, with it all, his genius rarely failed him. .In fact he never seemed to wait on genius: it was his apparently to command when he would. And more-almost every one of his compositions, even among the least-known ones, contains something that catches the breath with pleasure. Among all composers, one of the most essentially happy was surely Haydn; he seemed somehow able, whatever the set-backs of life,sto draw humour from a secret well of happiness. He had a generous patron; he was happy and easy in his work, and wherever he went he was genuinely welcomed by friends and appreciators galore, living to relish life to the full for 77 years. The second of what was to be a family of twelve children was born to Mathias and Maria Anna Haydn at Rohrau, a tiny village in Lower Austria, just 200 years ago, on the evening of March 31, 1732 The child was a boy, whose father was a wheelwright in poor circumstances. From his parents Haydn inherited little beyond the love of music, which was to shape his whole life’s future, and a polypus in the nose, bequeathed him by his mother, that was a source of conSiderable trouble to him later. The father had a fine tenor voice, d his mother sang well, too; both belonged to the village choir. The father played the harp by ear, and the family sang, net infrequently being reinforced by the neighbours. When a little boy ‘Haydn made himself a little violin, which instrument a relative volunteered to teach him; and this, together with a position as chorister, put him well on the high road to a musical career.

One thing led to another, and ultimately at the early age

of nine his lovely voice secured tor him a post in an important. choir in Vienna. | The sweet young voice of marvellous

soprano quality filled all the town with delignt. After about nine years at St. Stephens’s, Haydn’s

voice showed signs of breaking, ana the ungrateful choirmaster, Reutter, had no further use for him, and took ready advantage of a boyish prank of cutting off the tail of another chorister’s wig to turn him out into the streets penniless. From this desperate plight Haydn was ultirnately rescued by one Spangler, a chorister at another church, who provided a corner of his garret where at least he could sleep under shelter. Despite a rough time in his youth and flitting from one precarious position to another, the industry and talent of little Joseph found reward in the long run. His education was very hardly bought, and as a self-taught genius he stands for all time as an inspiration and example to future generations of struggling students.

A slender income was eked out by an occasional engagement playing at dances, a few pupils, and ultimately a job as accompanist to the singing teacher, Porpora, who, for all his irascible temper, put Haydn -into the way of picking up a good deal of assorted musical knowledge of the art of composition. He met matty musicians and theatrical artists and wrote some music for a stage farce. The next step up the ladder of fame was an

appointment as kapellmeister or musical director to Count Ferdinand Morzin. On the strength of this post and a fair number of pupils, Haydn made what proved to be the most disastrous decision of his whole life. He was really deeply in love with the younger daughtey of a wig-maker named Keller. As this young lady decided to take the veil, Haydn, for some reason or another, allowed himself to, be persuaded to marry the elder daughter, with whom he was not at’ all in love. In the words of Ernest Newman, Mrs. Haydn was a thorn in his flesh to the end of her days-an avaricious, ill-tempered, bigoted termagant, who had no sympathy with either him or his music, and never lost an opportunity of plaguing him during their 40 years of married life. Wie financial difficulties compelled Count Morzin to retrench and disband his musical organisation and Haydn found himself once again among the unemployed, ‘he had the exceptional good fortune to be engaged by Prince Paul Anton Esterhazy as second kapellmeister. The senior musician’s duties became more and more nominal as time went on, and he died five years following Haydn’s appointment Our genial composer was well treated, and for 30 years he returned this kindness by turning out for his princely employers an almost incredible number of works of all kinds, including operas. . We can well believe Sir Hubert Parry’s contention that Haydn’s prominent position in the history of music is enhanced by his being the first great representative composer of modern secular music, The Esterhazy appointment made this possible. Till the beginning of modern instrumental music, all the highest achievements in the art were closely connected either by style or descent with church music; and the greatest composers rested their fame (Continued on page 31.)

q A Peasant in the Palace (Continued from page 3.) on it. Haydn was the first great composer who identified himself with absolutely secular music, and gave it. a status equal to that of sacred music. Sir Hubert asserts that the change from the manner of the earlier masters goes so far that while the nominally secular music of his great predecessors frequently savoured of the forms of religious art, when he is nominally writing sacred music it is often cast in secular forms, and savours of the theatre. Haydn was the pioneer of this change in music, and was the first man who * achieved a glorification of the natural music which exists in the heart of the iople, by carrying its essence and its most healthy and vigorous qualities into the province of high art. The incessant labour of Haydn during his service with the Esterhazy household brought its reward in an ever-widening fame, first of all in Vienna, then in Germany, France, and England. A German musician named Salomon, who had settled in London, persuaded Haydn to visit England, and in December, 1790, the composer landed at Dover for the first time. The English concerts were an electric success, everyone, from the King and Queen down- . ward, vied with each other in honouring the Austrian musician, and as a result of this and a later visit to England, Haydn became a rich man. His life from now onward was one of ever-grow-ing triumph. His three oratorios crowned a life work, and "Papa Haydn" became a musical idol in more countries than his native Austria, Toward his last days the occupation of Vienna by Napoleon broke his heart. and he passed away on May 31, 1809. Five days before the end he was carried to the piano, where he played three times his "Hmperor’s Hymn," that had then become the Austrian national anthem. The peasant’s sturdy patriotism was his to the last, and to Napoleon’s credit be it said, a guard of honour -was placed around Haydn’s house during the occupation of the capital. A man of caln and gentle piety and innocent humour, Haydn knew his own worth. In a arance he was short and solidly built, with legs that were too small for his body. His face was pitted with smallpox, and his nose, which had been aqualine in his youth, was in his later years spoilt by the polypus, previously referred to. His jaw was big, and his under lip rather large and protruding His eyes were dark grey, and they had a very pleasant expression. His whole face lighted up very pleasantly when he was talking-as might have been ex. pected from his genial and kind dis position-and this must have been the chief attraction in a face and figure \ which was far from blessed with natural advantages. Such was Franz Joseph Haydn, frequently but, not quite accurately described as the "Father of the Symphony and the Quartet," whose musi¢e we should not neglect to perform or re-hear in this the bi-centenary year of his birth.