BaL 5.02.22 - Haydn: Symphony no. 49 in F minor 'La Passione'

[MickyD]

It's sad that the Derek Solomon's/L'Estro Armonico version (from another aborted complete cycle) is no longer available. I liked those recordings a great deal.

[cloughie]

Another very acceptable and economically downloaded from 7digital in the Big Haydn Box is the Zagreb Soloists conducted by Antonio Janigro.

[jayne lee wilson]

An extremely striking work of which I'm very fond, even if it's not a great one. Modern scholarship suggests that it originated as incidental music, and was not written with the Passion in mind.

I have three recordings: English Concert/Pinnock, Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orch/Adam Fischer and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. I don't find that there is a lot to choose between them. The bands are all about the same size. Pinnock omits one second half repeat and I wish he hadn't. The repeats in the Menuetto da Capo are not observed in any of these versions (I'm quite happy about that). The tempi are much the same. In the Fischer, the Viennese horns make a lovely sound in the trio of the minuet, but without dominating the texture. Fischer gets the most transparent recorded sound (at least to my ageing ears) in the palace at Eisenstadt.

The only other version I recall hearing is conducted by Barbara Hannigan. Her idea of allegro di molto (second movement) is more like prestissimo and I don't think that works at all.

As with Nos. 11 and 34, 49 was on the sonata da chiesa model - largo-allegro-minuet-finale (sometimes, yes, with convoluted provenance) - but took off from there into a much more intense and innovative sturm und drang. (You may even hear the stunningly compressed No.39 as also inspired by this shape; on the very first volume of Antonini's Haydn 2032 series, 49 was c/w No.39...he clearly saw how vitally, closely related, each work is).
And give me all repeats, every time! With music as wonderful as this, I cannot hear enough of them.

This symphony has pursued me, or maybe I pursued the symphony, through many recordings and performances.
But I'll always swear by the Heidelberger Sinfoniker/Thomas Fey as the almost unmatchable ideal for the work: just exceptional. (See above...what an incredible Haydn album (52-49-58). Like Antonini, Fey always planned his Haydn albums with meticulous artistic care - for what each sequence of these symphonies could tell us, and say about each other.)

[Alison]

Not much interest.

[Bryn]

No new outlay for me, this time. I have the three contenders to hand. I note the amazon.co.uk price for the Pinnock has dropped a few pence since I got the boxed set some 13 years ago.

[jonfan]

But I'll always swear by the Heidelberger Sinfoniker/Thomas Fey as the almost unmatchable ideal for the work: just exceptional. (See above...what an incredible Haydn album (52-49-58). Like Antonini, Fey always planned his Haydn albums with meticulous artistic care - for what each sequence of these symphonies could tell us, and say about each other.)

Agree. Thomas Fey creates his albums with great thought coupled with superb performances. I don’t think his 49 was even mentioned today? We mainly had only three recordings in the reckoning.

[visualnickmos]

Not much interest.

Same here. Hardly any examples illustrated. I thought Pinnock (judging by the extracts) sounded rather 'whiney' as so much period instrument stuff does.
I'm more than happy with my bargain bucket Brilliant Classics set with Adam Fischer.

[Wolfram]

Same here. Hardly any examples illustrated. I thought Pinnock (judging by the extracts) sounded rather 'whiney' as so much period instrument stuff does.
I'm more than happy with my bargain bucket Brilliant Classics set with Adam Fischer.

I have both Pinnock and Fischer and heard no reason to add to them on this morning's evidence. I thought the examples lacked variety. Very little non-HIPP, and what was played was introduced a bit like a salesman showing you very briefly what he doesn't want you to buy before steering you back as quickly as he can to what he does want you to be interested in.

And it was obvious almost from the outset who the winner was going to be.

[visualnickmos]

I have both Pinnock and Fischer and heard no reason to add to them on this morning's evidence. I thought the examples lacked variety. Very little non-HIPP, and what was played was introduced a bit like a salesman showing you very briefly what he doesn't want you to buy before steering you back as quickly as he can to what he does want you to be interested in.

And it was obvious almost from the outset who the winner was going to be.

100% agree. Not one of the better BaLs, that's for sure. Almost as if anything that wasn't HIPP was cast out before the starting gate. Have to say, I didn't glean or learn anything from this one. Nothing beneficial, at any rate.

[MickyD]

Agree. Thomas Fey creates his albums with great thought coupled with superb performances. I don’t think his 49 was even mentioned today? We mainly had only three recordings in the reckoning.

Nope, and bearing in mind how enthusiastic Jayne is about him, I would have really liked to hear it.
From what little versions we heard, I must say I rather liked the second AAM recording with Egarr.
But I agree with other members, not a very thrilling BAL, I was disappointed.

[HighlandDougie]

Nope, and bearing in mind how enthusiastic Jayne is about him, I would have really liked to hear it.
From what little versions we heard, I must say I rather liked the second AAM recording with Egarr.
But I agree with other members, not a very thrilling BAL, I was disappointed.

I rather enjoyed the programme but didn't feel that I learned much that I didn't already know. I wouldn't quibble with the final shortlist and, having just listened to the Fey, can understand why Simon Heighes didn't include him. Slow first movement (slower than Scherchen) which is not a sin in itself but I found the minuet and trio to be just little dull and plodding, which is not something that can be said of Antonini or Preston (or, indeed, the rather good Roy Goodman, harpsichord and all). Maybe it was the recording quality or, more likely, the fact that I was listening to it via streaming which made me rather lose interest. Incidentally, I like Nick's description of HiPP as "whiny" - just like TOH at times!

[Ein Heldenleben]

I didn’t find the string sound on the Pinnock “whiny” and I was listening via Sounds thru a iPhone 5s headphone into amp. I thought the reviewer characterised the sounds Pinnock’s band well. They were digging into the strings and bringing life to the music - though obviously they didn’t sound like the VPO . Thing is the Esterhazy orchestra at times went down to very few strings. Even Pinnock’s sound was probably a good deal more “lush “ than Haydn would have heard and was , presumably, happy with . Although few at times in number his band was made up of first rate musicians.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Please don't deride other posters. You're always free to disagree, but don't make assumptions about people you may neither know nor are likely to meet. It's great to be passionate, but not to be dogmatic.

[Braunschlag]

Please don't deride other posters. You're always free to disagree, but don't make assumptions about people you may neither know nor are likely to meet. It's great to be passionate, but not to be dogmatic.

Thanks for restoring order.

[HighlandDougie]

Please try to hear the Fey in more favourable conditions. The SQ is simply impeccable, reference-class for CD. I've lived with it for several years and many revisits; not the least of its many qualities is to recognise the subtlety before and beyond the drama. Too many recordings seem to have pairs of movements: two slower or moderate, two quick. (This may be why some tend to overlook its greatness and originality). There is far more to it than that as Fey's contrasting approaches to (ii) and (iv) show. His, is a minutely observant reading.

I've had the Fey 'London' symphonies 4CD box for some little while but - confession time - I took against it so it has been stored in the 'discard' box. I've searched it out, dusted it off and am now listening to Symphony No 95 - with a great deal of enjoyment. I can't think why I thought the recording quality was in any way amiss - cloth ear syndrome, maybe. So, now back on the shelf alongside Kuijken, Brüggen, Hogwood, Jochum et al. I will now try again with 'La Passione' if I can find it on Qobuz.