Johann Michael Haydn (1737-1806)
- Missa Sti Hieronymi, à 4 Voci Conc:ti, 2 Ob: 2 Fag: 3 Tromboni,
tutti oblig: con Organo (1777), MH 254
Performers: Miah Persson (soprano); Katija Dragojevic (alto); Frederik Strid (tenor); Lars Johansson (bass);
St. Jacob's Chamber Choir; Ensemble Philidor; Günter Theis (conductor)
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Austrian composer. Brother of Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), he went to
Vienna at the age of eight and entered the choir school at the
Stephansdom. About 1753 his voice broke and he was dismissed from the
choir school. By 1757 he left Vienna for Grosswardein. His solemn Missa
SS Cyrilli et Methodii (1758) was one his earliest and finest works
composed there. He was apparently back in the vicinity of Vienna in
1762. It was during this time that he came to the attention of Count
Vinzenz Joseph Schrattenbach, the nephew of Sigismund Christoph,
Archbishop of Salzburg, who recommended that Haydn be offered a position
in Salzburg. From the quantity of Haydn's music that was copied for
performances in eastern Austria during the 1750s and 60s, it would seem
that he was quite well known throughout the region. The death of J.E.
Eberlin in 1762 led to a reshuffling of the prominent musicians in
Salzburg and eventually to Haydn's appointment as court Konzertmeister.
Among his colleagues were Leopold Mozart, A.C. Adlgasser, G.F. Lolli and
later W.A. Mozart. On 24 July 1763 some ‘Tafelmusique’ by him was
performed, and on 14 August he officially assumed his new position,
which involved playing the organ as well as the violin. From then until
the death of Archbishop Schrattenbach late in 1771, he mainly wrote
dramatic works for the theatre of the Benedictine University; Die
Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots (1767) was the result of a collaboration
between Haydn, Adlgasser and the 11-year-old Mozart. On 17 August 1768
he married Maria Magdalena Lipp (1745-1827), a singer in the Hofkapelle
and daughter of the court organist, Franz Ignaz Lipp. The couple lived
in an apartment owned by the Abbey of St Peter, for which Haydn composed
a number of occasional works. The Haydns’ only child, Aloysia Josepha,
was born in 1770, but died within a year. Hieronymus, Count Colloredo,
was enthroned as Prince-Archbishop in March 1772, and he immediately
instituted tighter fiscal controls which greatly restricted the
activities of the university theatre.
A planned trip to Italy probably never materialized because he was
promptly given the position of organist at the Dreifaltigkeitskirche
when Adlgasser died suddenly on 22 December 1777. Bitter that the
position was not given to his son, Leopold Mozart, who had previously
praised his colleague, described Haydn as prone to heavy drinking and
laziness. Haydn composed his best-known works between 1771 and 1777: the
Requiem (1771) and the Missa S. Hieronymi (1777). In 1782 he assumed
the position of court organist. On the 1200th anniversary of the
archiepiscopate, in the same year, Colloredo published a pastoral
letter, the first of a series of proclamations intended to simplify
church services. In response, Haydn composed about 100 settings of Mass
Propers in a simple homophonic style. During the 1780s, Haydn completed
20 symphonies. Writing from Vienna in 1784, Mozart expressed his
astonishment at how quickly he was able to obtain copies of Michael
Haydn’s most recent symphonies. During the 1790s Haydn enjoyed an
expanding sphere of influence as a teacher of composition; Anton
Diabelli was involved in the publication of many of Haydn's sacred works
by the Viennese publishing firm that later bore his name. Sigismund
Neukomm was a pupil of Haydn in the 1790s. The young C.M. von Weber came
to Haydn in 1797; and Franz Schubert, though never one of his pupils,
visited Haydn's grave in Salzburg and included words of admiration for
him in a letter to his brother Ferdinand. In January 1801 his apartment
was plundered by French soldiers, and this was possibly a catalyst for a
trip to Vienna. By September 1801 he was again in Vienna rehearsing a
mass commissioned by Empress Maria Theresia, who sang a solo part in a
performance. He began work on a Requiem (1806), commissioned by the
empress, but owing to his declining health he never finished it.
Although he expected the coming spring to bring an improvement in his
health, it did not; and he died, with friends and students at his
bedside, on 10 August 1806.
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