Michael Haydn Johann Michael Haydn (; 14 September 173710 August 1806) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period, the younger brother of Joseph Haydn. Life Michael Haydn was born in 1737 in the Austrian village of Rohrau, near the Hungarian border. ...

's Serenade in D major, Perger 87, MH 86 was written in Salzburg in 1767.

Movements

#Allegro assai #Andante – The second movement begins with eight measures of introduction by the entire ensemble. A simple and calm style of chamber music writing by Michael Haydn, similar to Joseph Haydn's writing yet perhaps more angelic. After mere sixteen beats of such sounds of innocence, solo cello begins the melody, like a child's play, nothing complicated, nothing fancy or deep with even simpler accompaniment of pizzicato by a string quartet. Just when one's mind starts to wonder out of boredom, solo flute sweetly steals the spot light by singing a delightful melody with the solo cello answering back as a secondary melody. A gentle pizzicato accompaniment pulsing through the lovers' murmuring between solo cello and solo flute. Not surprising that second half begins with the two lovers singing the same tune, results into even a little sorrow, but such dissatisfaction is short lived. Such tenderness and delight take flight dissolves into the night. # Menuetto I – The first menuet in Haydn's piece is fairly straightforward. There are two main sections to this movement, the Menuet and the Trio. As is typical, both sections consist of two smaller ideas that are repeated. The Menuet is in 3/4, giving us a very strong feel of dance. The Trio section has three distinct ideas, thus the terminology 'Trio.' Haydn took flute and cello soloists from the orchestra, each with distinct parts, and accompanied them with the remaining strings. This gave us three separate ideas while still utilizing most of his ensemble. After the Trio concludes, we have a da capo that takes us back to the Menuet, this time played without the repeats. Giving us a standard A–B–A form. Harmonically this movement does not do much out of the ordinary. He starts the Menuet in A major (I) and at the second section transitions us to E major (V). He ends the Menuet section on a I chord and then we have, what is possibly the most harmonically exciting part of the movement, the Trio. Initially the Trio begins on a major VI chord (F#) which is a bit jarring after A major. However, he quickly sequences through the circle of fifths, VI–ii–V–I, to lead us back to A major. Again, he throws us through a loop by not lingering on tonic, but instead going immediately to a V/V (B7) and then resolving to V (E major). He sticks to E major through most of the Trio section, again giving us a miniature tour de keys at the second section of the Trio, but landing solidly on the V yet again, to send us back to A major by the last bar of the Trio and into the repeated Menuet. #Concertino per il Corno e Trombone: Adagio #Allegro Molto #Menuetto II #Recitativo: Allegro – Adagio – Allegro #Finale: Presto #Recitativo: Adagio #Marcia: Andante

Instrumentation

The serenade is scored for

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

, clarino,

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

II,

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

, violoncello, and

basso continuo Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the Baroque era (1600–1750), provided the harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression. The phrase is often shortened to continuo, and the instrumentalists playing th ...

. Haydn, Johann M. Serenade in D. 1767. Bad Reichenhall: Comes Verlag, 1987. Print. Shaffer, Kris. "Menuet Form." Open Music Theory. Ed. Robin Wharton. Hybrid Pedagogy Publishing, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2016. .

References

{{Authority control Compositions by Michael Haydn 1767 compositions Haydn Michael Compositions in D major