Mélodies Ecossaises pour William Napier I (Volume 5) (Joseph Haydn)

Joseph Haydn

Released on 19-06-2008 by Brilliant Classics
Main artist: Various Interprets
Genre: Liederen

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Language available : english

This three-CD box set from Brilliant Classics contains the first 100 folk song arrangements Franz Joseph Haydn made for London-based Scottish publisher William Napier between 1792 and 1795. The first of the three volumes of 50 settings each for Napier was partly motivated by charity on Haydn's part, as in 1791, Napier was forced into bankruptcy and looking at serving some time in debtor's prison; for a man with 12 kids, that must've seemed like a raw deal. Haydn spun out the first 100 settings heard here in typically short order, and Napier was saved; a further 50 were published in 1795. Setting Scots' popular melodies turned out to be something of a cottage industry for Haydn in his last years, as overall he produced 400 such settings for various publishing houses. It proved highly profitable for Haydn, and as he was in failing health when the final commissions for yet more came around, he was able to delegate that work to students. All of these pieces, however, are presumed to have come from the master himself.
Given their popular orientation and relatively minor place in the classical canon, recording Haydn's Scots songs has not heretofore proven of much interest to classical labels; however, Brilliant Classics has decided to undertake them all. This is the fifth volume of six; all performed by soprano Lorna Anderson, tenor Jamie MacDougall, and the chamber group Haydn Trio Eisenstadt, artfully realizing Haydn's relatively simple accompaniment of solo violin and continuo. Their contribution is particularly noteworthy as they are able to recognize -- even with as many songs as there are here -- that Haydn approaches each setting with a slightly different idea in mind. These are not cookie-cutter arrangements but surprisingly individual statements, even as short and suitable for amateur use as they are. MacDougall delivers his part of the songs in a delicious Scottish brogue and Anderson in a sweet and attractive soprano. That they never seem to lose their enthusiasm for this music, despite its great quantity, is in itself impressive; sometimes they alternate verses and choruses within a song. One specific highlight, among many, is the setting of "Colonel Gardiner," a Robert Burns poem about a Scottish hero fallen at the Battle of Preston Pans in 1745; it is movingly sung by Anderson. For English speakers unfamiliar with the effectiveness of Haydn's vocal music, Brilliant Classics' Joseph Haydn: Scottish Songs should be a delightful surprise and the booklet contains all of the texts to boot.

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Mélodies Ecossaises pour William Napier I (Volume 5) (Joseph Haydn)

Various Interprets

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