Led by it's Director Matthew Martin, The Choir of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, joins forces with the Academy of Ancient Music in Michael Haydn's rarely heard masterpieces: the Requiem and Missa Sancti Hieronymi. The four soloists are all ex-choral scholars of Caius Choir, showcasing the distinguished musical tradition of this student group. Unjustly neglected, Joseph Haydn's younger brother was a talented composer in his own right. Written after the death of his infant daughter and his patron, the deeply emotional Requiem is a masterpiece that combines complex colourful textures and forms with imaginative orchestration and vocal writing. Mozart was a great admirer and it is thought that Haydn's Requiem formed the prototype for his own better known masterpiece. In contrast, the later Missa Sancti Hieronymi is lighter and more optimistic. Unusually scored for oboes, bassoons, trombones and continuo (with no upper strings), it exudes transparency and joyful energy. This recording will undoubtedly put these neglected works back into mainstream repertoire.

The present edition contains the complete productions released by cpo between 1993 and 2018 on the subject of Michael Haydn's symphonies and wind concertos. During the course of a quarter of a century, as might well be imagined, a wealth of material accumulated that could not be put to renewed use without considerable cuts. Nine authors had contributed information about the sources and special qualities of the music to the original releases, which necessarily led to duplications, repetitions, and other redundancies that were to be avoided in the compilation. Moreover, it took some time for the numbering system currently in use for the works to be implemented. The authors initially continued to refer exclusively to the �Thematisches Verzeichnis der Instrumentalwerke von Michael Haydn� (to which we have assigned the letter P) that Lothar Perger had presented in the Denkmaler der Tonkunst in osterreich (DTo). The �enumeration� by the American musicologist Charles H. Sherman (1929-2018) later began to Appear in the booklets. Sherman initially compiled a provisional catalogue and then in 1993 published Johann Michael Haydn: A Chronological Thematic Catalogue of his Works in collaboration with T. Donley Thomas. This chronological listing (MH) and the P numbers, which soon will be 120 years old, are used whenever possible for the identification of the works recorded here. Our wish is that this unique edition may bring you great pleasure.

M. HAYDN Symphonies: No. 21 in D; No. 30 in D; No. 31 in F; No. 32 in D • Johannes Goritzki, cond; German Ch Acad Neuss • CPO 999 179-2 (57:47)


M. HAYDN Symphonies: No. 34 in E?; No. 35 in G; No. 36 in B?; No. 37 in D; No. 38 in F; No. 39 in C • Johannes Goritzki,cond; German Ch Acad Neuss • CPO 999 379-2 (54: 02)


M. HAYDN Symphonies: No. 1C in E?; No. 22 in D; No. 23 in F; No. 33 in D • Johannes Goritzki,cond; German Ch Acad Neuss • CPO 999 380-2 (68:23)


A journey through the development of the symphony in 18th-century Germany and Austria would not be complete without a look at the symphonies of Johann Michael Haydn (1737–1806). Although his contributions to the genre were overshadowed by those of his older brother and Mozart, the symphonies penned by the younger of the Haydn brothers are not without their own merit.


In Fanfare 35:1 I discussed cpo 999 591-2 and 777 137-2, the eight discs holding 28 of the 40-plus extant symphonies of Haydn the Younger. I also noted, “These two collections offer us the majority of Michael Haydn’s symphonic output. Symphonies No. 20–23, 30–32, and 35–39 were released earlier by cpo, but I did not have access to them for this review. I hope to include them at a later date, and I have requested copies of the aforementioned symphonies from cpo’s American distributor.” Well, that later date has arrived, as have the overlooked discs; they hit my doorstep courtesy of Naxos and cpo during the Christmas holidays, so I think the time is right to put this thing to bed.


First of all, there doesn’t appear to be a Symphony No. 13 or a Symphony No. 20. Perhaps they are among the two dozen or so symphonies listed in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians that had been attributed to Haydn and are now believed to have been composed by Wagenseil, Va?hal, or Pokorny, or maybe they are simply lost.


As far as the lion’s share of the symphonies recorded on these three discs is concerned, they follow the plan of the Italian opera overture, a three-movement structure in the sequence of fast-slow-fast, while the others are laid out in four movements with the slow movement and the minuet occasionally being reversed. Most last a quarter hour (give or take a couple of minutes), but some—like No. 23—are more substantial. What I term the “default” orchestra (pairs of oboes and horns with a bassoon to strengthen the bass line) is omnipresent, but there are also symphonies that add a flute, or trumpets and drums. Still others supplement the band with pairs of English horns or even recorders!


The symphonies of Michael Haydn are decidedly below those of his older brother and those of Mozart in the food chain, but like those of Krommer and Va?hal, Michael Haydn’s symphonies are consistently colorful and sprightly, and more often than not the listener is served a generous portion of rock-solid musicianship and adroit compositional technique. The considerable skills that Michael Haydn brings to the table are matched here by the musicians of the German Chamber Academy and conductor Johannes Goritzki. The orchestra plays with enthusiasm and razor-sharp precision, with tempos that are carefully chosen, allowing the younger Haydn’s music to unfold naturally like a flower blossoming on a spring day.


While familiar in style, this music is occasionally memorable, frequently imaginative, and always pleasing. Join me in welcoming the newest inductees to our Classical Hall of Fame!


FANFARE: Michael Carter

Michael Haydn did not achieve the same exorbitant quantity of instrumental music as his older brother, since he had to compose a large amount of sacred music because of his position; but the surviving symphonies and chamber music in particular are not lacking in novel and "original" character traits. This becomes clear, for example, in the six string quartets recorded here, which he wrote sometime in the 1770s or 1780s. Here, personable elegance and subtle humour are combined with a quiet touch of tragic drama to create a very unique candour that reveals a world view that is as moving as it is entertaining, somewhere between the masterpieces of his brother Joseph and Amadeus, who was around twenty years younger.

This disc couples the last Violin Concerto (1769) by Joseph Haydn with the Double Concerto for Viola and Harpsichord (1762) by his brother Michael: two rarely recorded early Classical gems. This is the debut recording of Pearls in Baroque Chamber Orchestra, composed by some of the best Baroque music players in the Netherlands. The artistic and performance direction is entrusted to two experienced musicians like Ryo Terakado and Noriko Amano.

The PURCELL Choir was founded in 1990 in Budapest by György Vashegyi for the performance of Purcell’s Baroque opera Dido & Aeneas. Few suspected at the time that the group was to become the most respected choir in Hungary thirty years later. All the choir members are excellent professional singers, musicians and instrumentalists, and some of them are also members of other choirs and orchestras. The choir repertoire of the Purcell Choir ranges from works by Gesualdo to Mendelssohn, but they also perform pieces by later composers. Thanks to the three decades of continuous work with the founder, the choir’s sound and mastery of styles is always appreciated by international critics.

The choir’s regular partner in performances is ORFEO Orchestra which was founded in Budapest in 1991 also by György Vashegyi, receiving its name from Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, following the first full performance of the opera in Hungary. The orchestra (since 1992 playing on period instruments) consists of professional musicians with international experience as either orchestra members or instrumental soloists. On this release, the musicians have selected a program of compositions by Michael Haydn, a composer widely respected during his life, but almost immediately forgotten after his death.

In the short period between strict Baroque counterpoint and mature Viennese Classicism, we find delightful and entertaining compositions of unprecedented elegance. Numerous playful and lighthearted serenades and divertimenti were often performed in open-air venues. In particular, the parks of the Mirabell and Hellbrunn palaces in Salzburg offered a suitable setting for such open-air concerts. These often featured wind and brass instruments and provided occasions for the musicians of the Salzburg Hofkapelle to display their virtuosity. Their reputation continued at least as late as 1806, when Christian Daniel Schubart wrote "Die Salzburger glänzen sonderlich in blasenden Instrumenten".[1] One of these soloists was trombonist Thomas Gschlatt (1723-1806), for whom Michael Haydn wrote the Larghetto for trombone and orchestra presented here. From 1753 to 1771 Salzburg was ruled by a great patron of the arts, Archbishop Sigismund III Count Schrattbach. As a generous donor he often supported his musicians with his private "casket funds". Today, he is best known as financier of the Mozart family's travels. Except for Leopold Mozart's trio, which probably originated around 1750, all compositions recorded here come from his Salzburg regency.