Háry János is an opera in four acts by Zoltán Kodály to a Hungarian libretto by Bela Paulini and Zsolt Harsanyi, based on the comic epic The Veteran (Az obsitos) by Janos Garay. It was first performed at the Royal Hungarian Opera House, Budapest, October 16, 1926.
According to Kodály, Háry János is "the personification of the Hungarian story-telling imagination. He does not tell lies; he imagines stories; he is a poet.
The story is of a veteran hussar in the Austrian army in the first half of the 19th-century. He sits in the village inn regaling his listeners with tales of heroism: his supposed exploits include winning the heart of the Empress Marie Louise, Napoleon's wife, and then single-handedly defeating Napoleon and his armies. Nevertheless, he finally renounces all riches in order to go back to his village with his sweetheart.
Oratorio The Seasons ('Die Jahreszeiten')
followed Haydn's earlier masterpiece, The Creation
Franz Joseph Haydn's oratorio 'The
Seasons' ('Die Jahreszeiten): facts, the cast, brief history, and other Haydn-related
information.
The Seasons followed Haydn's greatest work
The Creation, both oratorios based after a Handel model instead of the
traditional Italian oratorio.
Facts
about The Seasons:
Composer:
(Franz) Joseph Haydn(1732-1809), an Austrian composer born in Rohrau, Austria.
Original
Title: Die Jahreszeiten
Original
Language: German
Text:
Gottfried van Swieten (Baron von Swieten), Austrian
patron of the Arts. The words are based on the English poem The Seasons by
James Thomson.
Form:
Four parts: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter – a
total of 44 musical numbers.
Date
of Writing: 1799-1801.
First
Performance: Vienna, in the palace
of Prince Schwarzenberg,
April 24, 1801.
Haydn's "The Seasons" performed by Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Howard Arman.
Felicitas Fuchs, soprano. Andrew Staples, tenor. Reinhard Hagen, bass.
MDR Radio Choir of Leipzig.
Here's another link: With Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra: Haydn's "The Seasons" in German. Soloists: G. Janowitz, W. Hollweg.
The Oratorio's Cast:
Simon, a tenant farmer (bass)
Hanne, his daughter (soprano)
Lucas, a young peasant (tenor)
The oratorio is a four-part mixed chorus
The Orchestra: Flutes, clarinets, bassoons, contrabassoons,
oboes, horns, trumpets, trombones, timpani, strings, continuo with cello and
harpsichord.
Brief
History of The Seasons:
The Seasons followed the path of its predecessor,
Haydn's most successful oratorio The Creation and therefore it can be deduced
that whether van Swieten talked Haydn into producing this succeeding oratorio
or not is immaterial. Haydn was enjoying extreme respect and admiration from people after
"The Creation." On the other hand, the maestro was now 67 years old.
Haydn's popularity as an instrumental
composer went quickly far and wide. From all the great joy that "The
Creation" brought him, "The Seasons" took on. One again, the
text of the composition was arranged by Gottfried can Swieten, who also had
great influence on the younger Mozart. A highly cultured Viennese patron of the
arts, van Swieten once again produced a text to make the best use of Haydn's
talents and make it another masterpiece.
Prominent aristocrats guaranteed the best
conditions, an honorarium at the same time oversee the production premiere.
The premiere on April 24, 1801 was an
enormous success, and immediately two more performances followed on 29th
of April and 1st of May. The audience was enrapt with the highest
accolade for the wearying but elated composer. He gave his all for this
oratorio and felt that it was his last.
Haydn said about the effect of "The
Seasons" (The World of the Oratorio by
Kurt Pahlen, Scolar Press, 1990):
"…
I had to struggle for days at a time with the smallest details."
Brief
Synopsis of The Seasons:
The theme of the seasons is an obvious one,
the normal season changes of the year – spring, summer, autumn, winter. Other
composers have tried the idea including baroque composers Vivaldi and Telemann.
Vivaldi's violin concerto cycle Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons) is
extremely popular to date.
The oratorio has four parts:
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter
with a total of 44 musical numbers.
The character Simon, the farmer, observes
the stuggle between the elements – starting from spring (as when Hanne feels
the first gentle winds of spring) to the harsh winter (destroying blossoms and
sprouts.) – a symbol for the passing of life.
Between the main melody and its repetition
at the conclusion, a splendid and enchanting exchange between the voices (male
and female) is used.
However, The Seasons doesn't end in
melancholy, as expressed by the chorus and the soloists, but that of greatest
and deepest joy, signifying an acceptance of the human life.
German Composer, Organist and Conductor
Heinrich Schütz (8 or 9 October 1585 in Koetritz or Loetriz - November 16, 1672 in Dresden) was a German composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, and one of the most important composers of the 17th century along with Claudio Monteverdi.
At the age of five he moved with his family to Weissenfels. Landgrave Moritz was impressed by Schütz's musical talents that he took him to Kassel where he served as a choirboy; he also studied music with the court Kapellmeister, George Otto.
