Joseph Haydn - Terzet for two sopranos, tenor, solo instruments (horn, English horn, bassoon) & orchestra - "Pieta di me, benigni Dei" (Joan Sutherland, Raymond Nilsson & April Cantelo) (1956)

I'm not exactly well-versed in Haydn but this terzet seems to be a good place to begin, as it is ideally unusual and tantalizingly rich.

First off, if I'm not mistaken, it's a solitary piece with no official place in one of Haydn's more ambitious works but it is conceived on a grand piece, lasting about fourteen minutes and featuring virtuoso firework for each of the three soloists. Secondly, though its' text might suggest a profound prayer, the final work is actually an allegro concerto with the voices almost being treated as musical instruments, while the real instruments (solo horn, bassoon and English horn) are given equally prominent presence, about five-six minutes (though I had to cut quite a lot of orchestral music to comply with the eleven minute barrier) of the piece are actually given to various orchestral sections. Structurally, the piece is far from tradition or, to be precise, it elaborates the traditional structure: each of the soloists is given an uninterpreted entrance with the final verse, for the second soprano, incorporating sudden shifts to a more sombre mood which is carried into the first concentrated piece which, strangely enough, seems to be the B section of the piece, as the piece then returns to the original melody but this time connecting all three voices and the solo instruments in an elaborate ensemble; the piece then ends with a short unaccompanied section for the voices culminating in a brilliant final flourish (the terzet actually ends with a recap of the original prelude but I had to omit it for reasons already noted). Thus, the piece can be simplified into an ABA form, though elaborated into something completely original.

It comes as an added bonus that the piece is conducted in this 1956 live performance by Sir Charles Mackerras and sung by a very competent team of Joan Sutherland, Raymond Nilsson and April Cantelo. Hope you'll enjoy :)!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Haydn
• classical
• coloratura
• opera

[intervalkid]

The trumpeter seemed like he didn't practice much. He screwed up the beginning pretty bad. I hope he wasn't trying to sight read this without individual practice at home. All pieces should be prepared.

[leprincebeaumont]

Thank You sooo much for this treasure! Dame Joan is a jewel!

[golping]

@madmusicianmax I think he might have played it on a single f piston horn.

[Tenortalker]

Young Sutherland sings like a nightingale, gorgeous scales and fiorature. Tenor Nilsson doesn't seem to be in his natural repertoire, a fine voice despite a couple of strained top notes and some problems in coloratura. April Cantelo is the real find, matching Sutherland note for note, just listen to her trill! A real sense of commitment to the words. Can anyone post her Solvieg's songs from Peer Gynt on the Sir Alexander Gibson recording?

[patremblay22]

Does anyone know if they transposed the whole piece from E-flat to D to accomodate the horn player, or it is just an old recording where the pitch has gone down?

[patremblay22]

Dennis Brain definitely didn't play a natural horn for this performance. This is probably the highest piece ever written for a horn player, along with Zelenka's Cappricios.

[Fladabosco]

Brain is playing one of the hardest horn parts imaginable. He's the most famous player of all time and you tell how much trouble he has with it. In Haydn's day there were players who specialized in these screaming high parts.

Ray Nilsson taught voice at San Jose State U when I went there. A totally unassuming and charming man. He told me he went on double dates with Dennis Brain.

[psteidle447]

der zweite Sopran ist Birgit Nilsson und nicht Raymond Nillson. Die Aufnahme ist aus einem öffentlichen BBC live Konzert und hier gekürzt. Der Hornist ist Dennis Brain

Rein stilistisch scheint es mir nicht nach Haydn zu klingen. Vom Stil her, glaube ich eher an Myslivecek.

[blbrbo]

Is this Horn playing the right score?! Just... too high...

[JoJoKenn94]

This piece reminds me of nature

[Amanderina]

I LOOOVE IT!!!!!

[hohprof]

This a marvellous rarity - thank you! Fabulous singing and wonderfully stylish conducting. A little bit of additional information about this BBC broadcast: the horn soloist is Dennis Brain, with the Goldsborough Orchestra, originally broadcast on December 17th 1956. I believe it was the first performance in modern times.

[madmusicianmax]

he probably plays an historical horn, without any valves. theese instruments could only play the natural (over-) tones. very good players can also bend down some notes about a hole tone step. they almost always sound somewhat out of tune.

[lumosmaxima]

I wonder what is the libretto...does anyone has it? i'm afraid i can't it anywhere on the net...

[imusiciki]

Thank you for this gem, I do believe I have never heard of this before. This is quite an interesting recording!

[marchesano]

Great rare recording of rarely performed piece. My only difficulty is with the French Horn player. C'est la vie. Singing is terrific. The tenor is caught a little strained in a place or two, but a great record of a performance at a time when not much music of this sort was being done at all.

[Meyerbeer1]

Wow, thank you for this rare treasure by Haydn, never heard of it before. This reminds me of an aria, also by Haydn, set for a soprano, speaking voice and six wind instruments. I think I will upload little later.