Essay Sample on Joseph Haydn: The Composer Behind the Surprise Symphony

Introduction

The type of symphony I heard about was the surprise symphony by Joseph Haydn. He is considered as the vital composer of Australia in the 1790's. He did orchestral work with an experience of 28 years as a composer of the symphony. He was named after the surprise loud chord that used to interrupt on the gentle and soft flow of the movement of the song. John acted as a court composer for the prince of Nikolaus until the prince succumbed to death in 1790. Son of Nikolaus known as Anton, was very crucial since he loved the music and he is predetermined to have built on the family establishment of the music. Haydn moved to England to perform in the concerts that were highly paid by peter Solomon, and this earned him a lot of respect and popularity. Also, he moved to Vienna where he worked o the musical concerts that helped him become among the greatest composers of his time. The symphony No. 94 is considered to have taken center stage in 1792 the 23 of March since it was the middle of the season of Solomon (Barrett-Ayres, Reginald 33).

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The symphony on the surprise is comparatively analyzed through the use of the five elements of the composition of the music which comprise of the tonality, tempo, meter, and dynamics. The other essential element is the articulation. The symphony is opted to start with a high tonality on a gentle rocking theme that builds itself as it develops gradually. Haydn is used to recapitulating the opening of all themes to create a more extension of the development into a realistic form. The meter used in the use of the extension shows a lot of lower tones used by the composer in the creation of more attention into the music for the concert to appear lively. Also, on the aspect of articulation, there is the use of the nice passage for the utilization of the woodwinds that help in ending the first movement (Grave, Floyd K et al. 45).

The second movement is purposed to have been created through the use of the variations of the sweet little naive tunes. It is realized as the melody continues, it reduces in its sounds as it gets quieter nearing to a silent mode. All over sudden, there is a loud chord that appears to be sudden from all orchestra. There are a lot of theories on the insertion of the 'surprise' notion that has been created by many people who attended the concert at that time. On the other account, there is a notion that Haydn did this to make the ladies jump high during the concert. On the other perspective, is a notion that John had the mentality that there were older men among the audiences that had dozed off during the concert due to the drinks and this could help them wake up a surprise (Jacob, Heinrich, E. 57).

More so, john still synthesizes that he added a surprise to make the audiences remember him in the concerts and create a more competitive environment for his competitors. It is a surprise on its nature since the tempo applied makes it more exciting and fascinating to the audiences. It is depicted to have taken place in a dramatic and stormy way accompanied by sweet decorations of the woodwinds. The timpani and trumpets propelled it to a more poignant conclusion that makes the people more surprise - the dynamics created by the trumpets and the dramatic moves that create an energetic and minute flow (Miller, Christopher R. 67).

In the middle of the strings section, there is joining of the solo bassoon that creates variations of how the music is enjoyed by the fans. The tone used in the symphony is summarized by sparking an allegro di molto finale. It appears to be used in this symphony and the other 12 London symphonies that aids in calling of the true playing of the virtuosic strings. The Salomon's group are taken to have been the most formidable crew in London, and therefore the symphony on surprise takes the whole concert into a tonal mood.

Works Cited

Barrett-Ayres, Reginald. Joseph Haydn and the String Quartet. London: Barrie & Jenkins, 1974. Print.

Grave, Floyd K, and Margaret G. Grave. The String Quartets of Joseph Haydn. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Internet resource.

Jacob, Heinrich, E. Joseph Haydn: His Art, Times, and Glory. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1950. Print.

Miller, Christopher R. Surprise: the Poetics of the Unexpected from Milton to Austen. Cornell University Press, n.d. Print.