|
Internet Supplements for
I know that God has bestowed a talent upon me, and I thank Him for it. - Haydn Note to Parent:These supplements can be used before, during and after you read Joseph Haydn, the Merry Little Peasant by Opal Wheeler and Sybil Deucher. 1. Franz Joseph Haydn was born into a family who not only loved music, they loved each other as well. Joseph was one of twelve children born to Matthias and Maria Haydn. Unfortunately, six of his brothers and sisters died while they were still babies. Let's start our fun by making a family tree for Joseph! You can learn the names of his living brothers and sisters by visiting The beginning, 1732-1740. If you would like to add the names of his grandparents, click here. Do you like to cook? Here are some Austrian recipes for you to try with your family. 2. Joseph grew up in a small village called Rohrau, in the southern portion of Austria, near its border with Hungary. Let's get ready to learn some geography. If you like to draw, go to this Map of Austria. Print it out, and try to draw just the outline of the country. Be sure to make your map bigger than the original so you can draw some other features later. If you are young, or are a little hesitant to try to draw your own map, you can go HERE and print out an outline of Austria. 3. Music was an important part of life for the Haydn family. Joseph's family spent many evenings listening to father Matthias play his harp, and singing the folk songs of Austria. Here is a picture of an Irish harp. Folk harps, like this Irish harp, are held in the lap of the player; Matthias' harp was most likely similar in size and shape. Learn more about how music is made with a harp by reading "Harp" from Microsoft Encarta Online. More fun! Hear a harp at Zoellner Arts Center Did you know that science and mathematics are involved in music? The science of acoustics began with the experimentation of Pythagoras, a scientist/philosopher of ancient Greece. He discovered that strings of different length, stretched between two points would produce sound; further experimentation yielded the realization that some of the stretched strings gave sounds that could be harmonized. Many instruments including the piano and the string family, produce musical sounds when a bow or a plucking mechanism is used on their strings. Today, people are experimenting still with Pythagoras' discovery of. 4. When still very young, Franz Joseph went to the town of Hainburg to begin his musical studies. This town, situated in lower Austria, is located near the Danube River. Place Hainburg on your map. Draw the Danube River also. 5. Today, many home schooled children are learning Latin so they can increase their vocabulary. Did you know that Haydn learned latin too? Liturgical or church music was very important during Haydn's lifetime; latin was one of his most important early school subjects so that he could understand the mass, a very important form of music. The mass has six parts: the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Credo, the Sanctus, the Canon and ends with the Agnes Dei. As a composer, Haydn would eventually write over 100 masses. If you can, obtain a recording of one of Haydn's Masses so you can hear both the instrumental and the voice parts. If not, click on the links below to hear some MIDI files of Haydn's Missa brevis In hon. St. Joannis de Deo in B . 6. When he was seven, Joseph was presented to Herr Reutter, an important musical master from Vienna. After listening to Joseph sing, Herr Reutter invited him to become a member of the boys choir of the great Cathedral of St. Stephen's! Let's add Vienna, the location of the Cathedral, to our map. You can start your tour of St. Stephen's right here and then read the illustrated travel guide to St. Stephen's from About.com. 7. Do you remember what Herr Reutter filled Joseph's hat with for singing so well? Yes, cherries. I love cherries, too, don't you? Here is some red, red cherry fun for you. History of Cherries 8. When Joseph arrived in Vienna, he spent most of his time practicing his violin and his clavier. What is a clavier? A clavier is a small, keyboard instrument. Joseph's was so small, he could carry it under his arm! Here is a picture of a small clavier, made to look like the style available during Joseph's lifetime. 9. The music Joseph listened to and sang parts of at St. Stephen's Cathedral was most likely composed by the master of Baroque music, Johann Sebastian Bach. The word, Baroque refers to all of the music written between the years 1600 and 1750. Johann Sebastian Bach lived from 1685 until 1750. When you visit the MIDI page, be sure to listen to the Toccata and Fugue in d minor - it's my favorite piece of organ music! 10. The life of a young musician was not always easy. Our book tells us that Joseph was often cold and hungry. One morning the local baker gave Joseph a special treat of cinnamon buns. Here is a recipe for Overnight Cinnamon Rolls. They sound delicious! 11. One evening, Joseph and the other choir boys were called upon to serve at a nobleman's feast. Can you imagine how the lords and ladies must have looked? 12. The boys choir of St. Stephen's were often called upon to perform for the Empress. Her name was Maria Theresa and she was a member of the Habsburg Dynasty. The Habsburgs were a family who ruled Austria from the 1500s until 1918. Maria Theresa was born in 1717, died in 1780 and was the only woman to rule the Austrian Empire. A biography of her life and reign can be found here from the King's College History Department. Maria Theresa was a patroness of the many musicians of her country. Joseph Haydn was very fortunate to have been alive during her reign. Read more about her interest in music. 13. One of the many castles owned by Empress Maria Theresa was located at Schonbrunn. It was built between the years 1695 and 1713. You can take a visit to this castle by clicking on one of the links below. If you have a copy of David Macaulay's book, Castle, now would be a good time to get it out and learn some castle terminology. Would you like to tell someone all of the fun things we've learned about Joseph Haydn and the times he lived in? Why don't you take a few minutes and send a Castle Postcard from Castles on the Web! 14. Joseph loved to perform but his secret wish was to be able to write music. The process of writing a piece of music is called composing; the person who wrote it is its composer. A beautiful piece of music requires a lot of work by the composer. He or she must learn Music Theory before beginning the composition. Music Theory is the name for all of the rules a composer must pay attention to so that his song or instrumental piece will sound just the way he wants it. All of the instruments or voices must purposefully sound good together, which is called harmony or purposefully sound badly together, which is called dissonance. If you have ever played the piano or just walked up to a piano and started playing random keys, you know that some of the keys make a sound that sounds good together, and others make a sound that doesn't! 15. Joseph's love of mischief finally caught up with him the day he cut off a fellow choir member's pigtail. The real reason for his dismissal was simply he was growing up and his voice had changed. When a boy is young, he can usually sing as high or higher than a girl his age; however, when he begins to grow up, his voice deepens. One of Joseph's old friends suggested that he travel to Mariazell to gain better employment with the singing masters there. 16. A merchant name Bucholz was so impressed with Joseph's singing that he sent him 150 florins. The florin was a gold coin introduced in Austria by Albert II in the fourteenth century. This must have been a lot of money becuase Joseph was able to rent a small room to live in. What instrument did he have with him? Think hard and then Click here! to see if you were correct. 17. One of Joseph's new neighbors was an actor named Herr Kurz. He had written a story which he wanted set to music. After hearing Joseph playing his harpsichord, Herr Kurz hired Joseph to write the music. A story set to music is called opera. Some people think that opera is a very stuffy thing. A lot of people, running around on a stage, singing very loudly in a language you can't understand - that is how they would define opera. But it really isn't that way at all. You say you want me to prove my opinion? All right, let's learn about my favorite opera, "The Pirates of Penzance" by Gilbert and Sullivan. The "Pirates" is a very funny story about pirates (who are not very scary), the policemen (who are not very brave), and Frederic, a pirate apprentice (who always does his duty.) 18. Another neighbor of Joseph's was a very famous person. His name was Metastasio, a poet whose words were set to many pieces of music. The text or words of an opera or oratorio are called its libretto. Read one of Joseph's own librettos called Te Deum This is a beautiful libretto praising God. 19. Through his new acquaintance with the poet Metastasio, Joseph met Porpora, a great singing teacher of the time. Joseph was very happy to become Porpora's valet in exchange for a chance to learn more of music from the old master. 20. While under Porpora's tutelage, Haydn was able to meet many influential men. Some were titled men who invited Haydn to perform in their homes; others were musicians. Two of these men were the composers, Gluck and Wagenseil. 21. Joseph wrote his first piece for public performance at the request of the Baron von Furnburg. This piece was a quartet for strings. A quartet is a piece of music written for 4 players. Haydn's quartets were all composed for two violins, a viola and a cello. 22. Joseph soon received recognition for his many musical compositions. For the rest of his life, Joseph would compose music every day; sometimes, he wrote an entire new piece of music every day! Joseph's first piece of orchestra music was the Symphony in D;eventually, Joseph would write about 104 symphonies. The orchestra was not as big as it is now; when Joseph was alive, it had only 18 members. A symphony has four movements, and can last between 20 and 45 minutes. The four movements are: 1)a fast, dramatic movement, usually in the sonata form; 2) a lyrical, slow movement, another sonata or a theme-and-variation form ; 30 a dancelike movement, usually a minuet and trio; and 4) a brilliant fast movement, usually the sonata or sonata-rondo form. 23. And then, finally! Joseph gained a family of admirers who would influence the rest of his life: the Princes Esterhazy. Prince Pál Antal Esterhazy (1711-62), first appointed Joseph an assistant conductor to his court in 1761. Then in 1766, Joseph was named the Kapellmeister or music director by Prince Miklós Esterhazy (d.1790). Prince Miklos would employ Joseph for the next 30 years. Now, his future assured, Joseph never needed to wonder where he would sleep or eat, for the Esterhazy family was one of the richest in the Austrian Empire. Haydn once said this about his patron, Prince Esterhazy. "My prince was always satisfied with my works. Not only did I have the encouragement of constant approval, but as conductor of an orchestra I could make experiments, observe what produced an effect and what weakened it, and was thus in a position to improve, alter, make additions or omissions, and be as bold as I pleased. I was cut off from the world; there was no one to confuse or torment me, and I was forced to become original." (See footnote 2). 24. Joseph became a much beloved music director. Even though, Prince Esterhazy expected a new piece of music almost daily, Joseph treated the musicians under his authority with respect. Once, Prince Esterhazy had neglected to allow his court musicians to take a vacation for a long period of time. How was Joseph to keep both his patron happy and his musicians satisfied? His sense of fun saved the day! Joseph composed what is now know as the "Farewell Symphony." Do you remember that from our story? How fortunate it was that Prince Esterhazy had a sense of humor, too, for as Joseph's patron, he could dismiss Joseph for any reason at all. 25. Joseph's sense of fun is evident in many of his musical compositions. He was said, "God gave me a cheerful heart, so He will surely forgive me if I serve Him cheerfully." (see Footnote 1) Here is a partial listing of some of those works: 26. Two of Joseph's friends would become famous composers in their own rights. One was even his student. Do you remember who they were? Think hard and then click here! 27. One of the highlights of Joseph's life was the trip he took to England. During his stay in London, he was able to attend a special festival in honor of England's most famous composer, Georg Frederic Handel. What famous composition by Handel was honored by a king, who stood during its first performance? Listen (43k) for the answer! 28. Haydn was so inspired by Handel's Messiah, that he was led to write a religious oratorio of his own entitled The Creation. The libretto (the words) of this piece of work are from the writings of John Milton and the Bible. Haydn told his biographer while composing this piece, "Daily I fell on my knees and asked God for strength." (See footnote 1) 29. Joseph is the composer of the Austrian National Hymn. Written for the Emperor Francis, the words were written by John Newton. John Newton was a former British slave trader, also the author of the hymn, Amazing Grace. Newton wrote the following for his epitaph: Links to help you get to know this amazing man of God: 30. Today, we remember Franz Joseph Haydn as the "Father of the Symphony" because he wrote many symphonies and was responsible for enlarging the orchestra to include many instruments previously not members. Instruments in Use during Haydn's lifetime Seven-Key Serpent More great reading can be found at: More Music to Listen To at: Footnotes
|
