Haydn, Symphonie parisienne n°87 - Les Arts Florissants & William Christie @Philharmonie de Paris

[@elaineblackhurst1509]

Outstanding in every respect - what a fantastic performance which allows us to hear so clearly why this first* of the ‘Paris’ symphonies made such a huge impact when it was first performed in the city in 1787. Great orchestral balance; clarity of the individual parts; wonderful playing; repeats properly observed; real forward momentum in all three movements without resorting to playing them too fast - the tempo of the Minuet will be appreciated here by many tired of them being turned into one-in-a-bar quasi-scherzi; tasteful extempore (sort of) solos in appropriate moments of the finale; and so much more. William Christie should consider doing a complete set with this wonderful orchestra; both show themselves eminently suited to this repertoire. A word for Haydn too: these symphonies caused a sensation at the time - you can hear just why in this magnificent performance. All six - whilst in different keys and with very different characters - are full of the characteristics that make him such a great symphonic composer. Some points to listen out for: 1st movement - extensively worked-out and developed material, including in the recapitulation; 2nd movement - elaborate and delicate woodwind writing; 3rd movement - the difficult oboe solo in the Trio - beautifully played here - that goes to the top of the instrument’s range; 4th movement - the contrapuntal working of the momothematic theme (plus some clever harmony towards the end). A lengthy comment, but I think this performance warranted it for those interested; all in all, a top performance, and beautifully filmed as well; thanks to all involved. * Haydn’s instructions to his Viennese publisher Artaria were that the symphonies should be published as a set in the following chronological, and musically coherent order which maintains the set’s integrity: 87, 85, 83, 84, 86, 82. Unfortunately, Artaria published them in the now familiar 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87. This published order was adopted by Mandyczewski in the first complete list in 1907, and then by Hoboken who adopted Mandyczewski unchanged - in spite of known errors - in the now standard universal catalogue. The familiar mis-ordering of the ‘Paris’ symphonies is as unfortunate as if people were to mess with the order of Mozart’s 39, 40, 41; both sets end intentionally with a large-scale C major work (as does Michael Haydn’s set of six - Symphonies 34 - 39 - completed slightly earlier in 1788 than Mozart’s last three), and there are lots of other reasons as well.

[@ferdinangenius]

What wonderful music and what a great orchestra!!

[@toast4teddy]

3:48 - I. Vivace 14:13 - II. Adagio 20:52 - III. Menuet-Trio 25:00 - IV. Finale vivace

[@dion1949]

Christie takes both repeats in the first movement.

[@dion1949]

William Christie's conducting style is wonderful,

[@magictrumpet48]

Superbe musique ! Superbe Orchestre ! Merci pour ce très beau moment musical ! J'ai eu la chance de pouvoir rencontrer tout ce bel Orchestre et de pouvoir discuter Musique avec une partie des musiciens et musiciennes l'espace d'un précieux instant à l'aéroport d'Orly cette semaine : vous vous rendiez en Espagne pour un concert ! Bonne continuation !

[@Podium-arts]

Wonderful! Bravi!

[@alexdesslin]

b r A v o

[@dion1949]

Only one flute. It seems to be enough, but odd.

[@petercrosland5502]

Ah well - this is the baby version - it was originally written for a much bigger orchestra. All done by correspondence, Haydn never went to Paris. This version could be played anywhere else and there is an even smaller version with one double bass and bassoon for the struggling. There were 2 flutes in the original.

[@elisabethetdominiquemarie3088]

nul germain