#michael haydn

Johann Michael Haydn, Brother of the Composer Franz Joseph Haydn

(Johann Michael Haydn (1737-1806), brother of the composer Franz Joseph Haydn )

Michael Haydn's Requiem in C minor (Missa pro defuncto Archiepiscopo Sigismondo) was a significant influence on Mozart's Requiem. Michael Haydn, younger brother of Joseph Haydn, composed his Requiem in 1771, and it was first performed in 1772. Mozart and his father were among the musicians present at the premiere. Later, when Mozart was commissioned to write his own Requiem in 1791, he drew inspiration from Haydn's work, particularly in the opening and the Kyrie Eleison section.

Michael Haydn's Requiem:

Composed in 1771 for the funeral of Archbishop Sigismund von Schrattenbach of Salzburg, it is a powerful and moving work in its own right.

Influence on Mozart:

Mozart was present at the premiere of Michael Haydn's Requiem and was undoubtedly impressed by it. When commissioned to write his own Requiem, Mozart incorporated elements from Haydn's work, especially in the opening movements and the Kyrie.

Specific Similarities:

Scholars have noted similarities between the two works, including the opening mood, rhythmic patterns in the Introit and Quantus tremor sections, and the use of plainchant in the Te decet hymnus.

Haydn's Broader Influence:

Beyond the Requiem, Michael Haydn's music, particularly his church music, was highly respected by Mozart and others. Mozart even wrote violin-viola duets to fulfill a commission that Haydn was unable to complete due to illness.

Michael Haydn wrote the Missa pro defuncto Archiepiscopo Sigismondo, or more generally Missa pro Defunctis, Klafsky I:8, MH 155, following the death of the Count Archbishop Sigismund von Schrattenbach in Salzburg in December 1771. Haydn completed the Requiem before the year was over, signing it "S[oli] D[eo] H[onor] et G[loria.] Salisburgi 31 Dicembre 1771."

At the beginning of that year, his daughter Aloisia Josefa died. Historians believe "his own personal bereavement" motivated the composition. Contemporary materials which have survived to the present day include the autograph score found in Berlin, a set of copied parts with many corrections in Haydn's hand in Salzburg and another set at the Esterházy castle in Eisenstadt, and a score prepared by the Salzburg copyist Nikolaus Lang found in Munich.

The mass is scored for the vocal soloists and mixed choir, two bassoons, four trumpets in C, three trombones, timpani and strings with basso continuo.

The composition is structured in the following five parts:

Requiem aeternam Adagio, C minor, common time

Sequentia Dies irae Andante maestoso, C minor, 3/4

Offertorium Domine Jesu Christe

"Rex gloriae" Andante moderato, G minor, common time

"Quam olim Abrahae" Vivace, G minor, cut time

"Hostias et preces" Andante, G minor, common time

"Quam olim Abrahae" Vivace e più Allegro, G minor, cut time

Sanctus Andante, C minor, 3/4

"Benedictus qui venit..." Allegretto, E-flat major, 3/4

Agnus Dei et Communio

"Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi" Adagio con moto, C minor, common time

"Cum sanctis tuis" Allegretto, C minor, cut time

"Requiem aeternam" Adagio, C minor, common time

"Cum sanctis tuis" Allegretto, C minor, cut time

Both Leopold and his son Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart were present at the first three performances of Haydn's Requiem in January 1772, and Wolfgang was influenced in the writing of his own Requiem in D minor, K. 626. In fact, Michael Haydn's Requiem is "an important model for Mozart" and strongly suggests that Franz Xaver Süssmayr's completion of Mozart's way does not depart "in any way from Mozart's plans."

Pauly notes specific parallels between the two requiems:

Rhythmic similarities in the setting of the Introit, Quantus tremor and Confutatis maledictis sections, the use of a plainchant melody in the setting of Te decet hymnus, and the subject of the fugue in Quam olim.

🎶 SOURCE:

String Quintet In G Major, P.109/MH189 - II. Adagio Affettuoso 

By Composer Johann Michael Haydn

Michael Haydn | 30. Senfoni, Andante