Famous composers and their works, Vol. 2 — Text and Context

They were Franz Joseph, the subject of this sketch, Johann Michael, the church composer, and Johann Evangelist, a singer of no special excellence. There is no record of musical talent on the side of either the Haydns or the Kollers previous to its appearance in the family of Mathias, and its sudden development in three of the offspring of this marriage is inexplicable.

In addition to his occupation as a wheelwright, Mathias Haydn officiated as sexton of his parish. Both he and his wife were able to sing sufficiently well to increase their scant earnings by singing in church on Sundays and holidays, and at fairs and festivals. They also indulged in music at home, after a rude fashion, the father accompanying the voices on the harp, which he had learned to play by ear. The parents of the future composer were hard-working people who feared God, and so thoroughly did they instill their religious feelings into their children, that Haydn felt the influence of this early discipline all through his long life. Of his earliest years but little is known except that, while yet a tender child, he began to manifest the musical instinct that was in him by singing the simple tunes that his father was able to strum on the harp, and by exciting wonder at the correctness of his ear and his keen sense of rhythm. These gifts, however, are by no means rare in children, and the possession of them does not necessarily insure that their possessors shall develop into Haydns and Mozarts.

One day a cousin, a certain Johann Mathias Frankh, who lived in Hainburg, paid the Haydns a visit, and his attention was called to young Joseph's precocious musical talent. Frankh was a school-master and a good musician, and in Hainburg he filled the offices of Chorregent and Schulrector. Struck by the talents of the boy, he proposed to take upon himself his education, musical and otherwise. The father eagerly accepted the offer, but the mother hesitated, for it was her ambition that the youngster should become a priest. Her objections, however, were overcome, and the result was that Haydn, when six years of age, left his home never to return to it again as an inmate. Frankh took him to Hainburg, instructed him in reading and writing and in the rudiments of Latin. He also grounded him in the elements of music, taught him to sing, and to play the violin. The boy was an apt and zealous pupil, studied with unremitting industry and progressed rapidly.

Frankh was not a lenient teacher, nor was he very conscientious in his duties at the head of his school. He was addicted to gambling, and his honesty was not above suspicion, for he was discharged from his position for cheating with loaded dice, though later he was reinstated. In common with the pedagogues of his time he was firm in the faith that what could not be learned easily could be beaten into a pupil; consequently blows were not lacking when the child proved dull of understanding, and a lesson hesitatingly recited was followed by a vigorous thrashing, after which the boy was sent to bed without his dinner. This severity, however, was not unkindly meant, for the pedagogue was equally fond and proud of his young charge, and the harshness was not without its good results, as may be inferred from the fact, that many years afterwards, Haydn spoke of his hard discipline, in which, according to his own words, he was given "more beating than bread," with the warmest gratitude. Not only this, but in his will, Haydn bequeathed to Frankh's daughter and her husband, one hundred florins and a portrait of Frankh, "my first music teacher."

This rough teaching, nevertheless, soon reached a point beyond which it was useless to persevere in it, for Frankh could flog no more knowledge of music into the boy for the simple reason that he had imparted all that he possessed. Haydn was now eight years old and had been studying two years with Frankh, when, one day, George Reuter, director of music at the Cathedral of St. Stephen, in Vienna, visited Hainburg. He was on a tour having for its object the procuring of boy voices for his choir, and meeting with Frankh, that worthy grew eloquent in the praise of his precocious pupil, and eagerly solicited Reuter to hear the youngster sing. The Capellmeister consented, and was astonished at the proficiency of the boy and delighted with the sweetness of his voice. The outcome of the hearing was that Reuter offered to take Haydn as one of the boy choir at St. Stephen's and to look after his musical education; and so, in 1740, Haydn bade farewell to his hard, but well meaning master, and went to Vienna. The parting was not without tears on both sides, and Haydn was never forgetful or unappreciative of the benefit he had received from Frankh.

At St. Stephen's an entirely new life opened to him. The school, an ancient foundation, consisted of a Cantor, a Subcantor, two ushers and six scholars. They dwelt under the same roof and ate together. The city paid for the board, lodging and clothing of the scholars, but not too liberally, and the youngsters were never under the doctor's care for over-eating and had no occasion to pride themselves on the quantity or the quality of the clothing given them. Reading, writing, arithmetic and Latin were among the studies taught in addition to music. In the art to which his life was now devoted, Haydn received instruction in singing and on the violin and clavier. Harmony and composition were also supposed to be taught by Reuter, but Haydn could never recall more than two lessons in theory imparted to him by the Capellmeister. The boy was therefore thrown on his own resources, for he had no money with which to pay for lessons from other teachers. The music that he now heard opened a new world to him and filled him with an unappeasable desire to produce such music himself. He was soon absorbed in every book on musical theory, to which he had access, and he never put it aside before he had completely mastered all that it had to tell him. In the meanwhile his attire became shabbier and shabbier; his shoes were worn down at the heels, and his appearance gradually merged into what he long afterwards described as that of "a veritable little ragamuffin." He wrote home for money to renew his apparel, and when his father sent him six florins for that purpose he bought Fux's "Gradus ad Parnassum" and the "Vollkommener Capellmeister," by Mattheson. The former was his constant companion, and he even placed it under his pillow when he went to bed. When his companions were at play he studied, and when they were over noisy and disturbed him he would, as he said many years later, "take my little clavier under my arm and go away to practise in quiet." Music had become his passion.

By and by he began to compose and was soon occupied in filling with notes every sheet of music paper that came within his reach; the more notes he was able to crowd on a page the more he was satisfied with himself, for he "thought it must be right if the paper was sufficiently covered with notes." The determination and industry of the lad were extraordinary, and he very early began to illustrate that phase of genius which is a capacity for hard work. One of his first compositions was a "Salve Regina" for twelve voices. This was seen by Reuter, who dryly suggested that it would perhaps be better to write it for two voices at first, and to learn how to write music properly before he began to compose it; but he did not attempt to show him how to do either. In fact, the boy had no other resource than to rely on his own unaided efforts to acquire the knowledge for which he so eagerly yearned, and hence, after his parting with Frankh he was wholly self-taught. Such was his life until he became sixteen years old, when his prospects, already dark enough, were to become still more clouded, for his voice broke and he was no longer useful as a boy soprano. Reuter, who had no special regard for the lad, resolved to take advantage of the earliest opportunity that offered, to dismiss him. Before this, however, Haydn's brother, Michael, had been accepted as a member of the choir, to the great delight of the former. His voice was more powerful and of better quality than was Joseph's, which gave indications of breaking. In fact, on one occasion the empress said that "Joseph Haydn sang like a raven" and requested that his brother might replace him. Michael was given a solo to sing, and acquitted himself with so much tenderness and sweetness that the empress sent for him and gave him twenty-four ducats. Reuter complimented him on his good luck and the honor that had been done him, and asked him what he was going to do with so large a sum. Michael replied: "I shall send half to my good father and keep the other half until my voice breaks," a resolution that Reuter approved warmly, and which he offered to further by taking charge of the twelve ducats. Michael gave them to him, but when his voice broke at last, the ducats were not forthcoming, and he never saw them again.

Presently Haydn's doom was sealed. One day, in a spirit of mischief, he cut off the pigtail of a fellow student and was sentenced by Reuter to be whipped on the hand with a cane. Haydn pleaded, wept, and remonstrated, but in vain; and at last he declared that he would sooner leave the cathedral than suffer so humiliating and cruel an outrage. Reuter cynically retorted that he had no objection to the alternative, "but you shall be caned just the same, and then you can pack off, bag and baggage as soon as you see fit"; and so Haydn was punished and then sent forth into the streets of Vienna without a penny and with attire so worn and dirty that he was ashamed to be seen. The world was now before him and his outlook was dreary and discouraging enough. He was friendless, without prospects and did not know which way to turn to make either. He could return to Rohrau, where he was sure of a warm and tender welcome from his parents, but he would not burden their scanty means with his support, and besides, he had resolved to succeed by the talent that, from the first, he "knew was in him." His life at the school had inured him to privation and hunger, and if he could only earn enough to keep soul and body together he would be content. His departure from his late home took place on a stormy November evening, and he walked the streets all night hopelessly. Sunrise found him still wandering and ready to faint with hunger and fatigue. Utter despair had seized on him when he chanced to meet with one Spangler, a chorister at St. Michael's, whose acquaintance he had made some time before. The singer found it hard to win enough bread for himself and his wife and child, but he took pity on the unfortunate boy and offered him the shelter of the miserable attic in which he lived with his family. Haydn gratefully accepted the kindness, and dwelt with his benefactor through the winter, suffering, with him, cold and hunger. During this sad time, the boy's courage faltered for the first time and his natural buoyancy of spirits was dulled. He thought of finding some less precarious means of earning enough to eat and drink and to clothe himself than music presented, and for a moment he turned his back on the art he loved so well; but it was only for a moment. His instinct reasserted itself and once more he turned resolutely toward music, and never again did he falter in his determination to devote himself heart and soul to it.

In his search for employment he was, now and then, fortunate enough to be engaged to play the violin at dances and merrymakings. Then he obtained a few scholars who paid him the by no means munificent sum of two florins per month. In the meantime he studied incessantly, especially the six clavier sonatas of Emanuel Bach. With a rickety harpsichord for his companion, he forgot his misery and the squalor of the garret in which he lived. About this time he met a good angel, a Vienna tradesman, by name, Buchholz, who becoming interested in him, and sympathizing with the miserable poverty in which he struggled so cheerfully, loaned him one hundred and fifty florins, taking no acknowledgment therefor and making no conditions for repayment. It may be mentioned here that Haydn promptly returned the money when fortune smiled on him, and that he did not forget the kindness is evidenced by his first will, in which he left "Jungfrau Anna Buchholz one hundred florins, in remembrance that in my youth and extreme need, her grandfather made me a loan of one hundred and fifty florins without interest which I faithfully repaid fifty years ago." This money was a godsend, for it enabled him to procure a room of his own. The new apartment was not a great improvement on that which he had quitted. It was in the old "Michaelerhaus"; and was also a garret boarded off from a larger room. There was scarcely any light and the space was hardly more than would suffice for a fair-sized closet. The roof was in a neglected state, and when the weather was inclement the rain or snow would come through and fall on the lodger's bed. However, Haydn was happy and could study and practice without interruption.

Curiously enough, his selection of this room had a great influence on his future, for in the same house lived Métastasio in a style befitting his position. The poet was superintending the education of his host's two daughters. He soon began to take notice of the young man whom he frequently met on the stairs, and charmed with his character, sought his acquaintance. Recognizing his talents and wishing to serve him, he taught him Italian, and after a time, entrusted to him the musical education of one of the young girls, but now referred to. He added still further to these services by introducing him to Porpora, then the greatest of singing-teachers, and one of the most eminent masters of composition. Before these friendships with Métastasio and Porpora began, however, Haydn lived alone for a year and a half, supporting himself by teaching for whatever payment he could obtain; playing the violin whenever he could earn even the smallest pittance, and obtaining such other engagements as would help him to buy food, and to pay for his room.

Haydn gave his young pupil daily lessons on the clavier, and for his services he obtained free board for some three years. This pupil took singing lessons from Porpora, and it was Haydn's good fortune to be called to go with her to the master's house to play her accompaniments. In order to win the good will of the surly and cynical old master, Haydn performed various menial offices for him, even brushed his clothes and cleaned his shoes. The result was that the young man received some valuable instruction in composition, from time to time, together with much cursing and more insults. Porpora had among his pupils the mistress of the Venetian Ambassador, to whom he took Haydn in the office of accompanist. The Italian, not over generous with his own money, induced the Ambassador to give Haydn a pension, and the consequences were that the struggling composer was made richer by fifty francs a month, and was enabled to add to the books he loved so well and studied so constantly.

Haydn was now about twenty years of age, had suffered great privations and had not been able to rise much above the position of a lackey; but he never relaxed in his devotion to his art. He submitted to degradations, kicks and curses because it was not in his power to resent them. The wonder of it all is that his misfortunes and his humiliations did not sour his temper irremediably, and that he should have remained buoyant and amiable to the end of his long life. His existence in his attic was gloomy and poverty-stricken, but in his old age he told Carpani that he was never happier than he was in that bare and lowly room with his worm-eaten clavier and his books.

At this period he had composed his first Mass in F, a work which, though crude and faulty, is remarkable as the effort of a self-taught genius. By this time, also, he had finished his first opera, "Der Neue Krumme Teufel," for which he was paid twenty-four ducats, but of which only the libretto is extant. It was produced at the Stadttheatre in 1752, and as it was also given in Prague, Berlin and other cities, it would appear that it was successful. Judging by those operas by Haydn that have come down to us, the disappearance of the score of his first work in that class is not to be greatly lamented. His muse was essentially undramatic, yet with that peculiar blindness to the true bent of his talents, a blindness far from uncommon among men of genius, he entertained a firm faith that it was his mission to write operas. Fortunately his opportunities to indulge his idiosyncrasy were not of a nature to enable him to turn from the path in which he was to win fame, although he composed in addition to the opera named, thirteen Italian and five Marionette operas, of which nothing has survived or has deserved to survive. Haydn was destined to revolutionize instrumental music; but the man who was to revolutionize the opera was yet to come and was to be called Mozart.

Among Haydn's other compositions at this period were some clavier sonatas written by him for his pupils. They were the fruits of his study of the first six sonatas of C. Ph. Emanuel Bach, to which he devoted himself untiringly. Haydn said, "I played them constantly and did not rest until I had mastered them all, and those who know my music must also know that I owe very much to Emanuel Bach." In fact Haydn prided himself greatly because he had been once complimented by Bach for his knowledge of that composer's works. One of these sonatas by Haydn had attracted the attention of the Countess Thun, an enthusiastic amateur of music, who expressed a desire to see him. He called on her and surprised her by his youthful appearance and distressed her by the shabbiness of his attire. The evil fortune that always kept him in want during his early years was again accompanied by the good fortune that at every crucial stage of his youthful career brought him into contact with influential friends who assisted him. The Countess questioned him about himself. In response to her inquiries he gave her a straightforward account of his situation, on hearing which she presented him with twenty-five ducats and engaged him to give her lessons on the harpsichord and in singing. His prospects brightened, and as pupils began to increase in number he raised his charge for lessons from two to five florins ($2.50)--a month! An additional piece of good fortune came to him at this stage of his prosperity in the acquaintance of Baron Fürnberg, a rich nobleman and an ardent and talented amateur, to whose house Haydn was invited. Here private concerts were given, and the young composer heard frequent performances of string trios and quartets, such as they were.