Johann Michael Haydn (1737-1806)
Kaiser Constantin I. Feldzug und Sieg
Emőke Baráth, Klára Kolonits, Theodora Raftis, Chantal Santon Jeffery, Katalin Szutrély (sopranos), Péter Bárány (alto)
Purcell Choir, Orfeo Orchestra/György Vashegyi
rec. 2016, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall of Müpa, Budapest, Hungary
Texts included, no translations
Accent ACC26504 [2 CDs: 92]

The oratorio, which emerged in the early 17th century, then developed into one of the main genres of dramatic music. Whereas at first such works were mostly written in Latin, in the second half of the 17th century they were increasingly based on librettos in the vernacular. Around 1700 they moved in the direction of opera, and in the 18th century many oratorios were little less than sacred operas. Today performances of oratorios are mostly confined to works from the baroque period. In comparison, classical specimens of this genre are seldom performed. One of the reasons is that this period in music history is dominated by three composers: Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, and their contributions to the genre are small. Haydn’s two late oratorios, strongly inspired by those of Handel, are among his most famous compositions, but his Italian oratorio Il ritorno di Tobia is little-known, and Mozart’s early oratorio Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots is completely overshadowed by his operas.

The production under review is remarkable for two reasons. First, Johann Michael Haydn is a well-known name, but only a small part of his œuvre is available on disc, and live performances of his music are rare. There are signs that the music world is starting to rediscover it, and György Vashegyi’s recording bears witness to that. Secondly, the oratorio Kaiser Constantin I. Feldzug und Sieg (The campaign and victory of emperor Constantine I) was discovered fairly recently. It was known that a work with this title existed. It was a project shared by three composers: the first part was by Anton Cajetan Adlgasser, the second by a certain J.G. Scheicher (about whom nothing seems to be known, not even his Christian names). These two parts are lost. Such projects were not uncommon: Michael Haydn was also the composer of the second part of Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots, whose first part was written by Mozart and the third by Adlgasser. In that case, only Mozart’s part has been preserved.

The subject of Kaiser Constantin I. Feldzug und Sieg is the Roman emperor Constantine I (c.272-337), who made an end to the persecution of Christians, and is the first emperor to convert to Christianity. As indicated, Haydn’s oratorio is a setting of the third and last part of the libretto, written by Johann Heinrich Drümel. He was born in Nuremberg, was active in several educational institutions and ended his career as a professor of constitutional law in Salzburg. There this oratorio, which dates from 1769, was performed during Lent. It is not dramatic in the sense of an opera; no action takes place; it is rather a dialogue between five allegorical characters about what is going on in Rome at the time. That concerns the battle of Constantine with his rival Maxentius over the control of the Western Roman Empire. These characters are Glaube (Faith), Kleinmütigkeit (Faintheartedness), Philosophie (Philosophy), Tapferkeit (Fortitude) and Theologie (Theology). The names of the characters give some indication about their stance in the debate, varying from fear (Faintheartedness) to confidence in a positive outcome (Theology). It is notable that all the characters are scored for soprano voices.

The recitatives are a mixture of secco and accompanied passages; sometimes they begin with a simple secco accompaniment, and then – when a character expresses strong feelings – they turn into an accompagnato for the full orchestra. The arias are long and mostly pretty virtuosic, and include cadenzas. Haydn’s musical language is different from that of the Baroque era. The overture and most arias are written in the sonata form, and the arias are not following the da capo model, but rather include dal segno indications. Although the orchestra is rather conventional, consisting of strings, woodwinds and brass, the obbligato roles of the latter are unusual. The first aria (Fortitude) includes an obbligato part for trumpet, which is highly virtuosic. Its inclusion is inspired by the text: “Rejoice, triumph, blessed Christians, praise the victory”. The soprano part includes figures imitating the sound of the trumpet. The B section is about the lamentations of the heathens, which is illustrated by dissonances and a descending chromatic line. The vocal part includes sighing figures. Katalin Szutrély delivers an outstanding performance, which does full justice to the imitating figures and the contrasts within the aria.

The next lyrical episode is a duet of Faintheartedness and Philosophy; the two soprano parts move largely in parallels. A descending figure illustrates the word ‘Traurigkeit’ (sadness). Klára Kolonits and Theodora Raftis are a perfect match. The second aria is allocated to Faith, who expresses fear for Constantines fate, referring to a bad dream. It receives an incisive performance from Chantal Santon Jeffery. Here Haydn includes an obbligato part for horn, whose dark sound fits the text, and which has its own cadenza. In the next aria Theology addresses God, and proclaims that being obedient to him brings safety and benefit. The proclaiming nature of the text is eloquently depicted in the vocal part as well as in the ascending coloratura figures and the fast tempo. Emőke Baráth’s characterization is spot-on.

Next is another duet, this time sung by Philosophy and Fortitude, again largely in parallel motion, but also with some imitation. It is about the death of a hero, and although the text is not very explicit, it seems that it concerns Gaius Vettius Cossinius Rufinus (called Rufin in the libretto), a senator who was praefectus urbi in 315/16. Faith then sings an aria with choir: “For a man of this kind death becomes an ascension”. Next is an aria by Faintheartedness, which says that – to quote a well-known hymn – what God ordains is always good. This aria includes obbligato parts for horn and trombone. Notably, the aria opens with an instrumental section which ends with cadenzas for both instruments. Only then does the voice enter.

The oratorio ends with a chorus with solo for alto; it has become clear that Constantine has won the battle against his rival, and that is reason to celebrate. The text includes the phrase “Sing cheerful Psalms of victory”, and this inspired Haydn to include a quotation of a Gregorian Psalm tone, sung in long notes.

This oratorio should refute suggestions that Michael Haydn was a mediocre composer, whose role in music history is marginal. His friend Mozart held him in high esteem, as did later Schubert and Bruckner. That in itself should be a reason to take him seriously and to explore his œuvre. The oratorio performed here is an impressive testimony of his skills as a composer of vocal music. The emotions of the various characters are perfectly translated into the music, and the instrumental writing is very effective in illustrating the text. The performance does full justice to the brilliance and the tenor of this work.

The soloists are technically impressive in the mostly pretty demanding arias. Their representation of the respective characters and their emotions in arias and recitatives is entirely convincing. The obbligato parts are brilliantly executed by László Borsódy (trumpet), Zoltán Szőke (horn) and Ferencz Kócziás (trombone). The Orfeo Orchestra is responsive to the text and the development of the story.

There are, however, a few issues which need to be mentioned. First: all five characters are scored for soprano, and that is a bit of a problem. Ideally they would be interpreted by singers whose voices are clearly distinguishable. That is not the case. Of course there are differences, but if one does not follow the libretto, it is mostly hard to know who is singing. I would have preferred more marked differences between the five sopranos. Secondly, the performances of the vocal parts are technically impressive, but stylistically less convincing. One feature is that the cadenzas tend to be exaggerated, especially in that the singers cross the normal tessitura of their part. It seems unlikely that in Haydn’s time singers tried to explore the boundaries of their range. Then I have to mention a common problem in so many recordings of vocal music: the use of too much vibrato. There is really no justification for it. Lastly, the production: the recording is excellent, the liner-notes are informative, but the lack of an English translation of the libretto is very regrettable. It is to be hoped that this oratorio changes the opinions about Michael Haydn, but the lack of a translation does not help to fully appreciate this work.

These critical remarks don’t compromise my great appreciation of this production. It is a real ear-opener and despite the lack of an English translation, it can be thoroughly enjoyed, thanks to Johann Michael Haydn’s brilliant writing.

Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen

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