The Faith and Musical Genius of Franz Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) has been called the father of the symphony and the string quartet. A friend of Mozart and a teacher of Beethoven, Haydn composed in an amazing variety of musical genres—symphonies, string quartets, concerti, operas, keyboard works, and chamber music for churches. His music is as popular today as it was during his lifetime. Calvin Stapert, professor emeritus of music at Calvin College, combines his skills as a biographer and a musicologist to explore Haydn’s life and music in his new book Playing before the Lord: the Life and Work of Joseph Haydn.
“My first memory is music,” Stapert says, “I must have been in elementary school. My parents had a big collection of recordings and among them were some Haydn symphonies. They were among my favorites right away, and that love has never diminished.” Using his music expertise and passion for Haydn, Stapert has created a book that is both technical guide and engaging story.
Playing Before the Lord is written for the generally educated music lover or anyone interested in Joseph Haydn’s life. The biographical side alone is a fascinating rags-to-riches tale. Haydn was born into a working class family in a small village and grew to be a universally known composer, meeting kings and queens in their palaces. Stapert also includes accessible listening guides to some of Haydn’s well-known works to help listeners more fully appreciate the brilliance behind his music. The diagrams are easier to understand for readers with some music background, but can still be appreciated by the general audience.
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Haydn enjoyed universal popularity during his lifetime. He was both “loved by the general populace and deeply respected by the learned musicians. His music, more than any other composer, achieves the ideal that the Enlightenment had for music: that it is immediately appealing without being superficial.”
His music is “joyful, witty, humorous, there is a positive cast to it, but it can also be dark and gloomy.” Haydn himself was similar, his “papa” nickname suggesting a good-natured older man, possibly a little child-like. “That surface innocence is just that; on the surface,” Stapert says, “as you get to know the music you find that, without losing it’s innocent appeal, it’s really very profound.”
Stapert argues that Haydn’s deep Catholic faith resonates in all of his music. Haydn “saw two sides of what music was for: praising God and the edification of his fellow man, a means for refreshment and wholesome entertainment.” Because Haydn didn’t compose a lot of sacred music for the church, even secular scholar’s don’t debate the sincerity of his faith. It wasn’t just a show, he truly wrote his music for the Lord. The words Laus Deo are written at the end of all works composed by Haydn. The words are Latin for ‘praise be to God’.
The book also delves into the changing sociological aspects of the music world during Haydn’s career. Music wasn’t just for royal courts or churches anymore, but for people’s homes as well. Haydn wrote music for amateur musicians as well as professionals. Composers were also gaining more freedom in regards to publishing their music and being able to make a living without a patron. Haydn “paved the way for publishers to respect composers and their wishes for their music.”
Playing Before the Lord is a beautiful combination of technical and story, of history and analysis, and can be enjoyed by anyone interested in Joseph Haydn’s life or music. It can be purchased at most bookstores.
Calvin Stapert’s previous books include My Only Comfort: Death, Deliverance, and Discipleship in the Music of Bach; Handel’s Messiah: Comfort for God’s People; and A New Song for an Old World: Musical Thought in the Early Church.
