| Work Title
|
Unfinished Oratorio
|
| Alternative. Title
|
Unvollendetes Oratorium
|
| Composer
|
Haydn, Joseph
|
| Opus/Catalogue NumberOp./Cat. No.
|
Hob.XXIVa:9
|
| Internal Reference NumberInternal Ref. No.
|
IJH 600
|
| Key
|
D minor
|
| Movements/SectionsMov'ts/Sec's
|
2 movements
- Aria, "Nor can I think." Andante (D minor)
- Chorus,"Thy great endeavors." Allegro (D major)
|
| Year/Date of CompositionY/D of Comp.
|
1794
|
| Librettist
|
Ludwig Hopf
|
| Language
|
German
|
| Average DurationAvg. Duration
|
3 minutes
|
| Composer Time PeriodComp. Period
|
Classical
|
| Piece Style
|
Classical
|
| Instrumentation
|
bass, mixed chorus (SSTTB), orchestra
|
| InstrDetail
|
Voices
- bass, mixed chorus (SSTTB)
Orchestra
- 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons,
2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings
|
| Extra Information
|
Foreword - A full hundred years have passed since Joseph Haydn composed this oratorio fragment. It was during master's second stay in England (1794-1705) that the Earl of Abingdon commissioned him to write an oratorio, and recommended Nedham's English translation of the Latin manuscript "Mare Clausam" by Seldon for the composition. Haydn, who had not written an oratorio since completing his “Ritorno di Tobia” (1774), gladly accepted the proposal and immediately began the work. It never got far, because Haydn gave up the composition after completing two numbers, a bass aria and a four-part (SATB) chorus with orchestral accompaniment. These two completed numbers, the autograph of which is in the library of the British Museum in London, are hereby handed over to the public for the first time. This classical novelty will be welcome to all friends and admirers of Haydn's muse. Teplitz, June 1894. Josef Liebeskind.
|
