Haydn: Piercing Eyes, Hob. XXVIa:35

It is well known that Haydn was a favoured visitor to London towards the end of his life and spent much time in the English capital. In addition to the famous ‘London’ symphonies he wrote a considerable amount of other music whilst he was here, including chamber works and, particularly, songs, many of them to English words by his friend Anne Hunter. All of the famous ones are here, along with other, German, settings and the extended scena ‘Arianna a Naxos’, to an anonymous Italian text.

Haydn’s songs are relatively subordinate in his oeuvre and were composed to be performed by amateurs. Nonetheless, they are carefully structured and served to help establish him in the open market. His English Canzonettas show a great variety of moods ranging from lively sea pieces to pastoral. Anne Cambrier has an extensive repertoire and regularly gives recitals with Jan Vermeulen.

A new recording featuring one of the most famous and best-loved of all early-music sopranos, Emma Kirkby.

Marcia Hadjimarkos performs on a superb modern copy of a Walther fortepiano,

Booklet note and full sung texts.

This CD contains the remarkable cantata Arianna a Naxos Haydn composed in 1789. Unlike the later cantata Berenice composed in London in 1795, Arianne is not scored for orchestra. Here the piano is given a virtuoso role especially in the recitatives. The drama of Arianna’s desertion by Theseus is superbly realised by Haydn.

In September 1800, Lord Nelson, fresh from his victory over the French in the Battle of the Nile in 1797, visited Eisenstadt, together with Lord and Lady Hamilton. Lady Hamilton asked to sing Arianne during her visit. A member of the British party at Eisenstadt, Cornelia White asked Haydn to set words she had written celebrating Nelson’s famous victory. He obliged with the cantata ‘Lines from the Battle of the Nile’, and work was performed by Emma Hamilton with Haydn at the piano.

The songs on this CD all resulted from a dinner in Vienna on December 1790. Haydn, Mozart and the violinist and impresario Salomon were discussing Haydn’s trip to London. It was on this trip that Haydn became friendly with Anne Hunter, a talented poet, and wife of the eminent surgeon John Hunter. She was a friend of Walpole, and soon Haydn was in the ‘polite society’ of London. Anne either supplied the text, or selected texts by other writers, especially Shakespeare. This was a happy time in Haydn’s life, and the songs are heartfelt, and emotional, foreshadowing the romanticism of Schubert, and reflecting possibly the romantic attachments the composer had made in London.

Respected and in demand soprano Ruth Ziesak gives an outstanding performance. This new CD includes all Haydn’s songs with lyrics in English.

In celebration of the Haydn year, MSM brings together two rising stars of the classical music world. The album combines selections from Haydn’s English and German love songs.

In the ‘Haydn Year’ PentaTone is pleased to release the complete Haydn songs first released on a Philips three LP set and now available on 2 CD’s at a special price.

Haydn’s lieder is sadly often relegated to the opening ‘warm-up’ sections of recitals, or, even worse, totally neglected. This is a pity, for as collectors of Brilliant Classics cycle of all his Scottish Songs will know, there is much wit, warm humour and not a little drama to found in these gems. The songs on this CD span 1781 –95, and the first two sets were written for the Viennese socialite Franz Sales von Greiner, who regularly advised Haydn on the choice of texts.

The third set is probably the best known works in this programme. The ‘English Canzonettas’ were written for Haydn’s friend Lady Anne Hunter, the widow of eminent surgeon Sir John Hunter. Anne provided the texts for the first group, and one for the second. Haydn turned to Metastasio for the remainder.

The ‘Pastoral Song’ became a firm favourite with the Victorians, and was a parlour song ‘hit’.

These Philips recording have long been unavailable: here they make a welcome return to the catalogue

‘Those who love them [Haydn’s songs], and love Elly Ameling, will not be disappointed in this generous recital…Ameling’s skill lies in her precise judgement of their scale…Jorg Demus’s accompanying is half the fun: he makes the keys speak as clearly and sweetly as any fortepiano…’ Gramophone

Full sung texts and booklet notes

A must for lovers of this popular and much-loved singer

This excellent release is a unique collection of English love songs by some of the great English composers of the 20th century including Vaughan-Williams, Purcell, Britten, Dowland, Finzi and Warlock. All of the songs are firm favourites; amongst the most well known are Silent worship, Where’er you walk, If music be the food of love and The salley gardens. Mark Stone has sung at Covent Garden most recently in “Don Giovanni” and is a regular guest at ENO, WNO, Glyndebourne and Opera North. He and Stephen Barlow regularly perform together as a recital duo and often appear on Radio 3 and in concert in the UK and abroad.