Haydn’s trilogy of “Morning, Noon, and Night” symphonies, composed as a sort of sequel to Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, lives or dies on the quality of its solo playing, and on that basis alone I have no hesitation in naming this recording the current reference edition in these works. The Freiburg Baroque Orchestra plays fabulously, with outstanding contributions from Karl Kaiser (flute), Petra Millejans (violin), and the two horn players. With respect to these latter instruments in particular, so often period players make a fetish out of producing stopped tones more appropriate to the kazoo–but listen to the rich, lovely sounds that principal horn Teunis van der Zwart makes at the first movement recapitulation of Symphony No. 6. There ought to be a Romantic quality to all fine horn playing, nowhere more so than in classical period works where the instrument’s association with the hunt is never far from the surface.
But there’s much more to enjoy than noble-toned horns. Here’s one conductorless band that plans its performances on a scale larger than most standard orchestras manage. Even with relatively small forces they play with a big dynamic range (witness the opening “sunrise” of No. 6, or the La Tempesta finale of No. 8), and no mean sense of drama–check out the operatic slow movement of No. 7, with its very vocally expressive opening instrumental recitative. Tempos are generally swift but always are chosen to give the players the room they need to phrase and characterize the music to maximum effect, and Harmonia Mundi affords the ensemble ideally balanced, warmly detailed sound. Sadly, recordings of this music come and go, but let’s hope this one sticks around long enough for music lovers to discover just how wonderful it is. [4/27/2002]
