By drawing on elements of existing folk music instead of creating music that simply sounded "different," Haydn often departed from eighteenth-century conventions of exoticism. For instance, eighteenth-century composers would often represent Turkish culture through the use of bass drum, cymbals, and triangles. Although Haydn does follow this procedure in L'incontro improvviso (1775), largely to provide cultural critique and musical farce, he does not use it in Lo speziale (1768). In the latter opera, the aria "Salamelica" draws upon a type of Hungarian popular dance, the Törökös, which features a duple meter and melodic lines centered on the first and third scale-degrees. In his Piano Trio in G Major, Hob:XV 25, Haydn follows a similar procedure by drawing in elements of the Verbunkos for the rondo theme. Haydn's settings of Scottish melodies also exhibit a respect toward folk music. His accompaniments to these songs follow the progression of the melody, providing modern harmonic support to enhance, but not overwhelm, the original material. Haydn also keeps the accompaniment simple, so as not to compete with the rhythmic vitality of the folk tune. In this way, Haydn does not present folk melodies as exotic curiosities, but as music in its own right.

Works: Haydn: Lo speziale (77-79), Symphony No. 103 in A Major (79), A Selection of Original Scots Songs in Three Parts, The Harmony by Haydn, Vol. II, No. 16, "O'ver Bogie" (87-89), Piano Trio in G Major, Hob:XV 25 (89-90).

Index Classifications: 1700s

Contributed by: Laura B. Dallman