Haydn's Symphony No. 26 in D minor--the Sinfonia Lamentatione--was not composed for the Nativity, as a title given later, the "Christmas Symphony," falsely indicates. The title 'Passio et Lamentatio' on the oldest manuscript (at the Abbey of Herzogenburg) shows that the work was composed for the Easter week of 1766. For the first movement, Haydn took as a model an old drama of Passion music whose "Christus" motif is in turn based on an ancient Lamentation chant. This "Christus" melody from Passion music occurs in the second subject of the first movement exposition, given to the second violin and the first oboe. The second movement is thematically linked to the first by using the same "Christus" Lamentation chant, also in the second violin and the first oboe, this time as the principal subject in the form of a chorale prelude. The Passion music that Haydn used in this symphony was well known to his audience, and the purpose of the symphony must have been apparent.

Works: Haydn: Symphony No. 26 in D Minor, Sinfonia Lamentatione (287-93).

Index Classifications: 1700s

Contributed by: Tong Cheng Blackburn