Johann Michael Haydn: Salzburg's Church Composer

About Johann Michael Haydn

Michael Haydn was born in Rohrau on 14 September 1737, the son of a wheelwright, and died in Salzburg on 10 August 1806. Joseph, five years older, had already won a place in Vienna's St Stephen's choir, and Michael joined him there at the age of eight. In 1760 he became Kapellmeister at Großwardein, now Oradea in Romania; two years later he moved to Salzburg as concertmaster, and there he stayed, through changes of archbishop and fashion, until his death.

His sacred music was the core of his reputation. He composed 47 masses, 130 graduals, 65 offertories, 65 canticles and 47 antiphons, along with seven oratorios, and his C minor Requiem for Archbishop Siegmund is often cited as an influence on Mozart's Requiem. He also wrote German-language masses, the Deutsches Hochamt settings, which allowed congregations to sing the ordinary in their own language. Among his pupils in Salzburg were Carl Maria von Weber and Anton Diabelli. His Symphony No. 25 in G major was long mistaken for Mozart's Symphony No. 37, and a string quintet in C major was once attributed to Joseph.

The catalog uses the MH numbers introduced by Charles H. Sherman and T. Donley Thomas in 1991, which run chronologically through his output. The 131 entries total about 937 minutes and 509,576 notated notes, with 119 carrying lyrics. Almost every score sits at complexity index 0, which suits choir singers and organists more than virtuoso soloists. The top titles are the motet Laetatus Sum Soprano, a Divertimento in D major for horn, viola and violone, and the Domine Deus.

Listening and playing notes

Expect choral writing rather than keyboard display. The textures are largely homophonic with brief imitative points, the vocal ranges are modest, and the organ or continuo supports the voices without competing. Latin diction shapes the phrasing in the motets, while the German Mass movements have a syllabic, congregational feel. Tempos are steady, dynamics are few, and the interest lies in clear declamation and clean cadences. Play through a movement at a time; these pieces were built for liturgical use, not the concert platform.

Selected scores

1. Laetatus Sum Soprano

   The most-viewed Michael Haydn score in the catalog, a solo motet setting of the Latin psalm text.

2. Divertimento in D Major, MH 173, for Horn, Viola and Violone, Notated for Horn in F

   A chamber work showing the instrumental side of a composer usually known for church music.

3. Domine Deus

   A liturgical movement and the third most-viewed title in the collection.

4. Tantum ergo, MH 404

   A Eucharistic hymn setting in the catalog's MH numbering.

5. II. Deutsches Hochamt, MH 629 "Wir werfen uns darnieder"

   A German-language mass movement, part of the tradition that let congregations sing the ordinary.

6. Missa Quadragesimalis, MH 552

   A Mass whose Latin title marks it for the Lenten season.