Joseph Haydn wrote works for the baryton, which you can find information about in any textbook. But who has ever heard that music?
The baryton is an old string instrument. It looks a lot like the viola da gamba, but it has several sympathetic strings. These are strings beneath the upper strings that vibrate when the upper strings are played.
It is a beautiful instrument with a unique warm tone, but it has never been very popular. This is because it is not easy to play and keeping all those strings in tune is quite a hassle. But Prince Eszterhazy, Haydn’s patron, played the instrument. As a result, Haydn and his colleagues at the prince’s court wrote hundreds of compositions for baryton, viola, and cello.
In this concert, we will hear various trios by Haydn and his colleagues Andreas Lidl and Tomasini. We will also hear a piece from a sonata by Carl Friedrich Abel. Unlike Haydn and Prince Eszterhazy, Abel was a professional gambist himself. He shows what you can get out of this instrument as a professional: double stops, chords, and pizzicato on the lower strings. This way, you can almost sound like a string trio on your own.
1. Joseph Haydn – Trio in C, Hob. XI: 109
2. Andreas Lidl – Divertimento in G
3. Joseph Haydn – Trio in b, Hob. XI: 96
4. Joseph Haydn – Trio in D, Hob. XI: 28
5. Joseph Haydn – Trio in A, Hob. XI: 71
6. Carl Friedrich Abel – Sonata in G: Adagio – Allegro
7. Joseph Haydn – Trio in a, Hob. XI: 87
8. Luigi Tomasini – Trio in D, Korczak 20
9. Joseph Haydn – Trio in D, Hob. XI: 97
10. Luigi Tomasini – Divertimento in e, Korczak 34
11. Joseph Haydn – Trio in C, Hob. XI: 101
12. Joseph Haydn – Trio in A, Hob. XI: 66
