Franz Joseph Haydn was a Classical composer: Classical composers were “Enlightened” men, developing sonata form like Franz Haydn. Mozart was another who liked clarity. Such balanced melodies occurred until 1830. Ohhhh, this is the musical timeline! It starts with the Early Age. Then it’s Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical, Romantic, and not to forget the Modern Day!

Haydn’s fourth and final movement of his Symphony No. 87 is fast and lively, hence the name “Vivace”. Haydn composed this piece for the full orchestra. At first, he uses the strings to play the main theme, a cheerful, easy-to-remember melody. Later in the piece, he uses wind instruments to play the bouncy tune. Then, he brings it back to the strings but changes the melody to minor, giving the tune a darker color.

Haydn was a popular composer during his lifetime 200 years ago because he wrote music that people could easily understand. In the finale to this symphony, he makes his main theme or melody cheerful and fun to listen to and easy to remember. Because it is easy to remember, Haydn is able to play with the main theme and change it up at different times. He knows that his audience can easily follow along as he plays with the main theme. Can you follow the main theme as you listen to this piece? Can you point out all the times the theme repeats and how Haydn changes it?

Review questions:

1. Who is the composer and which musical era is he from?

2. What is the name of this piece? Why is it called that?

3. Which instruments play this piece?

4. Why does the composer make sure the main theme is easy to remember?

5. Can you sing the main theme after you listen to this piece several times?