HAYDN’S THE SEASONS, FIRST EDITION OF THE FULL SCORE

HAYDN, Joseph. Die Jahreszeiten, nach Thomson, in Musik gesezt von Joseph Haydn. Partitur. Originalausgabe. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Haertel, [1802]. Two volumes. Folio, modern three-quarter brown calf gilt, marbled boards.    $8500.

First edition of the full score, with engraved title page and subscribers’ list.

“The unprecedented success of The Creation led to a second collaboration between Haydn and his librettist van Swieten in The Seasons… From the beginning of the Vivace in the introduction to ‘Spring’ it is clear that the character is different. In the depiction of morning and noon in ‘Summer’ there is something of the ethereal character of The Creation, but otherwise the many brilliant scenes are mostly tableaux of everyday country life… the combination of solo or ensemble with chorus is used here too, with fine effect, as in the brilliant depiction of sunrise in ‘Summer’ and the monumental final chorus in ‘Winter.’ But no less impressive are the very different hunting-chorus and drinking-chorus in ‘Autumn,’ which seem to bring to life Brueghel’s paintings of peasant conviviality” (New Grove, 8: 359). Typeset music with engraved title page. Hoboken II: 58. Hirsch IV: 795. Ink-stamps to title pages. With inoffensive pencil markings from an early performance.

A beautiful copy.