CXCII. HAYDN, Franz Joseph (1732-1809)
Baryton Trio #112 (ca. 1765)
1. Allegro (3:50)
2. Menuet. Allegretto (2:08)
3. Finale. Presto (2:40)
Esterházy Ensemble
A baryton was a popular stringed instrument in the 17th and 18th centuries. It has six (sometimes seven) strings made of gut, plus a lower set of wire strings which vibrate sympathetically.
How Haydn came to compose over 200 works for this instrument is an interesting tale:
Since 1761, he had been employed by the Esterházy family, rising from assistant to principal Kapellmeister in 1762, when Prince Nikolaus took over after his brother died.
Nikolaus took up the baryton around the same time that Haydn received an official letter of reprimand (lazy musicians, undisciplined work, etc.), which was soon rectified by an extraordinary burst of musical activity (it was at this point that Haydn began to carefully catalog his compositions) ...
The baryton trios were a result of all this. Nikolaus was pleased to have compositions for his new hobby, and Haydn supplied him with plenty of new material -- almost always for the combination herein -- baryton, viola and cello.
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