HAYDN'S ARIA FORMS: A STUDY OF THE ARIAS IN THE ITALIAN OPERAS WRITTEN AT ESZTERHAZA, 1766-1783. (VOLUMES I AND II)

Haydn's operas are less well-known than his instrumental music. Students of these works have traditionally suggested that they are fundamentally undramatic, despite their beautiful music. The first chapter of this dissertation argues that such judgments are premature, since most of Haydn's operas have no performance history, and that they use criteria inappropriately based on Mozart's mature operas.;This dissertation seeks to elucidate the nature of these moments from both musical and dramatic points of view. To that end it is focused on the question of form in the ten Italian operas Haydn wrote at Eszterhaza between 1766 and 1783.;Sonata principles and procedures are crucial to the vast majority of these arias, even to those not in sonata form per se. Chapter 2 presents a brief survey of these forms, while Chapter 3 discusses the formal interactions of vocal music, text, and orchestral ritornellos. The ensuing chapters are devoted to discussion of formal procedures within individual sections of arias, from those sections common to all forms (Chapters 4 and 5) through those found in sonata and binary forms (Chapers 6 and 7) to those found in "through-composed" forms (Chapter 9). Two "case study" chapters (nos. 8 and 10) analyse a few arias in detail, demonstrating the larger formal functions of individual sections and suggesting their possible dramatic effects.;The concluding chapter discusses Haydn's interest in the dramatic possbilities of form as this developed from 1766 to 1783. Sonata and binary forms assume increasingly specific dramatic connotations, while the "through-composed" forms which appear in the later operas allow further dramatic specialization of form. Appendixes present contemporary theoretical descriptions of aria forms and discuss Haydn's cuts.;Like most eighteenth-century operas, Haydn's are primarily built up of juxtaposed moments. The arias form the largest body of such moments; they constitute, on average, 57% of all numbers (secco recitatives excluded). In Mozart's mature operas, on the other hand, the arias represent only 41%.;Volume II includes formal diagrams of all the complete arias by Haydn in the operas studied. These diagrams are new in format, and show the formal interactions of text, vocal music and orchestral music particularly clearly.