Symphony No.43 in E flat major (“Mercury”)

Many of the best known of Haydn’s symphonies are to be found among those he wrote for Paris in 1785 and 1786 or London between 1791 and 1795. Most of them have familiar nicknames, like “The Bear” or “The Clock.“ Few of the earlier symphonies, written during the normal course of the composer’s duties at the Esterházy Court, have been blessed with nicknames and, as an unfortunate consequence of their comparatively low profile, they tend to be performed less often than they deserve. There are, however, several symphonies written during the late 1760s and early 1770s which have had the good fortune to escape that kind of anonymity – No.48 in C ”Maria Theresa,” No.26 in D minor “Lamentatione,” No.44 in E minor “Trauersinfonie,” No.45 in F sharp minor “Farewell,” to name only the most prominent of them.

Symphony No.43 in E flat was also written in the early 1770s but, in spite of its “Mercury” nickname, it has remained relatively little known. This is partly because no one knows what “Mercury” has to do with it and partly because of the nature of the music itself. Unlike such festive works as the “Maria Theresa,” the “Mercury” is a modestly scored chamber symphony and, unlike the “Farewell,” it has no special point to make. This is not to say that it is lacking in drama or dynamic contrast. The main theme of the first movement, a somewhat elusively shaped melody quietly introduced by violins, is brought into an early encounter with a vigorous intervention from the whole orchestra: assertive oboes and horns, busy upper strings and emphatic lower strings sustain the tension until the entry of the second subject. Instead of offering a new melody at this point, Haydn presents the already familiar main theme in different harmonies and goes on to treat it much as he did before. The same pattern, supple violin melody meeting firmly applied contrasts from combined wind and strings, persists to the end of the movement.   

Although wind instruments are not excluded from the Adagio, the melodic interest is confined almost entirely to muted violins which are entrusted with both the introduction of the intimate main theme and its exquisitely detailed development. Lower strings are only briefly released from the bass line, when they join the violins in canon, while oboes and horns do little more than add their authoritative colours to the codetta at the end of each half of the construction. The repeated notes which are such conspicuous feature of the Adagio are similarly prominent in the outer sections of the comparatively robust Menuetto in E flat.

The Finale is built, like the first movement, on an extended theme in E flat, although this one is rather more purposeful and more defined in melodic shape. Like its counterpart in the first movement, it is bounced into a confrontation with vigorous wind and strings and it seems that the pattern of contrasts will be sustained as before – until, that is, towards the end where the harmonies seem to lose their way and are restored to their destined course only just in time for the closing bars.