The Symphony No. 91 in

E major E major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, F-flat maj ...

, Hoboken I/91, was written by

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

. It was completed in 1788 as part of a three-symphony commission from Count d'Ogny for the

Concert de la Loge Olympique The Concert de la Loge Olympique was a concert company founded in the 1780s by the fermier général Charles Marin de La Haye des Fosses and Count Claude-François-Marie Rigoley. The main conductor was Joseph Bologne de Saint-George. The orches ...

,Brown, A. Peter, ''The Symphonic Repertoire'' (Volume 2). Indiana University Press (), pp. 232–233 (2002). a successor to Haydn's series of "

Paris symphonies The Paris symphonies are a group of six symphonies written by Joseph Haydn commissioned by the Count D'Ogny, Grandmaster of the Masonic Loge Olympique. Beginning on 11 January 1786, the symphonies were performed by the '' Olympique'' in the Sall ...

". It is occasionally referred to as ''The Letter T'' referring to an older method of cataloguing Haydn's symphonic output. This triptych also includes Haydn's own Symphony No. 90 and Symphony No. 92. The autograph manuscript bears a dedication to d'Ogny, but Haydn also gave Prince Krafft Ernst von

Oettingen-Wallerstein The House of Oettingen was a high-ranking noble Franconian and Swabian family. It ruled various estates that composed the County of Oettingen between the 12th century and the beginning of the 19th century. In 1674 the house was raised to the rank ...

a copy as if it were an original.p. 351, Heartz (2009) Daniel. New York. ''Mozart, Haydn and Early Beethoven: 1781 — 1802'' W. W. Norton & Co.

Movements

The work is in standard four

movement Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger co ...

form and scored for

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

, two

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

s, two

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

s, two

horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (anatomy) * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * Horns (novel), ''Horns'' (novel), a dar ...

continuo Continuo may refer to: *Basso continuo Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the Baroque era (1600–1750), provided the harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression. The phrase is often shortened to conti ...

(

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

) and

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

. It is the last symphony that Haydn composed that is not scored for

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

s and

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...

. # Largo –

Allegro Allegro may refer to: Common meanings * Allegro (music), a tempo marking that indicates to playing quickly and brightly (from Italian meaning ''cheerful'') * Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement Artistic works * L'Allegro (1645), a poem b ...

assai, # Andante in

B major B major is a major scale based on B. The pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A are all part of the B major scale. Its key signature has five sharps. Its relative minor is G-sharp minor, its parallel minor is B minor, and its enharmonic equi ...

, #

Minuet A minuet (; also spelled menuet) is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually written in time. The English word was adapted from the Italian ''minuetto'' and the French ''menuet''. The term also describes the musical form tha ...

: Un poco allegretto, #

Vivace In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given composition, and is often also an indication of the composition's character or atmos ...

, () (''

alla breve ''Alla breve'' also known as cut time or cut common timeis a Meter (music), musical meter notated by the time signature symbol (a C) with a vertical line through it, which is the equivalent of . The term is Italian language, Italian for "on t ...

'') The first movement opens with a slow introduction which Haydn works into the opening allegro assai. The Allegro's first theme is derived from an idea Haydn used in his cantata ''Arianna a Naxos'', Hob. XXVIa/2, composed the same year. The theme is chromatic, legato and in two-part inverted counterpoint.Brown, A. Peter, ''The Symphonic Repertoire'' (Volume 2). Indiana University Press (), pp. 237–239 (2002). The second theme is dancelike. Both the themes are closely linked with the opening largo. The slow movement consists of a set of three variations on a theme. Listen to the bassoon and the accompanying string filigree in the first variation and the series of trills near the end of the movement. The minuet includes a trio for the bassoon accompanied by plucked strings. The finale opens quietly and builds gradually to a close.

Notes

References

*Robbins Landon, H. C. (1963) ''Joseph Haydn: Critical Edition of the Complete Symphonies'', Universal Edition, Vienna Symphony 091 Compositions in E-flat major 1788 compositions {{symphony-stub