Search - Franz Joseph Haydn, Michael Dittrich, Ensemble Bella Musica de Vienne :: Haydn: Zingarese; Ländler; Nocturnes

Haydn Dances

PN NJ | 05/28/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I realize this is an import, but the album's title is still pretty cryptic. The CD is basically a collection of short instrumental pieces for various types of dances known to Haydn (mostly Hoboken IX in his catalog). "Zingarese" refers to "gypsy dances" (AKA "Hungarian dances"). "Ländler" is a German/Austrian folk dance (and a forerunner of the waltz). The rest of the CD largely consists of German dances, minuets, and contredances. (Naxos has released similar CDs -- with clear titles -- for both Mozart and Beethoven, but not Haydn.)



Many people appear to believe that Haydn didn't compose the Zingarese. I don't have enough knowledge to know if this is true or not. However, all of the pieces on the CD are quite enjoyable.



Most of the pieces are pretty short, but they're all grouped together on six tracks rather than each piece placed on an individual track (like Naxos). For this reason (and the cryptic title), I subtract one star.



The SPARS code is AAD, but the sound quality is very good. I believe these pieces were originally recorded in 1980."