Maumee express. [volume] (Maumee City, Ohio) 1837-1838, 1838-01-20
HAYDN, THE COMPOSER.

HAYDN, THE COMPOSER.
The first productions of Haydn were
some short sona,as for the piano forte
which he sold at low price to his fe.
male pupils, for he had met with a few
He also wrote minue!es, aamands, walt
yes, for the Ridofo He composed, for
his amusement, serenala for three in.
s'ruments, which he performed, on fine
sumner evenings with two of his friends
in difle ent parts of Vienna. The thea.
tire of Carinthia was at that time direct.
ed by Bernadorne Curiz, "A celebrated
buffo m, who amused the public with his
puns. Be nadorne drew crowds to his
theatre by his originality, and good ope-
ra buffas. He had, moreover, a,hand-
some wife; and this YVES an additional
reason for our nocturnal advcnturcrs TO
go and perform their serinade under the
harlequin's windows. CurN was so
struck with the originality Of the music,
that he came down into the street to
ask who had composed it. e.t.
81 did," replied Haydn, boldly.
"How you, at your age?"
"One must make beginning some
time" ...l .... s.... .,....
Cad, that is droll. Come up stairs
Haydn followed the Harlequin, was
introduced to the handsome wife, and
re descended with the poem of an opera
entitled " The Devil on Two Sticks"
The music, composed in a few days, had
the happlest success, and was paid for
with twen,y-four sequins. But No
bIemah, who was probabl y not handsome,
perceived that he was ridiculed under
The name of The Devil on Two Sticks.
and caused the piece to be prohibited.
Aadyn often said, that he had more
trouble in finding out mode for repre- :
senting the waves in the tempest Of this
opera, than he afierward had in writing
figures with double subject. Curtz.
who had spirit and taste, was difficult to
please; but there was another obstacle.
Neither of the authors had ever seen sea
or storm. How can a man describe
what he knows nothing about? If this
happy art could be discovered, many of
our great politicians would talk better
about virtue. Curtz, all agitation. walk
ed up and down the room, where the
was seated at the piano forte.
"lmagine," said he, "a mountain rising
and then valley sinking, and then an
other mountain, and then another valley.
the mountains and the valleys follow
one after another with rapidly; and a,
every moment alps and abysscs succeed
each other"
This fine description was Of no avail
In vain did the harlequin add thunder
and lightning.
"Come, describe TO me all these hor.
rors," he repeated necessarily, "bu'
particularly, represent distinctly those
and valleys"
Haydn drew his fingers rapidly over
The keyboard, ran through the scmitones.
tried abundance Of sevenths, passed
from the lowest notes of the bass to the
highest notes of the treble. Curtz was
still dissatisfied. At last, the young man,
,ut Of patience, extended his hands To
he two ends of the harpsichord, and then
them rapidly together, exclaim-
I'd,
"The Devil take The tempest p
"That's il THAT'S il |" cried the har |
equin, springing upon his neck, and al
most sitting him.
Haydn added that when he crossed
he straits of Dover. IN bad weather,
many years afterwards. he laughed du.
ing the whole Of the passage. on think
ny Of the storm in the Devil ON Two
Sticks
FAREw LL.--How many of The dark
ind solemn scenes of life arise with thai
me word. The etearlul eve, the blood.