HAYDN. Divertimentos for flute, violin and 'cello. Christian Lardé (flute), members of the Danish Quartet (Arne Svendsen, violin; Pierre-René Honnens, 'cello). Valois Q MB466: 0 MB966 (12 in., 45s. incl. PT.). Rare Records Ltd., 5-7 Barton Square, St. Ann's Square, Manchester, 2. No.1 in major )H.IV.6. No.2 in G major (H.IV.7). No.3 in major )H.IV.8). No.4 in G major (H.IV,9). No. 5 in A major (H.IV.10). No. 6 in D major (ILVI.11).

The enormous quantity of Haydn's occasional music has hardly been touched by the recording companies yet, but here is an enterprising disc which does justice to one section of this repertory that many people will probably not have realized even existed. The Section is numbered IV in Hoboken's catalogue; it includes a number of trios, four of them the so-called "London trios" for two flutes and 'cello of 1794, and the six recorded here. These six were referred to by Haydn in a letter to William Forster, the London publisher, as also being "for two German flutes and violoncello": but the substitution of violin for second flute may have been sanctioned by him, and is certainly justifiable—and even to be preferred?--on musical grounds. Anyway, flute, violin, and 'cello is the instrumentation on this disc.

In an informative note Harry Halbreich suggests that the trios must have been written between 1778 and 1784: that's to say, between the Sturm und Drang period (ending about 1774) and Haydn's rise to final maturity (say, 1785). This is not guesswork on his part; 1784 is established because that was the year Forster published them in London; and the interesting thing is, 1778 establishes itself as the other limit because several movements in them are re-workings of numbers in Haydn's opera 11 nwndo della tuna, first performed in 1777.

I expound all this chronology because it's worth pointing out that in this period of six years the symphony withdrew into the background of Haydn's life, and the period is, in fact, one from which we hear rather little of his music: a handful of string quartets (not the best ones) and piano sonatas, and the Mariazell Mass, and that's about all. There is plenty of Haydn from these years, however: his operas.

This brings us back to these trios. No less than six movements in them stem from numbers in Ii mondo delta tuna (and incidentally another three, making up the fourth trio on this record, H.IV.9, are direct transcriptions of part of a baryton trio). Haydn doing a Handel? Well, why not? His operas, written for court performance, never really established themselves outside Esterhazy, and it's understandable that he may have wished to retrieve some of his best ideas and to circulate them more widely in other forms.

The trios are all in three short movements, arranged, as the piano sonatas are, in a variety of ways: two of them begin with slow movements, another with a set of double-variations, and two end with minuets. In the whole six there's scarcely a dull moment. I worked in reviewer's overdrive and played through the lot at one sitting, which is not to be advised but which can certainly be endured: the craftsmanship is constantly to be marvelled at and the felicity of the invention always to be relished. Not great Haydn perhaps, but the music of a great composer working with effortless accomplishment in what at first thought might seem a dull, restricted medium. In this connection Mozart's two duos for violin and viola come to mind. I suppose Haydn might have said you couldn't pay him a higher compliment than that.

The performances by these Danish players are excellent, and so is the stereo recording (all I've so far heard), An expensive disc but one which all lovers of Haydn's music will want to hear; it contributes to our knowledge of him and I salute it. S.P.