Haydn's Keyboard Sonata: An Agent of Sensibility

Abstract

Due to the misconception that sentiments and feelings oppose reason, many wrestle with the idea of sensibility being a component of the Enlightenment. Sentiments and feelings, however, formed the basis of many Enlightenment moralistic values — in particular the idea of sympathy. Adam Smith specifically argued “the virtuous” sympathise with others with the “most exquisite sensibility”. Meanwhile, the topic of sensibility has been increasingly popular in recent research of Haydn, who had studied Smith’s The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Most studies, however, focus on the compos-er’s operas, English canzonettas, and chamber music. In light of this, this research aims to shed light on the relationship between sensibility and Haydn’s keyboard sonatas. The research examines the nature of the sonata genre, the mechanics of the keyboard, and the expressive contents of Haydn’s Keyboard Sonatas Hob. XVI: 46 and 40. Hob. XVI: 46 in A-flat major reveals how Haydn utilises the sonata genre and the clavichord to display his own sensibility musically while establishing his identity as “a man of feeling”. Hob. XVI: 40 in G major, dedicated to the 15-year-old Princess Ma-ria Esterházy, demonstrates how Haydn uses the keyboard sonata to appeal to the sensibility of aris-tocratic women and learned ladies. In this sonata, Haydn portrays the princess as a combination of several sentimental female character types — a daughter, a virgin, and a young girl entering into marriage. In other words, the sonata created an opportunity for 18th-century female listeners, in-cluding the princess herself, to perform visible polite responses and secure what Paul Goring calls “polite identities” when the sonata was performed. In sum, the keyboard sonata becomes an agent of sensibility in Haydn’s hands which confirms not only his identity as a man of deep sensibility but also the “polite identities” of educated women.