OSC/Ó Duinn

Newman University Church

Haydn – Symphonies Nos 1, 35, 70

It’s the neatest of follow-ups. Last year, the Orchestra of St Cecilia completed its 10-year series of the complete sacred cantatas of Bach. And on Sunday the orchestra set off on another extended musical journey, through the complete symphonies of Haydn, a cycle of 108 pieces which it hopes to complete in three-symphony instalments over a period of six years – 36 concerts at a rate of six per year.

The opening programme, at Newman University Church, St Stephen’s Green, on Sunday afternoon, set the pattern that’s going to be followed throughout, by offering a selection of works from different periods of Haydn’s output.

There were spoken contributions from the orchestra’s manager, Lindsay Armstrong (pointing to mock embarrassment at a six-year project instead of a 10-year one), and conductor Proinnsías Ó Duinn, who introduced each of the symphonies.

Haydn, it has to be said, gets a rather raw deal in Irish concert life, his “father of the symphony” position in the history books notwithstanding. And the issue is not confined to Ireland. No less than three recorded cycles of his symphonies (under Max Goberman, Christopher Hogwood and Roy Goodman) failed to reach completion on disc.

He’s a composer who rewards an attentive listener, by refusing to be predictable. He’s like a raconteur who sets up false expectations, intentionally displaces climaxes, and skilfully negotiates the most far-fetched of diversions, as if these were all the most natural things in the world.

The OSC’s programme began at the beginning, with the Symphony No 1, believed to have been written in 1757, and stretched as far forward as No 70, which is dated 1779, by way of No 35, written in 1767.

The inclusion of trumpets and drums in No. 70 makes it decidedly the most modern-sounding of the three. And, paradoxically, the addition of these instruments made it the most problematic- sounding of the OSC’s concert. The problem was one of transparency, or rather the lack of it, as the natural weight of the extra instruments often masked material that needed to stand out.

This was a pity, as Proinnsías Ó Duinn’s balancing in the earlier works showed a real delight in interplay between first and second violins, which he split across the platform (firsts to his left, seconds on his right), and a consistent willingness to let the most important orchestral voice stand out naturally.

Ó Duinn showed himself to be ready to take Haydn on his own terms, whether it was a matter of showing off in learned counter- point, indulging in clerihew-like mismatches in phrasing, or genuine, good-natured sweetness. Next Sunday’s second instalment will offer Symphonies 36, 71, and the one confusingly labelled “A”. And be warned, the Newman University Church can be as physically chilly as its acoustic is warm.