With three versions now in the catalogue (and a fourth, from Hogwood, in the pipeline), Haydn's fetching programmatic trilogy has attracted more attention from period-instrument groups than any of his other symphonies. The Hanover Band are proceeding through their complete cycle at a fair lick; and this new disc, the fourth in their series to appear, is in many ways the most successful so far. As usual the playing is eager and sharp-witted, with strong, propulsive rhythms and unusually transparent textures. Outer movements are invariably vital and keenly projected, though, unlike some of the other performances in the Hanover Band's cycle, the tempos here never strike me as over-enthusiastic. The opening Allegro of Le matin, a touch brisker and more fiercely accented than on either of the rival discs, has a delightful rustic freshness, enhanced by the tangy, forwardly balanced woodwind and horns. In the corresponding movement of Le soir, to my mind the finest in all these symphonies, the crispness and delicacy of the period strings' articulation are particularly telling, while the high-pitched horns whoop to great effect in the tuttis. The 'storm' finale of the same symphony is taut and exciting, with sharper attack and more driving rhythms than on the Pinnock/Archiv version; and as in the other two finales, the many virtuosic solo passages, especially those for flute and violin, are despatched with aplomb.
Given Goodman's penchant for rapid, one-in-a-bar minuets I was surprised that those of Le matin and Le midi are actually a touch slower than the two rival versions, proud and sturdy—though the tricky violone solo in Le midi's trio is slightly sluggish. The slow movements all rely heavily on the quality of the string soloists, especially the first violin: and Benjamin Hudson brings an appealingly graceful touch to Le matin's Andante and a cool, gentle eloquence to the quasi-operatic recitatives in Le midi. Perhaps the main part of Le midi's Adagio could do with more flow—strong beats are sometimes over-emphasized, to the detriment of the longer line. The extended (and, frankly, rather dull) slow movment of Le soir is crisp and light of gait, though I expected, and would have welcomed, a breezier tempo from Goodman in this 2/4 'walking' Andante. Perhaps the problem is mine, though: Harnoncourt on Teldec adopts an almost identical slowish speed (crotchet=46), while Pinnock is considerably slower still—the movement really does seem interminable in his reading.
In general, though, honours between Pinnock and Goodman are pretty even. Pinnock's performances are a touch smoother and more poised, with a rather suaver string sound; and his string soloists are that much more individually expressive (and, at times, rhythmically secure) in the slow movements of Le matin and Le midi. But despite the occasional rough edge, Goodman scores in the faster movements with his greater rhythmic drive and more pungent, wind-dominated sonorities. If pressed I would opt, just, for the new version. Harnoncourt is the most interventionist of the three conductors and his performances are often imaginative, occasionally eccentric; but he can over-inflate this essentially innocent, genial music (listen to his massive introductions to Le matin and Le midi) and the relatively large string band and reverberant acoustic mean that wind detail in the tuttis is often swamped. As before, the Hanover Band are liberal with repeats (though I'm relieved that, unlike Harnoncourt, they denied themselves the second repeat in Le soir's Andante) and sympathetically recorded. Incidentally, though Goodman's harpsichord continuo is again active and prominently balanced, I found it less intrusive than on earlier discs in this series—or maybe I'm just developing an internal filter system.'