A Croatian composer

In Short

This book presents a historical argument that Joseph Haydn, traditionally regarded as a German composer, was ethnically and culturally Croatian. By analyzing folk music, biographical records, and the geopolitical history of the Austro-Hungarian borderlands, the text posits that Haydn’s melodic style, rhythms, and artistic temperament were deeply informed by the South Slavonic traditions of his family and birthplace. It is a work of musical scholarship that seeks to reclaim national identity for an artist while arguing that true musical genius is rooted in the distinct soil of a composer's ancestral heritage.

The Story

The narrative begins by challenging the conventional classification of Joseph Haydn. While he is celebrated as a quintessential German master, the text argues that his life and work are better understood as the product of the Croatian diaspora in Central Europe. The story of this discovery centers on the research of Dr. František Š. Kuhač, who identified that the musical characteristics of Haydn’s compositions—his specific melodic curves, irregular rhythms, and structural habits—mirror the folk music of the Croatian people living along the borderlands of the Austrian Empire.

The book traces the history of these Slavonic immigrants who, centuries earlier, settled in the fertile region between the Drave and the Danube to escape the Turkish advance. By the eighteenth century, this area, including the town of Rohrau where Haydn was born, was a vibrant, though politically marginalized, enclave of Croatian culture. The narrative explores how the young Haydn, surrounded by his father’s singing and the local ballads of the market-place, absorbed these Slavonic patterns long before his formal education in Vienna.

As the argument progresses, it moves from the biographical to the musicological. The text demonstrates that Haydn did not merely "borrow" folk tunes for his symphonies and quartets; rather, he spoke in the musical dialect of his people. Through a series of comparisons, the author highlights striking similarities between specific Haydn compositions—such as his quartets and the famous national anthem—and the indigenous folk songs of the Southern Slavs. The author notes that Haydn’s very name, which appeared in various phonetic spellings in official registers, aligns with common Croatian surnames of the era.

The arc of the book concludes with a broader reflection on the nature of national art. The author observes that as the Austrian Empire systematically suppressed Slavonic language and culture, the "national" soul of the region became increasingly obscured. By unearthing these connections, the book argues for a more nuanced understanding of how personal genius intersects with heritage. It finishes with an exhortation to the reader—and to English musicians—to recognize the importance of one's own national soil. The author suggests that greatness is not achieved through cosmopolitan imitation, but by drawing inspiration from one’s own roots, just as Haydn did when he built his musical temple using the stones from his native mines.

How It Unfolds

The thesis of national influence The author establishes that music, like poetry or painting, is fundamentally shaped by the nationality of the artist. He argues that a composer’s work suffers when the "national element" is absent, as this heritage provides the essential blood and passion required for true greatness.

The Croatian connection The narrative introduces Dr. Kuhač’s findings regarding the South Slavonic immigrants who settled in Central Austria during the sixteenth century. This section maps the geographical and cultural landscape of the region, explaining how Haydn’s birthplace sat at the very heart of this Slavonic colony.

Biographical evidence The author examines the Haydn family records, noting that names like "Haiden" or "Hayden" were common among the Croatian population. He details the phonetic evolution of the composer's surname, suggesting that the German spelling was a later adaptation for Viennese convenience.

Musicological demonstration This central section provides a comparative analysis of Haydn’s scores alongside Croatian folk melodies. The author illustrates how Haydn utilized specific rhythmic patterns and structures, such as the "Kolo" dance measure, to inform his symphonic and chamber works.

A call to patriotism The book shifts toward a wider cultural critique, using the example of Haydn to urge modern musicians to honor their own national traditions. The author concludes by arguing that recovering one's authentic voice is the only way to achieve lasting artistic significance.

The People

Joseph Haydn stands at the center of this study, portrayed not as a disembodied genius of abstract form, but as a man of peasant stock whose "lean ugly kindly face" and "keen grey eyes" reflected his Slavonic heritage. He is depicted as a figure who, despite a lifetime of service in the high-society courts of the Esterházy princes, never lost his connection to the convivial, humorous, and deeply religious spirit of his people.

Dr. František Š. Kuhač serves as the essential guide and intellectual catalyst for the author. His meticulous documentation of South Slavonic folk songs and his pamphlet on Haydn provide the foundation for the entire argument. He is presented as a diligent scholar whose work acts as a key to unlocking the "historical truth" that had long been obscured by the erasure of Croatian identity under Austrian rule.

The Esterházy family appears as the noble, if detached, patrons who provided the stability for Haydn’s work. While they represent the established order that often suppressed the Slavonic identity of their subjects, they inadvertently created the environment where Haydn could flourish. Finally, the Croatian peasants themselves are treated as the collective protagonists of the story—the "stone-cutters" whose traditions provided the raw, vital materials that Haydn’s genius transformed into the masterpieces of European music.

In Its Own Voice

“The composer bears the mark of his race not less surely than the poet or the painter, and there is no music with true blood in its veins and true passion in its heart that has not drawn inspiration from the breast of the mother country.”

(The author establishes his foundational argument that music is inseparable from the national identity of the composer.)

“The lean ugly kindly face with high cheek-bones, long nose, and broad prominent under lip, the keen grey eyes softened by a twinkle of humour, the thin wiry figure, the strong nervous hands; all these and their analogues may be seen to-day in any village where Slavonic blood is still pure.”

(The author describes the physical characteristics of Haydn, suggesting they are consistent with the appearance of the Croatian peasantry.)

What It's Really About

At its core, this book is an investigation into the nature of artistic authenticity. It challenges the "cosmopolitan" view of art, which treats great works as if they were born in a vacuum of pure form, and argues instead that they are products of specific historical and cultural conditions. The book asks: What is the relationship between the individual artist and the collective soul of their people? It posits that genius does not consist of inventing something from nothing, but of the ability to take the inherited materials of one’s own culture and refine them into something universal. By focusing on the "Croatian-ness" of Haydn, the author makes a plea for the necessity of national self-knowledge, suggesting that the loss of one's heritage is the death of original art.

Why Read It Today

This book is a fascinating artifact of nineteenth-century scholarship, perfect for readers interested in the intersection of musical history, ethnology, and national identity. You will appreciate the author’s warmth and his genuine commitment to the idea that Haydn was more than just a courtly figure—he was a "rustic poet." It is an earnest, intellectually rigorous work that moves with a clear sense of purpose.

However, readers should be prepared for the author’s intense, period-specific focus on "race" and "blood," terms used here to describe cultural and historical lineage in a way that reflects the nineteenth-century mindset. The book also relies heavily on the research of a single scholar, Dr. Kuhač, and presents a highly specific argument that may feel polemical to those accustomed to modern, more neutral musicology. The inclusion of extensive lists, appendices of surnames, and detailed musical snippets requires patience and a willingness to engage with the technical evidence of a bygone era. Nevertheless, what stays with you is the author’s passionate plea to "cut our timber from our own forests." Whether or not one is fully convinced by the ethnological claims, the book remains a compelling meditation on the importance of grounding one’s work in the bedrock of one’s own history.