ons, he sought nothing more. When the French
entered Salzburg and pillaged the city in 1801 he was among the victims,
losing some property and a month's salary, but his brother and friends
repaired the loss with interest. This misfortune led the Empress Maria
Theresa to commission him to compose a mass, for which she rewarded him
munificently. Another of his masses was written for Prince Esterhazy,
who twice offered him the vice-Capellmeistership of the chapel at
Eisenstadt. Joseph thought Michael too straightforward for this post.
"Ours is a court life," he said, "but a very different one from yours at
Salzburg. It is uncommonly hard to do what you want." If any appointment
could have drawn him away from Salzburg it was this; and it is said that
he refused it only because he hoped that the chapel at Salzburg would be
reorganized and his salary raised.

Michael Haydn is buried in a side chapel of St Peter's Church, Salzburg.
A monument was erected in 1821, and over it is an urn containing his
skull. He is described by Pohl as "upright, good-tempered and modest;
a little rough in manners, and in later life given to drink." His
correspondence shows him to have been a warm-hearted friend; and he had
the same devout practice of initialing his manuscripts as his brother.
The latter thought highly of him as a composer, declaring that his
Church compositions were superior to his own in earnestness, severity of
style and sustained power. When he asked leave to copy the canons which
hung in Joseph's bedroom at Vienna, Joseph replied: "Get away with your
copies; you can compose much better for yourself." Michael's statement
has often been quoted: "Give me good librettos and the same patronage
as my brother, and I should not be behind him." This could scarcely have
been the case, since, as Pohl points out, Michael Haydn failed in the
very qualities which ensured his brother's success. As it was, he wrote
a very large number of works, most of which remained in manuscript. A
Mass in D is his best-known composition, though mention should be
made of the popular common-metre tune "Salzburg," adapted from a mass
composed for the use of country choirs. Michael Haydn was nominated
the great composer's sole heir, but his death frustrated the generous
intention.

APPENDIX E: A SELECTION OF HAYDN LETTERS

The greater number of Haydn's extant letters deal almost exclusively
with business matters, and are therefore of comparatively l