Symphony no. 49 "La passione" in F minor, Hob. I:49

Symphony no. 49 dates from 1768, seven years into Haydn's employment at the Esterházy court, and belongs to the group of dark, agitated works associated with the Sturm und Drang years. All four movements stay in F minor and follow the old sonata da chiesa order — slow, fast, slow, fast — beginning with an Adagio that moves like a funeral procession. The title La passione is not Haydn's; it appeared after a performance during Holy Week in 1790 at Schwerin, in northern Germany.