Extrait du livre Haydn
Haydn by Ann Rachlin and Susan Hellard Flowerpot Children's press
Haydn
Little Joseph Haydn loved music. In the evening after work his father, Matthias, liked to play the harp. Joseph would sit on his tiny wooden stool with two pieces of wood in his hands. They were his pretend violin. He longed to play a real one. One day, in 1738, a visitor came to Joseph’s house. It was Matthias’s cousin, Franck. He was a schoolteacher who also arranged the music for his local church. Joseph loved listening to him play the violin. After supper, Father Haydn and Cousin Franck played together, and Joseph pretended to play with them on his pieces of wood.
When Joseph went to bed, Cousin Franck said, “Joseph is a bright boy. He keeps perfect time and has a lovely voice. He should have music lessons. Let him come and live with me and I will teach him how to play the violin and how to sing.” Joseph’s mother and father were sad to let their little boy leave home, but they packed his bags and waved as six-year-old Joseph left happily for Cousin Franck’s house in Hainburg.
