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The remaining years of the period covered by this chapter being
almost totally devoid of incident, we may pause to notice briefly
two of the better-known symphonies of the time--the "Toy"
Symphony and the more famous "Farewell." The former is a mere jeu
d'esprit, in which, with an orchestral basis of two violins and a
bass, the solo instruments are all of a burlesque character.
Mozart attempted something of a kindred nature in his "Musical
joke," where instruments come in at wrong places, execute
inappropriate phrases, and play abominably out of tune. This kind
of thing does not require serious notice, especially in the case
of Haydn, to whom humour in music was a very different matter
from the handling of rattles and penny trumpets and toy drums.
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