Giovanni Antonini & Il Giardino Armonico - Haydn 2032, Vol. 10: Les heures du jour - Limelight

4.5*

The long run-up to the 300th anniversary of Haydn’s birth in 2032 gathers pace with Les Heures du Jour ( The Hours of the Day), a sparkling tenth instalment in a projected complete survey of his 107 symphonies.

Articulately voiced by Il Giardino Armonico and Giovanni Antonini, the grand overseer of a project intégrale that also involves the Basel Chamber Orchestra, the focus here is on a trio of early works that elegantly pivot through the diurnal span from ‘Morning’ (Symphony No 6) to ‘Noon’ (No 7) and ‘Evening’ (No 8) with sprightly major key buoyancy and panache before extending its nightly revels with Mozart’s Serenade in D, Serenata Notturna (K239).