Sensibility in Haydn’s Topical Art

In Haydn’s keyboard music, sensibility displays distinct localized manifestations, and it also proves its capability to encompass several musical signifiers. By examining and contextualizing the use of the sigh, the tempesta, and the toccata topos in Haydn’s keyboard sonatas Hob. XVI:20, 49, and 46, this article aims both to demonstrate that sensibility may be signified by multiple topics and to call attention to the value of studying Haydn’s topical art. The three topics in Haydn’s keyboard sonatas each reveal a particular facet of sensibility, thereby testifying to the rich complexity of this human quality much cherished in the eighteenth century.