Nocturnes for the King of Naples

The title of Edmund White's novel comes from a series of nocturnes composed by Franz Joseph Haydn.

Around 1785, Joseph Haydn was commissioned to perform a series of concerts for King Ferdinand IV of Naples. It was an unusual assignment, because the works had to be written for two players of the "lira organizzata," a kind of hurdy-gurdy with a small, built-in organ. This instrument, of which no specimen has survived, was very popular on the streets of Naples at the time. The king himself was a virtuoso player of an improved version of the instrument, which had been designed by Norbert Hadrava, an Austrian legation secretary in Naples. 

Hadrava continued to write to various composers, including Haydn, to compose works for the lira. Around 1788, Hadrava gave the composer a new commission, this time for a number of "Notturni" for two lira, winds and strings. Even during Haydn's lifetime, these works were performed in various arrangements, with flute and oboe or two flutes substituted for the lira. Some of these nocturnes have been released on CD by the ensembles Mozzafiato and L'Archibudelli, among others.