This is the second of three consecutive symphonies in which Haydn follows the course of the day. No. 6 began with an obvious evocation of sunrise, but precisely what No. 7 has to do with afternoon is unclear. What this symphony really concerns is the symphonic and operatic style of the recent past; perhaps Haydn was showing his new employer, Prince Paul Anton Esterházy, that he was well aware of the noble Baroque conventions, but was capable of adding his own personal flourishes, too. The dotted rhythms of the Adagio introduction recall the Baroque era's French overture style, the sort of music with which Bach began his orchestral suites. In the ensuing Allegro, Haydn's rhythmic structures and use of counterpoint seem equally archaic, very much something out of a Handel opera overture; yet the themes are far more strongly contrasted than in the past. Between bubbling tutti passages come elaborate solos, most prominently for two violinists answered by various other string and woodwind players. Haydn dubs the next movement Recitativo. It's an adagio movement with a tiny allegro core, a takeoff on opera seria with its sudden changes of tempo and key. It initially seems like the accompaniment to an unperformed aria, the strings drifting aimlessly upward without anything happening in the foreground. The solo violin does eventually deliver snatches of an operatic recitative, and takes an increasingly prominent role as the movement wanders along. The true slow movement, an Adagio, is a long, relaxed duet for violin and cello, with occasional flute commentary. The movement closes with an extended cadenza for the two string soloists. Next, the stately Minuet proceeds without incident until the trio section, in which solo cello and horn natter at each other from their respective corners of the orchestra. The concluding Allegro, for the first time in this symphony, uses the flute and oboe at the same time. The movement is somewhat reminiscent of a Baroque aria, with the solo instruments (nearly every principal player, by the end of the work) handling increasingly florid treatments of the bustling theme.

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