String Quartet in E flat, Op.33 No. 2, ‘The Joke’ - Haydn
- Created by: nataliemoore__
- Created on: 22-02-16 11:01
What was Haydn referred to as being, which is also of Haydn's greatest achievements?
"Father of the String Quartet".
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What were the six Op. 33 quartets intended for?
Private or semi-private performance by four accomplished players.
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What nicknames has Opus 33 gained?
"Gli scherzi" (after the unusual use of scherzo movements instead of minuets), "Jungfernquartette" ("Maiden" quartets), and the "Russian" quartets.
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Why has this movement been labelled "The Joke"?
It uses surprising twists, disconcerting silences, but could also refer to amateur performers who were a source of frustration to the composer, and would find the carefully planned ensemble changes in the final page quite daunting.
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What was Robbin Landon's theory behind the cheeriness of the music?
Haydn's commencement of an affair with the young mezzo-soprano Luigia Polzelli.
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Which instruments does this set work use?
A string quartet - Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola and Cello.
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What is different between the two violin parts?
The first violinist regularly plays higher than the second (although both players have instruments of the same specification and range).
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Why is only one player per part required?
No doubling is expected as with string parts in symphonies, not even doubling of cello by double bass an octave lower.
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How come no keyboard continuo instrument is used?
In one precursor of the Classical string quartet, the Baroque trio sonata for two (constantly-crossing) violins and cello.
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Which string-playing techniques does this set work use?
All instruments play arco throughout – there’s no pizzicato, but frequent staccato helps create the light playful effect. Double stopping is used in two passages – notably in the brief Adagio near the end for greater weight and mock solemnity.
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Which dynamics are used?
Bars 36 and 107 are forte (f). Sforzando (sf) emphasises some strong beats. Each phrase of the Adagio starts at f.Many other passages are p, with some use of crescendo and diminuendo. The ‘joke’ ending is pp – as is bars 141–148.
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Describe the four-part texture of this set work.
Usually each instrument is independent. However, violins have some parallel 3rds, 6ths and 10ths. Three parts in the second phrase of the refrain, first heard in bars 3–4.
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Describe the homophonic texture of this set work.
Very occasional chordal or homorhythmic movement (as at the two pause chords in bars 139–140). Usually Violin I melody dominates, other parts accompanying with the same rhythm (e.g. at the beginning) – this is melody-dominated homophony.
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What happens to the melody in bars 112-116?
Other parts take up the melody just heard in Violin I. This is not really imitation, however, because successive entries do not genuinely overlap.
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When does the function of the viola change?
In the bars of three-part texture, the viola acts as the bass at the absence of the cello.
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How is a denser texture created?
The use of double stopping thickens the texture - creating a five part texture in bar 151 and a six part texture in bar 149.
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Describe the pedals in the piece.
Pedal notes are common in this piece, either in sustained notes (bars 87-92) or reiterated notes (bars 128-131).
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What is unusual about the textural division?
In bars 128-131, the textural division pairs the inner parts (Violin 2 and Viola) and the outer parts (Violin 1 and Cello).
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What happens with the other three parts when the cello becomes isolated?
The three upper parts work in partnership (bars 132-135).
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Why is the rondo form of this piece open to more than one interpretation?
Haydn was a composer of incredible imaginative genius and not a music analyst.
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When is Section A first heard?
Bars 0-36. This is a refrain (with repeats).
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Describe Section B.
Heard in bars 36-70, this section is the first episode of the piece.
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What happens in bars 71-107?
Section A (refrain).
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Describe Section C.
Heard at bars 107-140, section C marks the second episode of the piece.
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What happens from bar 140 to the end of the piece?
Section A1 - a repeat of Section A with substantial alterations.
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Desbribe the internal structure of Section A.
Rounded Binary Form, clearly delineated by the repeat marks on its first appearance at Bars 0-36.
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What happens in the final A1 section?
The final A1 section includes an incongruous Adagio and much unsettling fragmentation of the main theme.
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What is similar about the B and C episodes?
They begin with almost identical Violin 1 melodic phrases (Violin 2 is identical).
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How does the B episode have a transitory feel?
Harmonic instability (no resolution during the pedal note passages) and the preceding C episode remains in E flat major with little feeling of novelty.
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What seems familiar about the end of the C section (bars 139-140)?
These bars imitate bars 27 and 28.
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How are dominant 7th chords used?
Each episode ends on a dominant 7th chord, creating a lack of finality and emphasising the musical identity and completeness of the refrains, eventually adding to the bizarreness of the final refrain.
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How is Haydn's melodic style typical of the Classical style?
A number of techniques which are typical of the Classical genre are used, such as periodic phrasing, scale and arpeggio patterns, chromaticism, melodic dissonance, passing notes, auxiliary notes, échappée, ornamentation, articulation, slurs, staccato
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How is the thematic unit X modified in bar 2 (beat 2) - bar 3 (beat 1)?
The unit is one tone lower, and rises a tone instead of a semitone.
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How is the thematic unit X modified in bar 10 (beat 2) - bar 11 (beat 1)?
Inversion.
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How is the thematic unit X modified in bars 25-26?
Chromatic rising sequence.
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How is the thematic unit X modified in bars 63-65?
Bars 63-65, Repetitions in the second half of each bar as a diminished triad instead of a major triad.
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How is the thematic unit Y modified in bar 3 (beat 2)?
Inversion.
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How is the thematic unit Y modified in bar 6?
Six notes rise instead of three.
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How is the thematic unit Y modified in Bars 59-62?
Bars 59-62, Persistent repetition with comprising short term descending sequences contained within a longer term rising sequence.
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How is the thematic unit Z modified in bar 18 (beat 1)?
Arpeggio rises instead of falling.
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How is the thematic unit Z modified in bars 63-65?
Repetitions in the second half of each bar as a diminished triad instead of a major triad.
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Describe some harmonic features of the piece.
Functional harmony, Tonic and dominant chords, perfect cadences, Pedals, chromatic harmony – e.g., a diminished triad, Harmonic sequences, Suspensions (bar 14, the Bb).
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Which harmonic features contribute to the "joke" of the piece?
A dominant 7th chord left “hanging in mid air” in Bar 28 before the return of the main theme, extended dominant pedals on p. 203, with chords Ic and V regularly placed above (with no key affirming cadence), a mock-dramatic dominant 9th chord (adagio)
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What key is the piece predominantly in?
E flat major.
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What key are bars 37-47 in?
A flat major (subdominant).
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What key are bars 48-53 in?
F minor (supertonic minor).
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What key are bars 64-68 in?
B flat major (Dominant).
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Describe the pedal in bars 16-28.
At its conclusion it is a Dominant Pedal preparing for the main theme. Its commencement is more ambiguous; from Bars 17-20 the harmony above consists of alternations of a Diminished Seventh chord outline and a B flat major arpeggio (both use an A♮).
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When does the metre change (whuch is unusual for a rondo piece)?
The 6/8 (compound duple) metre is interrupted at bar 148, and a slow simple duple (2/4) metre emerges for four bars before returning to 6/8.
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How is the rhythm generally dominated?
By crotchets (often dotted), and quavers. Longer notes have a tendency to feature in lower parts. Violin 1 has sequences of seemingly endless streams of quaver (eg bars 54-67).
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Where is rhythmic diminution (where the notes return at a shorter length) apparent?
Motive X (quaver/crotchet/quaver) becomes three quavers in bars 22-23.
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