String Quartet in G major Op.76 No.1 (1796–97)

Haydn’s disinclination to write instrumental music after his return to Vienna from his second visit to London – when he turned his attention to large-scale choral work – fortunately did not extend to the string quartet. He ran out of energy half-way through the Op.77 set for Prince Lobkowitz but had no problems with the Op.76 set for Count Erdödy – least of all in the witty evasive first movement of the Quartet in G major, its deeply thoughtful Adagio, the emulation of the one-in-the-bar Beethoven scherzo in the Menuetto and, even more remarkable, the anticipation of late Schubert in the finale.

Haydn’s disinclination to write instrumental music after his return to Vienna from his second visit to London – when he turned his attention to large-scale choral work – fortunately did not extend to the string quartet. He ran out of energy half-way through the Op.77 set for Prince Lobkowitz but had no problems with the Op.76 set for Count Erdödy. All these works are distinguished by a mastery so easy that it can even be deceptive. After the conventional opening chords of the Quartet in G major Op.76 No.1 the entry of the cello can only be the beginning of a similarly conventional fugal exposition of the main theme. In fact, whenever he seems to be getting more than modestly involved in counterpoint, Haydn promptly changes the subject – most dramatically in a prolonged passage of minor key arpeggios for all four instruments in unison. The arpeggio figuration is as prominent in the development as the main theme itself, which only briefly attracts the four-part contrapuntal elaboration it always seems to have been designed to accommodate.

The Adagio sostenuto is as thoughtful as anything written for the medium before the late quartets of Beethoven – and without drawing special attention to its profundity. While it is true that Haydn asks for the opening theme to be introduced a mezza voce, which adds a hushed atmosphere to its chorale-like seriousness, he does not dwell on it before making a complete change of texture. The chorale is three times recalled but only briefly in each case and always with the same result.

Clearly not, at its Presto tempo a minuet, the Menuetto is a one-in-the-bar scherzo of a kind recently developed by Beethoven, not least in the Op.2 Piano Sonatas dedicated to Haydn on their publication in 1796. The Scherzo of the Piano Sonata in C major Op.2 No.3 does seem to have been on Haydn’s mind since something of its rhythmic identity is reflected in the main theme of the Allegro ma non troppo finale – a movement remarkable not so much for any putative influence from Beethoven, however, as for its anticipations of harmonic strategies characteristic of late Schubert.

1809)

String Quartet in G major Op.76 No.1 (1797)

Allegro con spirito

Adagio sostenuto

Menuetto: presto

Allegro ma non troppoJoseph Haydn (1732 – 1809)

String Quartet in G major Op.76 No.1 (1797)

Allegro con spirito

Adagio sostenuto

Menuetto: presto

Allegro ma non troppo

“Gone is all my strength,” Haydn wrote on the last page of his unfinished last quartet in 1803, “old and weak am I.” The decline, hastened perhaps by prolonged problems with The Seasons, seems to have come very quickly. Certainly, there is no sign of it in the preceding two Quartets Op.77 written for Prince Lobkowitz in 1899 or in the six Quartets Op.76 written for Count Erdödy in 1797. All these works are distinguished by a mastery so easy that it can even be deceptive.

After the conventional opening chords of the Quartet in G major Op.76 No.1 the entry of the cello must surely be the beginning of a similarly conventional fugal exposition of the main theme. In fact, whenever he seems to be getting more than modestly involved in counterpoint, the composer promptly changes the subject – most dramatically in a prolonged passage of minor-key arpeggios for all four instruments in unison, most charmingly in an innocent little closing theme that emerges in D major on first violin a few bars later. The arpeggio figuration is as prominent in the development as the main theme itself, which only briefly attracts the four-part contrapuntal elaboration it always seems to have been designed to accommodate.

The Adagio sostenuto is as thoughtful as anything written for the medium before the late quartets of Beethoven – and without drawing special attention to its profundity. While it is true that Haydn asks for the opening theme to be introduced a mezza voce, which adds a hushed atmosphere to its chorale-like seriousness, he does not dwell on it before making a complete change of texture. An ostinato of staccato semiquavers in the inner parts stimulates the cello and first violin to exchange remarks around it until the cello also adopts the ostinato figuration, leaving the violin to on its own and out of step with the prevailing rhythm. The chorale is three times recalled but only briefly in each case and always with the same result. It is up to the cello to resolve the situation in the closing bars.

The Menuetto is clearly not a minuet but, at its Presto tempo, a one-in-the-bar scherzo of a kind recently developed by Beethoven, not least in the Op.2 Piano Sonatas dedicated to Haydn on their publication in 1796. The Scherzo of the Piano Sonata in C major Op.2 No.3 does seem to have been on Haydn’s mind since something of its rhythmic identity is reflected in the main theme of the Allegro ma non troppo finale – a movement remarkable not so much for any putative influence from Beethoven, however, as for its anticipations of late Schubert. Beginning in G minor, it clings grimly to minor keys for much of its course, performing some inspired enharmonic modulations in the development section but reverting to G major only in the recapitulation. The radiant effect of the change of harmony is as magical as it is understated.

“Gone is all my strength,” Haydn wrote on the last page of his unfinished last quartet in 1803, “old and weak am I.” The decline, hastened perhaps by prolonged problems with The Seasons, seems to have come very quickly. Certainly, there is no sign of it in the preceding two Quartets Op.77 written for Prince Lobkowitz in 1899 or in the six Quartets Op.76 written for Count Erdödy in 1797. All these works are distinguished by a mastery so easy that it can even be deceptive.

After the conventional opening chords of the Quartet in G major Op.76 No.1 the entry of the cello must surely be the beginning of a similarly conventional fugal exposition of the main theme. In fact, whenever he seems to be getting more than modestly involved in counterpoint, the composer promptly changes the subject – most dramatically in a prolonged passage of minor-key arpeggios for all four instruments in unison, most charmingly in an innocent little closing theme that emerges in D major on first violin a few bars later. The arpeggio figuration is as prominent in the development as the main theme itself, which only briefly attracts the four-part contrapuntal elaboration it always seems to have been designed to accommodate.

The Adagio sostenuto is as thoughtful as anything written for the medium before the late quartets of Beethoven – and without drawing special attention to its profundity. While it is true that Haydn asks for the opening theme to be introduced a mezza voce, which adds a hushed atmosphere to its chorale-like seriousness, he does not dwell on it before making a complete change of texture. An ostinato of staccato semiquavers in the inner parts stimulates the cello and first violin to exchange remarks around it until the cello also adopts the ostinato figuration, leaving the violin to on its own and out of step with the prevailing rhythm. The chorale is three times recalled but only briefly in each case and always with the same result. It is up to the cello to resolve the situation in the closing bars.

The Menuetto is clearly not a minuet but, at its Presto tempo, a one-in-the-bar scherzo of a kind recently developed by Beethoven, not least in the Op.2 Piano Sonatas dedicated to Haydn on their publication in 1796. The Scherzo of the Piano Sonata in C major Op.2 No.3 does seem to have been on Haydn’s mind since something of its rhythmic identity is reflected in the main theme of the Allegro ma non troppo finale – a movement remarkable not so much for any putative influence from Beethoven, however, as for its anticipations of late Schubert. Beginning in G minor, it clings grimly to minor keys for much of its course, performing some inspired enharmonic modulations in the development section but reverting to G major only in the recapitulation. The radiant effect of the change of harmony is as magical as it is understated.

After his return to Vienna from his second visit to London in 1795 Haydn devoted himself almost exclusively to large-scale vocal music: the last six Masses and the two great oratorios, The Creation and The Seasons, were all written within the next seven years. Happily, however, although he refused to undertake any more symphonies or sonatas, he was still interested in the string quartet. He supplied Count Erdödy with a full set of six quartets in no more than a few months in 1797 and two years later he undertook to write another set for Prince Lobkowitz - although in this case, his time and his energy having been consumed by problems with The Seasons, he had to give up half way though the third work in the series.

“Gone is all my strength,” he wrote on the last page of his unfinished last quartet in 1803, “old and weak am I.” But he was surely not short of ideas. Certainly, there is no sign of decline in the preceding two Lobkowitz Quartets, Op.77, or in the six Erdödy Quartets, Op.76. All these works are distinguished by a mastery so easy that it can even be deceptive. After the conventional opening chords of the Quartet in G major, Op.76, No.1, the entry of the cello can only be the beginning of a similarly conventional fugal exposition of the main theme. In fact, whenever he seems to be getting more than modestly involved in counterpoint, the composer promptly changes the subject - most dramatically in a prolonged passage of minor-key arpeggios for all four instruments in unison, most charmingly in an innocent little closing theme that emerges in D major on first violin a few bars later. The arpeggio figuration is as prominent in the development as the main theme itself, which only briefly attracts the four-part contrapuntal elaboration it always seems to have been designed to accommodate.

The Adagio sostenuto is as thoughtful as anything written for the medium before the late quartets of Beethoven - and without drawing special attention to its profundity. While it is true that Haydn asks for the opening theme to be introduced a mezza voce, which adds a hushed atmosphere to its chorale-like seriousness, he does not dwell on it before making a complete change of texture. An ostinato of staccato semiquavers in the inner parts stimulates the cello and first violin to exchange remarks around it until the cello also adopts the ostinato figuration, leaving the violin to on its own and out of step with the prevailing rhythm. The chorale is three times recalled but only briefly in each case and always with the same result. It is up to the cello to resolve the situation in the closing bars.

The Menuetto is clearly not a minuet but, at its Presto tempo, a one-in-the-bar scherzo of a kind recently developed by Beethoven, not least in the Op.2 Piano Sonatas dedicated to Haydn on their publication in 1796. The Scherzo of the Piano Sonata in C major, Op.2, No.3, does seem to have been on Haydn’s mind since something of its rhythmic identity is reflected in the main theme of the Allegro ma non troppo finale - a movement remarkable not so much for any putative influence from Beethoven, however, as for its anticipations of late Schubert. Beginning in G minor, it clings grimly to minor keys for much of its course, performing some inspired enharmonic modulations in the development section but reverting to G major only in the recapitulation. The radiant effect of the change of harmony is as magical as it is understated.

String Quartet in D minor Op.76 No.2 “Fifths” (1797)

Allegro

Andante o più tosto allegretto

Menuetto: allegro man non troppo

Vivace assai

String Quartet in E flat major Op.76 No.6 (1797)

Allegretto – allegro con spirito

Fantasia: adagio

Menuetto: presto – alternativo – menuetto

Finale: allegro spirituoso

After his return to Vienna from his second visit to London in 1795 Haydn devoted himself almost exclusively to large-scale vocal music – the last six Masses and the two great oratorios, The Creation and The Seasons. Happily, although he refused to undertake any more symphonies or sonatas, he was still interested in the string quartet. He furnished Count Erdödy with a full set of six quartets in no more than a few months in 1797 and two years later he undertook to write another set for Prince Lobkowitz – although in this case, having been worn out by problems with The Seasons, he had to give up half way though the third work in the series. “Gone is all my strength,” he wrote on the last page of his unfinished last quartet in 1803, “old and weak am I.”

There is no sign of decline, however, in the preceding two Lobkowitz Quartets Op.77 or in the six Erdödy Quartets Op.76. All these works are distinguished by a mastery so easy that it can even be deceptive. After the conventional opening chords of the Quartet in G major Op.76 No.1 the entry of the cello can only be the beginning of a similarly conventional fugal exposition of the main theme. In fact, whenever he seems to be getting more than modestly involved in counterpoint, Haydn promptly changes the subject – most dramatically in a prolonged passage of minor key arpeggios for all four instruments in unison. The arpeggio figuration is as prominent in the development as the main theme itself, which only briefly attracts the four-part contrapuntal elaboration it always seems to have been designed to accommodate.

The Adagio sostenuto is as thoughtful as anything written for the medium before the late quartets of Beethoven – and without drawing special attention to its profundity. While it is true that Haydn asks for the opening theme to be introduced a mezza voce, which adds a hushed atmosphere to its chorale-like seriousness, he does not dwell on it before making a complete change of texture. The chorale is three times recalled but only briefly in each case and always with the same result.

Clearly not, at its Presto tempo a minuet, the Menuetto is a one-in-the-bar scherzo of a kind recently developed by Beethoven, not least in the Op.2 Piano Sonatas dedicated to Haydn on their publication in 1796. The Scherzo of the Piano Sonata in C major Op.2 No.3 does seem to have been on Haydn’s mind since something of its rhythmic identity is reflected in the main theme of the Allegro ma non troppo finale – a movement remarkable not so much for any putative influence from Beethoven, however, as for its anticipations of harmonic strategies characteristic of late Schubert.

The Quartet in D minor Op.76 No.2 has attracted more than its fair share of attention from nick-namers and myth-makers. The “Fifths” title commonly attached to it does, however, draw attention to a feature which is not only prominent everywhere in the first movement but is also an influential factor in unifying the whole work. It would be pointless to count the number of times the opening theme of two descending fifths appears in the first movement: the art in it is the way in which the fifths imprint themselves on the memory while the ear is intrigued by the extravagant harmonic and rhythmic events designed to offset the rigorous thematic economy.

Although the salient intervals of the Andante are actually minor and major thirds, in this context it is the fifths that stand out. At the same time, because it is such a melodiously appealing and simply constructed movement firmly based in D major, it arouses expectations that this might turn out not to be such a sternly uncompromising work after all. Such notions are immediately contradicted by the Menuetto, which is a deliberately rough-sounding two-part canon in D minor. While the “Witches’ Canon” label is not very helpful here, the weird sisters could make a more legitimate claim on the central trio section.

Assuming that the interval of the fifth is still fixed in the memory, the fanciful rise up the E-string of the first violin at the end of the opening theme of the Vivace assai is more than just a gypsy-violin mannerism. The ear is not, on the other hand, prepared for the startling downwards leaps on the same instrument soon after the key changes to F major: this is presumably why the story has arisen that Haydn incorporated here the sound of a donkey braying outside his studio. Whatever the origin of this episode, D minor austerity cannot survive the comedy associated with it.

As Chopin observed, “experience has given these works the perfection we so much admire in them.” Haydn himself seems to have been of a similar opinion. Certainly, he was confident enough of his mastery over the medium to set himself challenges in each one, not least the Quartet in E flat Op.76 No.6. There is nothing very challenging, one might argue, about an Allegretto first movement in theme-and-variations form. Progress is, in fact, fairly straightforward, but only until the fourth variation, where Haydn changes the tempo to Allegro and projects his theme into what promises to be a vigorous double fugue. In fact, the fugal texture lasts only half the length of this closing episode – which, however, is long enough to define the essential characteristics of a new form with a distinguished future ahead of it, the variations and fugue.

If the first movement reaches well into the 19th century, the second advances into the 20th. Taking the classical composer’s refuge from academic criticism by calling it a “Fantasia,” Haydn presents an Adagio of such extraordinary harmonic freedom that, unprecedentedly, it bear no key signature. It is actually in B major but the theme with which it begins goes through no fewer than 13 modulations in the first half of the movement alone. Although the second, recapitulatory, half carries a B major key signature, it is scarcely less adventurous, least of all in the curiously dissonant, apparently modal harmonies towards the end.

In spite of its title, the third movement is not a minuet but another thoroughly modern scherzo, including a note-by-note exchange between the four instruments that Beethoven was to find so interesting that he echoed it in his “Harp” Quartet Op.74. After making these formal, harmonic and textural innovations in the first three movements, Haydn turns his attention in the Finale to metre and rhythm. In this case he applies his wit not to charm or tease but deliberately to disorientate. If the dislocated rhythms of main theme itself are not enough to cause confusion, two astonishing passages in the middle section – where jagged staccato lines on cello or violin are punctuated by double-stopped chords falling anywhere but on the beat on which they are expected – should do the trick very nicely.

Gerald Larner © 2008