The category of so-called alternating variations encompasses a small but distin-guished group whose members are dispersed among several middle and later opus groups (see table 6.6). Although related to strophic variations in technique and process, each embodies an added dimension of systematic contrast: the insertion of two-reprise segments in the opposite mode between theme and first variation, and then at least once more before the end of the movement. The opposite-mode idea, variously designed to counter, complement, or transform the movement’s initial theme, proposes a contrasting argument whose impact helps motivate the subsequent course of events. In keeping with the potential depth and expressive range of such a scheme, alternating variation served Haydn as a vehicle not only for interior slow movements but also for a finale (Op. 33/6 in D) and a formi-dable first movement (Op. 55/2 in F minor).
Comparably ambitious in matters of variation technique, contrast, and polar opposition, the alternating variations follow a plan in which there are basically two separate tracks—the opposing-mode themes and their respective variations—
with elements such as texture, register, melodic gesture, and surface rhythm work-ing to underscore the difference in harmonic color between major and minor.
The movements vary in the degree of unifying relationship between their two themes. Whereas both share virtually the same opening melodic figure in Op. 55/2/i before going separate ways, resemblances are more obscure in Op.
50/4/ii: here the minor theme holds a dark mirror to the graceful opening ges-ture—the first violin’s embellished upward skip and stepwise descent to tonic—
with its menacing plunge to the cello’s low C and subsequent prolonged ascent to tonic (mm. 20–25).
A more elaborate play of reflecting surfaces informs Op. 33/6/iv, where as-pects of duality and contrast are mediated by a logic of reversal and hidden re-semblance. The opening gesture of the major theme, a downward leap in the first violin, is opposed by a wide upward jump in the cello at the start of its minor counterpart; and the interval series in the minor theme’s second measure, which the cello approaches by step from above (diminished fourth, minor second, major third) unfolds as a varied permutation of that heard in the second measure of the original theme, duly approached by step from below (minor second, minor third, perfect fourth).
Op. 71/3/ii stands out as the most intricate of the group thematically as it mixes aspects of similarity and contrast between alternating themes, and be-tween the two minor-mode sections as well. The first minor portion, longer than the principal major theme and substantially different in harmonic structure, fol-lows an independent course melodically as well, although the opening theme’s gestures are clearly recalled in both its first and second reprise. The second minor segment, postponed until the completion of two major-key sections—a literal re-turn of the first theme and a melodic outline variation—embodies elements of t a b l e 6 . 6 Alternating variation movements
Opus Key Meter Tempo Form Comments
33/6/iv D 24 Allegretto M-m-M-m-M Subtle relationships
be-tween M and m; varied reprises in the major-key variations
50/4/ii A 24 Andante M-m-M-m-M Subtle relationships
be-tween M and m; varied 1st reprise in 1st major-key variation 55/2/i Fm-F 24 Andante o m-M-m-M-m-M m and M related; varied
più tosto 1st reprise in 1st minor
allegretto & 1st major variations;
varied reprises in 2d major variation 71/3/ii B 24 Andante con M-m-M-M-m-M-coda M and m related; 2d
moto m differs from first
both the initial major theme and the earlier minor portion; but it is not closely tied to either, and it takes a fresh harmonic route in the first reprise, modulating to the relative major rather than the dominant.
There is actually an exquisite irony in this move, given the peculiar tonal schemes of both the original theme and the initial minor segment: the normal pattern for a binary form in major with a modulating first reprise is of course to go to the dominant, thereby privileging major harmony; and for a binary form in minor, the corresponding norm is to modulate to the mediant key (i.e., the rela-tive major), thereby brightening the harmonic color in the course of the first reprise. Perversely, Haydn does the opposite in the opening segments of this movement: the major theme (quoted in ex. 6.6a) modulates to the mediant, D minor, effectively darkening the tone, whereas the first minor segment goes to the minor dominant, privileging minor. The second minor segment’s garden-variety move to the mediant can therefore be heard as the emergence of an un-expected connection with the opening theme’s odd modulation to its mediant.
But there is more to it than this, for the fresh endorsement of conventional practice that the modulation represents resonates with the major theme’s resolu-tion of its own tonal peculiarity in avoiding a standard movement to the dominant.
Following the second minor segment (mm. 73–88), we encounter an incomplete version of the major theme’s first reprise (mm. 89–96, repeated in mm. 97–104 and followed by a four-measure extension), which at last is harmonically trans-formed to end in the dominant. The disembodied sparkle of staccato sixteenths that characterizes this passage conveys a sense of growing distance from the movement’s established play of contrasts; but at the same time, the revised tonal path (i.e., the straightforward modulation to the dominant) signifies a new, cor-rective proximity to recognized conventions.
What happens now may be described as a coda, beginning in measure 109, whose thematic recollections and developments prove both familiar and novel, re-assuring yet also unexpected. First, a replica of the principal theme’s opening phrase (mm. 109–12, quoted in ex. 6.6b) promises a return to stability, and while the following measures’ echoes in the viola (mm. 113–14) and cello (mm. 115–16) sig-nify persisting unrest, this action is overlapped by a powerful token of resolution:
an elongated, transformed version of the first part’s closing gesture (mm. 116–18, corresponding to mm. 7–8) in which the original harmony and melodic line are redirected to end squarely on tonic.
More transparent structurally, the opening movement of the “Razor” quar-tet, Op. 55/2 in F minor, is the only member of the alternating variations group to begin in minor, so that the scheme of modal change unfolds in reverse. Two comparably sized themes (twenty-six and twenty-four measures, respectively) are each treated to two full variations in alternation. Along the way, divergent ap-proaches to cantus firmus and melodic outline underscore differences in charac-ter between the two opposing segments. Whereas the initial minor variation has
Andante con moto
(licenza)
(b) mm. 109-18
5
109
113
ten.
e x a m p l e 6 . 6 Op. 71/3/ii (a) mm. 1–8 (violin 1 only)
the first violin tear through the theme’s melodic profile in angular triplet figures (especially in the second reprise, mm. 67–84), the first major variation makes amends with conjunct, rhythmically consonant diminutions and straightforward arpeggiations (mm. 93–116). In a comparably stark juxtaposition of contrasts, the second minor variation locks the first violin and viola in octaves (mm. 117–22, 125–27, 133–41) against growling passagework in the bass line, whereas a portion of the second major variation awards the melody itself to a lyrical, high-tenor cello (mm. 151–74), adorned by a halo of first violin figuration. The two themes are sufficiently close melodically, at least in their opening gestures, to imply that
(b) mm. 109–18
the second is a transformation whose more affirmative spirit will prevail in the end. The impression of major transcending minor, enhanced by the peculiar timbral brightness of the final variation, is confirmed by a major-mode appendix (mm. 191–202), in which allusions to the rising broken-chord figures that the two themes had shared provide a satisfying, thematically integral close to the move-ment as a whole.
The technically circumscribed realm of variation forms, however limited in mat-ters of thematic diversity, development, and hierarchic complexity, offered in-valuable opportunities for Haydn to exercise his penchant for soloistic embel-lishment and rhetorical amplification as well as ensemble interplay, and in this capacity they lent an element of continuity in his approach to the genre. Move-ments based on variation models presented performers and listeners with famil-iar ingredients to be contemplated against the background of related examples from other opus groups and other repertories. But Haydn also arranged for some of the variation forms to change over the course of his career. Op. 20/4/ii raised strophic variation form to a new level of drama and expressive force, positioning it as a minor-mode interior movement and locating its rhetorical climax within an extended, theatrical coda. The varied-reprise Adagio furnished a showcase for operatic display; and although that form was discarded after Op. 33, its solois-tic manner was later reclaimed in a different guise with the ternary variations.
Meanwhile the alternating variations, beginning with the finale of Op. 33/6, gave rise to new possibilities for expressive contrast, thematic relationship, and harmonic color; and certain strophic forms, otherwise the most predictable of variation types, were enriched by episodic insertions as well as other kinds of re-shaping. Finally, in several movements from Op. 76, Haydn exceeded customary variation-form boundaries altogether by inventing unusual designs marked by polyphonic technique and structural complexity.
Collectively, the quartets’ variation movements stand out as a momentous accomplishment, affirming the enduring validity of traditional mechanisms while at the same time reveling in their elasticity and susceptibility to change. By plac-ing variation forms in different positions within the cycle, Haydn demonstrated their adaptability to various functional requirements and confirmed their effi-cacy as a complement to the artifice, narrative depth, and formality of other movement types. Their decorative, coloristic properties were thereby shown to be consistent with the highest aspirations of the genre.