76
T
he minuet, cultivated by earlier generations in private chamber music as well as in the ballroom, blossomed with fresh life in instrumental works by Haydn and his contemporaries. They embraced the stylized triple-meter dance as a standard movement type, and it became an absolute fixture of the Haydn quartet cycle. Always based on the tonic note of the home key, although not necessarily its mode (there are minor-key quartets with minuets in major), it guaranteed that at least one interior movement would reaffirm the tonal orien-tation of the cycle as a whole.Ingredients of the familiar plan include the minuet proper, with binary re-peats; a second minuet, or trio, also with binary rere-peats;1and the mandatory da capo recurrence of the minuet proper. Within a four-movement quartet, this minuet-trio complex comes either second or next to last, and in the early five-movement works it occupies both positions. Haydn’s constancy in placing the dance-pair in every one of his quartets bespeaks a commitment to its inherent values. An emblem of aristocratic customs and manners, the minuet could be-stow a degree of nobility and sophistication; and by virtue of its formulaic design, kinetic impulse, and tradition-bound constraints of rhythm, phrase, and melodic gesture, it complemented the expressive diversity, structural fluidity, and sponta-neous rhetoric of adjoining slow and fast movements.
The dance movements were for Haydn more than a nod to tradition. Their all-too-predictable qualities furnished a basis for strokes of wit, novelty, and sur-prise, typically through rhythmic play, unexpected phrase lengths, motivic inge-nuity, or unusual effects of dynamics, timbre, and texture.2Moreover, there are many instances, especially among quartets from Op. 33 on, in which a quickened tempo, streamlined rhythmic profile, or countrified tunefulness imbued the move-ments’ character with a freer spirit. Indicative of a fresh perspective was Haydn’s change of terminology for Op. 33, where the provocative label “scherzo”3replaced
the otherwise standard “minuet” or “menuet.” (The significance of Op. 33 as a landmark or turning point with respect to the dance movement should not be overemphasized: deviations from relatively conventional minuet practices did not begin with this opus; the Op. 33 scherzos are not uniformly adventurous; and Haydn did in fact abandon the term “scherzo” in favor of the older label for all his later quartets, despite the rebellious qualities they often display, including fast tempos, rhythmic disturbances, and odd phrase structures.)
The interplay of novel and old-fashioned elements—and the concomitant mixture of stately minuet characteristics with traits suggestive of rural dance steps—
are recognized features of Haydn’s approach to the dance movement in his quar-tets, symphonies, and other instrumental cycles. Exploring this phenomenon from various points of view, scholars have drawn comparisons with the adjacent reper-tory of Haydn’s ballroom dances.4The pieces in question, variously labeled as minuets or German dances (“allemandes,” “menuettini tedeschi,” “tedeschi di ballo,” “deutsche”) survive in several collections from different times in the course of Haydn’s career, as summarized in table 5.1.5They represent a direct encounter with social dance customs of the time, including both the refined steps of the min-uet per se and the simpler, more energetic motions of popular or country dances;6 and in this respect there are notable correspondences with Haydn’s practices in the quartets.
Illustrating courtly manners, example 5.1 compares the first parts of two con-temporaneous minuets: No. 4 from the early “Seitenstetten” ballroom collection and the fourth movement of the quartet Op. 1/3. Similarities include a principal line in which motion in half notes and quarters predominates, a sure sense of equilibrium or complementation in profile between first and second phrase, and a forthright, melodically active bass whose steady pace focuses attention on the beat as a primary metrical unit. The prevailing rhythmic and melodic compo-sure, underscored by a felicitous balance of similar and contrasting measure-size
t a b l e 5 . 1 Haydn’s ballroom dances: Summary of principal surviving collections of dances scored for orchestra
Hob. Title Number Date
IX:1 Minuetti (“Seitenstetten” minuets) 12 possibly by 1760
IX:5 Menuetti 6 1776
IX:7 Raccolta de menuetti ballabili 14 by 31 Jan 1784 IX:9 Six Allemandes; Menuettini tedeschi 6 by 15 Nov 1786 IX:11 Menuetti di ballo; Redout menuetti 12 1792
IX:12 Tedeschi di ballo; 12 Redout Deutsche 12 1792
IX:16 24 Menuetti 24 ?ca. 1790–1800
Vc Va
Menuet
Vn1
Vn2
5 5
3
(b) Op. 1/3/iv, mm. 1-8
8ba 8va
units (in both phrases of the quartet movement, in the first phrase of the ball-room dance), typifies the elegance and noble simplicity with which the mid- to later-eighteenth-century minuet was identified, whether in the ballroom or the more private milieu of chamber-music performance.7
Example 5.2, by contrast, compares two dances in a less elevated style: No.
2 from the collection of twelve Tedeschi di ballo (or 12 Redout Deutsche; 1792) and the third movement of the “Lark” quartet, Op. 64/5 (minuet). The open-ing phrases of both suggest a relatively heavy-footed step, with bass lines fas-tened to the tonic note, a vigorous, measure-level pulse, and simple melodic lines chiseled mainly from broken chords and scales. Heightened surface activ-ity in either dance’s third measure alleviates monotony, lends impetus toward the conclusion of the phrase, and helps convey the impression of a single unit of structure and motion. The second phrase in either piece builds on the increas-ing animation heard in the first, by fallincreas-ing through an extended flow of eighth notes in the ballroom dance while rising to a higher-register climax in the quar-tet. In both instances, streamlined action within the measure yields an impres-sion of kinetic energy and directional motion spanning the entire eight-measure reprise.
Although elements of consistency over time may be traced in Haydn’s cul-tivation of both high and low dance-movement styles, certain trends or patterns of change may be discerned, many aberrations and exceptional cases notwith-standing. To begin with, some of the shortest minuets and trios do indeed occur
e x a m p l e 5 . 1
(a) No. 4 from Hob. IX:1 (“Seitenstetten” minuets), mm. 1–8 (principal melody and bass)
(b) Op. 1/3/iv, mm. 1–8
among the earliest quartets; the minuets of later groups tend to grow progres-sively longer (this is less true of trios, whose dimensions are less subject to change over time); and one of the very last minuets, that of Op. 77/2, proves longest of all.
Somewhat more explicit tendencies can be seen with respect to the dance movements’ tempo markings (see table 5.2): first of all the increasing occurrence of actual designations of tempo, not merely the generic label “minuet” or “menuet,”
through Op. 33 (one instance among the earliest quartets, three in Op. 9, four in Opp. 17 and 20, all six in Op. 33); second, a concomitant tendency in this portion of the repertory toward faster tempos (assuming that the allegretto and allegro markings represent an increase over some standard, tacitly understood tempo for the early, unmarked dance movements); and third, a trend toward faster tempos that encompasses the entire repertory, climaxing with the presto markings in Opp. 76, 77, and 103 (tempered in the last instance by the admoni-tion “ma non troppo”).8
Tempo correlates to some degree with distinctions between the different dance idioms: the traditional minuet, with its rhythmic diversity and stately pace, as opposed to the energetic deutscher Tanz. Relevant aspects of the more lowly style, occasionally found in earlier trios (more rarely in the minuet proper), and well established in several of the Op. 33 dance movements (scherzos as well as trios), include an accent on the measure rather than the beat as a temporal unit, the preference for uncomplicated, measure-outlining melodic figures, relatively slow harmonic rhythm, pedal points, and the grammatical plainness of
alternat-(b) Op. 64/5/iii, mm. 1-8 (violin 1 and cello) Menuet
Allegretto
5
e x a m p l e 5 . 2
(a) No. 2 from Tedeschi di ballo, mm. 1–8 (principal melody and bass)
(b) Op. 64/5/iii, mm. 1–8 (violin 1 and cello)
80
Op. No.: 0/1/2 9 17 20 33 42 50 54/55 64 71/74 76 77/103
Presto 1,6 77/1,2
103/iid
Allegro 1b,2 2 71/2 2,3
5 74/1 4,5
Allegretto 2/4/iv 1a,3 2a,3 1a,2 3,4 1a,3 54/2,3 1c,2 71/1
5 4,5 3,4 6 4a,5 55/2 3,4 74/3
6 5,6
No marking 0,1/1 2,4 1,6 5,6 ii 54/1 71/3
1/2,1/3 6 55/1,3 74/2
1/4,1/6 2/1,2/2 2/4/ii 2/6
Tempos indicated here correspond to those represented in JHW 12/1–3, 5–6 (for Opp. 0, 1, 2, 9, 17, 20, 33, 64, 71/74, 76, 77, and 103) and the Doblinger series, ed. Lan-don and Reginald Barrett-Ayres (for Opp. 42, 50, and 54/55).
a[Un] poco allegretto
bAllegro di molto
cAllegretto ma non troppo
dma non troppo presto
ing tonic and dominant harmony. Although the more exalted manner is never completely supplanted, later dance movements almost never recapture its spirit to the extent witnessed among the earliest minuets. In this respect, the repertory as a whole may be seen to reflect a recognized, larger development by which aris-tocratic customs lose ground to a more inclusive aesthetic.9
Example 5.3 highlights the general trend toward a measure- rather than beat-oriented rhythmic impulse by comparing the openings of four dance movements from different phases of Haydn’s oeuvre. (The particular choice of examples must not be interpreted as an attempt to overstate the case for evolutionary change:
it should be kept in mind that early dance movements sometimes exhibit rustic qualities more commonly found in later opus groups, and later examples occa-sionally incline toward a stately, beat-oriented pace.) The first minuet quoted (Op. 9/4/ii, shown in ex. 5.3a) displays several traditional minuet-style traits, notwithstanding the disturbance of a downbeat rest in measure 3, which work to emphasize the quarter note as a salient unit of activity: a melodically active bass, a variety of note values in the principal melody, including a beat-outlining group of sixteenth notes, and relatively fast harmonic rhythm (six changes of harmony in four measures). Example 5.3b, from the Op. 20/5 minuet, embodies a differ-ent kind of movemdiffer-ent, with plainer surface-rhythmic and melodic activity in its outer parts and a slower rate of change in harmony. Each downbeat marks the start of a new pattern; at the same time, similarly weighted quarter notes help sustain a beat-level pulse. Progressing to example 5.3c, which quotes from Op.
50/3/iii, we find a minuet whose opening phrase clearly highlights the measure as a rhythmic entity. Especially in measures 1 and 2, downbeat energy is first dis-charged and then reabsorbed in anticipation of the downbeat that follows, so that action within the measure is subordinated to a measure-level impulse. Fi-nally, in example 5.3d, from the beginning of Op. 76/1/iii, beat- and measure-level activity is simplified to such a degree that the entire measure seems to go by as a single pulse within a higher-level metrical frame; and the fact that the treble line’s initial pitches in each measure traverse an archetypal four-note macroline G–A–C–B (scale degrees 1–2–4–3) enhances the impression of a large-scale unit of motion.
A complicating element, one that to some extent runs counter to other trends toward rural simplicity and down-to-earth accessibility, involves the expanded boundaries of harmonic relationship sometimes found among later dance move-ments. Examples include the minuets of Op. 50/3 (in E, with a move to Gin the second reprise), Op. 55/2 (in F, shifting briefly to E), Op. 74/1 (in C, with a second reprise that jumps immediately to A), and Op. 103/ii (in D minor, with an accent on chromaticism and prolonged harmonic tension). The more isolated phenomenon of remote relationship between minuet and trio occurs on just four occasions: Op. 74/1 (in C, with a trio in A major); Opp. 74/2 and 77/2 (both in
F, each with a trio in D); and Op. 77/1 in G, whose trio is likewise cast in the lowered submediant (E).
The opposite phenomenon—restriction to utterly minimal tonal action—
occurs more commonly among earlier dance movements but is by no means lim-ited to them. Relatively extreme cases include Op. 20/6, whose minuet and trio
Menuet
e x a m p l e 5 . 3 Beat- versus measure-level activity (violin 1 and cello)
(a) Op. 9/4/ii, mm. 1–4
(b) Op. 20/5/ii, mm. 1–4
(c) Op. 50/3/iii, mm. 1–4
(d) Op. 76/1/iii, mm. 1–4 Menuet
Menuet Allegretto
Menuet Presto
both unfold in a pure A major with no more than two pitches foreign to the tonic scale (Eand Din the trio, mm. 24 and 26, respectively), and the two-reprise forms in addition to the Op. 20/6 minuet that have no accidentals at all: the minuets of Opp. 1/3/ii and 2/2/iv and the trios of Opp. 1/6/ii and 64/4.