Despite all variance from one work to the next, Haydn’s sonata forms generally convey an impression of equilibrium, if not patent symmetry, between principal outer sections. Recapitulations often prove shorter, however, and in the move-ments that incorporate a coda or some other addendum, this last portion some-times may be heard as a compensating factor. Development sections are typically substantial, most often consuming somewhere between and fifth and a third of the movement. Although these particular generalizations hold true throughout the oeuvre, certain distinctions are worth noting. Sonata forms in later works tend to be at least somewhat longer than such earlier counterparts as those of Opp. 9 and 17, although not to any uniform or consistent degree; and fast-tempo sonata forms in the very earliest quartets are generally short by comparison with those of the later sets, especially among first movements. Even if we were to reason that Op. 2/2/i, say, with 124 measures in 24time, seems comparable to Op. 9/4/i, which has seventy-five measures in common time, the comparison is misleading in light of the latter’s far greater rhythmic density within the measure.
Additionally, the forms exhibit different properties according to their place-ment within the cycle. Opening moveplace-ments, at least from Op. 9 on, tend to favor topical and expressive diversity, often allowing room for both solo theatrics and
t a b l e 4 . 1 First movements of Haydn’s string quartets not in sonata form
Opus Key Tempo Form
2/6 B Adagio Strophic variation
9/5 B Poco adagio Strophic variation
17/3 E Andante grazioso Strophic variation 55/2 Fm-F Andante o più tosto allegretto Alternating variation 76/5 D Allegretto–Allegro Nonstandard (A B A1B1) 76/6 E Allegretto–Allegro Strophic variation
intimate dialogue; and even when there are close resemblances between themes, variety is assured by rhythmic contrasts and fluctuating levels of harmonic ten-sion. More often than not, these characteristics go hand in hand with a relatively verbose, thematically varied development section. Finales, by contrast, often display a more streamlined approach to surface continuity—local, long-range, or both—sometimes at the expense of rhythmic diversity and harmonic detail. Their development sections tend to be proportionally shorter as a rule. Among the slow-tempo movements, showcasing the first violin’s lyricism and decorative dis-play sometimes entails minimal contrast in texture or rhythmic background within a section. Slow-movement development sections, like those of the finales, are for the most part proportionally more succinct than those of first movements.
Recognizing Haydn’s general adherence to certain norms of design, charac-ter, and proportion is important for an appreciation of his aberrations, which tend to follow a logic of their own. Often it is not hard to find vital connections between an unusual large-scale design, as in Op. 9/6/i, for example, and the idio-syncrasies of its thematic material. Here, exactly halfway through the exposition (m. 26), an explosion of figuration in sixteenth notes—a level of surface activ-ity withheld almost completely up to this point—coincides with arrival in the dominant key (1S in fig. 4.1). The impression of having shifted to a new plane of action is reinforced by the first violin’s attainment of a fresh peak, e3, and by the brilliance of a heightened tessitura. The salience of this event highlights the exposition’s precisely balanced proportions and its attendant thematic duality:
relatively homogeneous texture, emphasis on conjunct melodic motion, and a moderate rhythmic pace at the outset, as opposed to the secondary theme’s rapid-fire, soloistic arpeggiation.
These features take on special significance as the movement continues, for both the accentuated contrast and the symmetry of proportion are destined to be realized on a higher order of magnitude. At measure 68, well into the develop-ment section and just beyond the midpoint of the movedevelop-ment, a cadence in the relative minor coincides with a recollection of the rhythmically animated sec-ondary theme, as the first violin strikes the movement’s highest pitch (f3) on the downbeat, a step higher than the e3of measure 26. Marked by the same outburst of sixteenths heard at the middle of the exposition, this point stands out as a cen-tral pivot to the entire form, its moment of greatest intensity, and the apex of its melodic range (the high frecurs in mm. 70 and 72). Solo figuration now per-sists, moving from the relative minor to the dominant (m. 74), then to the tonic in measures 79–82 (thereby prematurely recapitulating 1S material in the home key), and briefly to the subdominant before flowing without a break into the tonic-key retrieval of the primary theme at measure 86. The material that fol-lows parallels the exposition in all essential respects but one: the fast-moving 1S, having been recalled in tonic already, is now exempted from further recurrence.
By concentrating on the fast-moving 1S in the latter part of the develop-ment, then eliminating sustained sixteenth-note activity altogether from the main recapitulation, Haydn underscores the message of large-scale resolution: tonal restoration coincides with the return to a state of rhythmic equilibrium. But the plan also gives rise to a novel scheme of nested symmetry, as the exposition and the whole design both divide neatly in half. The movement thus embodies a pal-pable overall logic that partially overrides the customary model while at the same time confirming the principles of tonal polarity, contrast, and sectionaliza-tion on which that model rests. (The large-scale symmetry identified here is of course complicated, but not necessarily vitiated, by the binary repeats. At issue is the distinction to be drawn between the notated form, certainly capable of being appreciated by performers and listeners, and the actual temporal dimen-sions of the form as played.)2
The special design of Op. 9/6/i stands as a cautionary lesson: events in one part of a movement may be conditioned by those in another, if usually to a lesser degree than in this extraordinary instance. The form’s sections are nonetheless worth examining in isolation, for just as a phrase may be taken out of context and examined as a structural entity, so the main parts of the quartets’ sonata forms may be detached and explored provisionally as self-contained phenomena. Our principal concern in this endeavor is twofold: to identify elements and relation-ships that recur from one opus group to the next, thereby contributing to a larger picture of consistency as well as change in Haydn’s approach to the genre, but
T
*The recurrence of 2S is preceded by a two-measure quote from 2P.
16ths
A A
26 52 68 74 79 86 133
f i g u r e 4 . 1 Op. 9/6/i
also to make note of striking anomalies that may enhance the individuality of a movement by stretching, overriding, or transforming the composer’s own custom-ary procedures.