String quartet 'The Joke', movement 4 (Haydn)
Functional tonality: notice use of closely related keys: mainly dominant major and relative minor, except for brief modulations in development section. Also, conventional cadences(eg. perfect and imperfect cadence) are used.
What going on in this piece？
The joke of the quartet's title doesn't come until the last movement. I think the beginning is good-natured enough, the main point of interest in the development is a little flight of fancy for the first violin, a few measures of busy solo passagework that could almost pass for a cadenza had this section not been introduced with standard accompaniment in the exposition.
The trio section contains a charming, slightly rustic dance tune. The slow movement is a Largo sostenuto. The stately melody rises from the cello to the top of the ensemble and undergoes a mild transformation in combination with a second, hesitant chordal theme.
The Presto, a rondo finale, is based entirely on a quick, silly little repeated-note tune of four giddy two-bar clauses. After a couple of variations the music pulls up short for a brief, bleak Adagio passage, whereupon the inane theme starts up again.
But now in the coda-here comes the joke-the tune is split into its four tiny components, with a two-bar rest after each one. And just when the melody seems finally to have spurted its final section, Haydn inserts a four-measure rest, suggesting that the work is over, but then has the quartet blurt out the tune's first clause again-taking the audience by surprise, and leaving the movement hanging in mid-air with an unfinished phrase.
Franz Joseph Haydn (31 March 1732 – 31 May 1809) was an Austrian composer, one of the most prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these genres. He was also instrumental in the development of the piano trio and in the evolution of sonata form.
This quartet was composed in the classical period. The term string quartet means that this is written for four string instruments.
This quartet was composed in the classical period. The term string quartet means that this is written for four string instruments.
The 4th movement is in rondo form. This form is characterised by having repeated sections, also known as refrains, in the tonic key, with sections in between, know as episodes. Another musical form commonly used in this period, especially in first movements, are sonata form.
Functional tonality: notice use of closely related keys: mainly dominant major and relative minor, except for brief modulations in development section. Also, conventional cadences(eg. perfect and imperfect cadence) are used.
What going on in this piece？
The joke of the quartet's title doesn't come until the last movement. I think the beginning is good-natured enough, the main point of interest in the development is a little flight of fancy for the first violin, a few measures of busy solo passagework that could almost pass for a cadenza had this section not been introduced with standard accompaniment in the exposition.
The trio section contains a charming, slightly rustic dance tune. The slow movement is a Largo sostenuto. The stately melody rises from the cello to the top of the ensemble and undergoes a mild transformation in combination with a second, hesitant chordal theme.
The Presto, a rondo finale, is based entirely on a quick, silly little repeated-note tune of four giddy two-bar clauses. After a couple of variations the music pulls up short for a brief, bleak Adagio passage, whereupon the inane theme starts up again.
But now in the coda-here comes the joke-the tune is split into its four tiny components, with a two-bar rest after each one. And just when the melody seems finally to have spurted its final section, Haydn inserts a four-measure rest, suggesting that the work is over, but then has the quartet blurt out the tune's first clause again-taking the audience by surprise, and leaving the movement hanging in mid-air with an unfinished phrase.
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