Minuet and Trio

MSC 3003 – Music in the Classic Period, Spring 2020 Prof. David Smey Session 3 – Tues Feb 4 Minuet and Trio We began by discussing another one of our standard Classic-period forms, the Minuet and Trio. In the Baroque period composers liked to write suites that were full of “stylized” dances (i.e. movements that borrowed the rhythmic patterns of familiar dances but are too “fancy” and “abstract” to actually dance to.) The one Baroque-era dance that survives into the Classic era is the Minuet, which is in triple meter (like a waltz). Ternary form Each segment is in Ternary form. We get two repeated sections – often the first one is short and straightforward and the second one is longer and more elaborate. At the end of the second, repeated section, we get a return to our opening A idea, giving us some symmetry and a satisfying conclusion. The final A material is often altered so that it will fit into this scheme – we call it “A Prime” and give it the little apostrophe symbol (like in math) to show that it has been changed. Because there are three musical ideas in play (A B A) we call it Ternary. Minuet – Trio – Minuet So, in a Minuet and trio movement we start with our Minuet dance, which is in Ternary form: Then we get a contrasting dance called a Trio. The Trio is usually much lighter in sound and may use fewer instruments. Finally we come back to the Minuet. On this last pass we’ll skip the repeats. So on the large scale the Minuet – Trio – Minuet pattern makes another ABA. I like to say that this kind of movement features “three levels of threeness” with the triple meter, ternary forms, and the overall minuet-trio-minuet pattern. The diagram I just laid out above matches the third movement from Eine kleine Nachtmusik, and of course I have an animated clip up on our website that puts the diagram in motion to match what is happening to the music. The Life of Haydn – An Outline Next I thought it might make sense to break Haydn’s life into a few “chapters.” This will help us keep track of the story and remember where we are in his career, generally speaking. I. Origins (birth 1732, choir school) II. On his own, freelancing (1749 onwards) III. Working for the Esterházy family. (Begins 1761, and his duties are essentially over with the death of Prince Nikolaus in 1790.) IV. London Years (1790-5) V. Vienna (1795 – death in 1809) Haydn wrote 104 symphonies in total. He has been called the “father of the symphony,” but that’s not quite true. There was a strong tradition of symphonic music in the decades before Haydn began writing it. However, it is safe to say that he elevated the art of the symphony to new heights. We listened to a symphony from the early 1750s by Johann Stamitz, who was the founder of an important symphonic tradition in Mannheim, Germany. The Mannheim composers invented a lot of the standard orchestral tricks like big, exciting crescendos. Johann Stamitz, Symphony in D Major, Op. 3, No. 2 [early 1750s] Structure and Size of the Symphony Orchestra The heart of the classical orchestra is the string sections. In fact, it’s possible to have a classical symphony that is written for only strings, like the W. F. Bach sinfonia we listened to in the previous session. The strings in the orchestra are broken into four main sections – the first violins, second violins, violas, and cellos. (Plus double bass, which was originally intended to double the cellos an octave lower.) We’ll see this division again when we look at the string quartet – the symphony is really like a string quartet blown up large. Early symphony orchestras were not very big. It could be only 12 or 13 string players. In modern times a big orchestra like the New York Philharmonic will “strip down” to a smaller size to play Haydn or Mozart, in order to get the appropriate sound. To our basic strings we might add some wind instruments (and timpani). I put these in a hierarchy from most common to least common: Most common: oboes, French horns, timpani Getting fancy: flute, bassoon, trumpet Somewhat exotic: clarinet, trombone Movement Structure The string quartet and symphony both tend to have 3 or 4 movements, and we can make some generalizations about what to expect. Our first and last movements are going to be relatively fast. First movement is almost always a sonata form. Last movement can be also be a sonata form, but rondos are a common alternative ending for a piece. Our two middle parts will include a slow movement and a minuet and trio. Slow movements are a little strange – they can be slow sonatas, basic ternary A B A’s, theme and variations, all sorts of things. Minuet and trio is the pattern we discussed above. There is no rule as to which comes first - I think the slow movement is more commonly second and the minuet is third, but it can be the other way around as well. If we are going to omit one movement and only have three, the minuet and trio is the one that will probably be omitted. Haydn’s Symphony No. 6 in D major, "Le matin" [1761] In 1761 Haydn had just begun working for Prince Paul Anton of the Esterházys. He was eager to take the in-house orchestra for a test drive. Paul Anton suggested he do symphonies on the theme of morning (le matin), noon (le midi) and evening (le soir) . Haydn loaded up his symphony with lots of solos for various musicians in the orchestra. By doing this he got to see what they could do and presumably earned their good will. The ordering of movements is what we might expect: First Movement: Sonata Form Haydn’s sonata forms are often a little challenging to follow because they are monothematic. He presents one good tune at the beginning and then the rest is kind of chaotic and fragmentary. First we begin with a slow movement that seems to fit with our “morning” theme. It is easy to imagine that the sun is coming up, here. Then with our sonata we get a main idea that centers around a triad gesture: You can hear how the flute introduces this theme with a solo, right off the bat! That’s pretty unusual. I have my annotated video up on the web site which will help guide you through this sonata form. Second movement: Slow movement The slow movement has its own video without analysis. Third movement: Minuet and Trio I thought this minuet and trio was particularly wonderful because of the way certain solo instruments carry different sections. In particular the Trio C section features a duet between bassoon and double bass which is super unusual. I have an annotated video of this. Fourth movement: Sonata Form This one also has its own video without analysis. Symphony No. 45 in F-sharp minor "Farewell" [1772] There is a famous story behind this one. Nikolaus Esterházy had a main palace in Eisenstadt, Austria but summered at his estate in Esterháza, Hungary. In 1772 he had extended the summer season for an extra 2 weeks and his staff was apparently frustrated, eager to get back to Austria. Haydn responded to this situation by adding a special section at the end of the piece, in which the musicians leave the stage one by one. This was supposed to dramatize the fact that it was time to leave. (As our classmate Jade pointed out, the way the story is usually told is that more formal requests to return earlier had been denied, but the performance of the symphony was so persuasive that Esterházy agreed to leave the next day.) First Movement: Allegro assai This is a stormy and dramatic sonata form that stands on its own as a major achievement. Our opening theme seems like just a bunch of arpeggios against syncopated accompaniment. (It’s a little more tuneful than that, but the main impression is one of elemental violence.) Haydn “breaks the rules,” however, and allows a more lyrical theme to emerge in the development! Beethoven will pull this trick later in one of his symphonies. I have a lightly annotated video of this movement up on our website. Final Movement: Presto and then the special Adagio At first the final movement presents a fairly straightforward sonata form in f-sharp minor. In our online video the orchestra blows through it in about three minutes. However, at the end of the recapitulation we suddenly pause and go into a graceful coda in A major (which eventually pivots to F-sharp major to end the symphony on the “home note”). This is in a slow 9/8 meter, a somewhat unusual triple pattern with triple subdivisions. Various players take solos in this section as their own personal “farewells” – then it is time for them to leave the stage. At the end there are only two violinists playing. .

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