Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Polyphony in Musical
Construction: Fugal
Finales in Haydns
Op. 20 String Quartets
j am e s G ri e r
55
Paul Henry Lang, Music in Western Civilization (New York: W. W. Norton, 1941), 630.
For chamber music, see the pieces conveniently listed in appendices I and II in Warren Kirkendale, Fugue and Fugato in Rococo and Classical Chamber Music, 2nd ed., trans. Margaret Bent and Warren Kirkendale (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1979), 275324.
2
The Journal of Musicology, Vol. 27, Issue 1, pp. 5583, ISSN 0277-9269, electronic ISSN 1533-8347.
2010 by the Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Please direct all requests
for permission to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University of California Presss
Rights and Permissions website, http://www.ucpressjournals.com/reprintInfo.asp. DOI: 10.1525/
jm.2010.27.1.55.
JM2701_03.indd 55
6/4/10 2:33:09 PM
t he jo u rn al o f m u sic o l ogy
56
JM2701_03.indd 56
6/4/10 2:33:09 PM
Gri er
melodic material more or less equally among the parts, just as fifteenthand sixteenth-century composers of vocal music turned to imitation to
generate greater equality in melodic interest among the voices. And by
using multiple subjects he ensured that all or most of the voices would
be playing thematic material most of the time, in contrast with the situation in a monothematic fugue where one voice at a time presents the
subject and the others carry freely composed counterpoint to fill out
the harmony and the texture.
Moreover, in his instrumental music of this period, in comparison
with his earlier works, Haydn was writing longer movements that more
fully exploited the dramatic possibilities of the hierarchical harmonic
relationships, for example using more distant modulations from the
tonic. To maintain the forward motion of such movements, he sought
greater rhythmic continuity than the more sharply articulated phrases
of his earlier music could afford. One strategy he adopted for that
purpose, particularly in development sections, was polyphony. There,
overlapping contrapuntal lines carry the rhythm forward over the shifting harmonies and modulations typical of such passages. Thus rhythmic
continuity, achieved through independent contrapuntal part writing,
balances harmonic discontinuity. By composing an entire movement in
polyphonic texture Haydn gave himself the opportunity to unfold the
complete drama in this guise, in turn creating greater demands on his
contrapuntal technique.
The rationale for placing a fugue in the finale emerges not only
from historical precedent but also from Haydns changing conceptions
of the relative weight each movement bears within the quartet as a
whole. Throughout most of opp. 9 and 17, he focuses the principal
interest on a moderato opening movement and a slow movement (adagio
or lento) placed third. The minuet falls second, framed by the more serious movements, and the finale tends to be short, light in character, and
dance-like.7 In the op. 20 quartets, Haydn places more emphasis on the
outside movements. First movements are longer and more dramatic in
conception, and in the three fugal movements he presents unified and
intense finales.8 The dramatic possibilities of tonal contrast continued
to dominate his compositional thinking in this period, and so the outside movements, where the initial statement of the drama and its final
resolution occur, grew in importance.
Haydn clearly intends that those who consult the score or parts
will perceive the three fugal finales of op. 20 as learned examples of
57
7 Reginald Barrett-Ayres, Joseph Haydn and the String Quartet (London: Barrie & Jenkins, 1974), 6768, 117; and Grave and Grave, The String Quartets, 23, 15861.
8 Finscher, Studien zur Geschichte des Streichquartetts, 21819, 23137; and Landon,
Haydn, 2:32728.
JM2701_03.indd 57
6/4/10 2:33:09 PM
t he jo u rn al o f m u sic o l ogy
the type, as he heads each one Fuga a (or con) due, tre or quattro soggetti.
Where the principal subject appears in inversion, he notes it with the
expression al rovescio (no. 2, pickup to m. 103; no. 5, m. 92; no. 6, mm.
80 and 83), and he indicates the stretto near the end of Number 5 with
the rubric in canone (m. 145). The multiple subjects in these movements have vexed some modern observers. Two theorists from the early
nineteenth century, Honor Langl and Luigi Cherubini, explain the
practice without addressing Haydn specifically. Langl, writing around
1805, states,
I always hear speaking about fugues on two, three, and four subjects.
This is a great error and a very improper manner of speaking. Only ignorant persons or charlatans would be able to afford themselves such
a form of expression. In a fugue, there is and can only be one subject;
all the other themes that one introduces are only countersubjects subordinate to the subject, composed in a manner to make [the subject]
stand out and to accompany it without smothering it.
( Jentends toujours parler de Fugues deux, trois, et quatre sujets,
cest une grande errerur, cest une manire trs impropre de
sexprimer, il ny a que des ignorants ou des charlatans qui puissent se
servir dune pareille expression; dans une Fugue, il ny a et ne peut y
avoir quun sujet, les autres chants quon y introduit ne sont que des
Contre-Sujets subordonns au sujet, composs de manire le faire
ressortir et laccompagner sans ltouffer.)9
58
JM2701_03.indd 58
6/5/10 2:15:30 PM
Gri er
et je fonde mon sentiment, cet gard, sur ce que une Fugue ne peut,
ni ne doit avoir quun seul sujet principal pour lui servir dexposition;
tout ce qui accompagne le sujet nest quaccessoire, et ne peut ni ne
doit porter dautre nom que celui de Contre-sujet. Ainsi, selon ce principe, la Fugue, que par habitude on nomme Fugue deux sujets, doit
tre nomme Fugue un sujet et un contre-sujet; celle trois sujets doit
tre appelle Fugue un sujet et deux contre-sujets, et enfin celle quatre
sujets doit porter le nom de Fugue un sujet et trois contre-sujets, etc.
etc.)10
59
10 L. Cherubini, Cours de contrepoint et de fugue, 2nd ed. (Paris: Heugel, n.d.), 111
(Cherubinis emphasis). Again, Kirkendale, Fugue and Fugato, 336, gives a date of 1835
(which is plausible because the first English translation, of J. A. Hamilton, appeared in
1837 [London: R. Cocks]), but I was unable to confirm it.
11 Kirkendale, Fugue and Fugato, 142; see also Daniel Heartz, Haydn, Mozart and the
Viennese School, 17401780 (New York: W. W. Norton, 1995), 342; and Grave and Grave,
The String Quartets, 117.
12 Kirkendale, Fugue and Fugato, 142n45. The diagrams occur in the German edition of Kirkendales book, Fuge und Fugato in der Kammermusik des Rokoko und der Klassik
(Tutzing: Hans Schneider, 1966), 31213. Landon, Haydn, 2:33132; Drabkin, A Readers
Guide, 53; and Grave and Grave, The String Quartets, 117, also classify them as double
fugues, all citing Kirkendale.
JM2701_03.indd 59
6/4/10 2:33:09 PM
t he jo u rn al o f m u sic o l ogy
example 1.Joseph Haydn, String Quartet op. 20/2, finale, mm. 118
Fuga a 4 tro soggetti
68
Allegro
sempre sotto voce
6
8
6
8
6
8
10
60
JM2701_03.indd 60
6/4/10 2:33:10 PM
Gri er
example 1. (continued )
14
Because the viola has already played this theme, this second answer is,
strictly speaking, a redundant entry, something that happens often in
three-voice fugues to complete the second subject/answer pair. Finally,
the cello presents it in statement form to conclude the exposition on
the tonic at mm. 1618, accompanying the redundant entry of the
principal subject in the first violin. Subject 2, together with the other
two subjects, is definitely subordinate to the principal subject, however,
as their treatment in the remainder of the fugue shows (see table 1).13
Again, subject 1 clearly dominates. Several passages consist of overlapping entries of the subjects opening motive (mm. 2642, 4855 and
11428). It receives complete entries accompanied by fragmentary entries of other subjects (mm. 2229, accompanied by subject 2, and mm.
9199, accompanied by all three subordinate subjects and introduced
by a statement of its own opening motive). Haydn inverts it and joins to
the inversion statements of its original opening gesture (mm. 99104),
followed by fragmentary entries of the inversion and subject 2 (mm.
10510). Finally, the conclusion of the movement consists of statements
of the opening motive of subject 1 in both original and inverted forms,
accompanied by one fragmentary entry of subject 4 and framing three
statements of subject 2s opening gesture (mm. 14658). No other subject appears alone, no other subject is inverted, and all statements of
the other three subjects accompany entries of subject 1.
Subject 2 does accompany the principal subject, by itself (mm.
2229), or along with the inversion of subject 1 (mm. 10510), or in
61
13 Cf. Kirkendales diagram, Fuge und Fugato, 313; also Drabkin, A Readers Guide, table
3.3, pp. 6667; and Grave and Grave, The String Quartets, figure 7.1, p. 118. In tables 13, I
indicate the tonal answers with the letter A, to distinguish them from statements of the subject, which I indicate with the letter S. I designate inversions with the abbreviation inv.
JM2701_03.indd 61
6/4/10 2:33:11 PM
t he jo u rn al o f m u sic o l ogy
Table 1
Subject 2
1 vln I (S)
4 vln II (A)
8 va (S)
11 vc (A)
15 vln I (S)
2 va
6 vln I
5 va (S)
9 vln II
8 vln I (A)
13 va
12 vln II (S)
16 vc
15 va (A)
[end of exposition]
24 va
22 vln II (S)
25 vc (A)
Subject 3
Subject 4
12 vln I
15 vln II
43 va
42 vc (A)
42 vln I
62
151 va
JM2701_03.indd 62
6/4/10 2:33:11 PM
Gri er
example 2.Joseph Haydn, String Quartet op. 20/2, finale, mm. 5660
56
60
63
JM2701_03.indd 63
6/4/10 2:33:11 PM
t he jo u rn al o f m u sic o l ogy
64
JM2701_03.indd 64
6/4/10 2:33:11 PM
Gri er
Table 2
Subject 2
1 vln I (S)
5 vln II (A)
9 va (S)
13 vc (A)
17 vln I (S)
27 vc (S)
30 vln I (S)
1 vln II
5 va
9 vln I
13 vln II
17 vc
[end of exposition]
fragmentary entries of subject 1 mm. 2527
28 va
31 vln II
fragmentary entries of subject 1 mm. 3544
44 vln I (S)
46 vln II (S)
47 va (A)
47 vc (S)
48 vln I
Subject 3
6 vln I
10 vln II
14 va
18 va
31 va
48 vln II
49 vln II
50 vln II (A)
51 va (A)
51 vln I (S)
52 vc (S)
65
66 vln I
70 vln II
73 va
75 vln II
76 va
84 va
89 vln I
89 vln II
89 va
JM2701_03.indd 65
6/4/10 2:33:11 PM
t he jo u rn al o f m u sic o l ogy
example 3.Joseph Haydn, String Quartet op. 20/6, finale, mm. 121
Fuga con 3 soggetti
sotto voce
sempre
Allegro
66
the second subject/answer pair occurs in the same voice in an abbreviated form: first, viola mm. 36 is answered by second violin mm. 912,
and then the first violin mm. 1516 answers itself in mm. 1718. The
exposition ends with abbreviated entries of the two subjects, subject 1
in the second violin (m. 19) and subject 2 in the cello (m. 21).
JM2701_03.indd 66
6/4/10 2:33:12 PM
Gri er
example 3. (continued )
10
13
16
67
In addition to these two subjects, however, Haydn provides a countersubject that receives very different treatment. It first appears in the
viola mm. 79, accompanying the answer to subject 1 in the first violin,
and then in the cello mm. 1618 again below the answer to subject 1,
this time in the viola. Two aspects of its treatment in the exposition
JM2701_03.indd 67
6/4/10 2:33:13 PM
t he jo u rn al o f m u sic o l ogy
example 3. (continued )
19
68
distinguish it from the two genuine subjects of the fugue: it is not stated
and answeredboth statements are at the same pitchand neither
entry appears in the top voice. Both Langl and Cherubini might have
reckoned this as a fugue on three subjects, then: one principal subject
and two countersubjects (or, as Langl would put it, subordinate countersubjects), because neither author differentiates between a subordinate subject and a countersubject. It could hardly be clearer, however,
that Haydn did not calculate in this manner, as his heading (fugue
on two subjects) and his treatment of the countersubject show. He
counted only those subjects that, in the exposition, he stated, answered
and placed in the top voice for at least one entry.
Moreover, the countersubject returns only a few times in the remainder of the movement. So, just as Haydn subordinates the secondary subject to the principal subject, the countersubject stands as subordinate to
both. Haydn uses it once at m. 112 in the viola, where it accompanies a
second group of entries by subject 1 in stretto (the first, mm. 10311,
does not include the countersubject; this second passage, mm. 11224,
employs it only once, in m. 112), and, most important, in another passage of invertible counterpoint, mm. 6692 (ex. 5). Like the section in
op. 20/2 (mm. 5660; see ex. 2 above), this one employs three themes
(the two subjects plus the countersubject) that function each in turn as
the bass: subject 1 (cello, mm. 83 and 89), subject 2 (cello mm. 6881),
and the countersubject (viola, m. 66 and again briefly at mm. 70 and 82
in the viola, above a rest between phrases in the cello).
This passage in invertible counterpoint plays an important role in
the thematic and harmonic complexion of the movement: Haydn moves
through the circle of fifths from Gb major (m. 66) to C major (m. 83),
which becomes the dominant of the movements (and of the entire
JM2701_03.indd 68
6/4/10 2:33:13 PM
Gri er
Table 3
Subject 2
1 vln II (S)
7 vln I (A)
13 vc (S)
16 va (A)
19 vln II (S)
3 va
9 vln II
15 vln I
18 vln I
21 vc
[end of exposition]
Countersubject
7 va
16 vc
69
JM2701_03.indd 69
6/4/10 2:33:13 PM
t he jo u rn al o f m u sic o l ogy
example 4.Joseph Haydn, String Quartet op. 20/5, finale, mm. 124
Finale
Fuga a 2 soggetti
14
70
pieces) tonic, F minor, in preparation for the entry of the inversion of subject 1 in the tonic (second violin), accompanied by the prime version of
the subject (first violin) at m. 92. From here to the end of the movement,
at m. 184 (and therefore half the total length of the movement), the piece
remains in the tonic. It features several passages in stretto (subject 1, mm.
JM2701_03.indd 70
6/4/10 2:33:13 PM
Gri er
example 4. (continued)
20
10311, 11224, and mm. 13440; subject 2, mm. 12532), two of which
are supported with lengthy pedals on the dominant (mm. 10311 and
13244). The immediately preceding passage in invertible counterpoint
therefore provides the last tonal variety in the movement before this long
passage that combines the function of recapitulation and coda.
Haydn exploits the two versions of subject 1 (subject and tonal answer) to shape the harmonic plan of this modulatory passage in invertible counterpoint, employing a strategy that hinges on his treatment
of fugal answers in these movements. He begins the principal subject
of each fugue on the fifth scale degree, and consequently, he must use
tonal answers in each case.14 Because the subordinate subjects must
contrapuntally and harmonically combine with the principal subject,
they avoid the fifth scale degree at or near their opening, and so they
receive real answers.
Subject 3 in the finale of op. 20/2, the quadruple fugue in C major, stands as an exception (see ex. 1 above). This subordinate subject
begins on the tonic (C, m. 5, viola) and ascends through the octave
before returning to the raised fourth degree (F#), which becomes the
leading tone to the dominant. A real answer of this theme would rise an
octave from the fifth degree (G), and descend to the raised tonic (C#),
leading tone to the supertonic. Therefore, to avoid moving two degrees
away from the tonic on the circle of fifths while still in the fugal exposition, Haydn alters the answer (m. 8, first violin) so that it rises through
a seventh (G-F), instead of an octave, and then returns to the seventh
degree (B), leading tone to the tonic.
The use of a tonal answer for the principal theme of op. 20/5 becomes significant in the harmonic design of the passage that introduces
71
14 Marked, in tables 13, S for statements of the subject, and A for statements of the
tonal answers, as noted above.
JM2701_03.indd 71
6/4/10 2:33:14 PM
t he jo u rn al o f m u sic o l ogy
example 5.Joseph Haydn, String Quartet op. 20/5, finale, mm. 6692
66
71
72
76
the inversion of the principal subject at m. 92. Haydn begins with six
statements of the tonal answer, mm. 66 (second violin, Gb major), 69
(first violin, Db major), 72 (second violin, Ab minor), 75 (first violin,
Eb minor), 78 (second violin, Bb minor), and 81 (first violin, F minor),
moving around the circle of fifths as shown. The tonal answer begins
on the tonic note, of course, and outlines the tonic triad with its first
JM2701_03.indd 72
6/4/10 2:33:14 PM
Gri er
example 5. (continued)
82
88
al rovescio
73
three notes, whereas the subject form begins on the dominant and
implies a more varied harmony (V-i-VI) over its first three notes (e.g.,
mm. 1314). The tonal answer, therefore, rapidly establishes the key,
precisely as this passage around the circle of fifths requires.
When Haydn reaches the relative major of the home key (Ab), he
shifts from the major to the minor mode (only established by the third
note of the theme, here m. 73) to anticipate the return of the tonic at
the end of the passage. Once we arrive at the home key of F minor (m.
81), Haydn appears to disrupt the circle of fifths by placing the next
statement of subject 1 on G (cello, m. 83), a tone higher than the previous one, or two full steps on the circle of fifths. But this entry employs
the subject form of the theme, which begins on the fifth scale degree,
as noted above, and so Haydn has moved only one step on the circle of
fifths, to C, of which G becomes the dominant, while C, of course, is the
dominant of the home key. Haydn repeats the subject form of the theme
at the same pitch (second violin, m. 86), and then moves one step back
on the circle of fifths to the same form of the theme (cello, m. 89) now
on C, functioning as the dominant of the home key, F minor. This final
JM2701_03.indd 73
6/4/10 2:33:15 PM
t he jo u rn al o f m u sic o l ogy
74
JM2701_03.indd 74
6/4/10 2:33:15 PM
Gri er
expect in the exposition of a movement in sonata form. Haydn remains
in the new key until m. 53 (with passing modulations at mm. 4350), virtually the same length as the fugal exposition on the tonic.
A tonally unstable passage (mm. 5366) introduces the section in
invertible counterpoint (mm. 6692) that moves around the circle of
fifths to the tonic, F minor, as discussed above. Haydn strongly articulates this return by an interruption in the rhythmic flow and the entry
of subject 1 in prime form and inversion. Several further articulations
follow (mm. 111, 160, 166 and 177), strongly accenting the final cadence, and in extreme contrast to the continuity of the first half of the
movement. This final section, half the length of the movement as I
note above, combines the functions of recapitulation (through m. 160,
as the two subjects appear in stretto and canon) and coda (mm. 160 to
the end, in which several statements of subject 2 precede a final entry
of the principal subject in statement form by the first violin).
In contrast, the C major fugue, op. 20/2, with its 6/8 meter and
principal subject that exhibits the style of the gigue, resembles some of
the dance-like finales from Haydns early instrumental music. Excursions to various minor keys (A minor at mm. 23 and 65, D minor at
m. 42, and E minor at m. 67) and the thoroughgoing application of
the counterpoint (e.g., at the passage of invertible counterpoint, mm.
5660) darken the tone of the movement somewhat. Nevertheless, the
rhythmic insistence of the principal theme and especially the rhythmic
drive of the fugues closing section (beginning m. 129, soon after the
return to the tonic C major and culminating in the tutti presentation
of the inversion of the principal subject in mm. 15661) preserve the
movements generally lighter character.
And so Haydn has fully integrated the contrapuntal complexion
of these fugues into his ongoing experimentation with texture in the
string quartet. Above all, invertible counterpoint in two or three voices
emerges as the most distinguishing feature of these works. This difficult
and demanding contrapuntal technique allowed Haydn significant freedom in combining voices, each of which carried important thematic
material, in a continuous overlapping texture that generated considerable forward rhythmic motion.
75
*****
Haydn adopts a much different approach to counterpoint in the
monothematic fugal finale of the Quartet op. 50/4 composed some
15 years later in 1787. The main theme dominates the first half of
the movement through the half cadence at m. 45, with frequent complete entries separated by passages in which Haydn motivically develops
the turning figure from the themes second measure. Throughout, he
employs free counterpoint, eschewing a regular countersubject, and is
JM2701_03.indd 75
6/4/10 2:33:15 PM
t he jo u rn al o f m u sic o l ogy
76
JM2701_03.indd 76
6/4/10 2:33:15 PM
Gri er
example 6.Joseph Haydn, String Quartet op. 55/1, finale, mm. 6093
61
65
70
77
JM2701_03.indd 77
6/4/10 2:33:16 PM
t he jo u rn al o f m u sic o l ogy
example 6. (continued)
74
78
78
82
the second full measure of the principal theme (m. 2). The principal
theme appears as the lowest part (cello, pickup to m. 72), as does the
long-note theme, but never the repeated-note theme, presumably because it starts on the fifth of the tonic chord and would therefore generate a non-cadential 46 chord.
JM2701_03.indd 78
6/4/10 2:33:16 PM
Gri er
example 6. (continued)
86
90
79
JM2701_03.indd 79
6/4/10 2:33:16 PM
t he jo u rn al o f m u sic o l ogy
example 7.Joseph Haydn, String Quartet op. 74/1, finale, mm. 10728
111
115
80
107
The passage in the finale of op. 74/1 opens the movements development section and illustrates how Haydn integrated these contrapuntal techniques with the other types of texture found in this work (ex. 7).
The three-part invertible counterpoint begins with the principal theme
JM2701_03.indd 80
6/4/10 2:33:17 PM
Gri er
example 7. (continued)
119
123
127
81
JM2701_03.indd 81
6/4/10 2:33:17 PM
t he jo u rn al o f m u sic o l ogy
82
occurs in the viola (pickup to m. 109 through 112), also rotates into
the bass (pickup to m. 112) before moving into the top voice in the second violin (pickup to m. 117) and first violin (pickup to m. 123).
Only the third theme, in the second violin (pickup to m. 110
through 112), remains in the top or an inner voice, never the bass,
although it would perform well in that capacity. The texture persists
until the first violin takes over the melodic material at m. 127 and
the other voices retreat to supporting roles. Meanwhile, the harmonic
scheme moves rapidly through G major (the dominant of the movements tonic, C major), A minor (m. 112), D minor (m. 117) and F major (m. 123). So, Haydn uses invertible counterpoint to commence the
development with a rhythmically continuous passage that visits several
keys and folds the principal theme of the movement into an evolving
polyphonic texture. This passage dramatically distinguishes the development from the surrounding exposition and recapitulation, with their
etched periods.
If Lang perhaps overstated the case when he identified polyphony
as the missing ingredient from instrumental music around 1770, Haydn
certainly reinvigorated its status with the three fugal finales in op. 20.
Simultaneously, he used these movements to master the arcane technique of invertible counterpoint that subsequently became a powerful
weapon in his arsenal to create tightly integrated, rhythmically continuous passages in later quartets.
University of Western Ontario
Abstract
The title, borrowed from Paul Henry Langs description of Haydns
op. 20 string quartets in Music in Western Civilization, characterizes
Haydns endeavor to create more independent partwriting in the string
quartet. First, Haydns fugal practice is noteworthy particularly for the
construction of the fugal exposition and his treatment of multiple subjects, the question of what constitutes a regular countersubject, and
the treatment of redundant entries. Second, the chief strategy in these
movements is the invention of invertible counterpoint in three voices.
Haydn writes a double fugue (with a regular countersubject), as well
as a triple and quadruple fugue, in which the principal issue is the ability of each subject (including the double fugues countersubject) to
serve as any voicetop, middle or bottomin a texture of invertible
counterpoint.
JM2701_03.indd 82
6/4/10 2:33:17 PM
Gri er
The expertise he attained with these works then allows him to exploit the technique in later quartets, principally in the development sections of sonata-form movements. There, he uses invertible counterpoint
to establish the independence of each voice, and to create longer passages unarticulated by cadences, sections distinct from the more clearly
articulated periodic expositions and recapitulations. The three fugal
finales of op. 20, therefore, constitute Haydns advanced study not so
much in fugal procedure as in the practice of invertible counterpoint.
Keywords: finale; fugue; Joseph Haydn; invertible counterpoint; String
Quartets op. 20
83
JM2701_03.indd 83
6/4/10 2:33:17 PM
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.