timed analysis project 1.docx

Tom Burns: 130188722 MUS203: Analytical Approaches to Music

Timed Analysis Project 1:

Mozart’s String Quartet No. 16 in E b major (K.428), mvt. III

String quartet no. 16, composed in 1783, is the third of the Haydn Quartets, a series of six string quartets Mozart wrote during his first few years in Vienna (1782-1785), that were later dedicated to Joseph Haydn. During the time of composition of these quartets, Haydn and Mozart had become friends, and often played quartets together in Mozart’s apartment, Mozart on viola and Haydn on violin. All six of these string quartets follow a similar basic form:

First movement – Allegro in sonata form Second movement – Adagio or Andante in sonata form Third movement – Minuetto and Trio Fourth movement – Allegro in sonata, rondo or variation form

The second and third movements are often switched depending on the quartet. K.428 is no exception to the structure of the Haydn Quartets.

The individual structure for the third movement is a very typical form for a minuet and trio. On broad observations, it is essentially a ternary structure with internal forms within each of the ternary sections (see Fig. 1). There is however a passage that could be construed as a codetta, as it contains melodic material not previously heard, and stays in the home key in preparation to move, be it to the start of the minuet again, or to begin the trio using the tonic chord as a pivot; the passage in question occurs over bars 55 – 70, and will henceforth be described as a codetta.

The melodic material within the minuet can be separated into two main identifiable themes (1 and 2), both of which are initially delivered by the first violin. Theme 1 can then be divided into a further two sections (a and b). Theme 1a (Fig. 2) is two bars long and consists of a very Haydn-esque, almost “sneezing”, motif that covers nearly two octaves, leaping up initially with a quick succession of two semi-quaver appogiaturas to a tonic crotchet, with then drops to a minim on E flat. This pattern is then repeated only now ending on a minim on F. Theme 1b (Fig. 3) is double the length of 1a and comprises of stately, flowing quavers. The second theme (Fig. 4) of the minuet is very different to the first, with longer note values, and the introduction of dotted notes, as well as much shorter

Fig. 1

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note values like the demi-semi-quavers in bar 12. There is much use of this thematic material throughout the minuet, where it becomes subjected to antiphonal exchange (1b delivered by the first violin then mimicked by the viola half a bar later – which does indeed occur during the second presentation of this theme in bars 9 and 10) and extension (1a over bars 42 – 46). Interestingly, all of these themes, even those in the trio, begin on an anacrusis.

The melodic material in the trio only really comes from one main theme (Fig. 5 – abbreviation of whole theme), unlike the two (or three if one counts the division of the first) of the minuet. With only one theme present here, something must be done quite ingeniously in order to maintain or even provoke interest throughout. This is accomplished by a further reminiscence of Haydn, in that this trio is rather monothematic. Beginning at bar 70 (on an anacrusis) and continuing through to bar 84, the ‘trio theme’ is delivered by the first violin, then passed to the second in bar 80, and presented in C minor, contrary to the key signature. At the second section, halfway through bar 84, the theme is presented again, this time in the key of G minor (as the key signature dictates) in the second violin. This thematic material is developed further here than the first section by having the theme fragmented and passed around the ensemble, before some kind of unity is established within the final four bars.

In terms of the harmony and tonality of the third movement of K.428, the most notable point is the extensive use of pedal points throughout, especially in the trio, in which the cello plays nearly all sustained pedal notes with the exception of about six bars. The movement begins with the A section in Eb major, but only remains in this key for eight bars, modulating at this point to dominant key of Bb major, in which the section continues as a prolonged preparation for the return to the tonic at the repeat of the A section halfway through bar 26. The B section of the minuet is considerably shorter than the A section. This section is in the home key of Eb and remains that way until the end of the minuet. By the end of section B, around bars 31 – 34, the harmonic pulse and complexity (including chords ii, iii and vi in rapid succession) drastically increases upon approaching the cadence point, where a dominant chord is sustained over a repeating quaver melody before resolving to a tonic chord, and a presentation of the initial melodic material, Theme 1. It is during this final A’ section that the only truly chromatic chord throughout the minuet occurs: at bar 45 there is an A diminished (#IVo) chord accompanying Theme 1a. The codetta, bars 55 – 70, is more harmonically complex, featuring more minor chords such as chord ii (Fm), vi (Cm) and iii (Gm), as well as various inversions (iiib – Gm/Bb).

The trio is rather ambiguous about its key to begin with. The key signature states two flats, meaning either Bb major or G minor. It sounds minor, meaning the key is G minor, but looking at the score, there is clearly a low C pedal from the cello for four bars near the beginning. Indeed, the chord progressions over this pedal imply C minor also: bars 72 – 75 Cm – Fm – Cm – Fm. By bar 80 however, the key of Bb major has a firm foothold, with a


sustained Bb pedal in the cello. The B section of the trio uses the same melodic material as the previous section, but now the key is clearly G minor, the relative minor of the key in which the A section ended. This section also modulates to Bb major before it ends, in an almost dominant preparatory fashion for the return of the minuet in Eb major.

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

timed analysis project 1.docx

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