59

Second Movement: Fantasia The unique Fantasia that constitutes the

second movement is a direct outgrowth of the focus on pc 11 in the first.
(Example 7 presents the score of the entire Fantasia.) The key of B major,
which might seem at odds with the EL tonality of the overall quartet, in
fact resonates with the con- spicuous appearances of pc 11 in the first
movement, in particular the melodic Cbs in the interpolation within the
theme and its variations, and the crucial arrival of BN as the last element
of an aggregate unfolding in mm. 178-80 of the fugato. Within the overall
EL tonality, B major func- tions as bVI. Haydn takes the unusual measure
of withholding a key sig- nature until the latter part of the movement-
perhaps to avoid commit- ting to any particular key center. In fact, after
an initial phrase projecting B major, he embarks on a series of
modulations through C# minor, E major, G major, and Bb major, returning
to B major in m. 39, but moving further to Ab major in m. 49 before
settling at last comfortably into B major (with key signature) in m. 60. This
modulatory scheme, graphed in Example 8, may best be viewed as
effecting a middleground bass arpeg- giation of the vii07 of B major, with
Bb functioning as At, the leading tone.6 This very harmony is in fact the
conspicuous first fermata chord in the passage leading into the Ab
digression (m. 46). (The key of Ab func- tions as the major submediant of
B, the equivalent of Gt major, a rather distant relation.) The first and last
elements of the C-E-G-A# (Bb) bass arpeggiation are tied directly to the
theme of the Fantasia, appearing respectively as the bass and soprano of
the neighbor harmony (Vi) in the first measure of the movement. In the
last phrase of the movement (mm. 106-12), the neighbor chord is a full
diminished harmony (over tonic pedal in the cello). The key of B major has
only one chromatic element in common with Eb major--pc 9-and this
commonality is exploited as a motivic con- nection between first and
second movements. In the second, pc 9 is crit- ical for the initial
modulation to C# minor, coming to the fore in the bass of m. 14, with the
conversion of the A# bass of vii07 into AM supporting the German-sixth
chord in the new key. The AM bass note then progresses to G#, the
dominant of C minor. The critical bass motion here is a chro- matic descent
from pc 10 through the chromatic pc 9 to pc 8-precisely the retrograde of
the distinctive chromatic progression completing the first melodic phrase
of the theme of the first movement: Ab-AN-BLb! (Cer- tainly the bass
progression in mm. 3-4 constitutes an allusion-at an- other pitch level-to
the theme of the first movement as well.) Later in the Fantasia, AM proves
to be an especially sensitive pitch. In mm. 76-79, it is conspicuous in the
imitation among several voice-leading strands, especially as it relates to
Gt. Subsequently AM receives repeated empha- sis as the highpoint of
many of the melodic contours in the first violino

Example 8. Haydn, Quartet Op. 76/6, II: Modulatory Scheme (mm. 89, 96-
98, 101, 104-taken into second violin in mm. 107 and 109), standing in
distinct cross relation to the diatonic A# (see especially the outer voices
of mm. 101 and 104). All of this chromatic play seems to be an outgrowth
of the germinal motive from the first-movement theme: Ab-AN-Bb.
Unfolding of the chromatic aggregate is implicated strongly in the
definition of form in the Fantasia. Despite the strong impression of chro-
matic density from the outset, the first complete aggregate unfolding
takes place over the first 25 measures, with pc 2, DM, the last to enter.
This pitch, crucial for securing the modulation to G major (hVI of B) com-
pleted in m. 27, arrives as the sforzando bass note in m. 25, and is the
highpoint of the first violin's dramatic upward arpeggion in m. 26. The

second chromatic field spans mm. 27 through 35, beginning with the cli-
mactic G major chord and encompassing the entire passage in B' major.
The last pitch to enter in this field is pc 1, Db, which effects the eerie shift
to the minor mode of Bb in m. 35. Alternatively, one may view a chro-
matic field (overlapping with that spanning mm. 27-35) comprised of the
nine-measure thematic statement in mm. 31-39, which takes place in
conjunction with the modulation from Bb major to the tonic B major. In
this unfolding, pc 8, G#, is the last to appear, at the point when the har-
mony pivots into the new key (m. 37). With the return to the tonic, one
might expect a restatement of the original theme, but Haydn defers such
a recapitulatory moment until m. 60, and in its place inserts a
contrapuntal, sequential passage that effects the obscure modulation to
Ab major. This bridge passage, mm. 39-48, entails another aggregate
unfolding, actually completed with the arrival of DM as a member of the
second fermata diminished chord (m. 47). A particularly important
chromatic field is that spanning mm. 49 through 60, embracing the
statement of the theme in the remote key of A major, and the subsequent
transitional phrase modulating back to B major. This span of music lacks
three pcs-4, 6, and 11-all three of which are supplied at once in the first
measure of the theme restated in the original key (m. 60). Pcs 6 and 11
are in fact members of the tonic triad. The completion of an aggregate
unfolding with the virtually simul- taneous occurrence of three missing
chromatics is rare, and thus this completion is felt particularly strongly. It
coincides with the most impor- tant point of harmonic arrival in the piece,
the restatement of the original thematic material in the tonic key-marked
uniquely in this piece by the introduction of a key signature only at this
juncture. In comparison to the arrival at the tonic in m. 60 or to the
relatively sharp definition of chromatic fields up to this point, the latter
half of the movement (52 measures, as compared to the 60 already
traversed) is much less clearly subdivided on the basis of chromatic
unfolding, in character with the fugal procedure which permeates most of
this section, beginning in m. 64. In m. 77, pc 2 completes an unfolding
from m. 60, coinciding roughly with an arrival in E major (the
subdominant) in m. 79. A subsequent unfolding from m. 79 is completed
by pc 2 in m. 90, but this is not an important point of harmonic
articulation. Note that both chromatic unfoldings here are completed by
pc 2, which played a similar role in the first unfolding of the movement. In
order to read a complete chromatic field at the end of the movement, one
has to reach back to m. 87 to find a pc 5, not a point of obvious harmonic
significance. Thus the latter portion of the Fantasia (mm. 60-112) is more
continuous than the first half, less articulated-and might thus best be
considered a single extended chromatic field.

Third Movement: Menuetto The third movement Menuetto takes us back

to the tonic key of E and ostensible diatonic simplicity. The first chromatic
tone of the movement is pc 9, AM, the requisite element for the ordinary
modulation to the dom- inant at the end of the first phrase (see Example
1). (AM was also the focal element at the close of the first melodic phrase
in the Theme of the first movement.) What is especially interesting,
however, is to examine the experience of this material from the
perspective of the B-major key in which we have been situated. From this
vantage point, all of the chro- matic pitches of B major are contained in
the first phrase of the Menuetto, and in a manner far from arbitrary. All
occur as accented pitches in the melody, providing the impetus and spice
of the Menuetto theme (all are marked with asterisks in the score): pcs 2
and 5, D and F, are accented neighbor tones to Eb in m. 1; pc 7 is the
extremely high G in m. 4; pc 0, C, is an accented passing tone in m. 6; and
pc 9, AM, occurs on the down- beat of m. 7 and occurs twice more in that
measure. Thus the Menuetto brings into high relief the very different
sound worlds of the middle movements of the quartet, and works from the
outset as a strong com- plement to the B-major diatonic collection, which
was heard in pure form for three full measures at the close of the second
movement. In the Trio of the Menuetto-dubbed the "Alternativo" in this
work, a rare designation in Haydn's quartets-he takes the simple diatonic
scale as his subject, perhaps as the alternative to the triadic leaps of the
Menuetto.7 (The score of the Trio is given in Example 9.) This section of
the piece is in the tonic key throughout, challenging the composer to find
ways to elicit interest and prevent tedium. Adding further to the test, the
periods of this section are laid out in a very square schematic. The first
period of thirty-two measures is comprised of a sixteen-measure phrase in
which each of the instruments takes up the descending scale in turn from
low to high, answered by a comparable phrase based on the ascend- ing
scale. Chromaticism is introduced in the counterpoint to the basic scales,
adding generally one or two parts against the scalar subject. The last
chromatic to enter is pc 4 in m. 87, in the next-to-last four-measure
phrase of the period. The final four-measure phrase clinches the period
with the only four-part texture heard thus far. A second thirty-two mea-
sure period in mm. 92-124 reciprocates the first, treating the descending
scale, then the ascending scale, with parts entering high to low. Here
four-part writing is used to clinch each sixteen-measure phrase. A third
period completes the Alternativo (mm. 124-56), based on the same scale
forms and entry strategy of the first period, but with four-part phrases
clinching each sixteen-measure phrase. In contrast to the first period of
the Alternativo, neither the second nor
simplicity. The first chromatic tone of the movement is pc 9, AM, the requisite element for the
ordinary modulation to the dom- inant at the end of the first phrase (see Example 1). (AM was also
the focal element at the close of the first melodic phrase in the Theme of the first movement.) What
is especially interesting, however, is to examine the experience of this material from the perspective
of the B-major key in which we have been situated. From this vantage point, all of the chro- matic
pitches of B major are contained in the first phrase of the Menuetto, and in a manner far from
arbitrary. All occur as accented pitches in the melody, providing the impetus and spice of the
Menuetto theme (all are marked with asterisks in the score): pcs 2 and 5, D and F, are accented
neighbor tones to Eb in m. 1; pc 7 is the extremely high G in m. 4; pc 0, C, is an accented passing
tone in m. 6; and pc 9, AM, occurs on the down- beat of m. 7 and occurs twice more in that
measure. Thus the Menuetto brings into high relief the very different sound worlds of the middle
movements of the quartet, and works from the outset as a strong com- plement to the B-major
diatonic collection, which was heard in pure form for three full measures at the close of the second
movement. In the Trio of the Menuetto-dubbed the "Alternativo" in this work, a rare designation
in Haydn's quartets-he takes the simple diatonic scale as his subject, perhaps as the alternative to
the triadic leaps of the Menuetto.7 (The score of the Trio is given in Example 9.) This section of the
piece is in the tonic key throughout, challenging the composer to find ways to elicit interest and
prevent tedium. Adding further to the test, the periods of this section are laid out in a very square
schematic. The first period of thirty-two measures is comprised of a sixteen-measure phrase in
which each of the instruments takes up the descending scale in turn from low to high, answered by
a comparable phrase based on the ascend- ing scale. Chromaticism is introduced in the
counterpoint to the basic scales, adding generally one or two parts against the scalar subject. The
last chromatic to enter is pc 4 in m. 87, in the next-to-last four-measure phrase of the period. The
final four-measure phrase clinches the period with the only four-part texture heard thus far. A
second thirty-two mea- sure period in mm. 92-124 reciprocates the first, treating the descending
scale, then the ascending scale, with parts entering high to low. Here four-part writing is used to
clinch each sixteen-measure phrase. A third period completes the Alternativo (mm. 124-56), based
on the same scale forms and entry strategy of the first period, but with four-part phrases clinching
each sixteen-measure phrase. In contrast to the first period of the Alternativo, neither the second
nor 67
Example 9. Haydn, Quartet Op. 76/6, III: Alternativo (Trio) 68
Example 9 (continued) 69
Example 9 (continued) the third contain the complete chromatic aggregate. The second lacks pcs 11
and 4, which appear only in mm. 137 and 138 respectively, well into the third period. Similarly, the
third period lacks pc 6, which occurs for the final time in m. 119 of the second period. Thus, in
terms of aggregate completion periods 2 and 3 are more continuous and together comprise a unit
larger than that defined by phrase structure alone. This analysis is corroborated by an examination
of the cadences at the ends of the peri- ods. Period 2 ends with the ascending scale in the bass, and a
leaping vio- lin melody harking back to the Menuetto subject. Since the melody ends on 3, the
cadence is incomplete. By contrast, periods 1 and 3 end with a scale ascending to 8 supported by
tonic harmony, achieving perfect cadences. The melody of the latter period reaches Eb6, the highest
pitch of the Alternativo, linking to the register of the Menuetto; this melodic culmination and the
tonic pedal in mm. 152-56-unique to this moment in the third movement-secure maximal closure
for the end of the section. Despite the parodistically simple subject of the Alternativo, the sec- tion
proves to be a virtuosic exercise in chromatic harmonization, offer- ing a dazzling array of settings
of the scale. (Could Haydn be poking fun at the exercises in the "Regle de l'octave" he must have
written in his youth?) And in spite of the ostensible predictability of the set-up, his phrases
continually vary the juxtapositions of diatonic and chromatic 70
phrases. Each of the three periods is comprised of two sixteen-measure phrases-call them la and Ib,
2a/2b, 3a/3b. Each of these phrases com- prises four four-measure subphrases. In each large phrase
the first sub- phrase is consistently diatonic (since each is simply the diatonic scale). The other
subphrases, however, may be either purely diatonic or chro- matic. Here is the pattern of
diatonic/chromatic subphrases within the large phrases: la b 2a 2b 3a 3b ddcc//dccc dcdc//ddcd
dddc//ddcc Each large phrase offers a different balance and ordering of diatonic ver- sus chromatic
subphrases. One observes great variety in the chromatic concentration in the overall course of the
piece. Going from the last sub- phrase of period 2 through the third subphrase of period 3, we hear
a suc- cession of four purely diatonic subphrases spanning sixteen measures (mm. 120-36), the
largest stretch of pure diatonicism in the entire move- ment. The last three subphrases of period 1,
by contrast, afford the longest stretch of chromatic concentration (mm. 80-92). Only the last
subphrase (3b) repeats the pattern of an earlier subphrase-the first (la)-perhaps to form with it a
kind of structural frame for the entire Alternativo. The absence of pc 6 in the final period of the
Alternative poses an interesting situation for overall form in the quartet. As mentioned, one can
reach back to F# in m. 119 for a completing chromatic, but this choice is not persuasive. Looking
further back, the rather weird emphasis on Gb and F# in mm. 104-5 (initiating the closing
subphrase of phrase 2a) would seem to offer more compelling presentations of the missing ele- ment
within the section. (This moment seems to allude back to the cli- max of the first movement in the
fugato.) If one looks forward instead to the return of the Menuetto for aggregate completion, no pc
6 is in evi- dence for many measures. Oddly, however, if one simply turns the page from the
Alternativo to the beginning of the Finale (ignoring, that is, the repeat of the Menuetto), one finds
pc 6 conspicuous indeed as the first chromatic of the movement introduced to clinch the first phrase
of the main melody. What can this mean? Is there a chromatic relation overrid- ing the
interpolation of repeated material (the repeated Menuetto)? Is the repetition of the Menuetto a
mere formality extraneous to (or even at odds with) the unfolding multi-movement structure? Is the
Alternativo perhaps a true alternative to the Menuetto-that is, a formal unit struc- turally on a par
with the Menuetto-and not merely a section subordinate to the Menuetto statements that frame it?
The aggregate completion effected by pc 6 in the first phrase of the Finale would point to an affir-
mative answer to these questions, and thus provide another strong indi- cation of Haydn's daring
formal thinking. 71
Fourth Movement: Finale The appearance of pc 6 in m. 4 of the first phrase of the Finale, while
minimal, would nonetheless suffice as the completing element of the aggregate unfolding in the
Alternativo that we have been considering. As the theme proceeds, however, the importance of the
Ft is highlighted. (The score of the Finale is given in Example 10.) Following the conse- quent
phrase in mm. 5-8 (in which the second chromatic, AM, is intro- duced in the cello in conjunction
with the motivic ascent, Ab-AN-Bb), the antecedent is repeated in accordance with classical
thematic norms. Instead of the expected final consequent of a squarely phrased period, however,
the music launches into a wild imbroglio highlighting F# as lower neighbor of G (see violins 1 and 2,
mm. 13-15). This passage is then extended by sequence to become a bridge to the dominant (Bb
major), in the course of which the remaining chromatics of EL are intro- duced: pc 11 in m. 14, pc
4 in m. 17, and pc 1 in m. 18. The dominant is attained in mm. 17-20, but requires the confirmation
supplied by the material in the latter part of the period, ending in m. 42. The passage from the last
three eighth notes of m. 20 through the authentic cadence completed in m. 42 does not embrace the
entire chro- matic. Rather, it lacks pc 6, which is heard, however, in the viola at the beginning of m.
20. On this basis it appears that the first forty-two mea- sures of the Finale comprise a single
period. If, however, one considers the beginning of m. 20 as the point of intersection of two
chromatic fields, then the second field (beginning in m. 20) is completed with the arrival of C# in
the viola in m. 39. This pitch occurs in conjunction with the climax of the period (the busiest
texture, with two parts in sixteenth notes, as well as the densest chromaticism), but is not accorded
the musi- cal emphasis one might have expected. In the second period, which com- pletes the
exposition of the Finale, pc 1 is once again conspicuously absent until it appears with fantastically
eerie effect in m. 58, as Db sus- tained in the melody for the full measure as part of a vii7/V
harmony building to the sforzando cadential six-four in the next measure. The final chromatic
element to enter in the presumed second period is pc 8, AL, in m. 61, beginning a transitional
passage which modulates in the first end- ing back to the tonic EL major and in the second ending
to C minor. The distribution of chromatic elements in the exposition of the Finale poses problems
for reading two separate aggregate unfoldings. While the unique presentation of pc 1 in m. 58 in
one sense ratifies its earlier ap- pearance as having completed an aggregate unfolding coinciding
with a first period (mm. 1-42), on the other hand, however, it might render the appearances of pc 1
in mm. 18 and 39 as structurally too weak to effect an aggregate completion-in which case one must
regard all of the expo-sition of the Finale as comprising a single aggregate unfolding and, on this
basis, a single huge period of sixty measures. The completion of the aggregate in a presumed second
period by Ab in m. 61 is likewise prob- lematic, since pc 8 occurs after the authentic cadence which
properly ends the period. Haydn has managed here to override the formal divisions nor- mally
created in a sonata-form exposition by the requisite modulation to the dominant (the kind of
structural fragmentation his "monothematic" compositions were evidently attempting to
overcome). One becomes aware that the single chromatic unfolding encompassing the entire expo-
sition involves similar treatment of the critical chromatic elements that initiate and complete the
unfolding. The importance of the Ft in m. 4 may not be immediately clear, requiring the
confirmation of the more blatant appearances of F# in the theme (mm. 13-15). In the same way, the
rela- tively concealed Cts in mm. 18 and 39 might be viewed as mere antici- pations of the stronger
Db in m. 58 that effects aggregate completion. Thus the chromaticism in the exposition of the Finale
displays not only great breadth of formal thinking, but also the most subtle, ingenious, and truly
witty play with critical elements of structure. Chromaticism plays an important role in the
transitions effected by the passages in the first and second endings of the exposition. The former
contains every pc except pc 9, thus according the AN at the end of the first phrase (m. 7) a
completing function as the repetition of the exposition commences. Significantly, the first violin's
chromatic scalar descent in mm. 69-70 of the first ending contains all the notes of the chromatic
scale except for pc 9, making it a more controlled gesture than one might at first realize. By
contrast, the second ending, which effects a transition to the relative minor, C minor, is missing two
pcs: pcs 9 (as in the first ending) and pc 1. Pc 9 does not appear until well into the development
section (m. 77), leaving pc 1 to serve the completing function, as it did in the exposition. Pc 1 occurs
as DL in m. 81, in roughly the same harmonic context as in its pivotal appearance in m. 58, and is
much emphasized in subsequent measures in conjunction with a modulation to the subdomi- nant,
Ab major, in m. 95. The process of aggregate completion together with the harmonic arrival at this
juncture would articulate a formal divi- sion from m. 60 (with the closure on V) through m. 95 (IV)-
or, even more convincing, from m. 67 (vi) to m. 95 (IV). The reappearance of the first phrase of the
main theme in the major mode suggests the possibility of an unconventional recapitulation initi-
ated at m. 95 in the key of the subdominant. This phrase, however, pro- vides only momentary
repose in the harmonic and melodic flux, for the progression veers back to the relative minor,
reaching a climactic cadence in that key in mm. 110-12. The violin's Ab6 is in fact the highest pitch
of the entire quartet, linking registrally with that same pitch in m. 12 of the Menuetto, likewise set
by an F-minor chord. This extreme high register 80
was broached as well in the closing measures of the first movement by G6 in violin 1. In this regard
this passage in the development of the Finale constitutes a climax not only for the movement, but
more importantly for the entire work. There is more to say about the role of the Development
section of the Finale with respect to the form of the quartet as a four-movement cycle, but it will be
helpful first to take a brief look at the recapitulation of the Finale. The protracted turbulence of the
development precedes an unex- pectedly speedy resolution into the true recapitulation in the Eb
tonic in m. 119. Since the arrival on IV in m. 95 defined a musical period and a chromatic field
spanning the first part of the development, the section from m. 95 to m. 119 may be understood as a
period as well. In terms of aggregate unfolding however, this section lacks a single pc: pc 6. The Ft
at the end of the first phrase of the recapitulated theme (m. 122) completes the chromatic unfolding
at just about the time the listener retrospectively realizes that the recapitulation has been reached.
This Ft serves the same critical completing function that it displayed at the outset of the move-
ment! Further, this aspect of chromatic unfolding taking place within the Finale powerfully
corroborates our speculation concerning a structural link between the Alternativo of the third
movement and the beginning of the Finale. The intra-movement progression mirrors and confirms
the larger extra-movement link. As if to confirm the sufficiency of the lone melodic Ft in effecting
the completion, Haydn foregoes restating the im- broglio episode from m. 13 f., which harped on
F#, instead skipping directly to the materials of mm. 34 f. transposed to take place over a tonic pedal
(m. 132 f.). The Recapitulation of the Finale, like both the Exposition and the Development, is
comprised of two periods defined in conjunction with chromatic unfolding.8 Although the
Recapitulation treats the bulk of the- matic materials from the Exposition, its chromatic play is
quite different, due to the differences in harmonic strategy between the two sections. The first
period of the Recapitulation, beginning in m. 119, lacks pc 11 until BN occurs in m. 141 just before
a strong cadence to the tonic in m. 142. Unlike the corresponding chromatic element in the
exposition, pc 1, pc 11 here receives no special attention later in the section. The final period begins
with the same material as the beginning of the latter period of the Exposition (m. 42 f.). Since this
section is essentially a transposition of the earlier period (at T5), the final chromatic to enter is the
transposed equivalent of Db in m. 58-none other than pc 6, now spelled Gb in m. 158, the chromatic
element with which the chromatic activity of the Finale began. Thus the first and last chromatic
unfoldings of the Finale respectively begin and end with a focus on pc 6, tightening the structure
with a reference to a single chromatic element, effectively framing the movement. On the broadest
level, the play with pc 6 at the conclusion of 81
the Finale refers back to its role in the first movement, where, although generally scarce, it
ultimately became the crucial chromatic element-in precisely this register-at the climax of the
movement (mm. 192-93). The Gb spelling employed in the chromatic play at the conclusions of both
first and last movements secures the motivic connection. More broadly, the emphasis on pc 6 in the
Finale could be said to resolve the tensions generated by the general absence of that pitch class in
the first movement and elsewhere (e.g., the Alternativo). The Development section of the Finale is
the crux of the four-move- ment cycle, in that it brings to fulfillment certain harmonic expectations
that have been set up in earlier movements but not yet brought to the fore. The development begins
and ends in the key of C minor, the relative minor of Eb, which thus may be regarded as prolonged
throughout the section. This section is the first and only substantial stretch of music in the minor
mode in the entire quartet, it's unique status highlighted here by brusque articulation of the main
subject, with chords in the opposing instruments interjected with such ferocity and unpredictability
as to sug- gest the eighteenth-century equivalent of Le sacre du printemps. The sole strong
reference to the relative minor prior to this outburst occurred three movements back, in the fugato
of the first movement. The first large sec- tion of the fugato culminates in a half-cadence in C minor
in mm. 179- 80, with the bass approaching the dominant via half-step descent: Ab-G (see Example 1
la). The passage that follows does not fulfill the expecta- tion set up by the half cadence, since the
harmony on C is immediately destabilized by converting it into a dominant-seventh of F minor and
is subsumed within a circle-of-fifths progression directed toward the dom- inant, Bb, in m. 86.
(Note that, when Ab recurs in the bass in m. 185, it is followed by the crucial alteration, Ah, to lead
to Bb-another instance of the motivic Ab-AN-Bb motion.) Considering the approach to C minor in
the development of the Finale, we recognize that the transition forged by the second ending in mm.
62-66 replicates and thus alludes to the essential Ab-G bass motion of the half cadence in C minor
from the first-movement fugato. This time, how- ever, the progression is allowed to proceed to a
long overdue full cadence in C minor, in which harmony the entire ensuing section of the form is
grounded (see Example 11b). Thus a longstanding tension in the piece is resolved, tying together
first and last movements of the quartet. The Development section of the finale is not relentlessly in
the minor, however. The "false recapitulation" of the main theme in AL major begin- ning in m. 94
offers a brief respite from the storm before C minor returns. This episode is the first overt extended
statement of Al as subdominant of the El tonality in the quartet. In the first movement, the
subdominant is touched upon in significant ways: in the tentative ALb sixth chord in the theme (m.
23), and later in the harmonic turns of the fugato (mm. 149- 82
50, 166, 173). In the Menuetto, AL occurs merely in standard cadential phrases to the EL tonic. Of
course, the most prominent prior appearance of AL major was in the second movement-the
mysterious statement of the Fantasia theme in that key as a remote area of B major (mm. 49-56).
The foreignness of that key area in the second movement is all the more emphasized since the key
areas immediately preceding and following Ab are both tonic B major. Felix Salzer (1976, 171-82)
describes the Ab episode as the chromatic version of the submediant of B, anticipating the diatonic
form of that function, G# minor, in m. 74--itself subsumed within a descending bass arpeggiation
from tonic to subdominant in mm. 68-79, B-G#-E. This intra-movement connection is only part of
the pic- ture, however. In the larger view, the span of music in AL in the second movement
constitutes a statement of a diatonic function of the overall EL tonality, and as such reminds us of
the exotic chromatic quality the B-major key of the second movement in the larger context (as does,
by the way, the earlier statement in BL major, the dominant of Eb, beginning in m. 31). The
strange tension entailed in the AL thematic statement in the Adagio is not therefore fully explained
by considering it a chromatically variant anticipation of G# minor. Rather, the structural tension
generated by the appearance of ALb in the Fantasia remains unresolved until the development of
the Finale, when, at last, we hear AL in its proper func- tional context as subdominant of EL major
(although quite improper of Example 1 la. Haydn, Quartet Op. 76/6: I, mm. 173-88 83
Example 1 lb. Haydn, Quartet Op. 76/6, IV; mm. 60-71 course, in terms of the potential
recapitulation which might be taking place at that point in time). The appearance of Ab in the
second move- ment, then, is an anticipation of its proper role, hinted at in the first move- ment, but
given full structural scope only in the finale. Thus, the development section of the Finale, with its
main key areas of C minor and Ab major, brings to the fore important structural tensions residual
from their occurrences in the first and second movements of the quartet and reconciles them within
the overall EL tonality, specifically at the moment of recapitulation. Both Ab major and C minor
are, of course, diatonic functions of Eb. My focus on this aspect of structure at the con- 84
 Example
mvt. 1, Theme, mm. 7-8 mvt. 4, Development chromaticism initiated diatonic order restored 67 95 111 118 A A A A A 4 5 4 5 A A A A A 6 b6 5 h6 5
12. Haydn, Quartet Op. 76/6: 4 and 6 as Motives clusion of this discussion might seem to depart
from the earlier empha- sis on chromatic detail. This is by no means the case. For chromaticism, as
Schenker maintained, is a phenomenon of tonal structure which takes its meaning from the
diatonic context, thereby illuminating it: "Chro- matic change is an element which does not destroy
the diatonic system but which rather emphasizes and confirms it. ... [F]or the sake of the dia- tonic
system itself we can never write too chromatically" (1954, 288-89). The focus on the diatonic
functions on Ab and C in the devel- opment of the finale constitutes a large-scale structural
corrective to their chromatic counterparts, AN and Cb--elements which, from the beginning of the
first movement have motivated the structure. The outer-voice pro- gression to the half cadence in
the first-movement theme (mm. 7-8)- Ab-AN-BL in soprano against C-CL-Bb in the bass--contains
the seeds of the grand drama which will unfold over four movements. The function of the
development of the Finale is to reciprocate this motion, liquidating the wild and unsettling effects of
chromaticism and restoring the diatonic order, with Ab and C fulfilling their fundamental roles as
the diatonic tones related by step to the dominant. Example 12 illustrates these fun- damental pitch
relations. The Quartet Overall: Cyclic Variations on a Theme Commentators have frequently noted
that variation procedure per- vades the four movements of op. 76/6. What has not been previously
real- ized, however, is that when Haydn sets forth the theme at the beginning of the first movement,
he is in fact laying out the motivic materials for the entire quartet. The theme is not merely the
subject of the first movement, but rather is the basis for an extraordinarily unified four-movement
cycle. And what is the nature of Haydn's subject? Those who have found this quartet abstract are
right. Haydn's subject is the diatonic scale itself, and the tendencies of tones within the scale (see
Example 13a). A problem is set forth in the melody of the first two measures, in the attempt to
ascend 85
 ( (I'3)1 (4) 44 51 4j 3121 5 6.6' I6 41 31 21 i (2-1) Example
1 3 5 7 10 11 14 15 16 17 19 21 23 26 28 (3 4 5)1
13a. Haydn, Quartet Op. 76/6, I, Theme: Melodic Structure mvt. I mvt. 2 227 112 mvt. 3 60 mvt. 4 1 67 95 111
118 119 131 132 157 159 160 s5 66 5 (4 3 2 1) 46K 41 31 2 65 41 31 (?) 21 1 D# 1 Example 13b. Haydn, Quartet
Op. 76/6, Four-Movement Cycle: Melodic Structure
from the third to the fifth degree of the scale. The ascent through scale- degree 4 cannot be fully
successful, given the tendency of that tone to descend to 3, since it is closer to 3 than 5. The melody
accedes to this musical fact-of-life in the general motion underlying the sequence in mm. 1-6: 5-4-3.
But at the end of the phrase, the melody, through the agency of a chromatic element, the raised
fourth, AM (and supported by other chromatics, especially b6 in the bass), manages to attain the
goal of 5.9 The latter part of the theme is concerned with effecting a melodic descent through the
scale to 1. The line descends as far as 2 in m. 16 (in conjunction with an interrupted structure)
before the opening phrase is repeated. As before, the melody seems to get hung up on 2 in mm. 20-
21, and does not appear to be able to complete a descent to 1 (cf. mm. 4-5). The music then pauses
to regroup during the interpolation in mm. 21 f., and ultimately accomplishes a speedy
straightforward descent 5-4-3-2-1 in mm. 26-28. Significantly, the CL upper neighbor to BL
introduced in mm. 24-25 appears instrumental in forcing the final scalar descent. Even the melodic
motion in mm. 26-28 may lack full closure, however, since the main elements are off the beat.
Indeed, in the codetta of the theme, the melody ruminates on 2-1 over the tonic pedal, with F
empha- sized on the downbeat of every other measure, answered by a downbeat Eb only at the end.
The pitch relationships set forth in the theme play out not only in the first movement, but in the
four-movement work as a whole. The Cb chro- matic upper neighbor receives its fullest expansion
as the tonicized func- tion upon which the entire second movement is based. The AM chromatic
receives no comparable treatment, but throughout the quartet is juxta- posed in cross relations
against the diatonic Ab to dramatize melodic ten- dencies up or down the scale between 3 and 5.
Among the many impor- tant instances of this structural juxtaposition are the vertical juxtaposition
of these elements in the climax of the fugato in the first movement (mm. 184-92), and the horizontal
juxtaposition in the episodes in the Menuetto in the dominant (mm. 17-30) and tonic (mm. 30-60)
respectively. In the Fantasia, AN is a poignant melodic inflection in the concluding passage (mm.
89-105), no doubt alluding to its crucial role earlier in motion toward Bb (m. 31), Gt (mm. 14-15),
or GM (25-26). Ultimately, the melodic progression of this work concentrates on the elemental
descent through the scale. This subject becomes patently clear, of course, in the Alterna- tivo of the
third movement. Example 13b graphs out the fundamental melodic motion across the four
movements of the quartet, revealing a structure closely resembling that of the theme of the first
movement. The problem of attaining a full-fledged descent from 2 to 1 is encountered at the close of
the first movement, where 3 is apparently supported by the final chord. The second movement
would most likely support BM, the equivalent of the chromatic upper neighbor CL, embellishing
and thus pro- 87
longing Bb as 5 (and thus relegating the descent to G in the first move-
ment to the middleground). Ironically, 1 is supported at the close of the
second movement, but as D#, the chromatic equivalent of the Eb tonic. Bb
is restored as 5 in the Menuetto. Eb occurs at the end of the Menuetto,
but is extremely high and approached by ascent, and thus could not effect
full closure. The full humor of the main theme of the Finale can at last be
appreciated. For here the first violin forges ahead with the brashest sort
of scalar descent from 5 to 1 , with outlandish emphasis on 2-i, but is so
completely at odds with meter and chordal support that the effort to bring
the line down is doomed to failure. By the end of the exposition, Bb has
been set up in conventional fashion as 5, and the development can be ana-
lyzed to support the normal descent to 2 over divider dominant (mm. 117-
19). With 5 restored at the recapitulation, the remainder of the piece is
devoted to effecting the sorely needed descent to 1. Ab5 in m. 153 could
well fill the bill as 4 proceeding to 3 in m. 154. Haydn plays one last joke,
however. In m. 157, Fi5-an ideal candidate for 2-occurs as expected, but is
followed by GL, a chromatic passing tone to Gh. As time is running out, it
looks as if the fundamental line has been fatally derailed. At the last
moment, however, Fi5 is picked up again at the end of m. 159, and the
descent of the fundamental line is thereupon completed in the next
measure. Eb4 is confirmed as 1 in the top voice of the final chord-but only
in the second and final ending. Thus Haydn brings to a close this
magnificent experiment-a work in which the classic aim of variety within a
greater unity is taken to a new level of formal and stylistic breadth, its
subject, paradoxically, the very elements of tonality.