DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (October 1, 2020)
Beethoven composed this long and absolutely unique movement after recovering from a long illness. We hope to do justice to him and it through the following thorough discussion. We hope that you find it worthwhile.
This is the year 1825. Although he lived another two years, the intestinal disease from which Beethoven suffered was serious, and his survival was uncertain. The tempo of the third movement of Op. 132 is “molto adagio”, and it is almost glacial at first. The full title is:
"Heiliger Dankgesang eines Genesenen an der Gottheit, in der Lydischen Tonart"
(“Holy song of thanksgiving of a convalescent to the Deity, in the Lydian mode")
We have talked about the Lydian interval many times. The origin of that term comes from the Lydian mode. Beethoven studied older music in his late period, including the ancient church modes which he used in his “Missa Solemnis.” The Lydian mode is one of them, and it differs from F major in one crucial point. Instead of a Bb, it features the note B. F G A B C D E F. What difference does that make? His specification of the Lydian mode has puzzled many people. Even musicologist Heinrich Schenker insisted that it could not really be in the Lydian mode. Others say that only the hymn he employs is in the Lydian mode. Although the hymn does use B instead of Bb, in a scale starting and ending with F, we submit that Beethoven was not looking at the Lydian mode as just an ancient scale, but how it intersected with, and modified the well-tempered 24 key system, and could generate a new modality that could allow him to express the inexpressible. We will come back to that.
THE OPENING
The third movement is the center of the quartet. At 20-minutes in length, it has on either side, a shorter humorous movement, and at each end, a serious longer and faster movement. The "Heiliger Dankgesang" is the quartet's heart and soul, its raison d'etre.
The first and second movement both had two short motifs, an "A" and a "B", that intertwined with one another playfully. We referred to that aspect as double-fugal. This movement also has an "A" and a "B". At first they alternate. Each section of "A" is 2 measures long, and made up entirely of quarter notes. It is polyphonic, making much use of imitation. This first phrase starts out with an imploring leap upward of a major 6th in the violin. Each instrument repeats that C to A cry a half-measure later. You can see a piano representation of this overlapping, or imitation in Example 1 (see photo below).
We also provide an important audio guide that walks you through the double fugue and Lydian mode:
https://drive.google.com/…/1Ollw0FM_N27hKCxz-CCgo6PkD…/view…
Each section of "A" is followed by a phrase of "B" which is four measures long, and made entirely of half-notes. It is a hymn, but set in four voices like a Bach chorale. Example 2 gives the entire first statement of these two alternating ideas, but only in one voice—the one that has the song. "B" lies fairly low for the soprano voice (see Example 2 below)
That statement takes a full three minutes in this recording, again by the Amadeus Quartet.
At 03:10 (measure 32) a miracle occurs. The key changes to D major, the time signature to 3/8, and the tempo to “Andante”. Beethoven writes over this joyous section, "Feeling new Strength." It is full of trills, leaps, runs, and lyrical passages marked "cantabile espressivo" or "singing expressively." Anyone who has ever recovered from a serious illness will recognize this wonderful feeling.
The ordeal is not over though. At 05:25 (measure 85), we return to the interplay between "A" and "B" but find that another miracle has occurred. In the opening statement "A" and "B" seemed a-rhythmical, even a bit stiff with their relentless austerity, alternation, and uniformity. Now, the opening notes for "A" are almost the same, but a dotted rhythm introduces motion. "B" is now an octave higher, which allows it to really sing like a soprano. "A" no longer alternates with 'B", but "B", which is no longer harmonized as a chorale, sings as a beautiful song, with "B" as an accompaniment. It becomes more passionate than the first time.
Example 3 (see photo below) renders the first phrase on the piano, though the cross-voices make it a bit difficult.
At 08:24 (measure 116) "Feeling new Strength" returns even more playfully.
After a short introduction, at 10:34 (measure 169), marked "Mit innigster Empfindung" (with the deepest passion), at 10:52 (measure 172), the true nature of the quartet is revealed to us. We referenced Beethoven's double-fugal method vis a vis the motif pairs in Movements I and II. It is a method, rather than a formality, but at 10:52 "A" and "B" enter into a formal double fugue together. THE ENTIRE QUARTET IS PART OF BEETHOVEN'S DOUBLE FUGAL METHOD, which we have seen in so many other of his last great works, such as The “Grosse Fuge”, the “Ninth Symphony”, and the “Missa Solemnis”.
THE DOUBLE FUGUE
Example 4 shows the introduction marked "Mit innigster Empfindung" (with the deepest passion) beginning measure 169, and the beginning of the double fugue at measure 172. The first subject is the first five notes of the hymn "B", starting on F in violin 2. The answer in the viola starts on C, a fifth below. The second subject is the opening of "A", starting on the tone C in the first violin. The answer starts on G, a fifth above C, in the second violin.
This innermost passion leads to a heart-rending moment in which the quartet simply seems to be slashing chords at full volume (13:17, measures 192-195) Are they? For Beethoven passion and reason are never separate. That passage actually comes at the high point of the double fugue—a “stretto”, or overlapping of entrances of theme 1. (Please listen to the audio guide above, that helps with this.)
THE LYDIAN MODE
Lastly, we promised to explain how we think Beethoven was looking at the lydian mode. In F major, the first and fourth degrees of the scale, F and Bb, form a perfect 4th. In the Lydian mode, F and B form an augmented fourth or “tritone”. In both cases the fifth is C, a perfect 5th above F. However, in the Lydian mode the interval between 4 and 5, B and C, is a half tone. The 7th degree of a major scale is called the leading tone. In C major it is B. The resolution of the leading tone to the tonic is an important part of establishing a key. Thus as you ascend the Lydian scale, the B to C motion strongly suggests C major. In fact, the modulation to C is built into the Lydian mode. Beethoven treats the Lydian mode as combining F and C as a single key. (The same audio provides two examples of how this works.)
This movement has inspired books, poems, and thousands and thousands of people. It has guided many through the most severe crises for themselves and their loved ones. The questions of ethnic identity, gender, and religious belief never come up. This is one great soul speaking from the heart, to others, to us. Let the minions of everything divisive knock Beethoven as much as they wish. Listen to this once, and all of the negativity about the man will evaporate.