DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (October 5, 2020)
We have discussed on several occasions that Beethoven was the supreme master at creating a transcendent Finale. In this case, the composer designed a symmetrical work with the central movement as the mountain top, as seen in this simple representation of the five movements:
1. Serious: a minor
2. Playful: A major
3. Sublime: Lydian mode
4. Playful A major
5. Serious a minor
THE FOURTH MOVEMENT:
The fourth movement is more of a transition than a movement though. In fact, is it marked "all marcia" (like a march), as if to say—'marching on to the Finale.' It consists of only an 8 measure, and a 16 measure phrase, both of which are repeated, followed by a rectative-like transition to the Finale.
The references to preceding movements continue, as we realize just how integrated this work really is. The 4th movement opens with a short motif by the first violin that is answered by the other instruments on the next beat. That short motif E A C# .(00:00 in the recording), is bounded by a major 6th E C# which recalls the major 6th that opened the 3rd movement C to A.
That may seem like a bit of a stretch. They are of two entirely different moods, but what strengthens the connection, is that in both cases that interval is on the same scale-steps of the relevant key (E and C# are steps 5 and 3 of A major, and C and A are steps 5 and 3 of the Lydian mode).
The second phrase, beginning on measure 9 (00:31 in the recording), employs imitation (something we have heard throughout the quartet), where one measure is repeated by another instrument in the next measure.
At measure 25 (01:34), the movement is rudely interrupted by a recitative-like section. We have discussed Beethoven's use of such recitatives before: in the “Ninth Symphony” (April 23, 2020 post); in the young Felix Mendelssohn's memorial tribute to Beethoven, through his own A Minor Quartet (May31, 2020); and three days ago, in the discussion of the first movement of this quartet. These short recitatives, or cadenzas, in the opening of the first movement, foreshadow this longer one.
It had been customary, and seen as necessary in multi-movement works—such as the symphony, string quartet, and sonata—to address different psychological states. For this, we have different forms—such as Scherzo, Adagio Cantabile, and Rondo—just to name a few. One movement ends, and after a pause, another begins, in a very different mood. It's a polite discussion, and it sticks to the agenda.
Sometimes though, when the matter being discussed is of vital importance, someone has to lead, intervene, and change the subject, even wrench the participants to a different level, by saying in effect: "Why are we even discussing 'this', when we should be talking about 'that?!'
That is what Beethoven's recitatives often do. They can wrench us out of banality, and put the real topic on the table.
Edgar Allen Poe captures how science interrupts daydreams and myths in such a way that it tears us away from them. Here are the beginning and end lines of his poem: "Sonnet to Science":
Science! true daughter of Old Time thou art!
Who alterest all things with thy peering eyes.
Why preyest thou thus upon the poet’s heart,
..................................................................
Hast thou not torn the Naiad from her flood,
The Elfin from the green grass, and from me
The summer dream beneath the tamarind tree?
Despite the attractive symmetry of the five movements, Beethoven must have felt that this light-hearted music was not appropriate at the time. Something more serious was required. His marking of the fifth movement (it starts at 02:08) as 'allegro appassionato' tends to confirm that. He could have just skipped the fourth movement, and gone with the regular four movement form, moving directly from movement three to movement five, but it would not have been as effective as tearing away from something that would normally fit the bill, but at this point does not.
THE FIFTH MOVEMENT
It is often discussed in scholarly circles that Beethoven originally planned to use this idea for the Finale of his Ninth Symphony. It is said that the reason is sketches for the fifth movement of the Op. 132 appeared side by side with sketches for the Ninth. The problem with this postulation is that it makes no sense. Can you, in your wildest dreams, hear any transformation of this as the last movement of the Ninth? Besides, Beethoven did not write the first three movements of the Ninth independent of his plan to set the “Ode to Joy”. He wrote backwards from the Ode to Joy, so that those movements would lead up to it, as discussed in the postings of April 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, and May 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, and 11. Perhaps he was thinking ahead?
The opening of this "appassionato" fifth movement immediately reminds us of the first movement. Recall that the quartet opened
with G#-A F-E in the cello. The first two notes are prominent in the opening theme of movement 5, as stated in the first violin. F-E throbs all by itself in the second violin for the first seven measures, and returns an octave higher at measure 11. The same pattern is applied to other notes and it lasts for a full 25 measures! It is matched by the viola, which for seven measures gives us C to D, but at a slower rate. In the meanwhile, the cello, after a two-measure introduction, uses a rhythmic answer to the second violin, to trace out a melody over eight measures. The melody in the first violin is so powerful that it can disguise the sad, repetitive, and sobbing nature of the movement. As an experiment, our audio begins by adding one voice at a time to the first 10 measures. Tell us if it works for you!
https://drive.google.com/…/1V-ZPaP_wR-5Xw8SqSY0B3KGVV…/view…
There is a quality of longing, not for an object, but for something missing in life, in the world. It is expressed by the repetition.
At 02:48 the half-tones of the first movement return, though in a totally different way.
At 03:48 the theme returns. The movement is crisis-ridden, which is reflected at 04:22, when it becomes chaotic, with no easily recognizable idea.
At 05:06 the main theme returns, though with some twists. Another peregrination commences at 06:30.
An accelerando begins at about 06:55, leading to the theme marching in double time at 07:07. This cannot last! Beethoven switches to a playful A major at 07:19 ( it needs to be done better than it is here).
The last minute and a half in A major seem extremely satisfactory. Why? An answer may require more study on our part. One thing is clear: there is none of the sobbing and longing repetition.