While this movement does not reach the heights of lyric beauty attained by Mozart in the Andante which we shall analyze in a moment, it is, nevertheless, a thoroughly interesting and really beautiful piece of music. Our attention is constantly enlisted by fresh glimpses of the theme, or by new harmonies; the ornamentation all grows naturally out of the structure and is not laid on for its own sake, and the melody itself is expressive and tender. Furthermore, the themes and their treatment are characterized by a perfect adaptability to the string quartet, for even in the pianoforte version, we can observe how interesting is the part given to each instrument. Here, just as in a perfect story or a perfect poem, there is nothing redundant, nothing that has not some part in the main purpose of the work. And this combination of placid beauty with perfection of form makes what is called the "Classic" in music. Especially do we find here an entire absence of those perfunctory passages that occur in the movement of the "Surprise" Symphony discussed in the last chapter.
Taken as a whole, this piece is immeasurably finer than any movement of its kind produced up to that time, save alone those of Mozart; and the advance is not only in method but in the essence of the idea itself. There is a geniality and warmth about this music that marks a new era. Bach was more profound, but more isolated; here we have simple human sentiment and a kind of na?e charm that distinguished Haydn's music from that of all other composers.
V. FORM OF HAYDN'S ADAGIO.
This Adagio of Haydn is a good illustration of what we have called "sectional form." It may be tabulated as follows:
TABULAR VIEW OF SECTIONS IN HAYDN'S ADAGIO.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Section in E-flat measures 1-16 | Section in the dominant (B-flat) 16-30 | Section of free modulation 30-54 | Double Section in E-flat 55-82 |
| Coda 83-91 | |||
| Duality | Duality | Plurality | Unity |
Section four contains practically the same material as Sections 1 and 2, with its last half in the tonic instead of the dominant. It will be observed that the harmonic plan of the movement is that of "sonata-form," but that the first two sections (which would constitute the exposition) are not repeated, as was the invariable custom in Haydn's first movements. Yet the resemblance is quite close, for the third part is like a development section and the fourth like a restatement. Still there is not here that decided difference between the three sections of exposition, development, and recapitulation that is essential to sonata-form.
VI. MOZART AND THE CLASSIC STYLE.
The slow movements of the symphonies and string quartets of Mozart, who represents the culmination of the classic type in music, are thoroughly characteristic of the ideals of the classical period. Unlike the rustic Haydn, Mozart was accustomed from his childhood to the atmosphere of courts and lived in the favor of princes. His music is never brusque, nor does it have the homely wit and sentiment of Haydn—it does not smack of the soil—but it possesses a certain ideal beauty and elegance, a certain finesse and finely pointed wit that were beyond Haydn's powers. Yet these ideally beautiful compositions of Mozart are absolutely spontaneous. We are never admitted into his work-shop; we never trace a sign of his labor; his music seems to have sprung full born from his brain. He is the type of the consummate artist who deals with the language of music as easily as an ordinary mortal deals with his native tongue. He was not a philosopher like Bach, nor a great man like Beethoven. We find no evidences of his having been, outside his music, particularly distinguished from his fellows, for his improvidence and fondness for amusement are matters of record. When we think of Beethoven's music we think of Beethoven; Mozart and his art are distinct and separate.[33]