Richibi’s Weblog

   “Minuet“ (1756) 

          Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo

                   _______________

by 1769, Haydn had settled into a form 
for his string quartet that would become
definitive, four contrasting movements
in a particular key, to give the work 
cohesion

his Opus 9, no 2 retains a movement 
devoted to dance, the second, the 
“Menuetto”, but the essential 
conditions of the Classical string 
quartet are met

earlier, Haydn had referred to his 
compositions as “divertimenti a 
quattro”, divertimenti for four, 
players, of course, now he 
acknowledged, indeed installed, 
the concept of the string quartet, 
its earliest incarnation, as such 

though the outer movements are 
competent – the first using its 
initial off-beat musical motif a 
bit too often for my taste, and 
its repeat portions too similar, 
like someone repeating the same 
information you’ve been given
and unnecessarily extending the 
conversation with too few 
intriguing elaborations, too few 
arresting developments, the 
second, polite, and, thankfully, 
distinctive – the third, the 
“adagio – cantabile”, will knock, 
however, your socks off, a line 
of music is explored in all its 
tortured beauty to utterly 
transcendental effect

there is a spot in music, often an 
adagio for me, where one thinks, 
I have been there, this is me, and 
one throughout space, time, 
responds to the language of 
another, one melts, and finds 
one’s connection with humanity

therefore music, therefore, indeed, 
all art, thanks to all those who 
chose to share with us their,
however ever eccentric, 
inspiration, thanks to their, our, 
ingrained, ineffable, desire, 
indeed capacity, to communicate,
even across the ages, to, indeed, 
transcend 

but I’ve digressed

listen

R ! chard