Joseph Haydn – Emperor Quartet 2nd Movement

This piece by Joseph Haydn, the second movement of Opus 76 No. 3, is also called the Emperor’s Hymn. Opus 76 No.3 is also refered to as the Emperor Quartet.  This quartet is one of Haydn’s most famous, which is saying something as it came from a man known as the “Father of the String Quartet”.  The piece was written in Vienna, Austria, where Haydn lived and composed most of his works, in 1797.

Haydn began his career working as a court musician for the Esterhazy family, a Hungarian aristocracy.  He oversaw the composition of many works in that position until the last part of his life.  During that time he contributed greatly to the advancement of the symphony and the string quartet.  The Emperor Quartet one of Haydn’s final quartets, written after his time with the Esterhazys.  Haydn was respected as a great composer of melodic music that was accessible to the middle class.  He was also known as a friendly person.  His music was written to delight people and this was something a bit new.   Melody was a strong aspect of his works and that is what allowed the middle classes to recognize and follow his pieces.  While working for the Esterhazys Haydn was generally isolated from other musical influences and was forced to create a new form.  The middle class was drawn to the melodic works, and the avoidance of complicated Baroque stylings allowed for a greater following.  The Emperor Quartet’s second movement was written as a tribute to Francis II, the Holy Roman Emperor of the time, who later became Emperor of Austria. The second movement later became the national anthem of Austria and the melody serves as the national anthem of Germany today.  The upbeat melodies of Haydn’s works, meant to uplift, were the main selling point to a general public that craved recognizable and accessible music.  The fact that this movement became so well known adds weight to the argument that Haydn wrote to everyone.

I found the melody really representing the feelings of pride and honor that were meant for the work.  The strings do not give the feeling of sadness, but are rather very uplifting.  The fact that the work meant so much to people of the time gave it even more importance to me as well.  Meaning and intention add just as much to the music as the technical aspects.  I chose this work simply because it was composed for a reason, and by listening the mood is apparent.  Feeling through melody was important to people of that time and seems to be just as important today.

Advertisement