Exploring 18th Century Phrase-- Haydn's Symphony No. 94

Listen to the first 30 seconds of this symphony:

              The phrase begins with several voices, close together in pitch and in harmony. The meter is 4/4 time and there are two phrases-- each around six measures long, which combine to make up a Parallel Interrupted Period that is 16 measures in length, roughly.

  Parallel Interrupted Period Diagram:

   I  ____________________  IAC      I _____________________ PAC

                                             8 mm                                                    8mm

                              _________a_____________________________a'_____________

This phrase accurately represents the ideals of the enlightenment because it's sharp and unexpected wavering (which occurs at the closure of the second phrase, defies typical behavior of a song and could stand for rebellion, differentiation, among other things. The second phrase is also slightly varied from the first, which is similar to a Salon in the enlightenment, because ideas would be stated and then altered, as the discussion continued. The phrase finishes with a a conclusion with the same certainty and finality as the conclusion of an idea in the enlightenment might have.

E