Double Variation - The Double Variation in Haydn

The Double Variation in Haydn

The double variation first appears Haydn's work of the 1770s. Haydn may have been inspired by an earlier example of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, the sixth of that composer's Sonatas with Varied Reprises, (W. 50/6, H. 140), in C minor (1760). Elaine Sisman, an authority on variations, notes "This set of sonatas was advertised in Vienna several times in the period in which Haydn wrote his first variations."

While Haydn's double variations show considerable diversity, there are some general patterns.

• Both themes have the same tonic, but in opposite modes, so that if A is major, B is minor, and vice versa.
• The second theme is usually thematically reminiscent of the first, though not so close as to be an actual variation of it.
• The total number of variations is small, often just one or two for each theme.
• The number of variations is (with just one exception) arranged to place the major theme last. Thus, if the first theme is major, Haydn generally uses ABABA form, but if the first theme is minor, Haydn uses ABABAB.

As Haydn's career proceeded, he moved toward a very particular type of double variations, having the following additional specific characteristics.

• The tempo is moderate, typically andante.
• The minor theme is placed first.
• Each theme is divided into two sections, and each section is repeated.
• The internal arrangement of both themes is often that of sonata form, with the music moving to the dominant or relative major key in the first part, to remote keys in the first half of the second part, and then to a recapitulation of the opening material in the tonic key. This observation is made by Charles Rosen (in The Classical Style) concerning the double variations in the Drumroll Symphony; it holds true in several other cases as well.
• While assessments of emotional content are necessarily subjective, it is reasonable to claim that the minor themes sound tense and the major themes blissful. Jean-Yves Bras, writing in program notes for a performance of the Piano Trio H:23 (Harmonia Mundi 901400), describes the minor and major themes "somber" and "radiant", respectively. Charles Rosen, writing of the major theme from the Piano Trio H. 13, says that in it Haydn created "an emotion that was completely his own and that no other composer, not even Mozart, could duplicate - a feeling of ecstasy that is completely unsensual, almost amiable." Rosen's remark could be applied to several of the other major double variation themes.