The Persistence of the Fugue: Haydn, Mozart, and the Musical Science of Anton Reicha

Definition and Characteristics of the Fugue Subject

• The fugue is defined by its use of a specific little bit of melodic content known as the subject.
• Characteristics of a subject:     - It is a clearly articulated melodic fragment.     - It is rhythmically varied.     - It is not too wide-ranging in its melodic span.     - It must be recognizable enough to undergo a series of various manipulations.
• These manipulations are similar to the working out, development, and derivation of content associated with the classical style.
• A fugue also contains a counter-subject, which has a significant impact on the musical texture.

Texture: Contrapuntal vs. Homophonic Styles

• Counterpoint is described as the oldest polyphonic device in Western music.
• Root definition: Counterpoint is the layering of horizontally conceived melodic content in a vertical way.
• The art of counterpoint involves layering melody upon melody upon melody.
• Horizontal vs. Vertical conception:     - A contrapuntal texture consists of equally important melodies occurring simultaneously.     - It is horizontally conceived but piled vertically.     - It results in a "crowded" texture.
• Contrast with the Classical and Operatic style:     - Inherited from the opera style (seen in concertos and Haydn symphonies).     - Characterized by a homophonic texture.     - Features subordinated accompanimental voices that support a single, singing melodic line.     - Examples: Gluck’s Orfeo and the Galoopy sonata.     - In the classical style, melodies are horizontally conceived but are single lines supported by others that stay out of the way to avoid crowding.
• The "crowding" in counterpoint is considered part of the compositional virtuosity and provides interest for the listener.

The "Problem" of the Fugue in the Classical Style

• The fugue was historically perceived as having a "mechanical artificiality" and being "worked out."
• Conflict with classical aesthetic standards:     - Classical style values emotional immediacy and expressive melody.     - In a fugue, the interplay between melodies is more important than a single expressive line.     - Form vs. Content: The classical style usually elevates content over form, whereas the fugue insists on the elevation of form over content.     - Clarity vs. Complexity: Fugues gain sophistication and learnedness but lose intelligibility and clarity. They gain virtuosity but lose immediacy.
• The fugue is inherently cyclical and pre-classical (Baroque in nature), oscillating between entrance sections (where voices enter one by one) and free contrapuntal play.

The Legacy of J.S. Bach and the "Piano Teacher" Tradition

• J.S. Bach is the central figure responsible for the return of the fugue as a puzzle for classical composers.
• C.P.E. Bach’s Role:     - He made it a life mission to preserve his father’s legacy.     - He curated manuscripts and created a family lineage history/original list of J.S. Bach's works.     - While C.P.E. Bach himself was forgotten for several hundred years, J.S. Bach’s reputation grew.
• WTC (Well-Tempered Clavier):     - A collection of $24$ preludes (often introductions) and fugues in all ancient minor keys.     - Circulated in manuscript form and was copied by keyboard students for generations.
• Pedagogical status:     - J.S. Bach’s music was seen as "piano teacher music."     - Fugues were intentionally used as "old music" for training finger dexterity, musicianship, and ear training.     - They were pedagogical pieces maintained "under glass or in amber."
• The fugue became a symbol of learnedness and a test of compositional skill, associated with the "cult of J.S. Bach."

Mozart and the Fugue as Pastiche

• Mozart inherited the "cult of Bach" and studied his fugues.
• Characterization of Mozart's fugal attempts:     - Angular, severe, and chromatic.     - Not easily hummed or remembered; not directly expressive in a classical sense.
• Level of engagement:     - Mozart's interest was often in the technical virtuosity rather than marrying the two styles.     - He adopted the fugal idiom as a form of "pastiche," meaning he was "ventriloquizing" through the Bachian example to demonstrate technique.     - Example: The last movement of the Jupiter Symphony is described as "super fugal."

Haydn and the Opus $20$ String Quartets

• Haydn reintroduced the "problem of the fugue" into the classical style in his string quartets of $1772$ (Opus $20$).
• Development of the Four-Movement Structure:     - 1. Opening movement: Allegro, usually in sonata form.     - 2. Slow movement: Two-part song form or variations.     - 3. Dance movement: Minuet (later replaced by the "scherzo" or "joke" for a lighter fast movement).     - 4. Finale: Typically a rounded binary, rondo, or mosaic form.
• Fugal Finales in Opus $20$:     - Haydn used fugal finales to provide dramatic intensity and weight to the end of a work.     - One quartet includes a fugue with four subjects and two counter-subjects.
• Variety in Unity:     - The fugue allowed for a "conversation between four intelligent gentlemen" (the string quartet ideal) using only string timbres.     - It achieved a balance between all four instruments.
• Haydn ultimately abandoned this strategy; after Opus $20$, he stopped writing fugal finales in this way.

Anton Reicha: The Shadow of Beethoven and Musical Scientist

• Anton Reicha was a contemporary of Beethoven, described as his "shadow."
• Biography and Background:     - Born in Prague into a musical family; his brother was a cellist/conductor.     - Moved to Bonn, Germany.     - Shared an orchestra with Beethoven (Reicha playing flute, Beethoven playing viola).     - Both were introduced to counterpoint by the musician Neth in Bonn.     - While Beethoven went to Vienna to get the "spirit of Mozart from the hands of Haydn," Reicha went to Hamburg.
• Hamburg and Independence:     - Hamburg was a free, commercial city that supported the first generation of independent/self-employed music teachers.     - Before this, music education was institutional (Church or Court-based, like the conservatories/orphanages in Italy).     - Reicha worked on a "lesson by lesson" business model, writing his own textbooks.
• Systematic Approach to Music:     - Reicha treated music like a science, aiming for a systematic marriage of classical style and contrapuntal texture.     - He wrote a set of $36$ fugues for keyboard as pedagogical pieces.     - He wrote "Scientific Quartets" where fugal movements were integrated between traditional movements.
• Paris Conservatoire and the Pedagogy War:     - Reicha joined the Paris Conservatoire and went to "intellectual war" against Cherubini.     - Cherubini represented the Italian school: operatic, improvisatory, mechanical/rote learning without the need for harmonic theory.     - Reicha represented the learned school: interested in harmonic theory and scientific analysis.
• Theoretical Contributions:     - First theorist of sonata form.     - He called sonata form "grand coupe binaire" (great binary form).     - Produced analytic charts of music as a science.     - Composed woodwind quintets associated with military ensembles in the post-Revolutionary/Napoleonic period ($1803$, $1806$, $1809$, $1814$).

Analysis of Reicha's 36 Fugues

• Fugue No. $1$ in C Major:     - Features accidentalness and chromaticism.     - Ends with a "crash" into homophony—hyper-dramatic chords and crunchy harmonies similar to an operatic ending.     - The subject is triadic and "doorbell-like," making it easy to track horizontally.
• Fugue based on Haydn’s Opus $20$:     - Reicha takes a melody from the first movement of a Haydn quartet and uses it as a fugue subject.     - It uses sequence to create a linear narrative development.     - Demonstrates that a fugue can have an "effective" or emotional content.
• Strategy for Full Resolution of Counterpoint and Homophony:     - This involves the "ingenious invention of the subject."     - Using a chordal-like subject that remains recognizable but allows for contrapuntal treatment.     - This results in a "shimmering solution" where the classical style and its priorities take precedence over formal convention.

Questions & Discussion

• Question regarding the "problem" of the fugue:     - Student Suggestion: The issue is mechanical artificiality and its "worked outness."     - Instructor Confirmation: This contrasts with the classical standard of expressive melody and emotional immediacy found since the days of Galoopy.
• Discussion on Haydn's fugue subjects:     - Student Comment: These subjects seem more available for development than Bach's because they are longer and more "symphonically developable."     - Student Comment: The fugue achieves balance between all four instruments, conforming to Haydn's quartet ideal.
• Discussion on Reicha's approach:     - Instructor Question: What is the strategy for full resolution?     - Student/Instructor Interaction: The strategy lies in creating subjects that naturally lend themselves to both contrapuntal logic and the harmonic/stylistic norms of the late $18^{th}$ century. This demonstrates that no form was barred from the classical world if consumption and style were prioritized.