Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56 This work, composed in 1873, when Brahms was 40 years old, provides an ideal vehicle for studying Brahmsian orchestration, as Brahms composed both the 2‐ piano version and the orchestral version in the same year. i. Theme The theme is actually not by Haydn, though it was used by Haydn as a movement of one of his wind octets (Hob II:46). Haydn’s scoring was for 2 oboes, 2 horns, 3 bassoons, and serpent or possibly contrabassoon (the serpent is an obsolete bass wind instrument). Brahms’ orchestration is almost an exact copy of Haydn’s, except that that he has reinforced the bass line with pizzicato cellos/basses (it should be noted that it was common in both Haydn’s and Brahms’ times to include double bass (but not cello) in a wind band), and, starting in m. 19, he has doubled Haydn’s parts with flute, clarinet, and trumpet. Note that the trumpet parts, being the same as Haydn’s horn parts, only an octave higher, do not require valves (valves had been invented around 1815, and by around 1850 were in common usage). It is thus, noteworthy that up till m. 19, we are hearing, for the most part, Haydn’s orchestration, and from m. 19 on, we are hearing still a potentially Classical orchestration, though a somewhat fuller one. ii. Variation I Andante con moto Suddenly, we are in the nineteenth century compositionally, and the orchestration begins to reflect that. Nevertheless, this variation reveals Brahms reverence for Bach, and Brahms firm belief in the importance of counterpoint, a skill that was held in much lower esteem by many nineteenth‐century composers. Looking at the first half of the piano version, we see that this is three‐voice writing written in invertible counterpoint. (Invertible counterpoint means that any of the parts can be interchanged and the music will still work, e.g. the bass part could be transferred up an octave or two to be a soprano, and the soprano part transferred down an octave or two to be the bass, and it will all still sound good. Note how this has been done in mm. 6‐10). Each part has a distinct rhythm. Looking at mm. 1‐5: Bass Voice: Piano II LH, quarter & half notes, in octaves. (the low Bbs in mm. 1‐3 are not in octaves, but Brahms may not have had a low Bb on his piano.) Middle Voice: Piano I, triplet eighth notes in octaves. Top Voice: Piano II RH, Eighth notes in octaves.
p
Dynamic level is . Phrase 1: mm. 15 Bass part: Piano octaves in bass is scored thus:
The 2 octaves of the piano have been spread out over 3 in the orchestra. Not technically possible on the piano, but easy in the orchestra. Note the dovetailing of horn and bassoon, the weight added by contrabassoon, and the weight and attack added by the timpani. In m. 4, the pitch moves down to Eb and the scoring changes in accordance. The timpani, being tuned to the tonic and dominant of Bb major, cannot play Eb, so drops out. Bassoon 1 and contrabassoon do go down to low Eb; bassoon 2 can’t play that low, so plays a2 with bassoon 1. Horns could go down to low Eb without even resorting to valves (Those Ebs would be the 2nd and 4th harmonics in the harmonic series). Indeed, they are used in m. 7 of the theme, imparting a wonderful depth. But in the theme, the dynamic level is mf, here it is p, and the lower Eb would be hard to control. Moreover, the horns could not continue the line to E natural and F without resorting to valves, and Brahms disliked the sound produced by valves. So Brahms introduces arco double basses (at the same pitch as the contrabassoon—a common combination); these notes have excellent tone on the double bass. The eighth‐note top line in piano II is played by 1st & 2nd violins in octaves. The triplet middle line (piano I) is given to violas & cellos in octaves. Phrase 2: mm. 610 to be continued….
