This musical analysis workbook proposes an in-depth study of Haydn's musical language through one of his most significant works, the Six Quartets, op. 76.
The various aspects are broached starting from precisely annotated examples. Musical analysis is envisaged as a demanding discipline, concerned with detail, and seeks to bring out the qualities of the harmonic language, phrasing and form. By underscoring generalities and constants, the author does not, for all that, neglect the singularity of the works, their originality or boldness, favouring a way of listening and thinking that is perpetually on the alert. Musical analysis thus appears as an attempt at approaching the sense of the works as closely as possible and grasping the composer's intentions.
This opus by Haydn lends itself particularly well to this type of study. Featuring irreproachable craftsmanship and great clarity, the music invites us to check our knowledge about the Classical style but to immediately call it into question through a succession of ever-renewed astonishments.