Analysis Of The Lark Music

When I first started listening to this piece, Haydn’s String Quartet in D Major, Op. 64, “The Lark,” I was surprised by how familiar it sounded to me. I think it is well known, and has a distinct section that repeats multiple times throughout the piece, which is very well known. The strings often build up with one another to create a type of tension and anticipation throughout the movement. The piece appears to be written in ABA form, thus the listener has a clear idea of where the piece is going while listening to it.
The first portion of the piece has the “lark theme” repeat over and over, often with chaos occurring between each time it is played. While listening to the piece, I started to view each return to the lark theme as a return to …show more content…
111, I found the first movement to be extremely interesting, especially because of the time signature that it was written in. It appears that the first movement is written in 9/8, which I was not expecting to hear. The first movement puts a lot of the focus onto the cello, which I enjoyed listening to. The sound of the cello was prominently featured, which I enjoyed. It seems that the violins imitate the sound the cello is producing about twenty seconds into the piece, which creates almost a call and response type of effect. Tension seemed to have developed in this piece rather quickly, which is usually a theme reserved for the middle of a piece. It is interesting to see a different approach, where tension and possible conflict can be introduced earlier on in the music. The first section of the first movement ends on a note that does not allow the piece to resolve. It leaves the listener anticipating what is yet to come in the following …show more content…
The instruments are all moving quickly and playing different and conflicting parts all over one another, which creates an interesting and energetic sound. I liked having this energetic and lively section towards the end of the piece. It created anticipation and excitement while listening, while also revisiting some of the initial musical sections from the first movement. I thought that the revisiting of initial musical pieces tied the whole thing together, by showing the connection through the first and last movements. I thought it was interesting that this movement ended with a downbeat, as it initially started with an