Form

Minuet and Trio

Minuet (D minor)

Trio (D major)

Violins only. Double-stops in 1st violin create a three-voice texture

Notes

The minuet begins boldly in the minor, but quickly softens to the major. This is temporary lightening that becomes dark again, landing eventually on an oddly neutral dominant chord. The second reprise is a silvery reconfirmation of the minor, elegant and soft before the emphatic return to opening declamation.

The trio is quite literal about its namesake from the Baroque: Haydn cleverly reduces the quartet texture to a trio requiring only two instruments, the violins. The major key is brushed by the reedy hollowness of this almost ghostly duo (trio). The wind and the rasp is due partly to the double-stopping of the 1st violin. This little ensemble creates a lovely contrast for the trio, a sort of intimate hurdy-gurdy compared to the mighty and stern minuet.