Form and Structure in J. Haydn's "Von deiner Güt' o Herr und Gott" , from The Creation

Abstract

In challenging SPITZER's (2009) proposition of absence of structure and balance (parataxis) within "Von deiner Güt', o Herr und Gott" , from J. Haydn's The Creation, the present article addresses contemporary analytical theories of form that may reveal exactly the opposite. The analytical framework used in the study was drawn from theoretical tools designed by CAPLIN (1998; 2001; 2009), HEPOKOSKI, and DARCY (2006) for the analysis of Classical form. This paper argues that tonal balance is a fundamental organizational device and serves as a structuring agent in the composition discussed. Moreover, the tonal balance featured in "Von deiner Güt'" illuminates the underlying structure of the textual narrative, thus rendering a stronger rhetorical appeal to the climactic moment in which it is inserted. The most salient significance of this research lies in its applicability to other cases of less strict formal structure that may be dismissed as parataxis while they, in fact, feature careful formal construction on the composer's part.