Haydn, Part 3

The menuet of Symphony no. 96 (1791) is a counter-example. Where the rising line was the primary figure in Symphony no. 86, III, as we saw in a previous post, and is eventually connected to a rising cadence gesture, in Symphony no. 96 the promise of same is not realized. In fact, Haydn goes out of his way to undermine (more like demolish) it.

The opening figure is more arpeggio—a "rocket"—than line, but it does establish A5 by the end of the phrase (bar 4). The primary cadence of the first strain, however, drops down the octave to close on B4-A4 (circled notes). (These examples, btw, are from a piano four-hands edition; I couldn't find a two-stave reduction.)

Below is the principal cadence in the reprise: it's down, down, down in all parts but the bass. The codetta, at least, does make a small effort to compensate, but there is nothing unusual about it: an "up and out" flourish in the final seconds is very common in the later 18th and early 19th centuries, so much so as to be a cliché for opera overtures, scenes, and arias (where the orchestra provides the flourish after the singer finishes).