Abstract:
This study argues that register – a neglected subject of music analysis – assumes the status of a primary parameter in Haydn's string quartets. The claim is substantiated with four case studies. The first movement of Op. 9 No. 4 exemplifies registral techniques that Haydn deployed and developed throughout his career as a quartet composer. Op. 20 No. 2 uses register as a main topic of compositional discourse, and as a means of establishing large-scale connections both within and between movements. The first movement of Op. 76 No. 5 employs register to create stability as well as instability, while the finale of Op. 74 No. 2 epitomises the paradox that registral destabilisation may help to create large-scale coherence.