How do Haydn 104 and Mendelssohn 4 compare, and how do you use them as evidence in the symphony essays?
Comparing the set symphonies (Haydn 104 and Mendelssohn 4): their shared four-movement frame and their differences in style, harmony, orchestral colour, form and expression, and how to deploy both as evidence in the development-of-the-symphony and comparison essays.
An Eduqas A-Level Music answer comparing the two set symphonies, Haydn 104 and Mendelssohn 4, for Area of Study A. Covers their shared four-movement frame and their differences in style, harmony, orchestral colour, form and expression, and how to use both as evidence in the development-of-the-symphony and comparison essays of Component 3.
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What this dot point is asking
The Western Classical Tradition essays often ask you to compare the two set symphonies, Haydn 104 and Mendelssohn 4, and to place them in the development of the symphony. You need to know what the two works share (a four-movement frame, sonata form, a major key, a Classical-sized orchestra) and how they differ (style, harmony, orchestral colour, form and expression), and to deploy both as paired evidence in an argued essay. This dot point turns your detailed knowledge of each work into a comparison.
What the two works share
How they differ in style and expression
How they differ in harmony, orchestra and form
Placing them in the development of the symphony
How Eduqas examines this
Comparison and development are examined in the extended essays of the Western Classical Tradition section, which ask you to compare the two symphonies or to discuss the development of the symphony with reference to the music you have studied. The set works are your evidence, so you must be able to give paired observations (this in Haydn, that in Mendelssohn) on orchestra, harmony, form, melody and expression, and weave them into an argument about change. Plan comparative threads, not two separate descriptions.
Try this
Q1. Name two things Haydn 104 and Mendelssohn 4 have in common. [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. Any two of: a four-movement plan; a major key; a Classical-sized orchestra; sonata form in the outer movements; largely diatonic harmony.
Q2. Give one way Mendelssohn 4 shows the symphony moving towards Romanticism. [Short explanation]
- Cue. Any one of: greater lyricism; a vivid sense of place (Italy); more colouristic orchestration; a cyclic recall of material; the bold minor-key saltarello finale.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC Eduqas exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Eduqas C3 2022 (essay, style)20 marksCompare the use of the orchestra and musical style in the two symphonies you have studied, and place them in the development of the symphony 1750 to 1900. [20]Show worked answer →
An extended essay (AO3 and AO4), marked by levels of response. The marker rewards a genuine comparison anchored in named features of both works, set within the historical development.
Method. Frame the comparison: both are four-movement symphonies in a major key for a Classical-sized orchestra, but Haydn 104 is mature Classical (1795) and Mendelssohn 4 is early Romantic (1833). Plan comparative threads: orchestral colour, harmony and tonality, form, melody and expression.
Develop. Give paired evidence on each thread. Orchestra: both use double woodwind, horns, trumpets and timpani, but Mendelssohn writes more characterful, colouristic lines (the repeated-chord opening, the horn trio) where Haydn writes clear, functional Classical scoring. Form: both use sonata form, but Mendelssohn keeps a Classical frame while adding a cyclic touch and a minor-key saltarello finale; Haydn writes a monothematic first movement and a folk-drone finale. Harmony: both are largely diatonic, but Mendelssohn is more lyrical and chromatic in places. Place each in the story (Haydn the Classical peak, Mendelssohn the early-Romantic bridge). The top band argues a comparison with evidence, not two separate descriptions.
Eduqas C3 2023 (essay, style)12 marksExplain what the two set symphonies show about how the symphony changed between the late eighteenth and the mid nineteenth century. [12]Show worked answer →
A development essay (AO3 and AO4). The marker rewards using the two works to chart change.
Method. Use Haydn 104 (1795) and Mendelssohn 4 (1833) as two snapshots roughly forty years apart. Identify what stayed the same (the four-movement frame, sonata form, a major key, a Classical-sized orchestra) and what changed (greater lyricism and individual expression, more colouristic orchestration, a sense of place and programme, a cyclic link, a bold minor-key finale).
Develop. Anchor each point in both works (Haydn's monothematic Classical economy versus Mendelssohn's lyrical, picturesque writing and the Italian's evocation of place). Conclude that the symphony moved from Classical balance towards Romantic expression and colour while keeping its formal frame. The top band uses the two works as evidence for a clear line of change.
Related dot points
- The development of the symphony 1750 to 1900: its origins, the Classical four-movement symphony, the growth in scale, expression and orchestra through Beethoven into the Romantic period, and the historical context (patronage, the concert hall and programme music) that shaped it, as the spine of Area of Study A.
An Eduqas A-Level Music answer to the development of the symphony 1750 to 1900 (Area of Study A). Covers the origins of the symphony, the Classical four-movement plan, the expansion of scale, expression and orchestra through Beethoven into the Romantic period, and the context of patronage, the public concert and programme music that shaped it.
- The Romantic symphony and the growth of the orchestra: the expansion in scale, length, harmony and orchestral colour after Beethoven, cyclic and programmatic design, nationalism, and the larger Romantic orchestra, as the context for the set work Mendelssohn 4.
An Eduqas A-Level Music answer to the Romantic symphony and the growth of the orchestra (Area of Study A). Covers the expansion in scale, length, chromatic harmony and orchestral colour after Beethoven, cyclic and programmatic design, nationalism, and the larger Romantic orchestra, the context for the set work Mendelssohn 4.
- Haydn Symphony No. 104 in D major (the London) as a set work: the four movements and their structures, the key scheme, the themes and their development, the texture, sonority and rhythm, and the signature moments you must be able to locate on the skeleton score.
An Eduqas A-Level Music answer to Haydn's Symphony No. 104 in D major (the London) as a set work for Area of Study A. Covers the four movements and their structures, the key scheme, the themes and their development, texture, sonority and rhythm, and the signature moments to locate on the skeleton score in Component 3.
- Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4 in A major (the Italian) as a set work: the four movements and their structures, the key scheme (including the minor-key finale), the themes, the orchestral colour and the early-Romantic features (lyricism, a sense of place, a cyclic touch and the saltarello finale) to locate on the skeleton score.
An Eduqas A-Level Music answer to Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4 in A major (the Italian) as a set work for Area of Study A. Covers the four movements and their structures, the key scheme including the minor-key saltarello finale, the themes, the orchestral colour and the early-Romantic features to locate on the skeleton score in Component 3.
- The elements of music applied to the symphony: melody, harmony, tonality, texture, rhythm, metre, tempo, dynamics, articulation, structure and sonority, and how to describe each precisely when analysing the set works and unprepared extracts.
An Eduqas A-Level Music answer to the elements of music applied to the symphony (Area of Study A). Defines melody, harmony, tonality, texture, rhythm, metre, tempo, dynamics, articulation, structure and sonority, and shows how to describe each precisely when analysing the set symphonies and unprepared extracts.
Sources & how we know this
- Eduqas A Level Music (A660) specification — Eduqas (WJEC) (2016)
- Eduqas A Level Music: The Western Classical Tradition guidance — Eduqas (WJEC) (2023)