How is Haydn's Symphony No. 104 built, and what should you know about each movement for the set-work questions?
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.
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What this dot point is asking
Haydn's Symphony No. 104 in D major, the last of his twelve London symphonies, is a set work for Area of Study A, and the detailed analysis questions in Component 3 are answered on it with a skeleton score. You must know the four movements and their structures, the key scheme, the themes and how Haydn develops them, and the texture, sonority and rhythm, so you can locate and describe features precisely. This dot point is the close knowledge of the work that the score-based questions reward.
The work and its context
Movement 1: Adagio - Allegro
Movement 2: Andante
Movement 3: Menuetto (Allegro) and Trio
Movement 4: Finale (Allegro spiritoso)
How Eduqas examines this
Haydn 104 is examined through the detailed set-work analysis in the Western Classical Tradition section of Component 3, answered on a skeleton score, and as evidence in the development-of-the-symphony essay. You choose to study one set symphony in detail (Haydn 104 or Mendelssohn 4) and the other for general study, and you answer the set-work question that matches your detailed work. Learn each movement's structure, key scheme, themes, texture and sonority, and fix the signature moments so you can hear them and find them on the score.
Try this
Q1. What is unusual about the second subject in the first movement of Haydn 104? [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. It is monothematic: the second subject (in the dominant, A major) reuses the first subject's material rather than presenting a contrasting new theme.
Q2. Describe two features of the finale of Haydn 104. [Short explanation]
- Cue. Any two of: a folk-like tune over a tonic and dominant drone (a bagpipe effect); driving rhythm; sonata form in D major; the full Classical orchestra with trumpets and timpani; tutti against lighter scoring.
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 (set-work, style)10 marksWith reference to the printed score, describe how Haydn develops his thematic material in the first movement of Symphony No. 104. [10]Show worked answer →
A detailed set-work analysis question (AO3) answered with the skeleton score. The marker rewards specific, score-located observation of how the material is transformed.
Method. Establish the slow introduction (Adagio, D minor) and the Allegro first subject in D major. Note that the exposition is monothematic: the second subject in the dominant (A major) reworks the first subject's idea rather than presenting a wholly new tune.
Develop. Trace the development: Haydn fragments the main motif, drives it through new keys (minor colourings, the flat side), uses sequence and imitation, and builds tension over unstable harmony before the recapitulation returns the material to D major. Quote bar locations and name the device (fragmentation, sequence, imitation, the monothematic reuse). Markers reward genuine score-based detail; they penalise a generic account of sonata form with no reference to Haydn's actual handling.
Eduqas C3 2023 (set-work, style)8 marksDescribe the structure and main features of the finale of Haydn's Symphony No. 104. [8]Show worked answer →
A structured set-work question (AO3). The marker rewards the correct form and real, justified features.
Method. Name the finale as an Allegro spiritoso in sonata form (sometimes described as a sonata-rondo), in D major, built on a folk-like tune over a drone (tonic and dominant) that suggests a bagpipe or hurdy-gurdy.
Develop. Describe features: the catchy, repetitive theme; the drone bass; the energetic, driving rhythm; the full Classical orchestra with trumpets and timpani; and the sonata-form key journey (tonic, dominant, development, return to the tonic). Add a textural or dynamic detail (tutti against lighter scoring). Markers reward the structure plus specific features tied to the music, not a vague "lively finale".
Related dot points
- The Classical symphony and the four-movement plan: the Classical style, the four movements (fast, slow, minuet and trio, finale) and their typical structures, sonata form and its key scheme, and how Haydn and Mozart shaped the genre, as the model for the set work Haydn 104.
An Eduqas A-Level Music answer to the Classical symphony and the four-movement plan (Area of Study A). Covers the Classical style, the four movements and their typical structures, sonata form and its key scheme, the minuet and trio, rondo and theme and variations, and how Haydn and Mozart shaped the genre.
- 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.
- The orchestra and sonority in the symphony: the Classical orchestra and its sections, the growth into the Romantic orchestra, the roles of strings, woodwind, brass and percussion, and the vocabulary for describing orchestration (doubling, tutti, solos, pizzicato) in the set works.
An Eduqas A-Level Music answer to the orchestra and sonority in the symphony (Area of Study A). Covers the Classical orchestra and its sections, the growth into the Romantic orchestra, the roles of strings, woodwind, brass and percussion, and the vocabulary for describing orchestration in the set symphonies and unprepared extracts.
- 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.
- 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.
Sources & how we know this
- Eduqas A Level Music (A660) specification — Eduqas (WJEC) (2016)
- Eduqas A Level Music: set works and skeleton scores — Eduqas (WJEC) (2023)