Throughout 1793, Beethoven received lessons in counterpoint from Joseph Haydn based mostly on exercises from the 1725 book Gradus ad Parnassum by Johann Joseph Fux. Some 245 of these counterpoint exercises in Beethoven’s hand still exist, some with corrections by Haydn.
In other 1793 news, the former King of France, Louis XVI, was executed by guillotine in January, and Marie Antoinette was executed in October. The widespread public executions that would constitute the Terror would continue until July 1794.
#Beethoven250 Day 36
Allemande in A for Piano (WoO 81), 1793
Allemande movements in Baroque music are in 4/4 time, but by Beethoven’s age, the allemande had become a type of social dance in triple meter, as in this trifle.
#Beethoven250 Day 36
Allemande in A for Piano (WoO 81), 1793
If each 8-bar section is labeled A, B, C, and D, then the overall structure is AABBCCDDAB, also common for minuet movements in larger works. Here, the C and D sections in A minor.