Kaiserquartett

The Kaiserquartett (Hob. III:77) is a string quartet in C major by Joseph Haydn. It bears the Opus number 76 No. 3.

The Kaiserquartett is one of six string quartets which Haydn composed in 1797 at the age of 65 after his return from London and dedicated to Count Erdődy. They were published in 1799. The third of these quartets was nicknamed the "Kaiserquartett" because its second movement (G major, poco adagio, cantabile) contains four cantus firmus variations on the theme of the "Volkslied" previously composed by Haydn (according to the first edition of 1797) "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser".[1]

Some 40 years later, August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben wrote his "Deutschlandlied" (Das Lied der Deutschen) (according to its first edition) on the then British Heligoland to Haydn's famous and popular melody, the third verse of which today serves as the text of the national anthem of Germany. This has motivic echoes in places of the aria "Qualche volta non fa male" from Haydn's opera Il mondo della luna (1777); a very similar motif can also be seen at the end of the "Alleluia" from Mozart's motet Exsultate, jubilate (1773). The question, however, whether this is a deliberate borrowing of Haydn must remain unanswered.[2]

Part designations
1. Allegro
2. Poco Adagio. Cantabile – Var. I–IV
3. Menuetto
4. Finale. Presto

References
  1. Streichquartette op. 76: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
  2. Notes at Mutopia Project
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