Christoph Graupner

Sinfonie in Es-Dur GWV 559

Parts , Stimmen of Symphony in E flat major GWV 559 for 2 Horns, 4 Timpani, Strings and Basso continuo

The Sinfonia GWV 559 features five movements that do not correspond to 18th-century dance movement designs. Thus, it falls somewhere in between the overture suite structure and the emerging early classical Symphony and its more abstract types of movements (the Minuet being the exception). Two lively, if not tempestuous move­ments, a Vivace and a Presto, frame the work, specifically the inner movements two and four. Each features a slower tempo and a more personalized and delicate compositional style. The bass part is given a greater role in the second movement; it carries the melody at times and occasionally even enters a dialogue with the first violins. The fourth movement stands out in terms of its unusual instrumental techniques: The three lower parts of this movement for strings only pluck their notes (“pizzicato”), while the melody in the first violin part is performed with a mute (“con sordino”). The fifth and longest movement of the Sinfonia with its tripartite, da capo structure marks the center of the entire piece like a block.