most eloquent in existence, and
contains melodies so touching that they could have come only from the
very soul of Beethoven. Especially noteworthy is the aspiring melody
of the middle, contrasting portion (Maggiore) where the spirit, freed
from earthly dross, seems to mount to the skies in a chariot of fire.
The third part, where the minor mode is resumed, abounds in dramatic
touches; especially that fugal passage, where the ecclesiastical tone,
combined with pealing trumpets, brings before us some funeral pageant
in a vast, medieval cathedral. The Coda, beginning in A-flat major,
with an impressive mood of resignation, illustrates at its close a
psychological use of programmistic effect; for the first theme,
treated as a real person, disintegrates before our very
eyes--becoming, as it were, a disembodied spirit. Nothing can show
more clearly than this passage the widening of the expressive powers
of music which we owe to the genius of Beethoven. The same effect with
a slightly different dramatic purpose is found at the end of the
_Coriolanus_ Overture.

The Scherzo, allegro vivace, in triple time, but marked _one_ beat a
measure = 116 (almost two measures per second!), is unsurpassed for
sustained brilliancy and daring rhythmic changes. It is so
idiomatically conceived for orchestra that only the barest idea can be
gained from a pianoforte transcription. The prevailing background is a
mass of shimmering strings, marked by Beethoven "_sempre pp e
staccato_" and against this stands out a buoyant, folk-song type of
melody on the oboe. After some mysterious and fantastic modulations a
_ff_ climax is reached which leads to the famous syncopated passage
where the orchestra seems to hurl itself headlong into space, _e.g._

[Music]

The Trio, with its three hunting horns, gives a fresh, woodland note
typifying Beethoven's love of nature. Some mysterious modulations lead
us back from the dim recesses of the forest to the sparkling animation
of the Scherzo. In this part of the movement Beethoven plays one of
his characteristic practical jokes; for, just where we expect the same
syncopated effect as before, the time is changed from 3/4 to 2/2, the
duration of the measure remaining the same, _e.g._

[Music]

This effect may be likened to the uproarious guffaws of a giant. The
Coda has a clear reminiscence of the dramatic C-sharp in the main
theme of the first movement, _e.g._

[Music][143]

[Footnote 143: D-flat being