Listening to Haydn’s Op. 33 No. 22 (“The Joke”), I was waiting for the punch line. Ten minutes in and I was wondering if it had the just gone over my head. By the fourth movement I was just waiting for the piece to end; but then it picked again… and again… and again. With the repetitive themes and elongated pauses, it occurred to me that Haydn was using a technique we’ve seen throughout the semester, tension and release, in a manner similar to that of a comedian. Comic relief is used to break tension that is built up to a point of (or beyond) discomfort. The piece can be related to the classic “Slow Talkers” routine by comedic duo Bob and Ray.

As with the slow talker, Haydn gives small bits of unresolved information followed by a lengthy pause.  In the last minute alone of the fourth movement there are nine rests. Each time the audience anticipates more or assumes that the piece has ended, that is until it picks up again. Furthermore, because he is using a theme that is repeated over and over again, the audience feels as though it can fill in pauses.. like the slow talkers sketch, they are tempted to call out and fill in the blanks, because they know, or at least think they know, what is coming next.