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19th_CenturyMusic
Cmajor."1
I
2
167
Throughout this paper, upper-case letters signify major keys and triads
while lower-case letters signify minor keys and triads.
168
(a) diatonic (C to e)
LP
(b) chromatic (C to E)
(c) disjunct (c to E)
Adaptedfrom Kopp 2002, 10-11, Figs. 1.3-1.5
EXAMPLE
I.
Diatonic,
progressions.
C-E
I - III#
2.
PL
4.
I - iii
III - v
5.
C-at,
rare
PLP
c- E
6.
rare
c-Ab
i- VI
vi - IV
iv - rII
PLP
7.
c-e
EXAMPLE 2.
8.
rare
PL
c-at
rare
LP
STRUCTURAL
I69
interpretations, occur with relative frequency in commonpractice music. The remaining four progressions are relatively rare,perhaps due in part to the lack of clear harmonic
function. Does t~vi3have a submediant function, due to its
root? A dominant function due to its (respelled) leading
tone? Both? Neither?7
Perhaps more than any other development in compositional technique, the increasedapplicationof chromaticthird
relations distinguished the harmonic practice of the nine-
MUSIC
VIIP - V
LP
C- e
C-At,
I - kVI5
III - V#
3.
8
9
io
ii
Somer 1995, 216 notes that the most frequent chromatic third relations
earlier in the nineteenth century involve major triads.
See Krebs 1980, 117-18; Brown, Dempster, and Headlam 1997; and
Kopp 2002, 217-18.
See Kopp 2002, 151 and 213, and Hyer 1995, 130.
Examples of third relations from the music of Verdi, Debussy, and
Rimsky-Korsakov, among others, are also copious. See, for instance,
Somer 1995, 227 (Ex. 5) and 231-33 (Ex. 10); Berlioz's "Au cimitiere,"
mm. 9-15; and the opening of Act II of Rimsky-Korsakov's The Golden
Cockerel.
170
15
16
17
MUSIC
171
Hob. V: 5
B
Baryton Trio
Haydn
attributed
Minuet
Hob. IX: 26
F#
Haydn
Trio Sonata
Hob. XV: 31
e6
"Jacob'sDream!"
Haydn
B
Divertimento
Hob. XVI: 2c
Haydn
B
Hob. 46
Haydn
Symphony
95 out of more than 1,500 compositions (including attributedworks and folksong arrangements)
Mozart
*0 out of more than 600 compositions
Beethoven
Sonata
* 1 out of more than 200 compositions
op. 78
F#
Haydn
Haydn
Haydn
Beethoven
Beethoven
Beethoven
Beethoven
Beethoven
Sonata
String Quartet
String Quartet
Sonata
Sonata
Sonata
Sonata
String Quartet
Beethoven
Beethoven
Beethoven
String Quartet
String Quartet
String Quartet
D6
F#
B
ab
D6
D6
ab
bb
D6
g#
D6
Haydn
Haydn
Symphony
String Quartet
Beethoven
Fantasia
Beethoven
Beethoven
Sonata
String Quartet
H. 45 "Farewell,"ending
op. 64 #2, ending
F#
B ->
op. 77
g ->
F#
C#
(Picardythird)
(Picardythird)
parallel
(Picardythird)
Both Haydnand Beethovenwrotemanyminuet/triopairsin whichthe triois in the minuet'sparallelkey andhas fiveor moreaccidentalsin the
keysignature.
(c) extended sections within movements (sample listing)
EXAMPLE
172
20
21
the most out-of-tune.22 (See Example 4.) Hence, the sharpside boundary interval of usable major thirds tended to be
E-G#, the flat-side third, A6/(G#)-C.23 The three major
thirds that lay outside these boundaries (B-D#, F#-A #, and
Db-F) belonged to the tonic triads of the underused major
keys.24
While there were more tonally-distant keys than Ab and
E (speaking in terms of C-centricity), these two keys often
markedthe outerlimits of acceptableintonationon unequallytempered instruments-a boundary that has persisted into
modern-daynotation, as E and Ab still mark the edge of the
enharmonic keys (D6/C#, G6/F#, and Ck/B). Like the
dragon-infestedwaters that signaled the edge of terraincognito on the maps of early explorers, one can almost imagine
the eighteenth-century circle of fifths breakingat this point.
Venturinginto this "musicalbeyond"during the age of rationalism and enlightenment was rarely done, and then only
22
subtlevariationsof both meantoneand well-temperedtuningsproliferated, intonation and the concomitant characters of the keys comprised
more of a continuum than a hard-and-fast rule.
23
24
teenth century reinforced the sense of the major key (and its tonic
triad's 1-3 major third) as normative; minor keys were "marked"in the
semiotic sense, shadowy reflections of their major-mode counterparts.(See
Hatton 1994, 34-38, and Wheelock 1993, who uses the term "en-othered".)
Since this markedness bore a reflexive relationship to the minor mode's
orderedworld of the relativemajormode. The resultwas that minormode works in the eighteenth century were restricted to even fewer
The largestthirds
.OS
/ C'E
F"A"
DbF GBb
CbE&
BD\
~L
EbG
E
-G
<-.
the same
EG'
4 flatsand4 size
sharps
----
AC
thirds
equaltemperament
-
B"D ------
thesamesize
3 flatsand 3 sharps
->
&,
TheA
CE
AC'
DF'
a-
0
4
S.
part.27
Because E and Ab were the most distant keys from C in
common usage, their associations were among the most
powerful. While these associations have never been fixed as
to exact meaning, nor applicable to every work, there exists
evidence of general expressive trends: Ab is linked to slumber, darkness, and death while E major is associated with
transcendence, spirituality, and the sublime.28 Thus, we
GB
thirds
The smallestthirds
4. Major thirds in meantone temperaments. From
Jorgenson 1991, 180, Fig. 51-1: Well-Tempered Tuning-Vallotti'sTheoretically-CorrectMethod.
EXAMPLE
I73
enharmonically
equivalent
thirds
Pythagorean
MUSIC
25
26
27
28
174
29
30
these positive and negative associations. Finally, one must not overlook
sharp vs. flat symbolism. Schalk noted that sharps "press upwards, towards light," while flats "strive toward the depths, into darkness." See
Wason 1997, 130. Apparently, Riemann concurred: see Wason and
Marvin 1992, 93, as well as the synopsis in Hatten 1994, 43.
Wagner uses E as the erotic key in Tannhauser.See also Gilliam 1991,
68 for a discussion of Strauss, E major, and the erotic.
Steptoe 1988,232-42 suggests that flat keys in Cosi represent falseness;
keys near C, neutrality; and sharp keys, sincerity. The whole opera is
31
32
33
IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY
MUSIC
175
66
63
Ab: I
E:
\VI
16
"7
V7
Sharp Keys
mm.
66
149
208
280
310
291
372
483
576
539
developmental
E?
EA
E--------(I-V)
(F---d/F)
Flat Keys
(b) overall tonalplan
EXAMPLE
5. Act IIfinale of Mozart's Cosl fan tutte.
34
often made to undergraduatesthat modal mixture is essentially a coloristic device that inserts chromatic alterations
into one or more voices of the tonal structurewithout requiring a shift in understanding of fundamental harmonic or
contrapuntalprinciples.
15/2b, 98/3a, 100/5, 108, 112, and 113/2 for examples.See also Beach
1997, and Kopp2002, 109-12.
Krebs1980, discussesoscillatorythirdprogressionsand circlesof thirds
involvingtonic harmonies(94-121) and describesthe same techniques
prolonging non-tonic harmonies (84-94). Kielian-Gilbert1990, 5052, uses terminology drawn from the definition of the transposition
176
(2006)
65
b"VI"
Ab:
4-6V/vi
IV
V
,,
(a)graphicanalysis
36
Proctor 1978, 178-79 analyzes the opening of this Lied as a bass arpeggiation of the augmented triad. The deep middleground here would
look quite different if the Db and Eb quarter notes in m. 21 were taken
to be bona fide harmonies, certainly a viable reading. Note that
Schenkerian graphs throughout the present paper are middlegroundoriented and thus lack foreground detail. Accidentals apply only to
their immediate context and do not carry throughout.
Krebs 1980 argues that in Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, thirds
(often chromatic) above and below tonic either lead directly to V (as in
I-III#-V or I-bVIb5-V) or embellish V (V-III#-V or V-1VIs5-V).
Numerous examples are cited in pages 24-59 and 73-84.
Ab:
b dt
oiro
[IV6
(b) diatonicprototype
EXAMPLE
39
I77
these keys, chromatic thirds could be strung from (or to) the
tonic. This happens in Chopin's Polonaise, op. 53, in which
the tonic Ab is prolonged first by its upper third, C (III), an
arpeggiation both in m. 49 and again in m. 58 (functioning
locally as V/vi), and later by its lower third, F6 (spelled as E),
beginning in m. 81. (See Example 7.) This music comprises
a concatenation of two separate oscillating progressions on
different levels of structure-Ab-C-Ak and Ab-E-A .40 C
major, a local expansion of A6, exists at a more foreground
level than E, the tonic of the work's entire middle section.
Despite this, C is emphasized both as the most obvious tonal
departure from the tonic Ab within the first section and
by virtue of its recurrence at the end of the retransition
back into Ab (mm. 145-51) and in the final cadence (mm.
179-80).
When anchored by the dominant, two less obvious tonic
contexts-a minor and f minor-predominate. In each key,
one of the three members of the complex can function as III
(the relative major) and another as V# (the functional dominant). The third member is often used to connect the two.41
The scherzo movement of Schubert'sSonata in a minor, op.
42, provides an illustration. (See Example 8.) Here, the expected modulation to the mediant during the first reprise of
MUSIC
40
41
178
a:
A:
III
ii
I
EXAMPLE 8.
42, iii.
EXAMPLE
op.53.
@@@@@@
III
OF THE A--C-E
COMPLEX
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
COLLECTIONS IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY
MUSIC
179
51
52
I80
@ @@@@@@@@
o_?M??????'
f:
EXAMPLE
III
VL
Ab~'l?"H
E He
H
54
53
C refuses to relinquish its role in the development as dividing dominant. Rather, an unstable neighboring 6 elaborates the V Stufe when the
primary material appears, only giving way to a root-position tonic later
in the recapitulation. Thus, the inclusion of neo-Riemannian thirdcentric analysis with the Schenkerian graph provides one explanation
for Beethoven's disruption of the paradigmatic sonata form retransitional tonal structure.
A motivic rationale for the idiosyncratic recapitulation that cites the
transferal of the DB-C neighbor to the bass is also viable. See Smith
1995, 268-70, for an unconventional reading of this movement's tonal
Just as a neo-Riemannian analytic vantage point may inform a Schenkerianreading,as in the "Appassionata"
analysis
above, the converse is also true. The indeterminacyof directionality implied by "polar progressions"-motion across a
hexatonic pole (PLP or LPL)-can be clarified by the
prolongational context.55 While the distinction may seem
academic,the two different labels-LPL and PLP-suggest
two different hearings that imply a differentiation between
clockwise and counterclockwise motion about a hexatonic
pole, or-in linear rather than cyclic space-ascending and
descending harmonic root motion. When considered as "up"
vs. "down,"the directionality of such harmonic progressions
can play an integral role in a work'sdramaticeffect.
55
structure that highlights these falling bass half-steps and suggests that
the "apparenttonic" recapitulation grows out of a dominant prolongation at the opening.
Cohn's reading presupposes a lack of directionality. In examples from
the literature, he cites direct motion between the hexatonic polesmotion that lacks common tones-rather than an incremental shift
from one pole to the other is responsible for this progression's uncanny
effect. See Cohn 2004 and Cohn 1996, 21-22.
MUSIC
181
Sv)
PL
PLP
56
57
Stull 2006.
58
182
(PT)
auf!
all!
auf!
all!
Str.
p espr.
PP
'Cel o
K.-dr
c:
tII
LP
(a) "Ghost-ship"cadence,Hd/42/3/1
Section
Measures
Key
Synopsis
Recit.
29/1/1
Dutchman
makesland
A
32/1/1
c
Deathless
wandering
B
35/5/5
ab
Beseeches
anangel
C
38/1/1
c
Longsfor
the Day of
Judgment
(b)formal overview
EXAMPLE
II.
Coda
41/3/5
C-E-c
Crewwelcomes
death
60
61
183
close.60
59
MUSIC
63
184
65
66
67
Peter Smith argues that the G#-E-C augmented triad achieves a motivic and expressive importance that transcends its role in the structural
hierarchy. See Smith 1994, 258-60, and 2005, 17-18.
Interested readers may wish to compare this graph with that in Smith
2005, 102.
Proctor 1978, 181-200.
This passage bears a striking resemblance to a similar retransitional
third chain with deceptive motion in Liszt's Orpheus,mm. 114-30.
70
motive on: E
EXAMPLE 12.
mm. 70-78.
The Ab-C-E
c:
V4
15
IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY
MUSIC
I85
G-
complex in Brahms' Quartet, op. 60, Andante: Graphic analysis of the retransition to the opening material,
COLLECTIONS
ing systems, key associations, and the conventions of functional tonality had upon earlier music.72
Smith holds that E is not only an expressive reprieve from the surrounding tragedy of c minor, but also bears motivic cross-references
with the first movement. The Andante's E major can be heard as an outgrowth of the pizzicato E's from the Allegro (Smith 2005, 101).
Likewise, the foreignness of the C0 in the augmented triad highlights
the tonal distance between E and the quartet's overarching c tonic
(Smith 2005, 17).
i86
favored the use of the Ab-C-E complex span the final days
of the classic era to the "progressive"New German school
and its antipode, the "conservative,"Johannes Brahms.
Moreover, the examples cited above include chamber music
and orchestral music, concerto and symphony, Lieder and
opera, and musics both dramaticand absolute. From surfacelevel melodies to multi-movement connections, the Ab-C-E
complex appears in almost every conceivable context, transcending the boundaries of genre, form, and tonal hierarchy.
More importantly,an awarenessof its origins, tonal functions, and expressivityenriches our analytic practice. Recognition of these sonorities' group structureuncovers intersections and contradictions between tonal/hierarchical and
phenomenological/referential hearings of music, impacting
our understanding of musical form and musical meaning.
That we can appreciate these intersections and contradictions in an artistic style period that embraced duality and
ambiguity seems only fitting. And, despite the nineteenthcentury's flowering of stylistic diversity fueled by individual
expression, the AK-C-E complex allows us to trace a scarlet
thread of sorts through the structuraland expressive compositional practices of the romantic era.
APPENDIX:
SOME Ab-C-E
COMPLEX PIECES
138-89ff.
Fidelio
Beethoven,
Beethoven, String Quartet in e, op. 59, no. 2, i, mm. 209-21
Beethoven, String Quartet in E&,op. 127, ii
Brahms, Piano Quartet in c, op. 60, mm. 70-78
Brahms, Symphony no. 1 in c, op. 68
MUSIC
187
188
28 (2006)
MUSICTHEORYSPECTRUM
Hatten,
Robert.
1994.
Musical Meaning
in Beethoven.
University.
Kielian-Gilbert, Marianne. 1990. "The Functional Differentiation of Harmonic and Transpositional Patterns
in Liszt's Consolation No. 4." 19th-Century Music 14: 48-
59.
Kinderman, William and Harald Krebs, eds. 1996. The
Second Practice of Nineteenth-Century
University of NebraskaPress.
Tonality. Lincoln:
1-16.
McKee, Eric. 2001. "Hope and Salvation in the Instrumental Music of Beethoven."Paper read at the Beethoven
Easter Festival,Krak6w.
Neumeyer, David. 1982. "Organic Structure and the Song
Cycle: Another Look at Schumann'sDichterliebe."Music
Theory Spectrum 4: 92-105.
--.
David Beach, and Jonathan Bernard. Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 197-216.
--
COLLECTIONS IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY
gart:W. Spemann.
. 1922. "Tonalitat." In Musik-Lexikon. Edited by
Alfred Einstein. Berlin: Max Heffes Verlag.
Rimsky-Korsakov,
Nicolai.
Harmonie.Leipzig: M. P. Belaieff.
Roig-Francoli, Miguel. 2003. Harmony in Context. New
York:McGraw-Hill.
Rothfarb, Lee A. 1991. Ernst Kurth: Selected Writings. Cam-
18.3: 237-61.
I89
MUSIC
245-83.
. 2005. Expressive Forms in Brahms's Instrumental
Taruskin, Richard. 1985. "Chernomor to Kashchei: Harmonic Sorcery, or, Stravinsky's 'Angle'."Journal of the
American Musicological Society 38: 72-142.
London.
Wason, Robert. 1997. "Joseph Schalk and the Theory of
Harmony at the End of the Nineteenth Century." In
90o
69-117.
Berlin: R. Sulzer.