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8423575
Konecne, Julie Lynn
HARMONIC REDUCTION TECHNIQUES IN MUSIC ANALYSIS, C. 1770-1917
The University of Iowa Ph.D. 1984
University
Microfilms
International 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106
Copyright 1984
by
Konecne, Julie Lynn
All Rights Reserved
HARMONIC REDUCTION TECHNIQUES
IN MUSIC ANALYSIS, c. 1770-1917
by
Julie Lynn Konecne
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the Doctor of
Philosophy degree in Music
in the Graduate College of
The University of Iowa
May 1984
Thesis supervisor: Professor Walter T. Atcherson
Graduate College
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
PH.D. THESIS
This is to certify that the Ph.D. thesis of
Julie Lynn Konecne
has been approved by the Examining Committee

for the thesis requirement for the Doctor of
Philosophy degree in Music at the May 1984
graduation.
Thesis committee:
Thesis supervisor
Member
Member
Membe
© Gopyright by
JULIE LYNN KONECNE
1984
All Rights Reserved
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF F I G U R E S ........................................ iii
PREFACE .............................................. vii
CHAPTER
I. INTRODUCTION ............................... 1
II. JOHANN PHILIPP KIRNBERGER ................ 9
III. ABBE GEORG JOSEPH V O G L E R .................. 39
IV. JEROME JOSEPH DE M O M I G N Y .................. 60
V. JOHANN BERNHARD LOGIER .................... 74
VI. AUGUST FREDERIC CHRISTOPHER KOLLMANN . . . 99
VII. SIMON S E C H T E R ................................ 119
VIII. ERNST FRIEDRICH RICHTER .................. 136
IX. OTHER T H E O R I S T S ............................. 151
Charles Simon Catel ...................... 151

Ernst von S t o c k h a u s e n ...................... 156
Ernst K u r t h ................................. 168
X. CONCLUDING R E M A R K S ........................... 177
BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................... 180
ii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
1. Essential and nonessential dissonances . . . 15
2. The essential seventh chord ................. 16
3. The six-five c h o r d ............................ 17
4. Resolution of the suspension over

a new bass note . .. .......................... 18
5. The fundamental bass below chord inversions . 20
6. Consonant and dissonant six-four chords . . . 21
7. Multiple passing tones ....................... 22
8. Multiple passing chords ..................... 23
9. Fundamental progression of
the seventh c h o r d s ............................ 25
10. Fundamental movement by second in Harmonie . . 25
11. Basis for the assumed f u n d a m e n t a l .......... 26
12. Omission of resolution of a fundamental . . . 29
13. Fundamental bass for the progression in

Figure 1 2 ..................................... 29
14. An excerpt from Kirnberger's analysis

of one of his own f u g u e s ...................... 31
15. Schulz's analysis of J.S. Bach's

Fugue in B m i n o r ............................... 35
16. Vogler's first use of Roman numerals to

indicate the seventh scale degree ........... 45
17. The use of Roman numerals in Grund der

kuhrpfalzischen Tonschule .................... 46
iii
18. An example of Mehrdeutigkeit in the
C major triad ................................. 47
19. The tonic, dominant, and subdominant triads

as the basis for the s c a l e .................... 48
20. Preparation of a nonessential dissonance

by another dissonance ........................ 51
21. Vogler's analysis of a violin sonata

by Freiherr von K e r p e r n ..................... 54
22. Binary and ternary cadences .................. 67
23. General and particular cadences .............. 69
24. An excerpt from Momigny's analysis

of Mozart's Quartet in D Minor, K. 421. . . . 71
25. The major scale harmonized with

a fundamental b a s s ............................ 78
26. Generation of the first three notes

of the major s c a l e ............................ 78
27. Generation of the first

six notes of the major s c a l e ................. 79
28. Generation of the major scale

by movement of the fundamental b a s s ......... 80
29. The fundamental-bass below inverted chords . . 80
30. Treatment of the 4-3 suspension

over the fundamental b a s s .................... 81
31. Double dissonances ............................. 82
32. The diminished seventh chord .................. 84
33. Logier's explanation of how all fundamentals

of the scale are g e n e r a t e d .................... 86
34. The fundamental bass showing the

underlying structure of a progression . . . . 88
35. Dissonant chords where the

dissonances occur unprepared .................. 91
iv
36. An excerpt from Corelli's Concerto #1 in DMajor,
with Logier's fundamental bass beneath . . . . 93
37. The underlying structure of a segment of

Corelli's Concerto #1 in D m a j o r .......... 98
38. Kollmann's fundamental discords .............. 103
39. Parallel sixth chords explained

by the fundamental b a s s .................... 105
40. Double suspensions resolving over a new bass . 107
41. Kollmann's example of an anticipation . . . . 107
42. Formation of the diminished seventh chord .. 109
43. Kollmann's anomalous seventh chords ......... 110
44. Kollmann's analysis of a piece

by Orlando G i b b o n s ...........................Ill
45. The use of passing tones to prolong a chord . 121
46. Tacit fundamental between

two triads descending by a second . . . . . . 123
47. Tacit fundamental between

two triads ascending by a s e c o n d ........... 124
48. Interpretation of the suspension

over a fundamental progression ............... 125
49. Elaboration of triads

through dominant sevenths .................... 127
50. Other variations on the

fundamental progression at Figure 49 ......... 128
51. Elaboration of triads in A m i n o r ............ 129
52. Chromatic elaboration of triads in A minor . . 130
53. Two fundamentals per bar in triple meter . . . 131
54. Two to three fundamentals per

bar in a four m e t e r .........................132
55. Four, five, and six fundamentals to a bar . . 133
with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
56. The tonic, dominant, and subdominant triads . 138
57. Regular resolution of the seventh chord . . . 139
58. Free resolution of the s e v e n t h .............. 139
59. Resolution of the seventh

chord with common tone ........................ 139
60. Eleventh and thirteenth chords

appearing as suspensions ...................... 141
61. Passing chords appearing on weak beats . . . . 144
62. Stepwise passing motion

between two fundamental harmonies ........... 145
63. A fundamental harmonic progression by Richter. 147
64. The fundamental harmonic progression

of Figure 63 with rhythm a d d e d .............. 148
65. Development of the soprano line of Figure 63 . 148
66. Excegpt from Beethoven's Quartet

in E , second m o v e m e n t ...................... 149
67. Natural chords contained in
the dominant ninth c h o r d .......... 152
68. Catel's suspension figures .................... 154
69. The consonant s u s p e n s i o n ..................... 154
70. Intermediate cadences ........................ 156
71. Stockhausen's analysis of the

C# Major Fugue from Part I of Bach's W.T.C. . 159
72. The C# Major Fugue from

Part I of Bach's W . T . C ........................162
73: Kurth's treatment of

the fourth as a d i s s o n a n c e .................. 174
vi
PREFACE
This study had its beginnings in two papers that
were read at a chapter meeting of the American
Musicological Society, one by Floyd K. Grave on Abbe
Vogler and the other by William E. Caplin on Simon
Sechter. After hearing these presentations I believed
that surely there were other theorists who discussed
reductive techniques in analysis, if even at a primitive
level. My interest in the increasingly philosophical
attitudes in all aspects of nineteenth-century thought
also played arole in my search, since it is precisely
this attitude that precipitated the empirical approach
to analysis espoused by the theorists I would be
studying. The purpose of the study is not to outline
the complete harmonic theories of these theorists. I
have includedonly those ideas pertaining to harmony and
analysis that will support their concepts of reduction
and their contrapuntal interpretations of musical
structure.
In all cases I have retained the spellings and
punctuation found in the original treatises or editions
I used. Some of the theorists, particularly those from
vii
Britain, were prone toward the excessive use of italics.
I have omitted these where they did not seem to have any
significance. All of the translations are my own unless
otherwise indicated.
I would like to acknowledge the invaluable assis
tance provided by Professor W. T. Atcherson throughout
the preparation of this dissertation. I would also like
to thank Professor Eric Ziolek for his suggestions
during the writing of the text, and Professors Richard
Hervig, Frederick Crane, and James Pusack for their help
in the final stages of this project.
viii
1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
The eighteenth century produced two opposing lines
of thought in music theory. One was the rational,
mathematical point of view firmly based on acoustics.
The other was a more empirical approach where the ear
played an important role in evaluating musical events.
The former viewpoint was first outlined in detail by
Rameau and carried on by his followers, including
Marpurg and Gottfried Weber. The latter philosophy was
proposed by Kirnberger, whose opposition to Marpurg re
sulted in a heated and widely known controversy.
It was also in the eighteenth century that
theorists and composers began to take more interest in
the works of other great composers. This aided them in
their own attempts at composition and also satisfied
their curiosity about exactly how the basic tools of
music were put together to satisfy the listener. Thus
the emphasis in music theory expanded from a mere
explanation of scales and chord structure to include
more detailed investigations into the finished
product— the music itself. Theorists found it necessary
to try to justify the existence of the new forms of
dissonance that were becoming more and more a part of
harmony. Those who undertook to explain these struc
tures from a strict, rational point of view were forced
into harmonic theories of such complexity that their
validity was questionable.
Rameau's basic assumption was that all of harmony
arises from nature, which is represented by the harmonic
series. He also believed that melody arises from
harmony, as he showed by' the rule of the octave. His
approach to analysis was to explain in some way each
vertical sonority as a product of the harmonic series.
The result was a system based on very large chord
structures, with notes extracted from the upper reaches
of the harmonic series.^- It was also necessary to have
a very large chord inventory in order to account for
every possible musical situation.
The empirical school of thought based its reasoning
on the idea that music could be explained in much
simpler terms. Their approach was based on musical
context rather than strict mathematics or acoustical
phenomena. They did, however, retain two very important
■^This explanation of complex chord structures by an

extended harmonic series did not appear until his Code
de musique pratique (1760). The other ideas in this
paragraph were already present in the Traite de
l'harmonie of 1722.
3
elements from Rameau: 1) the concept of the fundamental
bass, which showed the reduction of each vertical
sonority to its harmonic fundamental, and 2) the view
that the most important harmonic progression was that
involving root movement down a fifth or up a fourth.
The main difference in their theories lay in their
interpretation of dissonant sonorities. Their premise
was, contrary to Rameau, that harmony comes from melody.
It is therefore incorrect to think that all the tones of
a vertical sonority are necessarily chord tones. Some
of them are embellishing tones which are not part of the
harmonic structure, but whose purpose is to create a
smoother melodic connection or to add melodic interest.
These notes should not be considered in determining the
fundamental bass.
The recognition of nonharmonic tones was an
important step toward understanding musical hierarchy.
Although many theorists described different types of
nonharmonic tones from as early as the sixteenth century
on, some included more detailed explanations than

2
others. In his study on theories of non-chord tones
2
James Robert Burke, A Study of Theories of
Non-Chord Tones Pertaining to the Music of the Period
ca. 1650 to ca. 1875 (Ph.D. dissertation, Bloomington,
Indiana, 1963) .
4
James R. Burke says that early seventeenth-century
theorists made only brief statements about these
dissonances. Descartes, for example, defined them as
dissonances that often appeared where consonances should
have been. English theorists of the seventeenth century
made reference to passing tones and suspensions. Their
definitions, however, referred more to division tech
niques than to harmonic dissonances. Theorists such as
Simpson, Playford, and Morley used the passing tone idea
to supply variation to a cantus firmus. This might be
viewed as an early opposite to reduction technique,
since divisions in a sense served a compositional pur
pose, creating a more complex melody from a simpler one.
Later theorists described nonharmonic tones in more
detail. The controversy then began as to whether they
were harmonically derived, as proposed by Rameau, or
whether they developed out of contrapuntal motion, as
suggested by Kirnberger. Heinrich Christopher Koch, a
supporter of Kirnberger"s approach, devoted a chapter in

3
the Handbuch bey dem Studium der Harmonie (1811) to
nonharmonic tones. He titles the chapter "Of the
correct use of those tones which do not belong to the
^Heinrich Christoph Koch, Handbuch b d e m Studium

der Harmonie (Leipzig: J.F. Hartknoch^ IS" ) .
harmony, but serve only to ornament the melody."^ He
then defines passing tones, neighbor tones, and
different kinds of suspensions.
The idea of hierarchy among individual tones was
eventually applied also to chords, and this was a major
breakthrough in music analysis. The basic elements of
music were reduced to only two— the triad and the
seventh chord. Other vertical structures were explained
not as single chords but as products of linear motion
between these fundamental harmonies. Those chords
produced by the convergence of melodic lines and not
belonging to the fundamental progression were viewed as
playing a more subordinate role, thus setting up a
hierarchical approach to musical analysis that had not
existed before. Some chords provided the basic struc
ture of a phrase or section, while others served to
embellish and add interest.
The concept of hierarchy in music, along with the
idea that harmony comes from melody, gave rise to our
present systems of harmonic reduction, laid out in
greatest detail by Heinrich Schenker. In an article on
musical reduction Robert P. Morgan states that there are
4
Koch, Handbuch, 333. "Von dem richtigen Gebrauche
derjenigen TSne die nicht eigentlich zur Harmonie,
sondern bios zur Verzierung der Melodie gehoren."
6
three principal areas of development leading toward
Schenker's reduction technique. These are: 1) diminu
tion techniques, which I have discussed, 2) musica
poetica, or the theory of musical figures, and 3)

5
functional harmonic figures. He states that the first
to deal with musica poetica in terms of musical layers
was the German theorist and composer Christoph Bernhard
(1628-92).
In his Tractatus compositionis augmentatus6
Bernhard presents his concept of musica poetica. First
he defines two categories of counterpoint: contra-
punctus aequalis (or simplex) and contrapunctus
inaequalis. The first type is basically note-against-
note counterpoint and consists entirely of consonances.
Bernhard says that this is the most important form of
counterpoint since the consonances serve as the basis
for all other harmony. In contrapunctus inaequalis one
voice moves more slowly than the other and both
consonances and dissonances are used. Within this
5
Robert P. Morgan, "Schenker and the Theoretical
Tradition: The Concept of Musical Reduction," College
Music Symposium XVIII/1 (Spring, 1978) , 72-96.
g
Christoph Bernhard, Tractatus Compositionis
augmentatus, date unknown. An English translation
appears in "The Treatises of Christoph Bernhard," tr.
Walter Hilse, The Music Forum (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1973), III, 1-196.
category he defines two styles: stylus gravis, which is
the old style of Palestrina, and stylus luxurians, the
modern style. The new style uses not only the old
figurae fundaroentalae, but also figurae superficialae,
referring to the freer use of nonharmonic tones as seen
in the music of the seventeenth century beginning with
Monteverdi.
Some of Bernhard's examples demonstrate an elemen
tary form of reduction where he eliminates nonharmonic
tones from passages written in stylus luxurians, showing
their origination in stylus gravis. He shows the new
figured style as an embellishment or elaboration upon
the old strict style. This demonstrates a simple kind
of hierarchy that could anticipate the more complex
analytical techniques of later theorists.
Surely no one before Schenker came up with a
comprehensive system of reduction such as his, but there
was a definite line of development beginning with
Kirnberger that indicated an attempt by theorists to
reduce complex formations to simpler terms and to look
at a musical composition as a whole entity rather that
as a series of vertical aggregates. I will show each
theorist's approach toward analysis in the linear,
hierarchical sense describe above. In the following
8
chapters I will present the fundamental bass theories of
Kirnberger and those who followed him with similar
ideas.
In his dissertation on Kirnberger's harmonic

7
theories David Beach states that Kirnberger presents a
synthesis of the opposing trends of rationalism and
empiricism that coexisted in the eighteenth century.
This is an important observation since his theories do
have a scientific and mathematical foundation. They are
expanded, however, by empirical ideas that set him apart
from any of his predecessors.
Of the theorists I will discuss, most described
fundamental bass theories essentially similar to those
of Kirnberger. Some, however, develop new concepts that
break away from the fundamental bass altogether. This
is especially true of the later theorists. The tendency
of some of the nineteenth-century theorists is toward a
more universal and philosophical approach, as is charac
teristic of nineteenth-century thought in general.
These analytical systems are the foundations for our
present-day concepts of linear analysis and musical
reduction.
7
David Williams Beach, The Harmonic Theories of
Johann Philipp Kirnberger: Their Origins and Influence
(Ph.D. dissertation, Yale, 1974).
9
CHAPTER II
JOHANN PHILIPP KIRNBERGER
Johann Philipp Kirnberger (1721-83) was born in
Saalfeld, Germany, and began his early musical training
there with the study of violin, harpsichord, and organ.
After 1739 he travelled about Germany and his interest
was turned toward composition and theoretical matters.
His travels included two years in Leipzig where he
studied with J.S. Bach. He also spent ten years in
Poland in the service of various noblemen. He returned
to his native country and finally settled in Berlin,
where in 1758 he came into the service of Princess Anna
Amalia of Prussia. He remained there for the rest of
his life.1
Also residing in Berlin at this time was his rival,
Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg. Kirnberger's ideas were
criticized by Marpurg and others as being pedantic and
outdated. Indeed many of his compositions are in the
style of J.S. Bach, and his theoretical works are firmly
based on the so-called strict style. In theoretical
biographical information is from Howard Serwer,

"Johann Philipp Kirnberger," The New Grove Dictionary of
Music and Musicians, 20 vols., ed. Stanley Sadie
(London: Macmillan, 1980), XX, 59-63.
10
matters, however, the strict style was to serve only as
a foundation for the more contemporary lighter style of
composition.
Kirnberger takes great care to distinguish between
the two styles. In the strict style (strenge
Schreibart) each chord is important to the harmony and
there are very few passing or embellishing tones. This
manner of writing is used primarily for church music.
The free style (freier oder leichter Schreibart)
represents the newer gallant style. It contains many
embellishing tones and deviates from the strict rules in
the following ways: 1) dissonances are often unprepared
and resolutions are often found in another voice or

2
omitted entirely, 2) dissonances are often longer in
duration than their resolutions, 3) dissonances can be
repeated prior to their resolutions, 4) passing tones
are frequent, 5) "false" progressions through the use of
augmented intervals are used freely, and 6) the conso
nant six-four chord is used more freely.
Kirnberger produced one definitive theoretical
2
Kirnberger is referring here primarily to those
dissonances found in the chord of the seventh and its
inversions.
3
treatise, Die Kunst des reinen Satzes, a voluminous
work published in four parts. The first volume (1771)
deals with concepts of scale, harmony, and the
fundamental bass. Volume two is in three parts. The
first (1776) deals with scale and mode, rhythm,
expression, and other elements concerned with writing
melody. The second and third parts (1777 and 1779) deal
with double counterpoint, with a short section on
temperament. A much more concise treatise, Die wahren

.. 4
Grundsatze der Harmonie (1773), is attributed to
Kirnberger but is said to have actually been written by
his pupil, J. A. P. Schulz. The clarity of the writing
style shows that it probably was in fact written by a
different author than the Kunst, in which the writing
demonstrates a certain lack of organization.
Nevertheless, Kirnberger's name appears on the title
page and also following the preface, where he refers to
the work as if it were his own.
3
Kirnberger, Johann Philipp, Die Kunst des reinen
Satzes in der Musik, 2 vols. (Berlin: C.F. Voss,
1771-79), facsimile edition (Hildesheim: G. 01ms,
1968) .
4
Johann Philipp Kirnberger, Die wahren Grundsatze
zum Gebrauch der Harmonie (Berlin: G.J. Decker & G. L.
Hartung, 1773), facsimile edition (Hildesheim: G. 01ms,
1979) .
12
The first part of my Kunst des reinen

Satzes prompted a letter in which I was asked
to reduce to its simple fundamental chords a
certain well-known fugue of Bach, in the same
manner as I did in my aforementioned trea
tise . . . . This compelled me indeed, if
I may be allowed to speak out, to set forth
my whole harmonic creed, and especially to
lay out systematically my doctrine of funda
mental chords.
The ideas presented by Schulz follow those of
Kirnberger, but with some variance in the concept of the
fundamental bass. I will, point this out later. It must
be assumed, however, that Kirnberger supported these
ideas or he would not have claimed the work as his own.
Die Kunst des reinen Satzes begins with a
discussion of scale formation based on interval ratios.
A harmonic division (2/3) of the octave C-c produces G.
A harmonic division of the fifth C-G in turn produces E
(4/5), and a harmonic division of the third C-E produces
5
Kirnberger, Kunst I, preface. Das erste
Theil meiner Kunst des reinen Satzes hat
einen Brief veranlasset, worinn ich ersuchet
werde, eine gewisse bekannte Bachische Puge
auf eben die Art, als in gedachtem Werke
p. 248 u.f. mit einer andern von meiner
Arbeit geschehen ist, auf ihre simpeln Grund-
accorde zuruckzufuhren. . . . Dies nothigte
mich nun freilich, wenn ich so reden darf,
mein ganzes Glaubenbekenntnis von der Harmo-
nie abzulegen, und besonders die Lehre von
den Grundaccorden nach meiner Art systema-
tisch aus einander zu setzen.
13
D (8/9). Now Kirnberger returns to the original octave,
where an arithmetic division gives an F (3/4), and the
resulting fifth, F-C, produces an A by harmonic divi
sion. Thus he bases the major scale on harmonic and
arithmetic divisions within the octave, with the
exception of the leading tone, B, which he obtains by
adding a major third (8/13)® above G. His system of
ratios becomes extremely complex as he gets into minor
and chromatic scales. These also appear later in his
discussion of temperament.
Having produced the basic unit of musical
substance, Kirnberger goes on to define consonant and
dissonant intervals as related to the scale. As
expected the consonant intervals are the third, sixth,
fourth, fifth, and octave. Various combinations of
these consonant intervals lead him into a discussion of
chord formation. Specifically, there are three possible
arrangements of intervals in four-part harmony where all
of the intervals are consonant with each other. These
are: 1) bassnote, third, fifth, and octave, 2)
6Kirnberger, Kunst I, 7. Kirnberger uses this

ratio to describe the interval from G to B. This is
apparently an error on his part, since the ratio 8/13
more accurately produces an interval approximating a
minor sixth, the inversion of the interval he seeks.
14
bassnote, third, sixth, and octave, and 3) bassnote,
fourth, sixth, and octave. These three arrangements,
however, are not three different chords, but the same
chord with different notes in the bass. Thus there
exists only one kind of consonant chord— the triad with
its inversions.
Kirnberger"s entire system centers around the
initial concept that all harmony is based upon two
fundamental chord types. These are the consonant triad
and the dissonant essential seventh chord. All other
harmonic combinations have one of these chords as their
source. The consonant triad appears in three forms in
the natural scale. These are the major, minor, and
diminished, with the major triad being the most perfect
and the diminished the least perfect. There are four
types of essential seventh chords, listed in descending
order of perfection: that with the major third, perfect
fifth, and minor seventh; that with the minor third,
perfect fifth, and minor seventh; that with the minor
third, diminished fifth, and minor seventh; and that
with the major third, perfect fifth, and major seventh.
The major-minor seventh is most perfect because its
natural progression is toward the tonic, resulting in a
state of repose. The other seventh chords do not have
15
this leading tendency and do not progress directly to
the tonic.
The seventh chords contain a type of dissonance
which Kirnberger terms essential (wesentlich)
dissonance. This is distinguished from nonessential
(zufallig) dissonance in two ways. With an essential
dissonance the resolution appears over a new bass note,
whereas a nonessential dissonance resolves over the same
bass note, as shown.
Figure 1. Essential and nonessential dissonances.7
Essential: Nonessential:
or or
Also, nonessential dissonances occur only on strong
beats, while essential dissonances can appear on strong
or weak beats.
The second example of nonessential dissonance
(above) was a cause for controversy in Kirnberger's day.
7
Kirnberger, Harmonie, 13.
16
The idea that a consonant interval could be construed as
a dissonant one was simply unheard of by Rameau and his
followers. It is representative of Kirnberger's entire
theoretical system in that he is attempting to interpret
music from an aural standpoint rather than just a visual
or mathematical one.
Kirnberger feels that the essential seventh chords
actually arose out of a more relaxed treatment of sus
pension figures in the free style. In passages such as
the following it became permissible for the suspended F
to resolve over a new bass note rather than in the chord
over which it was suspended.
O
Figure 2. The essential seventh chord.
8
Kirnberger, Kunst I, 32.
17
It also became accepted for this dissonance to enter
unprepared, or at least in a voice other than the one
containing the dissonance. This treatment brings the
dissonance of the seventh chord under Kirnberger's
definition of essential dissonances.
The seventh chords, like the triads, can appear
with any tone in the bass. One of Kirnberger's many
criticisms about Rameau concerns the sixte ajoutee. In
the following example Rameau would have said that the
first chord is a triad based on F with an added sixth.
Q
Figure 3. The six-five chord.
I
Kirnberger rejects this idea, stating that this chord
is simply a first inversion of the seventh chord built
on D.
Under the heading of nonessential dissonances
Kirnberger discusses suspensions (Vorhalte) and accented
9
18
and unaccented passing tones (regulaire and irrequlaire
[sic^J Durchgange) . He devotes the greatest amount of
time to the suspension, giving examples of the most
common types. He also shows that suspensions can occur
in more than one voice at a time. In fact, up to four
voices can be suspended at once, creating very dense and
complex harmonies.
A suspension can also resolve to a new bass note,
as long as that note is consonant with the note of
resolution.
Figure 4. Resolution of the.suspension

over a new bass note.
r-0— pj—
7L1— Q— .a " a 4 ti
-9----- 2 -9— 6 -0----
a t b
b ^ 5 S i t
0-
-9— F-*--
^ E E E zzjp
In the first and third examples there is not really a
chord change, but simply a change of inversion. In the
second example there is a change of root, but Kirnberger
explains that these are exceptions to the rule defining
10
Kirnberger, Kunst I, 76.
19
nonessential dissonance. In this case since the note of
resolution (E) is consonant with the new bass (C-
sharp), the chord change is acceptable. This is allowed
of course only in the free style.
Kirnberger"s entire system of harmony centers
around his concept of the fundamental bass. It serves
as his tool to explain harmonic progression and to sort
out the different types of dissonance. It is his way of
breaking down the complex web of harmony into something
that is much more easily understood. He says:
Altogether in music there are four types of

chords: 1 ) the consonant, 2 ) the dissonant
with one essential dissonance, 3) the disso
nant with one or more non-essential disso
nances, and 4) that with both types (2 and 3)
mixed, where non-esential and..essential
dissonances appear together.
Any progression, then, can be reduced to its essential
harmonies— that is, a series of chords made up of triads
and seventh chords. The roots of these essential chords
make up the fundamental bass.
Kirnberger, Kunst I, 33. Man hat also uber-

haupt in der Musik viererley Arten der
Accorde. 1) Die consonirenden. 2) Die dis-
sonirenden mit einer wesentlichen Dissonanz.
3) Die dissonirenden mit einer oder mehr
zufalligen Dissonanzen; und 4) Die aus beyden
Arten (2 und 3) vermischten da zufallige und
wesentliche Dissonanzen zusammen kommen.
20
The first demonstration of this concept shows up
early in Kunst where Kirnberger talks about inversion.
Here he includes the fundamental bass below the examples
to show the actual chord roots.
Figure 5: The fundamental^tjass

below chord inversions.
|
nP— t•
i t
1
a
• *
■J = # -■
N
]— 5 ' £--
= F f
^ J 1^
Later in his discussions about different types of
dissonance, the fundamental bass takes on greater
significance. It serves to point out the essential
harmonies where dissonances are involved, and in some
cases it indicates chord function. In the case of the
six-four chord, for example, Kirnberger explains the
difference between consonant and dissonant versions of
the same chord. The consonant six-four is simply a
12Kirnberger, Kunst, I, 52.
21
second inversion triad and usually occurs as an
embellishing harmony. In the dissonant six-four the
sixth and the fourth are suspensions which must resolve
into the fifth and the third. The difference in
function between these two chords is shown by their
different fundamentals.
Figure 6 . Consonant and dissonant six-four c h o r d s . ^
One aspect of the fundamental bass that appears in
Harmonie but not in Kunst is the idea that fundamental
harmonies are found primarily on strong beats. This
comes up especially under the discussion of multiple
passing tones, or passing chords (Figure 7).
13
22
Figure 7. Multiple passing tones.
i
or 1
1 b
or r f f
7 k
m 1
Therefore passing chords are secondary
chords, in which one or more voices move
stepwise through a consonant progression from
the fundamental chord preceding it to the
fundamental chord following. They always
stand between two fundamental chords, which
are either the same chord or two that follow
each other naturally. Thus they can also
only occur on weak beats, because every chord
which appears on a strong beat gives the
feeling that it is by necessity a fundamen
tal.
Passing chords can also appear in multiple succession.
Figure 8 shows that Kirnberger interprets the entire
first measure as an expansion of the F major triad.
14
Kirnberger, Harmonie, 34-35. Daher sind
durchgehende Accorde Zwischenaccorde, bei
denen ein oder mehrere Stimmen durch eine
stufenweise mehrentheils consonirende Fort-
schreitung von dem vorhergehenden zu dem
folgenden Grundaccord iibergehen. Sie stehen
allezeit zwischen zweien Grundaccorden, die
entweder dieselben sind, oder doch sehr
natlirlich auf einander folgen. Sie konnen
daher auch nur auf schlechten Taktzeiten
vorkommen weil bei jedem auf e i n e r #guten
Taktzeit angegebenen Accord im Gefiihl ein
Grundaccord nothwendig wird.
23
15
Figure 8. Multiple passing chords.
The second fundamental bass in this example repre
sents another important concept that is changed somewhat
in Harmonie. Both treatises set up certain rules for
the movement of the fundamental bass. In Kunst,
Kirnberger states that the best progression is by root
movement of a fourth or fifth. The next best is by root
movement of a third, and the weakest is by root movment
of a second. He also places further restrictions on the
seventh chords, particularly the dominant seventh, which
he calls the authentic (eigentlich) seventh chord. This
chord, he says, must always progress to the tonic in
15
24
order to bring to rest the tension between the third and
seventh of the chord. In later examples he implies that
not just the dominant seventh, but all essential seventh
chords must be followed by fundamental movement up a
fourth or down a fifth.
It was noted previously that following

the truly authentic seventh chord the bass
must ascend four degrees or descend five
degrees. Thus whenever a seventh chord
appears which does not follow this progres
sion, it is a sign that the seventh is not
the essential dissonant seventh, but another
interval that became a.seventh through an
inversion of the bass. (Figure 9).
Kirnberger's solution to a root progression by step
where the first chord is a seventh is to assume the
existence of a fundamental a third below the actual root
of the first chord. The seventh of the chord, then,
would become a nonessential dissonant ninth and the
fundamental would follow its regular movement up a
fourth, as Figure 9 shows.
Kirnberger, Kunst I, 6 6 . Es ist vorher

angemerkt worden, dass nach dem eigentlichen
wahren Septimen-Accord der Bass vier Tone
steigen, oder funf Tone fallen musse. So oft
also ein Septimen-Accord vorkommt, nach
welchem diese Fortschreitung nicht erfolget,
so ist es ein Zeichen, dass die Septime nicht
die wesentliche dissonierende Septime, son-
dern ein anderes Intervall sey, dass durch
eine Umkehrung eines Grundtones, zur Septime
geworden.
25
Figure 9. Fundamental progression

of the seventh chords.
In Harmonie the rules for fundamental progressions
are still further restricted. Movement by a second is
acceptable only in two situations. One is in the case
of the deceptive cadence and the other is in a situation
such as the following, where the movement by a second is
followed by root movement down a fifth or up a fourth.
Figure 10. Fundamental movement

by a second in Harmonie.
p y ~ |f \ | o
-I
17
Kirnberger, Kunst I, 6 6 *
18
26
The concept of the assumed fundamental is now discussed
in greater detail. Because the limitations on root
movement of a second now also entail the triad as well
as the seventh chord, it becomes necessary to apply the
assumed fundamental to that chord as well. Kirnberger
offers the following example accompanied by an
explanation in which he attempts to justify his theory.
Figure 11. Basis f.or the assumed fundamental.
By their appearance these chords are

nothing more than triads, and the bass in the
example appears to be the fundamental bass,
which progresses from the second to the third
chord by a second. The second chord, however,
will accomodate a sixth, and thus it is not a
fundamental chord, but a six-five chord
having the third below the bass as its root,
through which the progression of the second
is annulled. It is here that one should take
note, since the fact that an interval not
found in the chord can be added to that chord
means that the fundamental harmony is
changed, as in the following example.
27
Figure 11, cont.
The fundamental bass in this example is not:
A ll
1
but more correctly: 19
A il
i
It is necessary here to show the actual fundamental
first in order to satisfy the resolution of the seventh
chord in the first bar. The entire progression then
19
Kirnberger, Harmonie, 51-52. Dem Anschein
nach sind dieses lauter Dreiklange, und der
Bass des Exempels scheint der Grundbass zu
seyn, der von dem zweiten zum dritten Accord
urn eine secunde fortschreitet: Aber der
zweite Accord vertragt die sexte neben sich,
und ist daher kein Grundaccord, sondern ein
Quintsextenaccord, der die Unterterz des
Basstones zum Grundton hat, wodurch die Fort-
schreitung in der secunde aufgehoben wird.
Hierauf hat man wohl Acht zu geben; denn auch
dadurch, dass eine in dem Accord nicht
28
follows the rules correctly by movement in descending
thirds and fifths. This explanation weakens
Kirnberger's theory a bit to say the least. To base the
existence of the new fundamental on the fact that the
note could have been a part of the chord does not really
justify its presence, but only serves to support his
theory.
Another concept outlined in Harmonie is a situation
where the resolution of a chord is omitted (uberge-
gangen) in the actual progression. In the following
progression the movement of fundamentals from D to A
between the first two chords would not be acceptable
according to the rules (Figure 12).
The essential seventh built on D must progress to a
chord built on G. This resolution must be shown in the
fundamental bass even though the chord itself does not
appear in the progression. The fundamental bass, then
would appear as in Figure 13.
befindliches Intervall zu demselben nachge-

schlagen werden kann, wird die Grundharmonie
verandert, wie in folgenden Exempel:
Daher ist der Grundbass von diesem Exempel
nicht:
sondern richtiger:
29
Figure 12. Omission of resolution of a fundamental.20
Figure 13. Fundamental bass for the

progression in Figure 12.
-0-
=?=*=
<—/----- W
The fundamental D corresponds to the first inversion
seventh chord in the first measure of Figure 12. The A
in the second measure of Figure 13 is the fundamental of
the second chord of Figure 12. The G preceding this A
represents the "omitted" chord that satisfies the
resolution of the seventh chord on D. Kirnberger says
that this chord must exist in the fundamental bass even
though the chord itself is not heard in the progression.
The resulting stepwise progression from G to A is
acceptable as one of the two situations where such
movement is allowed.
20
21Ibid., 42.
30
In Kunst Kirnberger offers an analysis of one
entire piece, his own Fugue in E minor. In Harmonie
there are two analyses, probably actually done by
Schulz. Figure 14 shows a portion of Kirnberger"'s
three-voice fugue with his analysis below. The three
bass lines below the actual fugue each serve a different
purpose. The uppermost is the figured bass as it would
appear in order to produce the harmonic structure for
the fugue. In the second bass Kirnberger indicates the
nonessential dissonances by showing the fundamentals
only of the chords where such dissonance occurs. The
lowest bass is the fundamental bass.
The first point of interest is Kirnberger's appli
cation of the fundamental bass to the implied harmonies
of the fugue subject. More important is to note the
fundamental bass in comparison with the figured bass.
Since the figured bass represents the harmonies as they
are actually presented in the piece, the fundamental
bass shows how they are reduced to those notes essential
to the progression. Since the harmonies are more easily
recognized after the third voice has entered, I will
refer to situations after that point.
The first chord in bar 16 is shown in the figured
bass as a root position seventh chord. The analysis
31
Figure 14. An excerpt from Kirnberger's

analysis of one of his own fugues.
3
—bf- _ J =
-■ frfF _i S , ? "_ — r f i -
- ip
% c e h
*L d
b t* b b
5 b 4 b
------------
IL“ ' ...i-
— k flfM lr - •1----- 1*---- Tc-p— —j*—i
tM - ;■ P::l
= y
4* 4 it
w -
f = F
.
a it - 1)1 '
# 4 * If J i - i £
m r f = f a ' 9~~\ s p ------ - - 4 = 5 ------- — ~n
bp- r
4 = - W - — -J — =P
1
'r H H - #b»Yr
-r -r f rtffi - ~ 3 f - zs c t _ V -
L- n r-p rrm f ^
4b
1. b u
t. b 1
,-Nb 4 4 X b ^ 4* J b b ^ U
r % Jk?
r f - # r d f—
: :: # '. .».... : x J , 1...
y— -
= fc U = J = 4
i
i
1
4 t 4 He
— y-------------------
4 it
1
-b i
............a
it
*1
I T
n
^
* & **I * v it * %
--------------------- > _ ----------. ---------------
--------- 4 = * = f •i
- / — *— # *- L- i = - — 1— — ------- ~i —
22
Kirnberger, Kunst I, following the preface.
32
Figure 14, cont.
. -jr■_J ]_1 j iii
*!
-#I_*--- IjJ_
:t
W - ' U t ■r[
*f £ Q ~
W — — ---- a--—a-- 1)--
I
"----- - 7 7-- Y-- '1
'
1 1*
' 7 $
3 3
W r - ---- ------ I N — V--,
»< ^ = 1
■V If # 4
m #---
1 1
i n
n l -YEB
p il
rrfHh- ] -j -— ..... " - = } -----

-J—* I— iMf— r. 'IrJ
■* * i ,i>-
-H ^ ,'
fr|»---- ---- ■*
■gt£Hr
L r - f - u— —JJ——“ =pS =H d
E* ' * H* i J
41 Y
I 1----- = * »
;
sc
i— H
. 1
Ijj,--- i
l>
4
b
s
1
i
*
y
i
>
J i
r ‘
&
I- *— :-.r-----rid
F - - - - --------q
J 4 = ■ ■ je t----
F I * *
s' i
3 *
4=1 _ ^ H e
shows, however, that the fifth and seventh of the chord
are really nonessential dissonances (suspensions) and
that the fundamental is F-sharp. In accordance with the
rules, all seventh chords are followed by fundamental
movement up a fourth or down a fifth. In most cases
this is representative of the actual harmonic structure,
although there are some instances where the fundamental
implies dominant harmony when the notes of that harmony
do not exist in the fugue. This is especially true of
the diminished seventh chord. Kirnberger's explanation
of this chord is that it is a dominant ninth chord
without the root, where the ninth is a nonessential
dissonance. Since this chord stems from dominant har
mony, the fundamental is the dominant, not the leading
tone, and it should progress to the tonic. The seventh
chords in measures 17, 19, 21, and 22 are examples of
such treatment of the diminished seventh.
Kirnberger does not accompany his analysis with any
verbal explanation, but apparently assumes that his
fundamental basses would be explanation enough. It is
interesting to note, however, that many of the non-
essential dissonances are not shown in the middle bass
line. On the last chord of bar 16, for example, the E
is an accented neighbor tone and falls under
34
Kirnberger's definition of nonessential dissonance.
Also, the first beat of the next measure contains a 4-3
suspension. Neither of these are shown in the analysis,
and similar examples exist throughout the fugue.
Nevertheless it is obvious that he recognizes these
nonharmonic tones by the chords outlined in the
fundamental bass.
Schulz's analysis (Figure 15) of Bach's Fugue in B
minor (W.T.C., vol. I) at the end of Harmonie looks very
much like Kirnberger's analysis. The main difference is
that Schulz makes a greater effort to show the predomi
nance of root movement down a fifth or up a fourth. The
main weakness in the fundamental bass is that it does
not follow the harmonic rhythm consistently. At some
points there are fundamental notes for every chord
change, even though some of the chords could be
explained as containing nonharmonic tones. The use of a
suspension on beats one and three is a characteristic
element in this piece. In some cases, as on the first
beats of measures 8 , 9, and 12, he suggests the suspen
sions by the fundamental bass. In other instances, as
at 6 and 1 1 , he does not recognize the suspensions on
the first beats because other nonharmonic tones are also
present (the E-sharp on beat one of bar 6 and the
35
Figure 15. Schulz's analysis of

J.S. Bach's Fugue in B Minor
I......
- l i 15 1. 5j *)3 - t
*,3 i 4 fr
n t . 1 1
*r n# * - «=
^ ::f— -f ^
P=¥pf=
4 fr -
23
Kirnberger, Harmonie, 56ff.
36
Figure 15, cont.
u s
■v * 4y - - t/s ♦ * 1 1* n_
37
B-sharp on beat one of bar 11). The effect of the
suspension is still evident to the listener in spite of
these multiple nonharmonic tones.
Furthermore, there is a great deal of inconsistency
in the fundamental bass representing the series of
descending seconds in the first three measures. In some
places he indicates a chord change with every eighth
note, while in others, as in measure 2 , he represents
four notes by one fundamental. On the second half of
measure 3 he includes two fundamentals for one note.
Considering the G-sharp here as the actual fundamental,
the following C-sharp in the fundamental bass would be
an example of Kirnberger's omission of resolution.
Since the stepwise movement of the fundamental notes
F-sharp to G (bars 2 and 3) is only acceptable if
followed by motion of a descending fifth or ascending
fourth, the C-sharp must be present. Kirnberger does
not see that the implied harmony here is more correctly
the dominant of F-sharp, and that the G-sharp could be
omitted completely without breaking any fundamental bass
rules.
Putting aside the obvious faults in Kirnberger's
theory, however, it is important to look at that element
of the analysis which is quite forward looking for his
38
time— that is, the recognition of nonharmonic tones. He
has broken away from a purely physical, mathematical
interpretation and has taken a more contextual approach.
In measures 9 and 10, for example, the analysis shows
that he recognizes appoggiaturas in the bass. Rameau
would have considered all of these as chord tones and
his fundamental bass would most likely have consisted
entirely of eighth notes.
Kirnberger's concept of the fundamental bass and
his recognition of nonharmonic tones can hardly be
called a system of reduction. Nevertheless he has
demonstrated a hierarchy of musical elements, if only on
a very superficial level. Many theorists after him
promoted very similar ideas and some expressed their
indebtedness to him. Others began with the same basic
premises but expanded upon them with a more liberal
approach, disregarding the rigidity of the fundamental
bass. Those who separated themselves completely from
the mathematical and followed the empirical approach in
all aspects of their thinking began to understand
musical hierarchy in a more significant sense.
39
CHAPTER III
ABBE GEORG JOSEPH VOGLER
Abbe Georg Joseph Vogler (1749-1814) was very
active during his lifetime as a pianist, organist,
composer, and teacher. Early in his career he became
interested in setting forth a system whereby musical
organization could be explained in a concise and simple
manner. He criticized the writings of Rameau and
Kirnberger as being too long and complex, although he
often cited examples from their works to show compari
sons with his own system.
In 1772 Vogler accepted a position in Mannheim
under the employ of Carl Theodor, Elector of the
Palatinate, who encouraged him to go to Italy to study
with Padre Martini in Bologna. After a short time he
went to Padua where he met with Padre Francesco Antonio
Vallotti, whose practical philosophies affected Vogler
to a great extent.^ With his constant desire to reduce
everything to a system, Vogler was impressed by
Vallotti's deductive approach to music theory. As he
explains, his teacher's ideas were not yet consolidated
^Margaret H. Grave, "Georg Joseph Vogler," The New

Grove, XX, 59-63.
40
at the time and probably would not see their completion,

2
since he was almost 80 years old at the time.
Father Vallotti had designed a system which

was never completed. Its main advantage lay
in the creation of the major scale and, in
the case of harmonic progression, it actually
resulted in the development and practical
interpretation of a suggestion made by the
well-known French philosopher Rene Descartes.
From this he developed a system of reduction
that no one up to this time has laid out in
such detail. His first theorem showed that
there exists only one single harmony from
which all other forms are derived.
The idea that complex harmonic structures could be
reduced to simpler forms became a central part of
Vogler^s later theories.
Another important element was the use of mathema
tics as a basis for his system. He credits Rameau with
creating a system well founded on mathematical
Vallotti died in 1780 at the age of 82. His

complete theoretical works were never published and
there is still little known about them.
3
Georg Joseph Vogler, Choral-System (Offenbach a/M:
J. Andre, 1800), 7. Pater Vallotti hatte ein
System entworffen, das aber nie fertig ge-
worden, dessen Hauptvortheil in der Schopfung
der harten Leiter bestand, und in Absicht auf
harmonische Fortschreitung, wirklich zur Ent-
wicklung und praktischen Ausdeutung eines
Winkes vom beriihmten franzosischen Philoso-
phen Renes Descartes ward. Dies gewarte ihm
eine Redukzion (Sistema di rivolti), die noch
niemand so ausfuhrlich bearbeitet hatte. Der
erste Saz bewies, dass es nur eine einzige
Harmonie gebe, und alle verschiedne Gestalten
sich davon herleiten lassen.
41
relationships, but states also that it is nonsense to
think that Rameau was the first to establish such a
system. "Isn't it well known that music has been based
on mathematics since 2000 years ago, when Pythagoras
made use of the blacksmith's anvil?"4
Vogler returned to Mannheim in 1775 as vice-
Kapellmeister to Carl Theodor, who helped him found the
Mannheimer Tonschule. His system in the beginning was
criticized in Germany as being too dry and cold in its
manner of explaining such a sensuous art as music.
Realizing that his own country would not support him, he
traveled extensively throughout Europe, still under the
auspices of Carl Theodor. He presented his system in
France, England, Sweden, and Austria. He visited
various academies where his theories were reviewed and
eventually accepted. Writings in European periodicals
brought about his renown in many countries, but his
native Germany was still slow to accept him.
In 1805 he went to Munich and two years later to
Darmstadt. Here he worked hard to promote his own
compositions, especially in the areas of church music
4Vogler, Chora 1-System, 5. "wiisste man nicht seit

2000 Jahren, wo Pythagoras die Mathematik auf die
Ambosse der Schmiede anwand, dass die Musik sich auf
Verhaltnisse griindet?"
42
and opera. Unlike his theoretical system, his
compositions earned the respect of his countrymen and
performances were widespread. According to Joseph
Frohlich in his biography, Vogler gained renown as a
teacher when three young musicians heard one of his
operas and chose to be his students. These men were
Gansbacher, Carl Maria von Weber, and Meyerbeer.^ As
these three became highly respected in their own work,
Vogler's renown spread and through his teaching he was
able to promote his new theories, which were gradually
accepted.
Vogler^s preoccupation with systematization is
evident in his terminology and by his own admission in
the preface to his System fur den Fugenbau.
It has been 36 years since I published

my system of harmony . . . . At the end of
the eighteenth century I presented my chorale
system to the world.
My simplification system for the organ,
which falls into three parts— acoustic, aes
thetic, and mechanical— is completed as well.
I am hopeful that it will come off the press
yet this year.
The fourth system, however, the system
for fugal composition and for the strict
style, which throws out the formal and pre
carious rules of counterpoint and represents
them clearly in tabular form, shall guide the
student as he contrives melodies always with
5
Joseph Frohlich, Biographie des grossen
Tonkunstlers Abt Georg Joseph Vogler (Wurzburg: F.E.
Thein, 1845), 57-58.
43
regard to harmony and combines melodies with

other melodies.
His harmonic system will be the topic for our
consideration. In his first treatise, Tonwis sen scha ft

7
und Tonsetzkunst (1776, reprinted in 1778 with an
addition as Tonschule, Tonwissenschaft und Tonsetz
kunst) , Vogler presents his basic concepts in a manner
not much different from other theorists of the time.
From the beginning, however, his thoughts are based on
Georg Joseph Vogler, System fur den Fuqenbau

(1811), preface, 3-4. Es sind 36 Jahre, dass ich
ein neues Harmonie-System herausgab . . . .
Zu Ende des achtzehnten Jahrhunderts schikte
ich mein Choral-System in die Welt.
Mein Simplifikazions-System fur den
Orgelbau, dasîn 3 Theile zerfallt, in den
akustischen, asthetischen und mechanischen,
ist gewissermassen auch schon fertig und wird
hoffentlich noch in diesem Jahre die Presse
verlassen.
Das vierte System aber, das System fur
den Fugenbau und fur den strengen Styl, das
die steifen, prekaren Kontrapunkts-Regeln
wegschaffen und, in einer tabellarischen Form
anschaulich dargestellt, den Tonschuler
leiten sollte, wie immer mit Rucksicht auf
Harmonie Gesange erfinden und Gesange mit
Gesangen verbinden.
The first three systems of which Vogler speaks are found
respectively in his first harmony book, Tonw is sen schaf t
und Tonsetzkunst (1776), his Choral-System, and in his
"orchestrion," a small organ greatly simplified in its
structure and mechanics from the other organs of the
time.
7
Georg Joseph Vogler, Tonwis senschaft und Tonsetz
kunst (Mannheim: Ruhrfurstliche Hofbuchdruckerei,
1776) .
44
rational, mathematical facts and laid out in a very
concise manner.
His initial premise is a system of consonance and
dissonance based on divisions of a vibrating string.
The manner in which he derives the interval ratios is
important to his later theories. He uses two identical
strings both tuned to F. The two whole strings sounding
together produce the most agreeable consonance— the
unison. If one of the strings is divided into two equal

parts the octave F to f is produced, represented by the
relationship 1:1/2. Multiple octaves produced by 1:1/4
and 1:1/8 are all related directly to the original F, or
I. The most distant, or least agreeable, consonance is
the ratio 1/5, which produces a. (Also related to this
is the ratio 1/10, or ji). The two remaining ratios that
would produce consonances are 1/3, producing c, and 1/6,
directly relating to 1/3 since it produces the same
pitch an octave higher. Thus even in this early stage
of Vogler"s theoretical writings he hints at a concept
that will later become central to his system of harmonic
reduction. He says:
The eight consonances of which I spoke relate

to, as was shown, the three root figures 1, 1/3,
45
1/5, or to the consonances: the unison, the

fifth, and the third.
In order to form the complete major and minor
scales, Vogler must use much more complicated ratios.
He explains that as the numbers in the ratios become
larger the resulting intervals become less consonant.
He contends throughout all of his writings that all
aspects ofmusic— both melodic andharmonic— have their
ultimate source in the triad. This concept becomes more
pervasive in his later writings, where his system of
reduction is laid out in more detail. His theories on
dissonance are also greatly expanded, as I will explain
later.
One interesting breakthrough appears toward the end
of Tonsetzkunst, where Vogler explains the use of the
diminished seventh chord in modulation. He uses Roman
numerals to indicate scale degrees as follows.
Figure 16. Vogler's first use of Roman numerals

to indicate the seventh scale degree.
VII of C H d f as
VII of A h d f Gis
o
Vogler, Tonwissenschaft, 7. "Diese angegebenen
acht Wohlklange beziehen sich, wie bewiesen worden, auf
die drei Wurzelzahlen 1, 1/3, 1/5, oder auf die
Wohlklange: den Einklang, die Fiinfte, die Dritte."
g
Vogler, Tonsetzkunst, 82.
46
This is the only instance in this treatise where Roman
numerals are used, but they are seen only two years
later in Grund der kuhr pfa lz ischen Tonschule,10 a book
of examples illustrating the correct manner of writing
melody and harmony in various styles. Roman numerals
are used in examples of cadence formulas with figured
bass symbols indicating inversions.
Figure 17. The' use of Roman numerals

in Grund der kuhrpfalzischen Tonschule
-fl---- Q -
-d fc r -iir — g ------
N = * = - o — J—
~ f l ...... o-
l
I* 0
- o ----- . s ......... — 0 ----- etc.
____ 0 ..fl a~
----- o - ----- 0 —
r x M I X Z
1 6 1 &
— Q ------a
---------iro--o
-A — _ rt
n r I ET n
The use of Roman numeral figures appears fully
formed in his most comprehensive harmonic treatise, the
10Georg Joseph Vogler, Grund der kuhrpfalzischen

Tonschule (Offenbach a/M: J. Andr£, 1778). Originally
published separately, this book of examples was later
combined with his treatise of 1776 under the title of
Tonschule, Tonw is sen scha ft und Tonsetzkunst.
11Vogler, Tonschule, Table XXI.
12
Handbuch der Harmoni elehre (1802) . They serve to
designate the specific role of a chord within a key,
because Vogler recognizes that the same chord can belong
to various degrees in different keys, just as the same
tone can belong to various chords. He calls this con
cept the doctrine of chord ambiguity (Mehrdeutiqke it) .
He gives examples of each chord type in all of its
possible locations, as in this one with a C major triad.
Figure 18. An example of Mehrdeutigkeit

in the C major triad.
1 1
4 5
5 L 4 n ' "
H * 4 r M 4
—4
^ 4 -11— 1
( & —4 - 4 — 4 — — 4 UL* —4 -4=3 — 4
7 * 4— 4— — 4 0 TP — 9 -4-4- p— -
-4H - A
3 3 n
t k • C, $ £
S & 5 £ '*> £ £
4 V\ * 5 1 .*1
fV I - + H - H i l-H l 1-
-4- 4 - - -J-H
— - J - J -4 - = N
i n x x m he
Another example of Mehrdeutig ke it is shown in the
ambiguous nature of the fully diminished seventh chord
with its enharmonic equivalents.
Vogler goes on to say: "The succession of tones is
founded, and every modulation is contained, in the
12
Georg Joseph Vogler, Handbuch zur Harmonielehre
(Offenbach a/M: J. Andre, 1802).
13Vogler, Handbuch, Table VII.
48
doctrine of ambiguity and c a d e n c e s . T h u s a study of
the various possible cadence formulas leads to an
understanding of chord connections and also of conso
nance and dissonance. The most important elements of
the cadence and thereby of harmony in general are the
triads on the tonic, dominant, and subdominant. These
three chords are related to one another by common tones
with the tonic as the center. They also contain all of
the notes of the scale (Figure 19), hence the triad
serves as the source for all elements of music.
Figure 19. The tonic, dominant, and subdominant

triads as the basis for the scale.
Three triads. Major scale Three triads. Minor scale

with major 3 s with minor 3 s
Vogler, Handbuch, 31. "In der Lehre der Mehr-

deutigkeit und der Schlussfalle ist die Tonleitung
gegriindet und jede Ausweichung enthalten." Vogler uses
the term Tonleitung to refer to the summing up of all
harmonic successions. Related to Tonleiter, or scale,
the term is based upon the linear movement of tendency
tones within the scale and how they affect harmonic
progressions.
15Ibid., Table II
49
Vogler says that there are ten possible cadence
formulas, five useful in major and five in minor. The
strongest and most perfect of these is the V-I in both
modes. (The raised leading tone in minor is used in all
of the cadence formulas.) Next in importance and also
acceptable in both modes is the I-V, or intermediate
cadence (Mittelschluss) . Two other formulas are a

# 16
result of melodic motion. These are VII-I and IV -V,
both also useful in the major and minor modes. The
cadence with the raised fourth degree is important in
that Vogler recognizes secondary key levels as related
to the original key rather than referring to all
temporary key changes as modulations. The two remaining
cadence types are the IV-I in the major mode and the
II-V in minor with a raised third, forming an augmented
sixth.
In his discussion of cadences Vogler mentions the
use of the dominant seventh chord in the perfect
cadence. His explanation for this chord is again based
on the triad. He says it is a combination of two
cadential triads, G-b-d and B-d-f. The seventh is the
most important dissonance, and Vogler calls it an
■^Vogler uses the symbol IV# for the chord we would

symbolize as vii/V.
50
essential dissonance (wesent lichen Uibelklang £sicj).
In the cases of the major-minor seventh, diminished
seventh, and half-diminished seventh chords the seventh
can enter unprepared, but it must always resolve
properly.
Vogler defines as consonant intervals only the
third, fifth, sixth, and octave. All other intervals
are either essential dissonances, as the sevenths, or
non-essential dissonances (zufallige Uibelklanqe) , which
are the ninths, elevenths, and thirteenths. He takes
care to distinguish between actual nonessential
dissonances and those arising simply from chord
inversions.
The octave, tenth, and twelfth are reduced to

the unison, third, and fifth, or to root
position triads. However, the delays or sus
pensions of the octaves, tenths, and twelfths,
namely the ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth,
are completely different from the second,
fourth, and sixth. The last three figures
are found only in inversions where., there is
no root position triad as a basis.
17
Vogler, Handbuch, 84. Man reduziert die
Achte, Zehnte und Zwolfte auf die erste
Stimme, Dritte und Fiinfte, Oder auf den
Hauptklang. Allein die Aufhaltungen Oder
Vorhalte der Achten, Zehnten und Zwolften,
namlich die Neunte, Eilfte und Dreizehnte
sind von der Zweiten, Vierten und Sechsten
ganz verschieden; weil die lezten drei
Ziffern nur in Umwendungen vorkommen, wo
kein Hauptklang zum Grunde liegt.
51
All nonessential dissonances must be prepared
either by a consonant interval or by another interval of
lesser dissonance. A thirteenth, for example, is
further removed from the original note than an eleventh.
Therefore a thirteenth as a nonessential dissonance can
be prepared by an eleventh, but not vice versa. Vogler
gives a rather interesting example of this, with a
thirteenth prepared by three consonances and three
dissonances.
Figure 20. Preparation of a nonessential

dissonance by another dissonance.
His attitude toward dissonant notes is demonstrated by
his description of nonharmonic tones, which he calls
nonessential melodic tones (zufallige melodische
Klange) . He emphasizes the melodic nature of these
dissonances as opposed to the harmonic function of the
sevenths. He gives examples of many forms of these
1ft
Vogler, Handbuch, Table V.
52
melodic dissonances, including the suspension, passing .
tone, anticipation, and escape tone.
Vogler's concept of dissonance stems from his
initial premise that all harmony is generated from the
triad. This serves as the basis for his most important
contribution to musical analysis— his Redukzions-System.
Reduction system means the doctrine by which

all forms are resolved into the one simple
harmony of the triad. It holds assuredly
that with the occurrence or each harmony,
which might appear to be so complicated, a
root with third and fifth can be found, and
that the third and fifth form a root position
triad.
He indicates the roots of these triads in various ways.

20
In his Betrachtunqen der Mannheimer Tonschule (1778),
a series of lectures he gave in Mannheim, he describes
each chord by the letter name of the root. In the
19
Vogler, Handbuch, 6 . Redukzions-System
heisst das Lehrgebaude, wo man alle Gestalten
auf die eine und einfache des Dreiklanges
aufloset, und sich versichert halt, dass bei
jeder vorkommenden Harmonie, sie mag auch
noch so komplizirt aussehen, ein Hauptklang
mit Dritten und Funften aufgefunden werden
kann, und dass die Dritten und Funften einen
Stammakkord bilden.
20
Georg Joseph Vogler, Betrachtunqen der Mannheimer
Tonschule (Mannheim, in parts: 1778-81). Facsimile
edition in 4 vols. (Hildesheim: G. Olms, 1974).
53
9 1
Zwei und dreissig Praludien (1802) , his own compo
sitions to which he attaches an analysis, the chord
progressions are symbolized by Roman numerals beneath
the music. In his Handbuch he uses an approach similar
to that of Kirnberger, adding a third line of staff with
bass notes indicating the roots. To this he adds the
Roman numeral figures.
It is important to note that Vogler's manner of
determining the root progression is different from
Kirnberger's fundamental bass. Both recognize the same
nonharmonic tones and both treat inverted chords in a
similar manner, but Vogler^s reduction is to triads
only, omitting even essential dissonances. He is also
not bound to the strict rules of the fundamental bass,
allowing for a much more accurate analysis in that he
does not have to add or omit tones in order to
compensate for his own system.
The following analysis (Figure 21) is from the
Betrachtunqen. It is a Rondo from a violin sonata by
Freiherr von Kerpern. Vogler's written commentary about
the piece is mostly concerned with general tonal
relationships. He points out that the structure of the
91 ••
Georg Joseph Vogler, Zwei und dreissig Praludien
fur die Orgel und fur das Forte-piano (Munich: Falter,
1806) .
54
Figure 21. Vogler's analysis of a 2o

violin sonata by Freiherr von Kerpern.
, j n i g i . i . > m .-i
m
F C F C FC F C FC F C F C A D &
dhn— ?fftfiTifTtfVfiV1— ttrf

.. ;
— ---- If ■
,1 u i }.... i— k== y r n— rffi

Y~> -L£.---- •* i Llb 3 _ , tj4-=— i * .
S-m
-rt
f-\— t ft?
i
— f 1M
4sXJ— LJ j—
22
Vogler, Betrachtunqen, vol. 4, p. 72, Table VII.
55
Figure 21, cont.
;*
-j- ' |"jf ----*-f ” frf >;* nTm'
i- - :-Hpr 3Z -g. : 1._J ;
KETtiltt
Off
rv »‘
""I
rT"H = f = /
1V1 4— 1 — 4— feU^fe ^ ..-i-.. -i
w h
ft & ' D G c D &
"f
|—t- - - - f:- - - F r r t f # It t H frfrf'f ~
(W- - - - t'--—
p = U L j p 4H — i—
; T•*H
K
7 # 7W"
\f= —
■■"4.
C G A A G C
^3
4o
,5, P i , - 4 - . S T O m 444 î
r -
= : ; H 2 e r-•••-•£# tdrfl-
----------
/4>— ----
G C r ‘ c G C F D
56
rondo theme is of two eight-bar phrases, the second
being a repetition of the first, except that the first
phrase ends with an open cadence on C and the second one
ends back on the tonic. The interludes (Zwischensatze)
are much more diverse in their tonal movement in order
to create an interesting digression from the more stable
rondo theme.
The remainder of his analysis consists of an
outline of the triad root movements. He presents them
in chart form in the text, which is contained in a
separate volume from the examples. I have shown them
beneath the actual music for ease of reading. The
relatively slow harmonic rhythm in Vogler"s chord roots
in comparison to the busier texture of the rondo is an
immediate sign that Vogler has indeed reduced the
progressions to very basic chords. The very first
measure contains some rather complicated nonharmonic
tones. The first beat can be easily recognized as a
tonic triad with a neighbor tone (Bb ) in the piano. On
the second beat, however, the C major triad is not seen
in its entirety until the third eighth note. The first
eighth note contains a neighboring B b and the second
contains a neighboring F . Both of these serve to
embellish chord tones, and it is important that Vogler
57
recognizes their subordinate nature, even though the B *5 ,
for example, lies on a much stronger beat. The first
eighth note of the second beat could be construed as a
vii° chord, but Vogler's analysis describes the dominant
nature of the entire beat while showing the pedal-like
function the the recurrent C in the piano throughout the
rondo.
Because of the nature of this piece the nonharmonic
tones are primarily neighbor tones and passing tones,
with very few suspensions. In bars 26 and 28 the
accented passing tones on the first beat have the
character of double suspensions. Vogler interprets them
as such by describing the entire bar as a triad on G,
rather than C-G. The hierarchical nature of his
reduction system can be seen in measure 38. The first
and third eighth notes contain triads on G, but the
second eighth note contains a diminished triad on F .
In the key of C major this could coincide with Vogler's

§
"IV -V" relationship, but in this case the chord is of
such momentary value that he thinks of it more in terms
of an embellishment, or "melodic" harmony. Similar
situations exist on each beat of the next four measures.
The remainder of this section also contains numerous
double neighbor tones and passing tones which function
58
as embellishing harmonies. . Vogler, however, indicates
only the primary harmonies in his root progression.
The fact that he has recognized nonharmonic tones
and has reduced dissonant vertical structures to simple
triads is only the first important element in his
system. More important is his understanding of the
relative importance of chords within a contextual
framework. The idea that one chord can be subordinate
to another is clearly evident in this analysis. On a
still broader scale the chords within each phrase are
subordinate to the chords at the major cadence points,
which he outlined briefly at the beginning of the
analysis. From the broadest viewpoint, the secondary
key levels are subordinate to the original tonic, and
the rondo is a prime example of this since the
interludes serve to embellish upon the stable unifying
character of the rondo theme.
Of all the theorists promoting reductive theories
during this time, Vogler is indeed unique. With his
many treatises and lectures on the subject it is
surprising that his ideas did not become widespread.
His desire to achieve simplicity is perhaps his most
important attribute. He has established a system of
analysis not bound by rules and regulations. It is
59
founded upon rational, mathematical principles but also
contains an empiricism that allows Vogler to interpret
any harmonic progression accurately. This type of
freedom will not be seen again until the mid-nineteenth
century.
60
CHAPTER IV
JEROME-JOSEPH MOMIGNY
Jerome-Joseph de Momigny (1762-1842) was a Belgian
theorist and organist. He showed talent in both theory
and organ performance at an early age and eventually
settled in Paris where he established his own publishing
house. His plan was to replace the current theoretical
textbooks of the time with his own, which he believed
were founded on more valid principles. He published his
numerous methods and theoretical works there, but
gradually fell into a state of mental decline and was
forced to sell the publishing house.'*'
Momigny presents an interesting approach to
analysis that extends beyond the physical elements of
music to include rhythmic aspects of the phrase and the
effects of melody, harmony, and form on the listener.
Although he describes the fundamental bass, he uses it
in a slightly different manner than has been seen
before. He defines chords as structures formed by
vertical combinations of thirds. A consonant chord is
one containing only two thirds, while a chord with three
\jean Mongredien, "Jerome-Joseph de Momigny," The

New Grove, XII, 475.
61
or more is considered to be dissonant. The fundamental
bass, then, is not the acoustical fundamental of a
particular chord but the lowest note of this series of
thirds. "The fundamental bass is nothing more than the
first note of each chord arranged in its natural order,

2
that being in thirds."
Momigny prefers to use the term fundamental note
rather than fundamental bass. This explanation of the
fundamental bass does not mean that he rejects the
harmonic series. On the contrary, he states that all
melody and harmony is based on the chord of nature.
In the sounding of the chord of nature, as in

the division of the monochord, harmony is
born before melody. As harmony has its model
in the first divisions of the chord 1 2 3 4 5
and in 4 5 6 7 9, that of melody is found in _
the divisions 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18.
Jerome-Joseph de Momigny, Cours complete

d^harmonie et de composition, 3 vols. (Paris, 1806) , 50.
"La BASSE FONDAMENTALE n est autre chose que la premiere
Note de chaque Accord, pris dans l'ordre natural, qui
est celui de Tierces."
^Jerome-Joseph de Momigny, Expose succinct du seul

systeme qui soit vraiment fonde et complet (Paris:
Momigny, 1808), 16. Dans la resonnance de corps
sonore, comme dans la division du monocorde,
l"Harmonie nait avant la Melodie. Puisque
l'Harmonie a son type dans les premieres
sol sol re sol si
divisions de la corde 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, et
62
One of the key elements of Momigny's theories is seen in
his discussion of the melodic series outlined above,
where he describes a hierarchical relationship among the
tones of the scale. Albert Palm states in his extensive

4
study of Momigny that this idea demonstrates a dual
conception of music, involving the physical and the
metaphysical. The physical describes the acoustical
order of tones, while the metaphysical outlines the
aspects of music that produce expression and relate to
human understanding. The overtones of the fundamental
G, for example, produce the following series:

5
G a b C d e F. The C is the center of unity in the
scale and is called the tonic. The dominant, G, is the
next strongest factor, and the subdominant, F, is third.
This idea in itself is not entirely new, but Momigny's
explanation shows that his thinking has gone beyond the
purely physical elements of the overtones.
sol si re fa la
dans 4, 5, 6 , 7, 9, celui de la Melodie se
sol la si ut re
trouve dans les divisions 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,
mi fa sol la
13, 14, 16, 18.
4Albert Palm, Jerome-Joseph de Momigny, Leben und

Werk (Koln: H. Gerig, 1969).
5
Palm, Momigny, 121.
63
The natural hierarchy of the row of seven

notes under the authority of the one among
them which is called the tonic, being purely
metaphysical, is hardly the province of the
sounds, but pertains to the spirit that alone
can experience it.
In contradiction to his physical justification for
harmony as preceding melody in the harmonic series,
Momigny states that in music harmony is born of melody.
He says: "Harmony, I believe, is the combination of
several melodies whose union forms one whole and not
several that are mutually repelling each other."
Harmonic progression, however, provides the foundation
for his system of hierarchy. All harmonic progressions
are defined in terms of two-chord units which he calls
cadences. He describes two aspects of the cadence: the
harmonic, as shown by the fundamental bass, and the
rhythmic or metric, which I shall discuss later.
Palm, Momigny, 121. From Jerome-Joseph de

Momigny, "Music," Encyclopedic methodique ou par ordre
de matieres (Paris: Momigny, 1818), II, 179. La
hi&rarchie naturelle des sept notes rangees
sous l'autorite de l"une d'entre elles,
qu'on nomme tonique, etant purement meta
physique, n'est point du ressort des sons
mais appartient £ l'esprit qui seul peut en
connaltre.
V t
Palm, Momigny, 127. ^From Jerome-Joseph de
Momigny, La seule vraie theorie de la musique utile a
ceux qui en sont aux premiers elements (Paris: Momigny,
1823), 23. ^"L'harmonie, selon moi, est l'ensemble de
plusieurs melodies dont la reunion forme un tout et non
plusieurs qui se repoussent mutuellement."
64
The most elementary form of progression is the
harmonic cadence (cadence harmonique). The basis for
this two-chord pattern lies in the energy of the melodic
lines forming the chords. It is impossible for an
isolated chord to function on its own. Each chord must
be bound with another as either its antecedent or
consequent. With the second chord of each cadence being
the consequent, each note of that chord must be preceded
by one or more notes serving as antecedents. The notes
of the antecedent chord will combine to form either a
dissonance that must be resolved, or a consonant chord
that is weaker in some way than its consequent.
According to Palm, Momigny has added a new law to the
logic of music— that not only dissonances, but often
also consonances, must have resolutions. There is some
similarity here to the fundamental bass ideas of
Kirnberger and the other theorists who followed him,
since the need for a triad to progress by root movement
down a fifth or up a fourth does imply a type of
resolution. Momigny, however, has not bound himself to
specific rules for root movement, but has defined chord
progression in a more universal sense in line with his
metaphysical point of view. He presents an interesting
analogy for consonance and dissonance.
65
One can consider consonance, then, as the two

basins of a balance weighted equally. When
the two basins are not set into motion they
retain their equilibrium— they are at rest;
but when they are set into motion, although
equally weighted, they immediately lose this
equilibrium. According to this idea, one can
regard dissonance as the basin of the balance
that is more weighted than the other and
that, in the same sense, necessitated the
motion. In the first case there is the
possibility and readiness for the motion; in
the second there is necessity.
Momigny defines essential and nonessential
dissonances in a manner similar to his predecessors,
although he terms them harmonic and nonharmonic
dissonances. The latter are those dissonances which are
not a part of the chord itself but serve to embellish or
smooth out the melodies forming the progression. These
notes appear in a second type of cadence, the cadence
melodique. This involves the use of nonharmonic tones
between the two main structures of the cadence
g
Palm, Momigny, 130. On peut done considerer
une consonance comme les deux bassins d"une
balance charges egalement; quand ces deux
bassins ne sont pas mis en mouvement, ils
gardent leur equilibre, ils sont en repos;
mais des quails sont mis en mouvement, quoiqu'
Egalement charges, ils perdent aussitSt cet
equilibre. D'apr^s cette id&e, on peut
regarder la dissonance comme le bassin d'une
balance qui est plus charge que l"autre, et
qui, par la meme, est n^cessite au mouvement.
Dans le^premier cas, il y a possibilite et
facilite au mouvement; dans le second, il y a
necessite.
66
harmonigue. In addition, he defines two other types of
cadences: the cadence harmo-melodique, which involves
the arpeggiation of one or both of the chords, and the
cadence rythmique, where the second chord is a repeti
tion of the first. In Cours complete Momigny provides
examples of cadences involving all possible chord
connections in the diatonic scale. He includes triads as
well as seventh and ninth chords.
The antecedent-consequent idea in the cadences is
defined not only by relative consonance and dissonance,
but also by metric placement. The relationship between
the first chord and the second is one of arsis (leve)
and thesis (frappe). Momigny points out the difference
between the concept of time in the cadence and that of
the rhythmic beat or tactus. The metric span of the
cadence coincides with our natural feel for the music,
and thus he calls it mesure reele or mesure naturelle.
The tactus is called mesure de convention, since it
serves to outline the traditional divisions of time.
The organization of the tactus is thesis-arsis instead
of arsis-thesis.
The metric organization of the cadence can exist in
either binary or ternary form, as shown.
67
Q
Figure 22. Binary and ternary cadences.
J J J J or
J I J J
antece- conse- antece- conse- antece- conse-
dent quent dent quent dent quent
"All of the meters possible in music are reduced to two
equal durations or to tw.o. durations, one twice the value
of the o t h e r . M o m i g n y explains how these metric
groupings can also be organized in a hierarchical
fashion. The strongest cadences are those having the
consequent on the first beat of a measure, as in the
above example. He calls these principal cadences. Where
an antecedent-consequent relationship occurs on the
weaker beats within the measure, the cadence is weaker
and is called a secondary cadence. This hierarchy is
combined with the harmonic implications of the cadence
to form varying levels of tension and relaxation which
define the formal elements of music from the phrase
g
Palm, Momigny, 159.
^ Ibid. From Momigny, "Musique," Encyclopedie, II,

336. "Toutes les mesures possibles de la musique se
reduisent a deux temps egaux ou a deux temps, l'un
double de 1'autre."
6 8
level to larger structural levels, and finally to the
piece as a whole.
Momigny also defines cadential organization from
another viewpoint. He distinguishes between rhythm in a
qualitative sense and meter in a quantitative sense.
The particular or characteristic cadence (cadence
particulier) is that found in the rhythmic organization
of a single line. The general cadence (cadence general)
involves the uniform movement of the entire musical
structure comprising all voices. In Figure 23 the
general cadences have an antecedent-consequent
1 2
relationship of ^ ^ and occur with their consequents
on beats one and three of the measure. The other
numbers in this example represent particular cadences.
The chords that make up Momigny's cadences can
belong to three different genres: the diatonic, the
chromatic, and the enharmonic. By different
combinations of these genres there are three possible
types of cadences: the cadence diatonique, the cadence
diatono-chrana tique, and the cadence chromatico-
enharmonique. Chords based on the chromatic and
enharmonic genres cannot exist as fundamentals, but can
only serve as embellishments or secondary chords. Only
69
Figure 23. General and particular cadences.*1
the diatonic chords, which are the basis for all other
harmonies, can function as fundamentals.
Momigny's approach to analysis includes a detailed
investigation into all of the musical parameters I have
discussed to this point. He also discusses formal
aspects in terms of different levels of organization.
The smallest structural unit is the single chord or
tone. Next is the motive (proposition) , followed by the
phrase, the period, the sections, and finally the entire
movements. Momigny presents one more analytical concept
that sets him apart from all other theorists, and that
is the idea that a musical thought can best be
11Palm, Momigny, 171.
70
translated for human understanding by using our most
common form of communication— language. In his analyses
of some of Mozart's string quartets he adds a vocal line
whose text communicates the true expression of the
melody line of the first violin. Below this he includes
a piano accompaniment for the vocal line. Figure 24
shows an excerpt from the Quartet in D Minor, K 421.
The other lines of analysis show the cadences and the
fundamental bass.
The melodic cadences shown here do not correspond
with Momigny's original definition of cadence melodique,
but are really cadences particuliers. The first two
fall under the definition of elliptical cadences
(cadences elliptiques) , which are lacking an antecedent.
The third is a rhythmic cadence and the fourth and fifth
are ternary. At 6 he shows how the rhythm and harmonies
provide the basis for the structural tones involved in
the cadences. The F on beat one of the third measure is
not the consequent of a rhythmic cadence, but an
extension of the antecedent. This analysis is
suggestive of the harmonic motion here as opposed to the
more static effect of the repeated chords in the first
two measures. The notes marked with a "0" are those not
belonging to any cadence. These would be the
71
Figure 24. An excerpt from Momigny's

analysis of Mozart's Quartet in D Minor, K. 421.
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quartet appears in Momigny, Cours complete, 307-403.
72
nonharmonic tones that are a part of Momigny's original
definition of the cadence melodique. The cadence at 7
can be conceived as a double cadence demonstrating his
theory of hierarchy. The C-sharp is the antecedent and
the A is the consequent of the main cadence, yet each of
those tones has a nonharmonic tone preceding it. He
shows the subordinate function of these tones by using
smaller noteheads.
The harmonic cadences portray the chord progression
of the quartet in a regular harmonic rhythm of two
chords per measure. Again the third measure shows how
some tones are treated as nonharmonic and are marked
with the symbol "0." The harmonic cadences determine
which chords are of primary structural importance.
These, then, are the chords that make up the fundamental
bass. The first chord of bar 3, for example, is not a
fundamental because its tones function on a secondary
level. The chord on beat 3 of the same measure also
contains nonharmonic tones, and thus it cannot be a
fundamental until the resolution of those tones on beat
four.
Not all of Momigny's analyses contain such a
detailed interpretation of the cadences. Many of them
center primarily around formal elements. Nevertheless,
73
this analysis and others that follow similar procedures
demonstrate a system of melodic and harmonic reduction
that is perhaps more valid than those systems based
solely on the fundamental bass. He uses a hierarchical
approach for almost every aspect of music, from a broad
concept of tonality built around a single note to
chromatic and nonharmonic tones on the most detailed
structural levels, and from the idea of a piece or
movement as a whole to the smaller formal structures of
the phrase and motive.
74
CHAPTER V
JOHANN BERNHARD LOGIER
Johann Bernhard Logier (1777-1846) was born in
Kassel, Germany and received his early music training
from his father there. In 1791 he moved to Ireland and
spent most of the rest of his life there as a teacher,
author, and composer. He.became a band director in
Dublin and also taught piano. Much of his teaching was
devoted to developing a quick and easy method for
learning keyboard skills. This led to the invention of
his "chiroplast," or hand-director, a device with a
sliding frame over the keyboard which held the fingers
in position. He also advocated group piano teaching and
incorporated into his method a thorough background in
the fundamentals of harmony.1
In 1822 Logier visited Berlin, where he remained
for four years and taught his method. His ideas then
became known on the continent, being accepted with mixed
feelings as they were in England. Supporters of the
method in England included Kalkbrenner, Webbe, and
Spohr. After completing Logier's course the students
1David Charlton, "Johann Bernhard Logier," The New

Grove, XI, 132-33.
}■
75
were subject to a public examination. This was the
instructor's way of showing off his method before his
peers. These examinations, however, were not highly
respected in some circles. They were the subject of
some heated arguments between Logier and other
professors who preferred to call them "shows" and
"spectacles." One critic writes:
We have said that we are acquainted with a

method by which a thorough knowledge of the
scales may be easily communicated to children
in a very short time. This method may be
learned from several excellent works which
have been published on the subject; and by
means of it we have known many young ladies,
whose instruction on this particular branch
of music has not exceeded three hours, able
to form both major and minor, chromatic and
enharmonic scales. These terms are used with
prodigious effect at Mr. Logier's exhibitions;
but after our own experience, he must excuse
us if we fail to marvel at them, or at the
progress of Mr. Webb's pupils, who at the end
of six weeks were brought forward to form the
major scale.
The whole then of this boasted system shrinks

into the compass of a slate, or board on
which his scholars write. Beyond that they
can do nothing, except to play the chords
which they have previously written.
Logier offers the following refutation.
2
An Exposition of the Musical System of Mr. Logier.
By a committee of Professors in London (London: Budd &
Calkin, 1818), 52.
3Ibid ., 53.
76
All opposition shall but add vigour to my

exertions, for I know that I stand upon the
firm ground of truth, and that the time is
fast approaching when my enemies will shrink
with shame at having opposed the progress of
that knowledge, which it should be the pride
of every liberal professor and every lover of
his art to propagate, by every means which
his power affords.
The criticisms of Logier's method were directed
primarily toward his educational techniques and his
initial premises on the "natural" formation of the major
scale, which will be explained. He might be compared
with Vogler in his desire to reduce learning to a simple
set of rules, and it is perhaps this characteristic in
Logier that caused him to develop the technique of
musical analysis that will be the main topic of my
discussion. First, however, it is necessary to
understand his ideas concerning the structure of melody
and harmony.
In Logier's harmony treatise"* his initial data are
4
Johann Bernhard Logier, A Refutation of the
Fallacies and Misrepresentation contained in a pamphlet
entitled "An Exposition of the Musical System of Mr.
Logier" (London: Logier, 1818) , xi.
5
Johann Bernhard Logier, System of the Science of
Music and Practical Composition (London: Logier, 1827).
Logier also wrote a German translation of his treatise,
and it was published in the same year under the title
System der Musikwissenschaft und der praktischen
Composition (Berlin: Adolph Wilhelm Logier, 1827).
77
presented in a rather unusual order. He begins by
defining triads, the dominant seventh chord, inversions,
and a set of rules for harmonizing the major scale using
the chords of the tonic, dominant, and subdominant.
Then, as if starting over, he proceeds to explain how
the major scale is a product of nature based on the
harmonic series. He states that overtones are most
easily demonstrated by the overblowing of wind
instruments.
In sonorous bodies, as a bell for

instance, the principal sound and its harmo
nics appear to be produced at the same time,
and all to be heard at once; but in wind
instruments, as the French Horn, Trumpet,
etc., they may be produced separately, so as
to be distinctly analyzed, and these prove to
be exactly the same in order and proportion
as those produced from the vibration of a
string.
In his earlier discussion of harmonizing the major
scale, Logier used a fundamental bass consisting of
tonic, dominant, and subdominant notes (Figure 25).
It seems now that he will attempt to justify his
harmonization by generating the scale from the chords
themselves. The first three notes come directly from
the fundamental C, as shown in Figure 26.
^Logier, System, 47.
Figure 25. The major scale harmonized
with a fundamental bass.
JL
—v ■■
1- a -4- a
j
! 1 ----------
Ten, T>om, Ten, S*Dom. Ton. S-Lom Dom. Ton,
-------
0 -A— -Jh- a
a 0 a
Figure 26. Generation of the firgt three

notes of the major scale.
a 2
On
to/
f
rt / A
w
7 9
^ 1
-6-~
Ai a— — -a v
H/-
. O ----- S
a a
/
Then, he says, if we add a to the third chord (gen
erated naturally from the C fundamental), the resulting
chord is a dominant seventh. The resolution of this
chord, as we have already learned, is a movement of the
fundamental bass down a fifth. Thus we have the fourth
degree which, if used as a generator, will produce the
fifth and sixth degrees (Figure 27).
Îbid., 15.
O
Logier, System, 48.
79
Figure 27. Generation of the first

six notes of the major scale.
Logier is at a loss to explain the leading tone
based on the harmonic series. The above progression, if

u L
continued, would next product B , then E , and so on.
It is here, then, that we must rely on art itself for
the answer. Since the ear wants to keep the progression
in the original key, there must be a modulation to bring
it back. This is best achieved by the use of the
dominant seventh (Figure 28).
As might be expected this explanation was the
subject of considerable criticism, and it seems obvious
that Logier was guilty of selecting the facts to suit
his theory. Nevertheless, here lies the beginning of
his theory of a fundamental bass which will later become
central to his system of analysis.
The most important function of the fundamental bass
is to show the underlying chord structure of a harmonic
q
Logier, System, 49.
80
Figure 28. Generation of the major scale

by movement of the fundamental bass.
progression. In teaching how to use inversions to
achieve a smoother bass line Logier always includes the
fundamental bass beneath the inverted bass line in his
examples.
Figure 29. The fundamental.bass

below inverted chords.
Inverted bass
Fundamental bass
As he goes on to explain the various aspects of
part-writing, the fundamental, bass serves constantly as
1QIbid., 51.
■^Logier, System, 100.
8 1
a guideline, showing the root of each chord under
consideration. Certain movements of the fundamental
dictate how some dissonances should be treated, and
specific rules are given for various such movements, as
in this example.
After having harmonized a melody, or

having otherwise obtained any progression of
harmony, in order to know in what chords we
can introduce dissonances, we must examine
the progression of the Fundamental Bass, and
observe the following rule.
"When the Fundamental Bass ascends a
fifth, we can introduce the dissonance
of the resolved into the
As shown in the following example.
Figure 30. Treatment of the 4-3 suspension

over the fundamental bass.
I
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12
Logier, System, 64-65.
13Ibid.. 65.
82
The recognition of these harmonies as 4-3
suspensions instead of two separate chords is the first
step toward his method of reducing harmonies to a
fundamental bass. Even more significant is his example
of double dissonances.
14
Figure 31. Double dissonances.
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The recognition of the entire second measure, for
example, as a G major chord rather than two separate
triads is in line with Kirnberger“s theory of the
dissonant six-four chord. Logier does not think of each
vertical sonority as a separate entity. Instead he
looks at harmonic progression on a broader scale,
showing with the fundamental bass how the more complex
harmonies— that is, the dissonances— can be represented
as part of a series of simpler harmonies.
14
Logier, System, 70.
83
Logier"s discussion of the diminished seventh chord
raises an interesting question with regard to the
fundamental bass. Are the notes of this bass roots of
triads or are they fundamentals whose overtones produce
each successive chord? In most cases it would make no
difference since, as Logier explained earlier, the root
of a triad is produced by a fundamental of the same

i
I
! pitch. In the case of the diminished seventh, however,
i
the absence of a major or minor triad forces him to take
a different approach if he is to explain the chord based
on the natural series. He calls it the chord of the
i
minor ninth. This in itself is not unusual, since it
was common among theorists of the time to explain this

t
| chord as a dominant ninth without the root. Logier,
j
j however, explains that the root is replaced by the minor
i
| ninth, which must resolve downward by a half step into
j the fifth of the tonic triad. Nowhere does he call this
a seventh chord.
In his example of a progression involving the chord
of the minor ninth, he indicates the dominant root in
the fundamental bass (Figure 32). In bars two and five
each entire measure is shown as dominant harmony. In

!
; bar two the A in the first chord is a suspension and
84
Figure 32. The diminished seventh chord. 15
£
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the F is the minor ninth. The 7 in the figured bass
symbol for that chord represents the first inversion, or
the interval of the minor ninth over the third of the
chord, G . In the last quarter note of the bar the root
E actually appears in the harmony, making the chord at
that point a dominant seventh in first inversion. In
the fifth measure the D in the bass is a suspension
resolving into the third of the minor ninth on A, the
dominant of D.
From Logier's position on the minor ninth chord it
becomes evident that one important feature of the
fundamental bass is to define chord function. In the
diminished seventh chord the lowest note— what we might
call the root— is the leading tone of the key. This
15
Logier, System, 134. The fundamental bass shown
in quarter notes xn this example is included in the
Berlin edition (p. 149) but not in the London edition.
85
leading tone in conjunction with the fourth scale degree
creates the tritone, or that element in the dominant
seventh harmony that defines the key. Moreover, the
manner in which this tritone resolves tells us the mode.
If the seventh of the chord descends by a half step, the
mode is major, and if the seventh descends a whole step,
the mode is minor.
Since this same tritone exists in the chord of the
diminished seventh, Logier recognizes its dominant
function. It is this function that is represented by
the fundamental bass. The three most important
fundamentals are the tonic, dominant, and subdominant,
as these are the ones used to harmonize the scale. The
significance of the dominant harmony is further
emphasized by Logier"s statement that this is the only
harmony into which a dissonance can be introduced as a
natural part of the chord.
We can introduce the seventh into any

chord, provided we can make the following
chord the chord of its tonic, for the proper
resolution of the 7th; and it must be clearly
understood, that we cannot introduce the 7th
into any chord which is not the dominant to
the one which immediately follows it.
16Logier, System, 31.
86
To explain fundamentals other than those on the
tonic, dominant, and subdominant, Logier turns again to
his harmonization of the major scale. He continues the
scale beyond the octave and, instead of modulating back
to the tonic after the sixth degree, he divides the
continued scale into groups of three sounds. Below each
group he shows the generator of that "natural"
three-note scale.
Figure 33. Logier's explanation of how 17

all fundamentals of the scale are generated.
17
Logier, System, 233.
87
The resulting fundamental bass is a harmonic progression
of descending fifths involving all of the notes of the
diatonic scale. Those fundamentals other than tonic,
dominant, and subdominant are advantageous and add a
pleasing variety to a progression if they are
judiciously placed among the original three. Logier
goes on to explain how each tone in the scale can be
accompanied by three possible fundamentals. The first
tone, for example, can be accompanied by the tonic or
the subdominant, which are natural fundamentals, or by
the note a minor third below. He calls this new bass a
modified, or secondary bass because it cannot be
explained as one of the three original fundamentals, nor
is it a dominant resulting in a modulation.
Up to this point we have looked at Logier's views
about harmonic progression in a homophonic style. His
idea of the fundamental bass becomes even more important
when melody becomes more of a factor and nonharmonic
tones are introduced. He defines accented and unac
cented passing tones and neighbor tones as tools by
which a simple melody made up of only chord tones is
decorated and made more interesting.
In Figure 34 the underlying harmonic progression is
shown clearly by the fundamental bass. Logier has
88
Figure 34. The fundamental bass showing.the

underlying structure of a progression.
reduced a progression containing relatively complex
dissonances to a simple one based on tonic, dominant,
and subdominant. In addition to the numerous passing
and neighbor tones, he recognizes the retardations on
the first beat of each bar.
Another notable element in Logier's brief analysis
of this example is his discussion of the linear movement
within the passage. He goes beyond a mere explanation
of each vertical sonority, making note of the teleolo-
gical motion in the counterpoint through what is
essentially a melodic reduction.
18
89
In the above example it will be per

ceived that the diatonic scale, after com
mencing in the soprano, is continued in that
part for only three bars? after which the
alto takes it up for the following three
bars, by which an imitation between these two
parts is effected. The soprano resumes the
diatonic scale for the last two bars.
Logier now goes on to define suspensions and
retardations as means by which complex chords are
created out of simple fundamentals. He defines the
chords of the eleventh and the thirteenth using exactly
these terms.
When all the intervals of the chord of

the fundamental 7th are continued upon the
succeeding tonic bass, the dissonances of
suspension and retardation will be united.
By placing under the dominant chord, at

a, its tonic (as at b) in the following
example, the intervals will change their
names; that is, the.original.3 will become a
7 , the original 7 an 11 , etc., and it
is from the latter interval that the chord on
which we are now treating derives its name.
a b
19
20 Ibid.
90
N.B. The interval of the ll*"*1 is always

figured with a 4; figures beyond 9 being
seldom or never employed in harmony.
In a similar manner Logier explains the thirteenth
chord by suspending the chord of the minor ninth over
the tonic. This is a rather unusual approach to the
explanation of the eleventh and thirteenth chords. Most
other theorists would build the chord on the dominant
and justify it by the overtones of the harmonic series
built on that note. It seems that Logier is not really
trying to justify the existence of the eleventh and
thirteenth chords, but he is using these already
accepted harmonies to justify his own system of disso
nance relating to the fundamental bass. He will not
accept the intervals of the eleventh and thirteenth in
bass figures, but instead speaks in terms of the 4-3,
6-5, and 9-8 suspensions.
Logier also explains that these chords can occur
unprepared, in which case they take on an entirely
different character. In Figure 35 the chords marked "a"
are construed not as dominant seventh chords but as 11th
chords where the dominant seventh appears over the
tonic. By this explanation Logier suggests that the
tonic fundamental extends throughout each measure, as he
21
91
Figure 35. Dissonant chords

where the dissonances occur unprepared.
i % <? *
i &
I £ k<K
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ia.
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azzt
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I
shows in the lowest staff. It is possible that Logier
has grasped the idea of a passing chord, although he
does not use any such terminology. He does, however,
show by this example that the middle chord in each bar
is a dissonant chord which embellishes the chords on
either side of it based on the same fundamental.
The final sections of Logier's treatise are on
composition and analysis, where he investigates the
practical application of his method. In reference to
musical analysis he says:
It is both instructive and amusing to

trace the gradual, and almost imperceptible
22
92
change which has taken place in the composi

tions of eminent writers since the time of
Corelli to the present; and how, with nearly
the same materials, one author has con
structed works so very different, with regard
to their general style and effect, from that
of others, that one would scarcely believe
they had emanated from the same source.
Logier says that by studying the work of the great
masters the student can learn more about improving his
own techniques in composition. In order to achieve
regularity in the method, of analysis, he suggests that
the following elements be considered always in the same
order.
The Key, whether major or minor

The Time
Fundamental Basses
Modulation and Fundamental 7ths.
Dissonances
Passing Notes, Auxiliary Notes, and Secondary
Harmony.
Periods.
Sections and Imitation.
He demonstrates his procedure with analyses of the
Adagio from a Haydn string quartet and of Corelli's
Concerto #1 in D Major. I will discuss a portion of the
first movement of the concerto as an example of Logier's
analytical technique (Figure 36). The more complex key
plan of an entire movement necessitates some discussion
23
Logier, System, 294-95.
24Ibid, 295
93
Figure 36. An excerpt from Corelli's Concerto #l-,c

in D Major, with Logier's fundamental bass beneath.
Largo.
T en or or
V iola ,
EEli
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
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B i « l f F-i- \ r t = s & r \
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m M m i— 1 • •" ^ L j ------------J -------- 1= J E = ^ - J S
25
Logier, System. 296ff.
..I
94
Figure 36, cont.
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
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95
Figure 36, cont.
:«?:g££iq»:P
on modulation, though. Logier's position on modulation
is that it is always accomplished through dominant
harmony, as he explained earlier in describing the
key-defining properties of the dominant seventh chord.
He does not recognize the existence of secondary tonics
within the original key. All dominant seventh to tonic
relationships are described as modulations.
The first phrase, for example, is six measures long
and contains five modulations. He explains that the
phrase moves harmonically from the original key of D
major to its relative B minor.
The movement commences in the key of D,

in which it continues until (3), when a modu
lation to the dominant takes place, indicated
by G# in the inverted bass, which ascends a
half tone to (a), E being a note of secondary
harmony.
At 5, a modulation to D, which is indi
cated by G in the inverted bass at 4. At 6 ,
96
a modulation to G is indicated by C in the

first violin. At 8 , a modulation to A, and
at 1 0 , to the relative minor, both of which
are indicated by the inverted bass.
Logier also points out that the fundamental B at 3
is a modified bass supporting the first degree of the
scale. He does not discuss the entire piece in such
detail, but says the student can easily recognize the
other modulations for himself. In a similar manner he
carefully explains all nonharmonic tones in a few
segments of the piece. Most of these are passing tones
and neighbor tones, such as the E and G at 1, the A in
the bass at 3, and the E in the bass at 5. In order to
explain the suspensions he refers to the rules that he
initially established concerning the dissonances of the
ninth and the eleventh."As the fundamental bass from 3
to 4, 5 to 6 , 7 to 8 , etc., ascends by 4ths, or falls by
5ths, we are enabled to introduce the dissonances of the

27
9th or 4th." He then notes that at 4 the dissonance
of the ninth appears, correctly prepared by the fifth of
the preceding chord, and his analysis figures show the
9-8 dissonance at 6 , 8 , 10, and so on in the viola. He
goes on to explain how Corelli could have improved upon
^L og i e r , System, 299.
27
97
his composition by adding the fourth as well in these
situations and creating double dissonances.
When Logier described the dissonances of the ninth,
eleventh, and fourth earlier in his treatise he did so
always in relation to dominant-tonic harmony. In this
analysis there are several examples of such dissonances
appearing in other harmonic situations. He does not
offer any explanation for this, however, other than to
make mention of some of the dissonances and how they are
properly prepared. At 32, for example, the ninth is
prepared by the preceding fifth. At 33 the seventh is

28
prepared by the preceding root, and at 34 the ninth is
prepared by the fifth. Also at 34 the sixth (thir
teenth) can be explained as an accented neighbor note.
The analysis of the sequence pattern between 31 and
34 is significant in two respects. Logier recognizes
that during the eighth rests at 32 and 33 the ear
continues to hear the previous note played by the second
violin. He has indicated this by the small eighth
notes. He also sees that the resolution of the
suspension is delayed or embellished by another chord
28
This fits with his theory that the seventh can
only be introduced unprepared in the dominant harmony.
With any other chord it must be treated like the other
dissonances.
98
tone. This is demonstrated in Figure 37, which shows
the underlying structure (a) of a passage later in the
piece (b).
This example is quite remarkable in that Logier has
gone beyond mere verbal explanation and beyond a simple
reduction of chord structures to their fundamentals. He
has combined harmonic and melodic reduction,
C o r e l l i ' ’s C o n c e r t o #1 i n D m a j o r .
a. ■J4 4 -
jfl. -sfi—
ni 1f r
I
b. l&f *f ' , i, “ V4 - 9. . . .
- ... 1• i=
-- - - — tr-1— - - - *—t—
tr 1
h f = ^ = ■—
------------ * II
J , --- 1 '■1
-
— j — j- - j- j— ]— .....
b 1 b
- ’* IS PdJd.... --f-P
representing a musical phrase by a few structural tones,
This has a striking resemblance to Schenker's middle-
ground layer of analysis, and it is a significant step
in the development of reductive technique.
29
Logier, System, 298,
99
CHAPTER VI
AUGUST FREDERIC CHRISTOPHER KOLLMANN
August Frederic Christopher Kollmann (1756-1829)
was of German-English heritage. He was raised in
Hanover as an organist. The members of his family were
all musically active and his parents saw to it that he
had good musical training. His early schooling taught
him the systematic approach to music that would deeply
influence his later theoretical works. In 1782 he moved
to London where he became organist and schoolmaster of
the Royal German Chapel in St. James Palace. He
remained there for the rest of his life.'*'
Kollmann',s theoretical concepts underwent very
little change from the early treatises on. His first
work, the Essay on Musical Harmony (1796), lays out his
basic ideas firmly grounded in the tradition of
Kirnberger. Throughout his writings he professes his
^Michael Kassler, "August Frederic Kollmann," The

New Grove, X, 162-63.
2
A. F. C. Kollmann, An Essay on Musical Harmony
(Utica: Seward & Williams, 1817).
100
indebtedness to Kirnberger, and in turn offers constant
criticism about Rameau and his followers.
The chief leading principle in Rameau's

system is: that all harmony must be re
ducible to a regular fundamental bass, as the
proof of it. And in that respect it is per
fectly true.
But its inventor endeavoured to recon
cile that leading principle, to the more
ancient one of considering and explaining
every interval and chord according to its
individual appearance; and this led him into
the mistake, of explaining some suspensions
as a sort of essential chords, under t§e
denomination of chords by supposition.
He goes on to make similar statements about Roussier,
Marpurg, Tartini, and Gottfried Weber. His dedication
to Kirnberger in the essay is wholehearted, but in his
New Theory of Musical Harmony (1823) he declares that
even though the basic principles are still correct,
Kirnberger has fallen short of the full potential of the
system. This system of which he speaks is one based
entirely on proofs and not merely on "appearances," as
with Rameau.
The only system hitherto known of this

description, is that of Kirnberger, a pupil
of Sebastian Bach. The principal work in
which he has explained and proved it, is
entitled: Pie wahren Grundsatze, etc. (The
true Principles for the use of Harmony,)
Berlin, 1773, quarto. But he has also pub
lished another treatise, entitled: Die Kunst
3
A. F. C. Kollmann, A New Theory of Musical Harmony
(London: W. Nicol, 1823)7 27
101
des reinen Satzes, (The Art of perfect

Harmony,) Berlin, 1774, 1779, to which the
former is a supplement.
This is the system I have introduced in
this country, by my Essay on Musical Harmony,
London, 1796, folio. It removes the princi
pal fault of all former systems of harmony,
being that of considering intervals and
chords according to their individual appear
ance; and depends entirely on the proofs of a
regular connection. It would therefore have
been the most perfect system that can be
wished for, had Kirnberger not stopped too
short, in the application, of his leading
principle, to the different sorts of inter
vals and chords.
The New Theory of Musical Harmony contains more
information on the fundamental progression and also
differs in its format from the Essay. The examples are
in tables in the back of the book instead of in the
text. The later treatise also contains more analysis of
existing compositions. Most other changes in the text
are in the area of counterpoint and not in his concepts
of harmony.
Kollmann begins his system with definitions of
scales and intervals in much the same manner as other
theorists did. He refers to the monochord, from which
he derives the "Scale of Nature," or harmonic series.
This Scale of Nature, he says, "contains every interval
4
Kollmann, New Theory, 3.
102
in its greatest perfection to the fundamental note."5
Although he accepts the strong ties between music and
mathematics, he refers to the relationship only as much
as is necessary to justify his data. He completely
avoids discussing acoustical matters. Instead of
spending time explaining the sounds themselves, he finds
it much more important to consider the purpose and uses
of these sounds.
Kollmann's definition of chords demonstrates this
attitude. He does not explain the triad as emerging
from the harmonic series. Nor does he justify the
existence of the dominant seventh chord in this manner.
Instead he offers a simple definition, that "two or more
notes or intervals, constructed one over the other, are
called a chord."5 Under this general definition fall
two specific types of chords— the fundamental concord
and the fundamental discord. Here Kollmann summarizes
his entire system in one simple sentence. He says that
"all musical harmony, even the most complicated, if only
regular, is reducible to the said two chords; the
5Kollmann, E s s a y , 12.
^Kollmann, Ess ay, 44.
103
fundamental note of which is called the fundamental
bass.1,7
The fundamental concord is the triad, and it exists
in three forms: the perfect major, the perfect minor,
and the imperfect or diminished triad. Of the three,
the major triad is the most perfect and the diminished
one is the least perfect. The fundamental discord is
the chord of the seventh. Of all the possible
combinations of thirds that will produce sevenths,
Kollmann says there are four that are admitted into
modern harmony. These are given in the following
example. Of the four the first is the principal and
most perfect seventh, and the other three are given in
descending order of perfection.
O
Figure 38. Kollmann"s fundamental discords.
7Ibid., 56.
Q
Kollmann, Essay, 56.
104
The process of inversion does not affect the nature
of any of these chords. No matter which chord tone is
in the bass, the fundamental harmony remains the same.
Neither does inversion change the proper progression of
any chord. In the case of the fundamental concord the
proper progression to another fundamental concord is by
root movement of any consonant interval. It may not
move by an ascending or descending second or seventh.
It may proceed to a fundamental discord, however, by any
interval. The fundamental discord has only one real
progression, that being movement up a fourth or down a
fifth to a fundamental concord. The only exception to
this rule is in the case of the deceptive cadence.
Kollmann says that all progressions are dependent
upon these rules. The proof of the "regularity" of a
progression lies in its adherence to them, as shown by
reducing the harmonies to their fundamentals. As in the
case of others who used a fundamental bass, the
rigidness of these rules causes some questionable points
of analysis. He is often forced to misrepresent the
true fundamental bass in order to conform. An example
is in his explanation of parallel chords of the sixth.
He says that "two or more apparent chords of the sixth,
in diatonic progression, cannot all be admitted as real
105
g
ones." This is because their fundamental progression
would be by seconds, contrary to the rules. In example
(a), below, the chords at a, b, c, and d should really
be interpreted as in example (b), where the fundamental
progression is shown.
Figure 39. Parallel sixth chords.explained

by the fundamental bass.
a) a b c d b) a b c d
i
J M "" 1
f r f r r
^ T T t - H r 1
h r *
yy y y
f +b ty Hh
* 33 b \
P j : ..— 1
4
J — — . --------- jj
It seems here that Kollmann is guilty of one of the
offenses that he has assigned to Rameau— that of adding
non-existent notes to support his hypothesis. Neverthe
less, the underlying principles are important. Again,
the most important element of his system is the
recognition of nonharmonic tones. The fundamental
g
10Kollmann, New Theory, plate XIX.
106
concord and discord belong to a class of chords which he
calls essential chords. All others are accidental
chords, produced by various types of nonharmonic tones.
He specifically defines three basic patterns:
suspensions, anticipations, and transitions.
Suspensions arise, when one or more notes of a

preceding chord, are carried into a succeeding
one, to which they do not belong, for the sake
of bringing interest and a closer connection
into the harmony, than what could otherwise be
obtained.
He gives examples of suspensions involving one, two,
three, and four notes. These may be resolved into the
same bass, an arpeggiated bass, or into a new
fundamental harmony. In the last case the new chord
must be "nearly related" to the one it is replacing, and
it must admit the resolution into the same voices in
which the suspension occurred (Figure 40).
Kollmann',s anticipation does not correspond to the
present-day definition. Instead he defines it as a type
of suspension. It occurs, he says, "when one or more
notes of a succeeding chord are introduced into the pre-

12
ceding one to which they do not belong." (Figure 41).
■^Kollmann, E s s a y , 88 .
12Ibid., 100.
107
Figure 40. Double suspensions

resolving over a new bass.
i i
m
14
Figure 41. Kollmann's example of an anticipation.
a) b)
f- S J~, =?-
- 4 -
4 -h p H
5-4- k -3 1-b +- 1 r n
h N
\9.
4
Cfn ~ -
1 I 1 0
— .
------- ---- 9
L-r r < i
1
—
- zs W
...
In this example the E in the soprano at a) should
not really appear until the second quarter note, as at
b). This is apparently an invention by which Kollmann
can vindicate his fundamental bass which, according to
his rules, must be G on that first beat and not E. The
progressions cannot move by step from the preceding
fundamental concord on D.
13
Ibid., 89.
14
108
Kollmann's definition of transitions includes
passing and neighbor tones and also what we would refer
to as passing chords.
Transitions or transient chords, are those

chords which arise, when in passing from one
chord to another, some intermediate notes are
introduced, which neither belong to the
fundamental harmony, nor can properly-be
called suspensions or anticipations.
These transitions can occur on a strong or weak beat in
the measure. In the Essay he uses the terms regular and
irregular, respectively, for the two different types.
In his New Theory, however, he changes the terminology,
referring to all accented nonharmonic tones as forenotes
and all unaccented ones as afternotes.
Kollmann has a rather unusual explanation for the
diminished seventh chc;;d. He admits its relationship to
the dominant harmony, but not as part of the dominant
ninth. Instead he says that the chord arises from a
suspension pattern over the first inversion of the
principal chord of the seventh.
According to this explanation, the chord

in question is in all respects treated like a
chord of the fifth and sixth. For the bass
as leading note must ascend one degree; the
third as original fifth is unlimited; the
fifth as original seventh, must descend like a
seventh; and the seventh as original but
suspended fundamental note, must be resolved
15Ibid., 59.
109
into the sixth, as the said fundamental note.

This resolution of the seventh into the sixth
may take place on the same bass Figure 42a ,
as in all other suspensions, or may be
deferred till the succeeding bass [Figure
42b].16
17
Figure 42. Formation of the diminished seventh chord. '
a) b)
Another class of seventh chords contains what
Kollmann calls anomalous seventh chords. These are
variations on the four fundamental discords where one or
more notes of the chord may be altered chromatically.
This may be accomplished through a transient note, as at
Figure 43a, or by anticipation of the transient note
which, in this case, replaces the fifth, at 43b. In
both cases the fundamental is that of the original
fundamental discord and its progression must follow
accordingly.
16Ibid., 82.
17
110
Figure 43. Kollmann"s anomalous seventh chords.

18
a) b)
Having explained all possible essential and
accidental harmonies, Kollmann finds it necessary to
prove his system by showing its application in works of
six well-known composers. He offers analyses of
excerpts from Tye, Tallis, Farrant, Morley, Byrd, and
Gibbons. As an example of the application of his
system, we will look at his analysis of the piece by
Orlando Gibbons (Figure 44). Kollmann explains the
manner in which he has laid out each excerpt as follows.
The two highest staves of every example

contain the original composition; and the
third stave a fundamental bass drawn from it,
according to the individual appearance of
every chord. The fourth and fifth stave
contain the same as the two highest, but
with some other signatures, and with small
18
Kollmann, Ess ay, 85.
Ill
Figure 44. Kollmann“s analysis-

of a piece by Orlando Gibbons.
4- 3
&C
kC.
19Kollmann, New Theory, plate XIX.
112
explanatory notes; and the sixth stave con

tains the true fundamental bass of the
whole.
The "small explanatory notes" are of interest on
two points. Very often these notes are those added
notes that Kollmann uses to make the music fit his
theory, and on occasion they are not really true
representations of the harmonic situation. On the other
hand they are used to designate nonharmonic tones, a
symbol that might in a small way anticipate the
hierarchical method of analysis adopted by Schenker.
In looking through this excerpt one may note that
the fundamental bass does in fact follow the rules laid
out by Kollmann. In most cases the fundamental bass
contains the same notes found in the individual roots
located above, and these are self explanatory. The
points of interest, then, are those where he has chosen
a note other than the apparent root as the fundamental
bass. He offers no written explanation of this example.
The reader is thus left to interpret the analysis based
upon the rules stated in the treatise itself.
The first place where the fundamental changes from
the actual root is the first chord of the second
20
113
measure. This is one of those cases where the root
movement would have been unacceptable in that it moves
by step between two fundamental concords. To avoid this
problem Kollmann must view the F in that chord as a
nonharmonic tone, shown as a suspension by the small
note. The F introduced in the preceding bar serves to
prepare the suspension and also makes the chord with it
a dominant seventh. It thus becomes acceptable for the
fundamental to progress by step upward because of the
resulting deceptive cadence, which is the one exception
to the rule that a fundamental discord must move down by
a fifth. Also noteworthy here is the recognition of the
4-3 suspension in the first measure. As Kollmann shows
in his root progression, other theorists might will have
called this a chord of the eleventh.
In the third measure (at 1) he again must add a
note, D, in order to make the fundamental discords move
properly by fifths. On the third beat he has changed
the fundamental to represent more correctly the dominant
pedal there. He shows the double suspension by
indicating the C and the E in smaller notes. He does
not continue to see the G as a pedal note, however, as
shown in the following measure, where the G is explained
not as a nonharmonic tone but as the fundamental. In
114
order to avoid having to call the second chord a ninth,
he passes off the A as a nonharmonic tone. The chord
then becomes a dominant seventh progressing to the
tonic, over which the D is suspended.
The chord immediately preceding 5 raises an
interesting question in Kollmann"s analysis. There is
no apparent reason why he includes the F as a
fundamental. When showing the chord roots he includes
only the A, in which case he clearly sees the F as a
passing tone. The added fundamental is not necessary
here since a progression from A to C would be just as
acceptable. In the next chord the B is a nonharmonic
tone over the fundamental C, which is contrary to his
root of E with a suspension. The same fundamental is
also retained in the second beat of 5, although the C
does not exist in that chord. It seems as if all of
this confusion in the end serves to justify the stepwise
movement between the second and third beats of 5. A
progression from E to D would be incorrect, but Kollmann
evidently views the C to D progression as a type of
deceptive cadence.
In the last chord of 7 he carries his system to
even further extremes. He has made a fundamental out of
a note that does not remotely exist in the chord. The
115
reason is obvious, since a fundamental E cannot move to
D. He has thus chosen to make D a temporary tonic in
order to create a series of fifths to the end. These
and other similar problems are much like those we have
seen with other fundamental bass systems in that often
the system takes precedence over the analysis.
As a result of studies on Kollmann and other
British theorists of the time, Erwin R. Jacobi states
that Kollmann is the most important theorist in England
inthe period between Rameau's death (1764) and the

21
appearance of Alfred Day's harmonic system (1845).
Jacobi contrasts Kirnberger's system with those of
Rameau, Marpurg, Tartini, and others. He concludes:
All of the harmony treatises written to

this time were dedicated more or less to the
old method: each interval and each chord
considered only on its own merits. The more
one does this the more complicated the sys
tem must become. Even if rules have been
given for a thousand combinations, there are
still many other cases still not included
that have been effectively used in composi
tion. To the third and last group of
systems, therefore, belongs uniquely and
solely Kirnberger, who unfortunately,
however, only went halfway. More than half
of the notes and combinations that are of use
in music are much too arbitrarily passed over
by him and not included in his system, so
that it remains incomplete. In amplification
21
Erwin R. Jacobi, "Augustus Frederic Christopher
Kollmann als Theoretiker," Archiv fur Musikwissen-
schaft XIII (1956), 270.
of Kirnberger Kollmann would succeed on the
basis of his studies and his activities as a
teacher to a broader and more complete system
in which each single note would be grasped
through a 'positive rule.' This applies not
only to the principal and essential notes, as
with Kirnberger, but equally systematically--
with the nonessential and accidental notes.
Jacobi further states that Kollmann's main asset
his reliance on the "natural feelings" in music, which
Kollmann says have always existed but have never been
22Jacobi, "Kollmann," AfM XIII, 269. Alle

bisher liber Harmonie geschr iebenen Werke
hatten mehr oder weniger der alten Methode
gehuldigt: jedes Intervall und jeden Akkord
nur an sich zu betrachten; je mehr man das
aber tue, desto komplizierter musse das
System werden: wenn Regeln fiir tausend
Kombinationen gegeben worden sind, so seien
viele andere Falle noch nicht eingeschlossen,
die mit Erfolg in der Komposition benutzt
wurden. Zur dritten und letzten Systemgruppe
gehore demnach einzig und allein Kirnberger,
der aber leider auf halbem Wege stehen-
geblieben sei: mehr als die Halfte aller
Noten und Kombinationen, die in der Musik von
Nutzen seien, wurden von ihm allzu will-
kiirlich abgetan und nicht in sein System
einbezogen, so dass es unvollstandig ge-
blieben sei. In Erganzung zu Kirnberger sei
er— Kollmann— selber nun seit dem Jahre 1799
auf Grund seiner Studien und seiner Lehr-
tatigkeit zu einem erweiterten und voll-
standigen System gelangt, in dem jede
einzelne Note durch eine 'positive Regel'
erfasst werde: nicht nur die hauptsach-
lichsten und wesentlichsten, wie bei
Kirnberger, sondern ebenso systematisch
auch alle unwesentlichen und zufalligen
Noten.
117
properly uncovered by theorists. Again we see that this
empirical attitude provides the foundation for a
primitive system of reduction.
I must also remark here that Kollmann was well
aware of Logier's ideas and he criticized them severely.
He had strong doubts about the abilities of this
bandmaster-become-theorist and did his best to warn the
public about him. About Logier"s ideas, he says:
As the above system now begins to be so well

known, as seemingly to have little more prospect
of encouragement in England, Scotland, and
Ireland; and as I learn that attempts are making
to introduce it in Germany; I think it my duty
to lay before the Public of my native country
the following remarks, which, I hope will be
sufficient to prevent that not many may be cap
tivated by fcbat system, without sufficiently
knowing it.
He says that Logier's theories are nothing new, but
simplifications of the best ideas of other theorists
whom he did not even fully understand. He also comments
that Logier's harmonic reductions to fundamental chords
contain numerous errors and inconsistencies. He offers
no examples, however, as to exactly what he means by
this. He also states his opposition to the chiroplast
and Logier's public examinations.
23
A.F.C. Kollmann, Remarks on what Mr. J.B. Loqier
calls his New System of Musical Education (London,
1824), 2.
Despite Kollmann"s criticisms, however, his
theories are very similar to those of Logier. The
important thing to remember is that he is setting forth
ideas that for his time are still quite new and, one
might say, experimental. The significant aspect of all
of this is what Kollmann is trying to say in his most
basic premise— that we can reduce music to a simpler
form in which tones of the underlying structure stand
out above those of lesser importance. At worst he is
guilty of oversimplification. He has tried to reduce a
complex idea into too few rules.
119
CHAPTER VII
SIMON SECHTER
Simon Sechter (1788-1867) was Austrian by birth and
was trained as a musician from an early age. His early
instruction took place in Friedberg, but at the age of
sixteen he went to Vienna where he remained for the rest
of his life. He was qui.te prolific as a composer, and
his works included songs, operas, and numerous composi
tions for piano and organ. He became known in Vienna
not only as a great organist and composer, but also as a
teacher and theorist. He began teaching counterpoint
and thoroughbass at the Vienna Conservatory and
attracted many notable pupils, among them Schubert and
Bruckner.1
Sechter's most important theoretical treatise is a
three-volume work entitled Die Grundsatze der musika-

2
lischen Komposition (1853-4) . In the first volume, Die
richtige Folge der Grundharmonien, he sets forth his
rules for harmonic progression. He does not rely on any
"^Maurice J.E. Brown. "Simon Sechter," The New

Grove, XVII, 98-99.
2
Simon Sechter, Die Grundsatze der musikalischen
Komposition, 3 vols. (Leipzig: Breitkopf & Hartel,
1853-54) .
120
mathematical or acoustical justifications for his
theories. The basics of the scale, intervals, conso
nance and dissonance, and inversions are simply stated
as givens. Chords are then built by the vertical
succession of thirds. There are two basic chord forms
(Stammaccorde) from which all other harmonies originate.
These are the triad and the seventh chord.
Sechter's harmonic system is based on a scale with
just intonation. The problem of the fifth between the
second and sixth degrees in the major scale comes up
repeatedly in the text. In a progression involving a
triad built on the second degree, the fifth of the triad
must be prepared and resolve one degree downward. All
other major and minor triads can enter freely and
unprepared. The most important chord is the triad on
the tonic, because it is the beginning and the end of
any composition and all other chords must bear relation
to it. The next important chord is the seventh chord on
the dominant, since it leads directly back to the tonic.
Third in importance is the subdominant triad, because it
also is closely connected with the tonic by a common
tone.
Before going on to explain harmonic progression
Sechter describes a method of extending a single harmony
121
by exchanging voices within the chord. In making this
exchange he says that intermediate tones may be added
which do not belong to the harmony.
Figure 45. The use of passing tones

to prolong a chord.
instead instead instead

of: of: of:
■f f-f lf p "f f f t f f \\ H p
These passing tones can occur in more than one
voice and create accidental passing chords, which are
considered as nonessential harmonies. The essential
harmonies must always appear on strong beats and must
have a duration at least as long as the passing tones.
The extension of a single chord tone can be accomplished
by the use of a neighbor tone. The neighbor tones can
also appear in more than one voice, often creating
intermediate secondary harmonies.
In a harmonic progression involving two different
chords Sechter says the strongest connection is by
■^Sirnon Sechter, Die richtige Folge der Grund-

harmonien, vol. I of Die Grundsatze der musikalischen
Komposition (Leipzig: Breitkopf & Hartel, 1853), 37.
122
fundamental movement down a fifth or up a fourth. This
progression affords a natural link because the fifth of
the second chord is then prepared, making a perfect
connection. The strength of this progression is best
exemplified by the authentic cadence, as Sechter
explains.
The progression from the seventh chord

of the fifth degree to the triad of the
first degree is called a cadence and is the
most important of all musical progressions,
serving as a prototype for many others.
A natural link also occurs in a fundamental progression
by descending third, although this connection is weaker
because only one new tone is introduced in the second
chord.
Progressions by ascending fifth and third are
allowed as long a both chords are independent of each
other— that is, as long as the first chord requires no
resolution and the second no preparation. In other
words, this progression cannot occur where the triads of
the second or seventh are involved, since their fifths
must be prepared and resolve as dissonances.
4
Ibid., 13. Der Schritt vom Septaccord der
5ten zum Dreiklang der i ten stufe wird
Schlussfall genannt und ist der wichtigste
unter alien musikalischen Schritten,
welcher vielen andern zum Muster dient.
123
A direct progression by second is not allowed. For
this Sechter turns to the use of the tacit fundamental.
In the case of the two triads in a descending second
relationship he thinks of the first one as a ninth chord
without the root.
In order to make the progression of the

descending second between two triads as
natural as possible, it must occur by such
means that the fifth of the first triad is
considered as a ninth, its third as a
seventh, and its root and the doubling
thereof as a fifth.' It then becomes a ninth
chord whose root and third are omitted.
Figure 46. Tacit fundamental between

two triads descending by a second.
-V---C----- 2*----
—
— f l ------
:fa= § ' -it-

7 8 -5 —-
* 0
H * - 9—
.o ■;
9—
5
Sechter, Die richtige Folge, 32. Urn die
scheinbaren Schritte in die Untersecunde mit
zwei Dreiklangen moglichst naturgemass zu
machen, bedient man sich des Mittels, die
Quint des ersten Dreiklangs als Non, die Terz
desselben als Sept und den Grundton und
dessen Verdoppelung als Quinten zu betrachten,
welches sodann ein unvollstandiger Septnon-
accord ist, welchem die Terz und der Funda-
mentalton fehlen.
6Ibid., 33.
124
In the case of a fundamental ascending by a second the
first triad is considered to be a seventh chord with a
tacit fundamental.
For example, in order to make a natural pro

gression from the tonic triad to that of the
second degree, the seventh chord on the sixth
degree must either actually appear or be
imagined between the two chords.
Figure 47. Tacit fundamental between

two triads ascending by a second.
In C major, with notes: or with the second

fundamental silent.
£ £
t f C A D
Any progression that is not a direct fundamental
progression or that cannot be explained by a tacit
fundamental must result from the use of suspensions or
other nonharmonic tones. In Figure 48a, for example,
the second beat of the first measure is not a new
Sechter, Die richtige Folqe, 18.Urn zum

ten
Beispiel den Schritt vom Dreiklang der 1
zu jenen der 2 ten Stufe naturgemass zu machen,
muss dazwischen der Septaccord der 6 ten Stufe
entweder wirklich gemacht oder hinein gedacht
werden.
8
Ibid.
125
fundamental on F, but results from a passing seventh in
combination with an arpeggiation of the chord on D. By
this explanation the progression from D to G is a proper
connection. At Figure 48c Sechter says that the
apparent fundamentals are B in the first measure and A
on the first beat of the second. This is not the case,
however, because this example is merely an affected
version of the actual progression at 48b. The first
chord is based on dominant harmony and the second is a
root position triad with a suspension in the upper
voice.
Figure 48. Interpretation of the suspension

over a fundamental progression.
a)
N ff
3 9
f H -S--
-a -
¥ -a-
D — Or - C
c)
T=F JQ
-
9 .
Fig. 48a, Sechter, Die n c h t i g e Folqe, 21. Figs.
48b and 48c, Ibid., 35.
126
Sechter gives examples of suspensions in almost
every possible harmonic situation. They can occur in
more than one voice, and their resolutions can appear in
the chord over which the suspension occurs or over a new
chord. He discusses other nonharmonic tones, mostly
passing tones and neighbor tones, in an equally thorough
manner. Among the examples he also includes chromatic
and enharmonic progressions, but he makes it clear that
only the diatonic tones of the scale can be used as
fundamentals. Hence all chromatic harmony has the
diatonic as its foundation.
One of the most significant chromatic progressions
that Sechter describes is the manner in which a chord
may be extended and also made into a secondary tonic
(Nebentonica) by means of its own leading tone.
The realm of chromaticism is greatly

extended when each degree of the scale,
except for the seventh, is regarded as a
tonic. It is necessary, however, that the
fundamentals follow in such an order that
each is independent of the other. The fol
lowing order of triads in the C major scale
would be best fornthis purpose:
C G E A F D G C.
Sechter, Die richtige Folqe, 157. Eine

grosse Ausdehnung bekommt das Wesen des
Chromatischen dadurch, dass man, ausser der
7 e n , jede ubrige Stufe als Tonica ansieht,
wozu aber gehort, dass die Fundamente in
einer solchen Ordnung folgen, damit jeder
selbstandig sein konne. Folgende Ordnung
127
The first means of elaborating each of these triads is
through their own dominant sevenths.
Figure 49. Elaboration of ,,

triads through dominant sevenths.
ffr
mu
n f
£ I
m
H I
F D & C
A similar effect can also be achieved by using
subdominant chords (Figure 50a). More extensive
elaborations are shown at 50b and c, with the latter
containing in each measure all of the fundamentals of
the main theme as secondary harmonies.
mit Dreiklangen in der C dur Tonleiter wird

zu diesem Zwecke die beste sein:
C G E A F D G C .
^Sech te r, Die richtige Folqe, 158.
128
Figure 50. Other variations on the.2

fundamental progression at Figure 49.
a.
f
r f f m
---f---- -o----
0-----
\-/— 1 — * i M = y = ±
c & E. A P
b.
p = # - j F=+=tim M - j -II
f t Y F I T r- H f 1-
e)d.f. ■= - f fj J =Ekf»=t- ;■ r
1 JLJ
- - -
— 1----
& E A
c.
^ # j # n JT71
“ iptF m i i
r 1— ffrfrl
__L- i
4 ^ E
Sechter carries this idea even one step further by
saying that the notes of embellishment can in themselves
be extended through intermediate chromatic tones. He
gives the following example of a fundamental progression
in A minor with a relatively simple elaboration of each
chord.
12 Sechter, Die richtiqe Folqe, 158-59.
129
Figure 51. Elaboration of triads in A minor. 13
nrrr m r
a
H £.
He then shows (Figure 52) how the progression can be
further expanded by adding chromatic tones which are
subordinate even to the secondary tones seen in
Figure 51.
In the second volume of Grundsatze Sechter talks
about the fundamental bass as related to metric

14
organization. In doing this he gives examples of how
different meters should be organized with one, two,
three, and more fundamentals per bar. Where there is
more than one, their placement is important in defining
the proper stress points inherent in a particular meter.
13
Sechter, Die richtige Folqe, 199.
14
A more extensive study of this aspect of
Sechter's theories can be found in the following
article: William E. Caplin, "Harmony and Meter in the
Theories of Simon Sechter," Music Theory Spectrum, II
(1980), 74-89.
130
Figure 52. Chromatic elaboration

of triads in A minor.
W f J
in
t i
»
§ §
H G
In triple time, for example, with two fundamentals per
bar, the natural rhythm dictates that the fundamentals
should fall on the first and third beats (Figure 53).
In a four-beat meter the fundamentals should fall on the
first and the fourth beats. The fourth beat, which
would normally be the weakest, has a preparatory
function, setting up the strongest fundamental on the
first beat of the following bar.
15
Sechter, Die richtige Folqe, 200.
131
Figure 53. Two fundamentals per bar in triple meter.16
Fund:
Since the first beat is the strongest in any meter,
it is important that the strongest fundamental relation
ship take place at that point. There should always be a
new fundamental on the first beat, and it should be
preceded by a fundamental in a fifth relationship to it,
preferably a fifth above. Since a progression by third
is much weaker, that relationship should be reserved for
weaker metric connections within the measure. This is
shown in Figure 54, where Sechter demonstrates a
four-beat meter containing two to three fundamentals per
bar. In counting these he does not include the "silent"
fundamentals— those which are added merely to make an
acceptable progression, such as the A in bars one and
two and the H in bar 4.
16Simon Sechter, Von den gesetzen des Taktes der

Musik, vol. II of Die Grundsatze der musikalischen
Komposition (Leipzig: Breitkopf & Hartel, 1854), 17.
132
Figure 54. Two to three fundamentals

per bar in a four meter.
etc.
With his ideas on meter Sechter sets up a
hierarchical relationship among the fundamentals. The
V-I prototype is the most important and serves to define
the stronger musical divisions within the bar and, on a
larger scale, the phrases and sections by cadences.
Somewhat weaker is the ascending fifth relationship,
still acceptable over the bar line and often used at
intermediate cadence points. At the lowest level is the
third relationship, useful only on the weaker beats
within the bar.
In his attempts to show more fundamentals within a
measure, however, his concept of the fundamental bass as
the underlying structure for more complex harmonies goes
somewhat by the wayside. In this example of four, five,
and six fundamentals to a bar, the fundamentals actually
become more complicated than the harmonies themselves.
17
Sechter, Von den gesetzen des Taktes, 26.
133
Figure 55. Four, five,

and six fundamentals to a bar. 18
etc,
C GE AF ftfr t EC FA & Aft G CA Art EC FAG CA
In this respect Sechter has simply become carried away
with his own ideals. He redeems himself later in volume
II, however, by returning to his theory of nonharmonic
tones. Here he discusses the various nonharmonic
patterns in terms of their rhythmic placement and
relative duration within the bar.
Sechter"s ideas about tonal relationships are best
described in his concluding remarks in volume I of
Grundsatze.
Diatonic composition, major or minor, is

the mother of all good and simple melody and
is the image of a family where each member
has its own place and appears at its proper
time.
The diatonic modulation brings forth
different related families one after another.
Chromatic composition, whether the main
tonic is major or minor, makes the harmony
richer, even more passionate. It is the
image of several related families united
under a common head.
18
Sechter, Von den gesetzen des Taktes, 35,
134
The enharmonic changes in their broadest

dimension are the natural enemy of good
melody, and thus their effect is both mys
terious and surprising. They are the image
of the whole world, in which the family
declines and where illusion frequently occurs.
Even the insignificant appears to have a
certain splendor. As a result it is diffi
cult to distinguish between essential and
unessential.
Sechter applies this same sort of hierarchy to all
aspects of music, whether it be melodic, harmonic, or
rhythmic. The diatonic genre, as the basis for all
harmony, has in itself a center around which its own
elements evolve. This is the tonic triad with its
19
Sechter, Die richtige Folqe, 218. Der
diatonische Satz, Dur Oder Moll, ist die
Mutter aller gewunden einfachen Melodie und
ist das Bild einer Familie, wo jedes Glied
derselben an seinem Platze ist und zu rechter
Zeit erscheint.
Die diatonische Tonwechslung fuhrt
verschiedene verwandte Familien nach einander
vor.
Der chromatische Satz, ob die Haupt-
tonica Dur oder Moll ist, macht die Melodie
reicher, besonders aber leidenschaftlicher,
und ist das Bild mehrerer verwandten Familien
unter einem gemeinschaftlichen Oberhaupte
vereinigt.
Die enharmonischen Verwechslungen in der
weitesten Ausdehnung sind die nat'urlichen
Feinde der gesunden Melodie, dafur ist ihre
Wirkung geheimnissvoll und tiberraschend. Sie
sind das Bild der grossen Welt, worin das
Familienleben untergeht und wo die Tausch-
ungen haufig vorkommen, und auch das
Unwichtige in einem gewissen Glanze erscheint;
dafur aber kann man dabei nicht erkennen, was
Hauptsache oder Nebensache ist.
135
related subordinate triads, the dominant and
subdominant. Within the key the primary harmonies are
defined by the fundamental bass, separating them from
those secondary harmonies which result from melodic
connections between chords. The idea of reducing
harmonies to a fundamental bass is of course nothing new
at Sechter's time, but his lengthy concerns with metric
relationships and his ideas about levels of importance
among the diatonic and chromatic harmonies add other
important aspects to the development of musical
reduction.
136
CHAPTER VIII
ERNST FRIEDRICH RICHTER
Ernst Friedrich Richter (1808-1879) spent most of
his adult life in Leipzig. He attended the university
there and later became conductor of the Leipzig
Singakademie. He also taught harmony and counterpoint
at the conservatory. He, served as organist in various
churches and was also active in composition. His
theoretical knowledge was highly respected and his
Lehrbuch der Harmonie1 (1st ed.r 1853) was a popular
textbook in many European countries as well as the

2
United States. It was available in many translations,
and also was printed in numerous editions, some of which
contain different musical examples and are laid out in a
slightly different format. His theoretical ideas,
however, are basically the same throughout all of them.
His Lehrbuch begins immediately with a discussion
of triads and seventh chords. The fundamentals of
music— scales, intervals, and rhythm— are presented in
Êrnst Friedrich Richter, Lehrbuch der Harmonie

(Leipzig: Breitkopf & Hartel, 1853).
2
Franz Gehring and David Charlton, "Ernst Friedrich
Richter," The New Grove, XV, 845. See also Richard Owen
Devore, Theories of Harmony in the United States to
1900, Unpublished thesis, University of Iowa, 1981.
137
an earlier work, Die Elementarkentnisse zur

3
Harmonielehre (1852). The most significant aspect of
Richter's theories is that he has done away with the
rigidity of the fundamental bass. He retains from
previous theorists only the idea that all harmony stems
from two basic chord types, the triad and the seventh
chord. The triad, he says, is independent of other
chords, while the seventh chord is dependent upon other
chords and bound to them because of its dissonance.
"Both types form the fundamental harmonies from which
all other chords are derived."^
Richter says that triads built on each of the
degrees of the diatonic scale form the most essential
parts of harmony. He also establishes a hierarchy for
these triads. The most important is that built on the
tonic. Next in importance is the dominant triad, and
third is the subdominant. The dominant and subdominant
are related to the tonic by common tones, as he shows
(Figure 56). Furthermore, all of the notes of the major
scale are contained within these three triads.
3
Ernst Friedrich Richter, Die Elementarkenntnxsse
zur Harmonielehre (Leipzig: Georg Wigand, 1852).
4
Richter, Lehrbuch, 9. "Beide Arten bilden die
Grundharmonien, von welchen alle iibrigen Akkorde
abgeleitet werden."
138
Figure 56. The tonic, _

dominant, and subdominant triads.
F C G
Of the seventh chords the most important is the
dominant seventh, because of its natural leading motion
toward the tonic. All other types are called secondary
seventh chords (Nebenseptimenakkorde) . Richter's
nonmechanical approach toward harmony is best
illustrated by his views on the seventh chords and their
resolutions. He does not place any strict rules on the
root progression of the seventh chords, although he
states that movement down a fifth or up a fourth results
in the strongest connection, and for learning purposes
it is best to practice these resolutions in a mechanical
fashion in order to become well acquainted with each
type.
The dominant seventh chord is fairly strict in its
resolution because of the strong leading tendency of the
tritone. The secondary sevenths, however, allow for
freer resolutions in both diatonic and chromatic situa
tions. Richter gives several examples of acceptable
5
Richter, Lehrbuch, 10.
139
resolutions, first with the regular downward movement of
the seventh,
Figure 57. Regular resolution of the seventh chord.

(Roman numerals are Richter^s)
3=
-ar-gps
C: V iii ii7 e:l7 C'.ut7 1L ui1 f:T1
next with free resolution of the seventh,
Figure 58. Free resolution of the seventh.
-0-
M H
C‘. ii1 (r«Y7 C: ii7C;Ûo1 C'.Vt1ai?7
and also with the seventh used as a common tone.
Figure 59. Resolution of the seventh chord

with common tone.
Richter, Lehrbuch, 70.
Ibid.
8Ibid.
140
Richter rejects the old idea that the diminished
seventh is a dominant ninth without the root, although
he does recognize the similarity in character between
the two chords. Of the seventh chord on the seventh
degree of the major scale he says:
With the first chord [the vii°] arises

the complication, that one must assume there
are two chords on the seventh degree; the
first, whose natural cadence is as follows:
0 -^
15~
and the other as derived from the dominant

seventh chord, although it is easiest to
refer to the character of the leading tone,
upon which the above-mentioned chords are
built.
In his analyses Richter does not designate the
diminished seventh chords as dominants, but places a VII
below them to show that they are in fact based on the
leading tone.
g
Richter, Lehrbuch, 73. Hierdurch entsteht
bei dem ersten die Weitlaufigkeit, dass man
zwei Akkorde der siebenten Stufe annehmen
muss, einer, dessen naturliche Cadenz
folgende ist:
der andere als vom Dominantseptimenakkord

abgeleitete, wahrend es am einfachsten bleibt,
auf den Charakter des Leittons, auf welchem
die obigen Akkorde ruhen, hinzuweisen.
141
His reason for rejecting the dominant ninth idea is
that such an explanation only makes the harmonic situa
tion more complicated. This is also true, he says, of
the eleventh and thirteenth chords, for it is very
seldom in music that one sees an entire eleventh or
thirteenth chord. When these chords appear in four-
voice harmony the dissonant note is usually prepared and
takes on the character of a suspension, as in these
examples.
Figure 60. Eleventh and thirteenth chords

appearing as suspensions.
L-
JJ ^ - 4 -
_JS— Hh <
pH
i
- _s-
O
o
— ;--------
nr
o
Q
~~D~".
Even in harmony with more than four parts these chords
are treated in a similar manner, and in the free style,
where the dissonances might enter unprepared, they
appear as passing or neighbor tones. It is thus easier
and more sensible to explain these dissonances not as
^ Richter, Lehrbuch, 73.
142
chord tones but as nonessential tones whose purpose is
to ornament the fundamental harmony.
Most textbooks contain complicated dis

sertations about these chord structures. The
views about them that can validly be put
forth are varied and lead to the same practi
cal goal. One can assume either that this
combination of intervals should be regarded
and treated as an actual chord, such as the
seventh chord, or that they are unessential
dissonances either belonging in the category
of suspensions or arising out of the acci
dental suspension of one voice.
In the first case the explanation of
their use is very complicated, expecially
with their inversions, and of course with
four-voice composition one or more tones or
intervals must always be left out. This
makes the explanation unclear because it is
then easily confused with other chords.
In the second dfse the explanation is
greatly simplified.
Richter, Lehrbuch, 71. Man findet uber

diese Akkordbildungen in den meisten Lehr-
buchern weitlaufige Abhandlungen.
Die Ansichten, die liber dieselben
geltend gemacht werden konnen, sind ver-
schieden und werden zu gleichem praktischen
Ziele fiihren. Man kann annehmen
entweder, dass diese Zusammenstellung
von Intervallen als wirkliche Akkorde,
wie z.B. der Septimenakkord, zu
betrachten und zu behandeln sind;
Oder, dass sie als unwesentliche Akkord
bildungen entweder zu den Vorhalten
gehoren, oder durch das Liegenbleiben
einer Stimme zufallig entstehen.
Im ersten Falle wird die Erklarung ihres
Gebrauchs, besonders durch ihre Umkehrungen,
sehr weitlaufig, und da beim vierstimmigen
Satze immer ein oder mehrere Tone oder Inter-
valle derselben wegbleiben mussen, unklar,
143
When passing tones occur in several voices together
they form chord structures which are often complex and
are secondary in importance to the fundamental harmonies
surrounding them. Richter chooses simply to define
these as passing chords rather than as any kind of
fundamental harmony.
In this respect one also finds that those

passing tones that form, as it were, an
innermost new harmonic progression with other
tones lying outside, the simple harmonic
structure, are more natural and smooth than
those whose combination defies harmonic
analysis.
Passing chords always appear on the weak beats of the
measure. Since their formation is a result of the
melodic direction of individual voices, the voice
leading of the passing chord may not always strictly
conform to the rules of chord progression. In the cases
where it does not conform the passing chord must be
formed by stepwise progression in all voices. In the
weil sie dann leicht mit andern Akkorden zu

verwechseln sind:
im zweiten Falle vereinfacht sich ihre
Erklarung sehr.
12
Richter, Lehrbuch, 113. Auch hierbei wird
man finden, dass diejenigen Durchgangsnoten,
die mit andern, ausser der zum Grund
liegenden einfach harmonischen Struktur, eine
gleichsam innerste neue harmonische Fuhrung
bilden, naturlicher und milder sind, als
diejenigen, deren Zusammenstellung sich har-
monisch nicht nachweisen lasst.
144
following example the chords on beats three and four are
formed by the stepwise progression of all the voices
from the metrically stronger chord on beat one to their
goal, the chord on the strongest beat of the next
measure. The six-four chord in the example would only
be acceptable in an embellishing situation such as this.
13
Figure 61. Passing chords appearing on weak beats.
Richter goes on to show that the passing character of
the individual lines is more apparent when one or more
of the parts are sustained (Figure 62). These passing
chords, then, serve to create a smoother connection
between the chords on C and G, which form the
fundamental progression.
Since nonharmonic tones are actually melodic
embellishments of a simpler harmonic progression,
13
Ernst Friedrich Richter, Manual of Harmony, ed.
Alfred Richter, translated from the 23r^ German edition
by Theodore Baker (New York: G. Schirmer, 1912), 135.
This example does not appear in the 1st German edition.
145
Figure 62. Stepwise passing motion,

between two fundamental harmonies.
Richter emphasizes the- importance of a composer's
ability to compose a good melody. A melody, he says, is
not so much the product of invention as it is one of
development. Once the composer has mastered simple
harmonic progressions, he can then use the tones of the
essential harmonies to build melodies which smooth out
and add interest to the progression. From an analytical
point of view, then, every finished melody as well as
every harmonic progression can be reduced to a simpler
form.
Every finished and well-developed melody

has just as simple a foundation as we used in
our last examples as exercises [for melodic
development].
All such complicated harmonic voice
leading can be traced back to simple harmonic
connections.
14
Richter, Manual, 135.
15
Richter, Lehrbuch, 150. Jede noch so aus-
gefuhrte und ausgebildete Melodie hat eine
146
Richter's efforts are unfortunately not directed
toward analysis but toward the reverse procedure—
teaching the student how to compose by elaborating upon
a fundamental harmonic progression. He does, however,
give a few examples from music literature preceded by
the fundamental progression to show how such elaboration
is carried out by the great masters. One of these is an
excerpt from the second movement of Beethoven's Quartet
in E*3, op 74. This excerpt appears only in later
editions of Richter's text. In early editions there is
an example of a later variation in the same movement as
a demonstration of background figuration. Although no
fundamental harmonic progression is shown with the
example, the text indicates that it might be beneficial
for the student to undertake such a reduction.
If one wants to obtain a clear look into

such detailed compositions and come to an
understanding of the internal harmonic
structure, it would be very good to trace
pieces of this type back to their simple
foundation. Diligence in this will be
rewarded with enrichment of knowledge of
eben so einfache Grundlage, wie wir sie in

unsern letzten Beispielen als Aufgaben
benutzt haben.
Jede noch so complicirte harmonische
Fiihrung der Stimmen lasst sich auf einfache
Harmonieverbindung zuruckfiihren.
147
many kinds andgby the benefits for one"s own

compositions.
The example in the 23rd edition shows the following
progression, which forms a period with a half cadence at
measure 7.
Figure 63. A fundamental harmonic progression

by Richter.
--QQ - ;or-
v, .-tr- -8 - a ~
_Q_
V o 0 a — 0 ~ S—
A'l'l------ ^ 0 - -0- -o-

M # N CL. 0
3E t
W
m co £0l
Richter Lehrbuch, 160. Will man in solche

ausgefuhrte Compositionen einen klaren Blick
erlangen und zum Verstandniss der innern
harmonischen Struktur kommen, wird es sehr
gut sein, Tonstucke dieser Art auf ihre ein
fache Grundlage zuriickzufiihren, der Fleiss
hierin wird sich belohnen durch Bereicherung
von Kenntnissen mancher Art und durch
Befahigung fur eigene Bildungen.
17
148
By adding rhythmic interest, Richter produces this
example.
Figure 64. The fundamental harmonic ia

progression of Figure 63 with rhythm added.
t r
I i x a
1
m
Then, he says, by developing the highest part while
©
&
still emphasizing the harmonic progression the following
melody might result.
Figure 6 6 . Development of
the soprano line of Figure 63.
Finally he shows the Beethoven excerpt to demonstrate
how the lower parts might also be developed to enhance
the melody.
18 Richter, Manual, 183.
19 Ibid.
149
Figure 6 6 . Excerpt from Beethoven's

Quartet in E , second movement.
Adagio ma non troppo.
m c x z u coco
mezzo voce
m e z z * voce
Richter"s theoretical ideas represent a significant step
toward more sophistocated concepts of harmonic
reduction. By freeing himself from the strict rules of
the fundamental bass he has allowed for much more
accurate analysis. He can investigate a harmonic
progression without having to make the music fit into
his theories. Most important in the area of musical
reduction is his recognition of the relative importance
of various chords in a progression, from the passing
chord, which is not considered as part of the
fundamental harmonic progression, to the strongest and
most stable chord— the tonic triad.
The formation of the passing chord by linear motion
20
150
is a key element in that it shows how harmony comes from
melody on a level surpassing simple voice leading.
Harmonic interest is a result of melodic goals, and his
interest in melody shows how it also can be reduced to a
simpler form based on the relative rhythmic importance
of the notes on the way to their final goal.
151
CHAPTER IX
OTHER THEORISTS
In addition to the seven theorists whom I have
considered to be key figures in the development of
musical reduction, there are several others who deserve
mention for touching upon these concepts, if only
briefly, in their writings.
Charles Simon Catel
Charles Simon Catel (1773-1830) was primarily a
composer, but he did publish a short theoretical work,
Traite d^harmonie1 (1802). It is written in a very
concise format and represents an effort by Catel to
simplify the elements of harmony and present them in a
systematic manner. His theory of harmony is firmly
based on the harmonic series. From the overtones he
extracts a dominant ninth chord, the major ninth being
the ninth partial and the minor ninth being the
seventeenth. This chord, he says, contains within it
^Charles Simon Catel, Traite d^harmonie (Paris:

Impr. du Conservatoire de Musique, 1802).
152
all other chords practical in harmony. They form what
he calls simple or natural harmony (harmonie simple ou
naturelle).
Figure 67. Natural chords contained in the

dominant ninth chord
major minor chord of the chord of the

triad triad dim. 5 dominant 7
*
p i
chord of th chord of the chord of th e chord of th<

sensitive dim. 7 major 9 tfi minor 9
$ £
"All other chords introduced into harmony are
formed by the prolongation of one or more notes from one
chord to the following chord. They will form composed

H3
harmony, In his Traite he describes his goals as
follows:
2 N ✓
Charles Simon Catel, L^Harmonie a la portee de
tous (Paris: Marcel Labb^, 1937), 6 .
<3
Catel, Traite, 6 . "Les autres accords introduite
dans I'harmonie se forment par la prolongation d'une ou
plusieurs notes d'un accord sur lâccord suivant. Ils
formeront l"Harmonie composee.
153
I have undertaken this work in order to

simplify the elements of harmony as much as
possible. I have attempted to restore it to
its true origin by demonstrating that all
dissonances are generated from consonances.
I have reduced the chords to a very small
number. The name chord is given only to
those that require no preparation and which
have their origin in the chord of nature.
I have divided harmony into two categories:
simple or natural harmony and composed or
artificial harmony.
Any simple harmony can become composed harmony by adding
nonharmonic tones, just as any composed harmony can be
made simple by eliminating those tones.
The nonharmonic tones of which Catel speaks are
what he calls notes prolongees. They are all suspension
figures, and he gives numerous examples of suspension
possibilities in all of the chords and their inversions.
The suspension can resolve into the same chord with
which it is a dissonance (Figure 68a ) , or into a new
chord (Figure 68b ) . The dissonances can also appear in
more than one voice (Figure 68c ) .
Catel, Traite, iii. J'ai entrepris cet ^ ,

ouvrage pour simplifier, autant quîl m'a ete
possible, les Siemens de l'harmonie; j"ai
tachl de la ramener ei sa veritable origine en
demontrant que toutes les dissonances itaient
engendrees par les consonnances. J'ai reduit
les accords a un tres petit nombre, on ne
donnant le nom d'accord qu"a ceus qui n'ont
besoin d'aucune preparation, et qui tirent
leur origine du corps sonore. J'ai divise
154
Figure 68. Catel's suspension figures.
a) b) C)
| P
6 b
a is
b
u
v
s 5 5 I 5 3
m m i= =
He also gives examples of suspensions where the
suspended notes are not dissonant.
Figure 69. The consonant suspension.^
¥&
l'harmonie en deux classes: HARMONIE SIMPLE

OU NATURELLE. HARMONIE COMPOSÊ OU
ARTIFICIELLE.
5
Catel, L-Harmonie, 18.
6Ibid., 29.
155
In the case of this suspension he says "it is consonant
in appearance, but it is really a dissonance since it is

7
foreign to the chord." This is an important statement,
as it shows that Catel looks not only at the vertical
combination of tones, but also understands the context
in which the chord appears.
On a broader scale he discusses cadences of varying
degrees of importance. There are two principal cadences:
that ending on the tonic and that ending on the
dominant. Of lesser importance are what he calls
intermediate cadences (cadences intermediares) . These
are instances of momentary repose on the other notes of
the scale before the arrival of one of the two principal
cadences (Figure 70).
From this it is apparent that Catel recognizes a
certain degree of hierarchy in musical progression. The
strongest divisions are at the principal cadences at the
phrase level. Within the phrase are weaker divisions at
intermediate cadence points. Finally, at the chord
level, the chord tones themselves outweigh the
nonharmonic tones which are added primarily for
7
Catel, L^harmonie, 29. "Elle est consonnante en
apparence, mais elle est reelement dissonante,
puisqu'elle est etrangere £ l'accord."
156
Figure 70. Intermediate cadences. 8
£ r W i
*
£
5 3
s t
decoration. It is unfortunate that Catel does not apply
his observations to analysis. Again his text is
directed more toward the composer. Nevertheless, even
within this context he takes an approach that could
easily lead to a valid system of reduction.
Ernst von Stockhausen
Ernst von Stockhausen was a composer whose
published works are limited to a few collections of
Lieder, some for a cappella choir and some for solo
voice with accompaniment. He produced no theoretical
works except for a set of analyses that I will discuss
here entitled The Harmonic Foundation of 12 Fugues from
J.S. Baches W.T.C., and also the A *3 Minor Fugue for
Organ of J. Brahms, presented and explained according to
8Catel, Portee, 30.
157
g
the principles of S. Sechter. In the analyses he has
reduced the individual contrapuntal lines of each fugue
to include only the tones that serve a harmonic
function, omitting all nonharmonic tones.
These "skeletons," as he calls them, serve to
clarify the fundamental progressions and lead to a
better understanding of the music itself. They also
demonstrate the masterful handling of nonharmonic
figures that abounds in the music of J.S. Bach. Von
Stockhausen says that knowledge of the stylistic figures
and of the overall tonal areas and modulations are
essential to the proper performance of any music.
In the preface he elaborates briefly on selected
excerpts from the fugues, and also declares his
allegiance to Simon Sechter.
At this time we could first bring up the

question of why the principles of Simon
Sechter form the basis for the present study.
The answer would have to read as follows:
For those who are able to distinguish between
the essence of something and its mere exter
nal form, Sechter's system is identical with
that of Kirnberger, who himself was a student
of Bach and who notoriously adapted— one
9
Ernst von Stockhausen, Die harmonische Grundlage
von zwolf Fugen aus J.S. Bach s wohltemperirtem Klavier
sowie der As moll-Orgelfuge von J. Brahms nach den
Grunds'dtzen von S. Sechter dargestellt und erlautert
(Leipzig: Breitkopf & Hartel, 1901).
158
might say, copied— the harmonic teachings

that Bach practiced.
Von Stockhausen further states that while Sechter's
theories are basically in agreement with Kirnberger's,
Sechter's theories of nonharmonic tones and chromaticism
are much more expanded and more applicable to the
figurative style of Bach.
Von Stockhausen follows Sechter's rules for the
treatment of the fundamental bass. He carries his own
analyses a step further, however, by presenting melodic
reductions of each entire fugue in addition to the har
monic reductions shown in the fundamental bass. Figure
71 shows his analysis of the C# Major Fugue from Part I
of the W.T.C. Figure 72 shows the actual fugue. The
Roman numerals represent the fundamental harmonic move
ment, and it is important to note that Von Stockhausen
does not use them to define detailed chord-to-chord
Von Stockhausen, Die harmonische Grundlage, 3-4.

Hier konnte nun zundchst die Frage aufge-
worfen werden, warum der vorliegenden Unter-
suchung das System von S. Sechter zu Grund
gelegt worden ist. Die Antwort darauf hatte
folgendermassen zu lauten: Fur denjenigen,
der das Wesen einer Sache von der bloss
ausserlichen Form ihrer Darstellung zu unter-
scheiden weiss, ist das Sechterische System
identisch mit denjenigen von Kirnberger, der
selbst ein Schuler Bachs war und seine Lehre
von^der Harmonie notorisch Dem, was Bach
ausiibte, angepasst, sozusagen abgelauscht hat.
159
Figure 71. Stockhausen's analysis of the..

C# Major Fugue from Part I of Bach's W.T.C.
Theil I Fuge S.
Cl. I V I oi. IV I V
V IO ijIV n V ra VI
.td.r .VU
i c i. v io u iv im v iii Hi.iv n »vn
p S tp ® |
v iiv n v v .i. i v i rv n v
11Von Stockhausen, Die harmonische Grundlaqe, 9-11.
160
Figure 71, cont.
vn«i*n vn v ivinv iv nv
i vi a v i v i v i v i ■»« u v v 1
voi» i rvn v i ci» v i v i iv n v i vi n v i
P I
VI*l»iIV F la vd . v in i v ic i.n
xUrVTI
Figure 7 1 , cont.
JQX
JQ/L
•iitV I
I V i vi m vi n v i iv n Y
i IV YU m VI n v i
162
Figure 72. The C# Major Fugue

from Part I of Bach's W.T.C.
FUGA I I I .
12
Johann Sebastian Bach, Das wohltemperierte
Klavier, vol. 1, ed. Hans Bischoff (New York: Kalmus,
n.d.), 18-20.
///7 * r :i :i
164
Figure 72, cont.
165
connections, but broader tonal progressions, primarily
outlining root movements of a descending fifth.
In the second measure, for example, he describes
the entire measure as dominant harmony in spite of the
implied tonic that occurs on beat three. This is also
true where the fugue answer has the same material in bar
four. Thus Von Stockhausen addresses two aspects of
reduction— the melodic and the harmonic. In addition to
removing the nonharmonic tones from the individual
melodies, he further shows that the resulting chords
exist with varying degrees of structural importance.
This is especially true in the exposition where the
analysis shows the overall dominant-tonic relationships
that are necessary for the subject and answer. He also
illustrates by Roman numerals the circle of fifths that
occurs in bars 8- 1 0 .
In other parts of the fugue the harmonic analysis
is more detailed. In supporting Sechter's fundamental
bass theories Von Stockhausen also accepts the idea of
the tacit fundamental. In measure 10 he presents a
rather interesting contradiction. He shows the D# on
the last eighth noe of the measure as a chord tone. He
has also shown a chord on each eighth note in the entire
second half of the measure, although some overlapping
166
exists among the chord tones. The symbol I Gis IV
represents a pivot chord on beat three. The I following
apparently exists on the second half of beat three, but
with a suspension in the bass which resolves to B# on
beat four. The III chord then appears on beat four, but
from his reduction there is no visible VI chord. The
insertion of the Roman numeral, then, must be as a tacit
fundamental to justify the movement from III to II by
root movement of a fifth. It is interesting that in the
actual fugue an E does appear on the last eighth note
of the measure, but for some reason Von Stockhausen
chooses not to include it in his reduction.
The tacit fundamental can be found at various other
points in the fugue. For example, the II in bars 13,
19, and 25 creates a progression of fifths between the
actual fundamentals on IV and V.
Two aspects of Von Stockhausen's analysis exhibit
techniques that are unique for his time. One is the
idea of octave transfer, appearing in measures 35-37.
In each measure the third eighth note in the treble line
is represented down an octave, to emphasize the
descending stepwise motion of the sequence pattern.
Another important concept is that which is often known
today as polyphonic melody. Beginning again at measure
167
35, the lower line is repeated in the analysis as two
separate melodies— a stepwise line accompanied by a
pedal tone. These pedal tones help to define the
extended tonic and dominant harmonies in this section.
In some instances Von Stockhausen offers two
analyses in the fundamental bass, one below the other.
When two are given, one is usually more detailed than
the other, and Von Stockhausen does not explain his
reasons for doing this. In some cases, as at measure 7,
the second analysis is simply an alternative interpre
tation of the implied harmonies. In this measure the
leading tone does not appear until the last beat, but
the entire second half of the measure could be construed
as an arpeggiation of the vii°^. This analysis actually
makes more sense than the one above it containing the
dominant, since the dominant note does not appear.
Von Stockhausen does not indicate in any way that
one of the two versions is more important than the
other. In some cass, as at measure 42, the lowest
analysis seems to represent subservient harmonies, the
V-I being secondary to the overall V of the measure. At
bar 28, however, the lowest analysis seems to outline
the most important harmonies, with those above
representing more detail with a tacit fundamental.
168
Disregarding these unexplained details in Von
Stockhausen's analysis, his overall method is of
striking significance. Of the theorists I have
discussed to this point, none have preceded him with
such complete attempts at melodic reduction. His
expression of musical hierarchy is carried one step
further by his visual representation of the more
important notes in the melodic lines underlined by a
harmonic reduction as shown in the fundamental bass.
Ernst Kurth
Ernst Kurth (1886-1946) was of Swiss heritage, but
he was born in Vienna and spent most of his life there.
He was best known as a musicologist but also studied
theory and piano. Influenced by Schopenhauer, his
extremely philosophical approach to music sets him apart
from most of the other theorists under consideration

13
here. He criticizes past theorists for clinging too
strongly to the practical, scientific approach. He
says: "As long as the psychology of sound does not
yield a clear and fixed solution to each fundamental
question as the basis for building all systems of music
^ K u r t h von Fischer and Edith B. Schnapper, "Ernst

Kurth," The New Grove, X, 321.
169
theory, it must be established from the beginning that
our complete theory of music must not lack a certain
instinctive character beside its objectively scientific
Kurth disinguishes between two psychological
approaches to music. The psychology of sound
(Tonpsychologie) represents the surface level of musical
perception— the mechanical process of hearing. Music
psychology (Musikpsychologie), on the other hand,
represents an inner level of perception. It deals with
the interpretation of the sounds and their effect on the
listener. Kurth published a book on this subject which

1S
lies central to his theoretical approach.
The beginnings of music do not lie in the tone, the
chord, or the consonance. These are merely external
representations of measured rules that we take from the
overtones, which are also purely physical.
14
Ernst Kurth, Die Voraussetzungen der
theoretischen Harmonik und der tonalen Darstellungs-
systeme (Bern: M. Drechsel, 1913), 6 . Solange
die Tonpsychologie keine eindeutig bestimmte
Losung jener Grundfrage als Grundlage fur
den Bau aller Systeme der Musiktheorie an die
Hand gibt, muss von vorneherein zugestanden
werden, dass unsere gesamte Musiktheorie
neben einem objektiv wissenschaftlichen auch
eines gewissen instinktiven Charakters nicht
entbehren kann.
15
Ernst Kurth, Musikpsychologie (Berlin, 1931).
170
The essential point lies in this— that the

primary element in the musical process is not
the "process-material" (the sound, that is
based on physical appearances), but the
"process-energy," the pressing psychic impul
sive forces in us that first grasp for the
"material," while aspiring toward the
concrete in sensual perceptibility. The
process-energies go before sense impressions.
Kurth's concepts of melody and harmony are based on his
notion of motion-energy (Bewegungsenergie). The basis
for all tonal organization lies in the major scale,
which has its source in the natural sensation of a
fundamental tone being drawn to its own octave. The
intervals filling in this octave can be many and varied,
but the major scale is strongest because it contains the
fifth relationships most closely connected to the
overtones. These are the major tonic triad, the major
triad a fifth above, and that of a fifth below.
Each scale formation has its own system of inner
motion, or tendency tones, which vary in strength. The
Ernst Kurth, Grundlagen des linearen

Kontrapunkts; Einfuhrung in Stil und Technik von Baches
melodischer Polyphonie (Bern: M. Drechsel, 1917), 8 .
Der Kernpunkt liegt darin, dass in der
musikalischen Verarbeitung nicht die Verar-
beitungsmaterie (das Erklingende, das in
physikalischen Erscheinungen beruht), das
Primare ist, sondern die Verarbeitungsenergie,
die drangenden psychischen Kraftregungen in
uns, die erst zur "Materie" greifen, indem
die Konkretisierung in sinnlicher Wahrnehm-
barkeit anstreben. Die Verarbeitungsenergien
gehen den Sinneseindrucken voran.
171
strongest of all motions is that produced by the leading
tone, for this half step represents the arrival of the
scale at its goal, the octave or tone. "The so-called
resolution of the leading tone is the release of the

17
kinetic tension at the goal of the melodic movement."
The major scale is most perfect because it consists
of two like tetrachords, both with a penultimate leading
tone. This sets up a natural system of inner
relationships within the scale. In C major, for
example, the subdominant is set up by the half step
below it as a temporary resting place on the way to the
final goal. Thus C is drawn toward F, and in a stronger
sense G is drawn toward C. This again shows the
importance of the tonic, dominant, and subdominant as
the primary elements of the key. The minor scale is not
naturally as strong because it must be altered
mechanically in order to contain the leading tone,
although the alterations in the melodic minor scale are
excellent examples of this sensation of movement
(Bewegunqsempfindunq) , with the upper tones being drawn
upward toward the tonic and downward toward the
dominant.
17
Kurth, Grundlagen, 40. "Die sogenannten
'Auflbsung" des Leittones ist die Auslosung der
kinetischen Spannung in das Ziel des Bewegungsverlaufs.
172
Kurth contends that all melody and harmony is a
result of linear movement based on his theory of
Bewegungsenergie. Intervals, like tones, have
tendencies that direct their movement. With the major
third, for example, the upper note has a tendency to
move upward, while in the minor third it wants to move

18
downward. An interval creates a higher degree of
tension than a scale tone, while a chord creates still
more tension. Thus even a major triad has a certain
degree of tension, and consonance and dissonance are
relative terms. An authentic cadence containing two
major triads creates a feeling of unrest and repose
because the dominant triad, which contains the leading
tone, has a greater degree of tension than the tonic
triad, to which it naturally resolves. It is our
feeling for the scale then that sets up the relationship
between these two chords.
The organic connection of chord structures
developed historically from the tonality of the church
18
This idea is not new with Kurth. It was
suggested as much as two centuries earlier by Vicentino
and also by Kepler. In his Harmonice Mundi Kepler
classified major thirds as masculine and minor ones as
feminine, supporting his viewpoint by both mathematical
and empirical reasoning. See Daniel P. Walker, Studies
in Musical Science in the Late Renaissance, ed. J.B.
Trapp (Leiden: Brill, 1978), v. 37, 66-67.
173
inodes where the final was the center or kernel of the
system. Kurth mentions Rameau's centre harmonique as
the first theoretical basis for the concept of tonality.
The understanding of the tonic, dominant, and
subdominant as the reigning figures of tonality was
realized most completely by Riemann in his
Funktionstheorie. Finally, although Kurth criticizes
many elements of Simon Sechter's theories, their basic
methods of chord formation are essentially the
same— that is, that harmony results from the
super imposition of thirds to form triads and larger
chord formations.
Kurth's concept of dissonance stems from this idea
in a manner similar to Sechter's. He says: "All
sounding dissonances are traced back to the layers of
thirds, which are the original ideal of chordal

19
structure." These "original" chords can be any
tertian structure from a triad to a thirteenth chord.
The interval of the second, he says, is simply the
inversion of the seventh. The fourth presents a more
difficult situation in that it inverts to a consonance.
19
Kurth, Grundlagen, 91. "Auf die in der Akkord-
struktur vorgebildete urspriingliche Schichtung in
Terzintervallen fuhren wir alle klanglichen Dissonanzen
zuriick . . . ."
174
The context, then, must tell the listener whether this
interval is the result of an inverted chord, in which
case it is considered a consonance, or whether it is
actually related to the eleventh, where it must resolve
as a dissonance. The latter case occurs where the
fourth appears in relation to the bass.
Figure 73. Kurth's treatment^-

of the fourth as a dissonance.
Similarly, the consonant interval of the sixth can
occur as a dissonance. Kurth uses the six-four chord as
an example of this apparent consonance (Schein-
konsonanz) . Here the intervals of the fourth and sixth
sound as consonances, but because of context they are
filled with tension that demands resolution.
The most important aspect of Kurth's theories with
respect to musical reduction is his philosopical aproach
to the music we hear. The final composition— the sound
that we perceive— is actually the least important part
of the musical process. It is merely an external
representation of the Urwille reaching out to grasp at
20
Kurth, Grundlagen, 91
175
our sense perceptions. Referring to melodies, Kurth
describes these perceptions.
The form in which we are conscious of them

is nothing more than their final manifesta
tion in already perceivable impressions— their
upper layer. But essential for their essence
is a process lying in darkness, that game of
strengths and drives which, after a great
process of transformation, breaks out in the
upper layer. Thus a description of the outer
appearance can not shed light upon the essence
of |lj»e psychological procedures that produce
it.
This idea has a striking resemblance to the
analytical layers defined by Heinrich Schenker. For
Kurth the foreground level is represented by the
finished composition. The middleground consists of the
tertian idea elaborated by linear motion in accordance
with the Bewegungsempfindung inherent in the scale.
Further in the background lies the tonic as central to
the scale. Finally, at the the source of all physical
composition lies the harmonic series, which serves as a
21
Kurth, Grundlagen, 4. Die Form, in der wir
ihrer bewusst werden, ist nichts als ihre
letzte Auswirkung in bereits wahrnehmbaren
Eindrucken, ihre Oberschicht, aber bestimmend
fur ihr Wesen ist ein im Dunkeln liegender
Prozess, das Spiel von Kraften und Regungen,
das nach einem grossen Umformungsprozess bis
zu dieser Oberschicht ausbricht. Darum
vermag die Beschreibung der Erscheinungsform
nicht das Wesen des psychologischen Vorgangs
aufzuhellen, der sie auslost.
176
bridge between the phychological will of the composer
and the mechanical functions of the ear.
177
CHAPTER X
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Reviewing the many ideas outlined in this
dissertation we see that there are various approaches to
what I have chosen to call harmonic reduction. The
greatest number of theorists followed the fundamental
bass theories of Kirnberger. This was a relatively
objective approach based on the premise that all of
music could be explained using simple triads and seventh
chords, and that these fundamental harmonies lay in
relationships of relative strength and weakness to one
another according to their root progression.
The theorists who belonged to this group are
Vogler, Logier, Kollmann, Sechter, Von Stockhausen and,
to a lesser degree, Momigny. Their writings spanned the
period from 1776 to 1902. Thus the idea of the
fundamental bass existed from the time of Rameau on into
the twentieth century. Its treatment, however, varied
with each writer. The changes that occurred were most
significant with Kirnberger, who first applied a system
of reduction and hierarchy to the fundamental bass idea.
Other changes in this basic concept took place later in
the nineteenth century when other elements of music were
178
taken into account. Sechter and Momigny added rhythmic
and metric considerations, and Von Stockhausen added
melodic reduction. These theorists broadened their view
of analysis and also added another level to the
hierarchical approach that is an integral part of any
reductive system.
Some theorists did not bind themselves to the rules
of the fundamental bass, but developed a system of
hierarchy based on relative consonance and dissonance.
This is true of Catel and Momigny with their theories on
cadences, and especially of Richter, who established the
triad and the seventh chord as fundamental harmonies but
did not develop unbreakable rules for root movement and
chord resolution. Perhaps his most significant
contribution was the idea of the passing chord, where
not only chord tones, but the chords themselves, could
lie in subordinate relationships to their neighbors.
The most novel approaches to analysis are those
entering the realm of philosophical thought. For a
twentieth-century theorist such as Ernst Kurth this is
not so unusual. With Momigny, however, writing in the
early nineteenth century, we see an attitude that
reached ahead of his time. His grasp of the
metaphysical side of musical understanding forecasts the
179
aesthetic ideas that did not appear again until late in
his own century and on into ours.
In Kurth we see a viewpoint based almost entirely
on philosophy and very little on the practical and
scientific aspects of theory. Kurth's sense of musical
hierarchy applies more to the perception of music than
to the notes themselves. His concept of the external,
physical matter of music representing the "Urwille" of
the composer bears a striking resemblance to the
foreground and background of Heinrich Schenker, whose
unique system of reduction appeared only two decades
later. There is no evidence that any of these theorists
had a direct influence on Schenker, but surely he must
have been aware of some of them. If we combine the
essential concepts outlined by these writers,
synthesizing their knowledge and ideas ranging from very
empirical to extremely speculative, we can see a
foundation for our present-day systems of analysis based
on musical reduction.
I
180
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der Con- und Dissonantien, c. 1670.
______ . Die Kompositionslehre Heinrich Schlitzens in der

Fassunq seines Schlilers Christoph Bernhard/ ed.
Joseph Muller-Blattau. Leipzig: Breitkopf &
Hartel, 1926.
______ . Tractatus compositionus augmentatus.
Catel, Charles Simon. L^harmonie a la portee de tous,

a revised version of his Trait*? d"harmonie (1802).
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______ . Traite d^harmonie. Paris: Impr. du

Conservatoire de musique, 1802.
An Exposition of the Musical System of Mr. Logier. By a

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General Observations upon Music, and Remarks on Mr.

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Kirnberger, Johann Philipp. Die Kunst des reinen

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______ . Die wahren Grundsatze zum Gebrauch der Harmonie

(Berlin: G. J. Decker, 1773), facsimile edition
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Koch, Heinrich Christoph. Handbuch bei dem Studium der

Harmonie. Leipzig: J. F. Hartknoch, 1811.
181
Versuch einer Einleitunq zur Compostion.

Leipzig, 1782-93. ------
Kollmann, August Frederic Christopher. An Essay on

Musical Harmony. Utica: Seward & Williams, 1817.
______ . An Essay on Practical Musical Composition.

London: Friary, St. James s Palace, 1812.
______ . A New Theory of Musical Harmony, according to a

Complete and Natural System of that Science.
London: W. Nicol, 1823.
______ • Remarks on What Mr. J. B. Logier calls his New

System of Musical Education. London: Friary, St.
James s Palace, 1824.
______ . Twelve Analyzed Fugues with Double Counter

points in all Intervals! London: Friary, St.
Jameses Palace, 181(1
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INFORMATION TO USERS

The following explanation of techniques is provided to help clarify markings or

2. When an image on the film is obliterated with a round black mark, it is an

4. For illustrations that cannot be satisfactorily reproduced by xerographic

Konecne, Julie Lynn

HARMONIC REDUCTION TECHNIQUES IN MUSIC ANALYSIS, C. 1770-1917

The University of Iowa Ph.D. 1984

All Rights Reserved

IN MUSIC ANALYSIS, c. 1770-1917

Julie Lynn Konecne

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment

Thesis supervisor: Professor Walter T. Atcherson

This is to certify that the Ph.D. thesis of

Julie Lynn Konecne

has been approved by the Examining Committee

LIST OF F I G U R E S ........................................ iii

PREFACE .............................................. vii

II. JOHANN PHILIPP KIRNBERGER ................ 9

III. ABBE GEORG JOSEPH V O G L E R .................. 39

IV. JEROME JOSEPH DE M O M I G N Y .................. 60

V. JOHANN BERNHARD LOGIER .................... 74

VI. AUGUST FREDERIC CHRISTOPHER KOLLMANN . . . 99

VII. SIMON S E C H T E R ................................ 119

VIII. ERNST FRIEDRICH RICHTER .................. 136

IX. OTHER T H E O R I S T S ............................. 151

Charles Simon Catel ...................... 151

X. CONCLUDING R E M A R K S ........................... 177

BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................... 180

1. Essential and nonessential dissonances . . . 15

2. The essential seventh chord ................. 16

3. The six-five c h o r d ............................ 17

4. Resolution of the suspension over

5. The fundamental bass below chord inversions . 20

6. Consonant and dissonant six-four chords . . . 21

7. Multiple passing tones ....................... 22

8. Multiple passing chords ..................... 23

10. Fundamental movement by second in Harmonie . . 25

11. Basis for the assumed f u n d a m e n t a l .......... 26

12. Omission of resolution of a fundamental . . . 29

13. Fundamental bass for the progression in

14. An excerpt from Kirnberger's analysis

15. Schulz's analysis of J.S. Bach's

16. Vogler's first use of Roman numerals to

17. The use of Roman numerals in Grund der

19. The tonic, dominant, and subdominant triads

20. Preparation of a nonessential dissonance

21. Vogler's analysis of a violin sonata

22. Binary and ternary cadences .................. 67

23. General and particular cadences .............. 69

24. An excerpt from Momigny's analysis

25. The major scale harmonized with

26. Generation of the first three notes

27. Generation of the first

28. Generation of the major scale

29. The fundamental-bass below inverted chords . . 80

30. Treatment of the 4-3 suspension

31. Double dissonances ............................. 82

32. The diminished seventh chord .................. 84

33. Logier's explanation of how all fundamentals

34. The fundamental bass showing the

35. Dissonant chords where the

37. The underlying structure of a segment of

38. Kollmann's fundamental discords .............. 103

I would like to acknowledge the invaluable assis

proposed by Kirnberger, whose opposition to Marpurg re