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Progressive tonality

November 24, 2023

Progressive tonality is the music compositional practice whereby a piece of music does not finish in the key in which it began, but instead 'progresses' to an ending in a different key or tonality. In this connection 'different key' means a different tonic, rather than merely a change to a different mode (see: Picardy third and List of major/minor compositions): Gustav Mahler's Second Symphony (1888–94), for example, which moves from a C minor start to an E-flat major conclusion, exhibits 'progressive tonality'—whereas Ludwig van Beethoven's Fifth Symphony (1804–08), which begins in C minor and ends in C major, does not. A work which ends in the key in which it began may be described as exhibiting 'concentric tonality'. The terms 'progressive' and 'concentric' were both introduced into musicology by Dika Newlin in her book Bruckner, Mahler, Schoenberg (1947).[1][2]

Instrumental and orchestral edit

In instrumental and orchestral music, progressive tonality is a development of the later nineteenth century, but its seeds are already evident in the early part of the century. One of the results of Franz Schubert's creation of the four-movement fantasy (in such works as the Wanderer Fantasy and the Fantasy in F minor) was that individual movements no longer ended in the key in which they began but rather in the key of the immediately following movement. Other composers became increasingly fascinated with ending movements in unstable ways.

Fanny Hensel, Robert Schumann, and Frédéric Chopin all employed, at one point or another, the technique of avoiding a full cadence on the tonic in the last measure of a piece to create a sense of ambiguous closure (examples of this are: Hensel's lied 'Verlust,' published by Felix Mendelssohn as Op. 9, No. 10; Schumann's lied 'Im wunderschönen Monat Mai' from Dichterliebe, Op. 48, No. 1; Chopin's Mazurka in A minor, Op. 17, No. 4). Chopin explored progressive tonality in his instrumental music as well (see his second ballade, beginning in F major and ending in A minor) and efforts by him and other progressive composers such as Hector Berlioz and Franz Liszt (whose 1855 Dante Symphony begins in D minor and ends in B major), had a profound effect on later composers, such as Richard Wagner, whose harmonic developments in Tristan und Isolde and Der Ring des Nibelungen were altogether different from the use of tonal language by previous composers. Charles-Valentin Alkan also contributed several pieces, such as his Grande sonate 'Les quatre âges' (beginning in D major and ending in G-sharp minor), his Symphony for Solo Piano (beginning in C minor and ending in E-flat minor), and his Concerto for Solo Piano (beginning in G-sharp minor and ending in F-sharp major).

Progressive tonality in the late nineteenth century no doubt reflects the increasingly programmatic and narrative orientation of 'late Romantic' music. Thus it occurs in five of the symphonies of Mahler (nos. 2, 4, 5, 7, and 9) but never at all in the symphonies of his predecessors Brahms or Bruckner. As Mahler's 7th Symphony shows, 'progressive tonality' may occur within an individual movement (the work's first movement 'progresses' from an implied B minor to an explicit E major) as well as across an entire multi-movement design (the symphony ends with a C major finale).

Vocals edit

Vocal music, with its explicit and verbally defined narrative and programmatic allegiances, perhaps featured the initial exploration of 'progressive tonality.' While J.S. Bach in his instrumental and orchestral suites would often place every movement in the same key (see, for example, the solo cello Suites, BWV 1007-1012 or the equally homotonal A minor solo flute partita BWV 1013), in a work like his St Matthew Passion he felt able to 'progress' from an E minor start to an ending in C minor, and his Mass in B minor actually ends in D major. Nor, after the establishment of opera, did composers feel compelled to end even individual operatic acts and scenes in the starting key. Single operatic 'numbers' which (usually for some discernible dramatic and expressive purpose) fail to return to their original tonics can also be found—while in the quartets, symphonies and sonatas of the time such a practise was exceedingly uncommon.

As in his symphonies, Mahler took the idea of 'progressive tonality' in the song cycle to an extreme of refinement: each of his four Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen ends in a key other than its original tonic. The four songs 'progress' as follows: (1) D minor to G minor; (2) D major to F-sharp major; (3) D minor to E-flat minor; (4) E minor to F minor.

Schenker edit

For musical analysts of a Schenkerian orientation, progressive tonality presents a challenge. Heinrich Schenker's concept of the 'background' Ursatz (fundamental structure), rooted as it is in a metaphysically elaborated appreciation of the acoustic resonance of a single tone, inclines towards a severely monotonal approach to musical structure: either the opening or the closing key of a progressive tonal structure will frequently not be considered to be a true tonic.

By contrast, Graham George developed a theory of 'interlocking tonal structures', in which two tonal 'axes' could coexist, with the second emerging after the first was established, and persisting after it was abandoned. Later generations of Schenkerians, following Harald Krebs have begun to identify "background conglomerates" in works that permanently change tonics: in this approach, two fundamental structures (Ursätze) are held to be present in the background of such works, one of them being the so-called elided fundamental structure (Ursatz).

Keller and others edit

In British post-World War II musicology, 'progressive tonality' was sometimes contrasted with 'regressive tonality' (e.g. in the analytic and critical writings of Hans Keller). The distinction was not one of chronological or stylistic 'advancedness', but rather a means of distinguishing between tonal motions that could either be reckoned as 'up' or 'down' around a circle of fifths construed as intersecting with the original tonic. By this measure, Mahler's 4th Symphony would exhibit 'progressive tonality' (it begins in G and ends in E, three fifths 'higher')—while the same composer's 5th Symphony would display 'regressive tonality' (it begins in C♯ and ends in D, five fifths 'lower').

The same period showed a quickening of interest in 'progressive tonality' as displayed in the music of Carl Nielsen, in which it plays a particularly significant role. In Nielsen's Fourth Symphony, for example, the initial tonal focus of D minor (clashing with C) issues at the end of the work in a firm E major. In the two-movement Fifth Symphony, more radical in this regard, the first movement begins in F and rises by fifths to a conclusion in G, while the second begins on B, with an opposing pull to F, and while tending towards A major works round instead, by a similar tritone opposition, to a triumphant close in E flat. The tonal workings of these symphonies were analysed with particular clarity by the British composer and writer Robert Simpson in his book Carl Nielsen, Symphonist (first edition 1952), which gave the whole conception of 'progressive tonality' something like popular currency in the English-speaking world; and similar principles, partly derived from Nielsen, infuse the tonal workings of Simpson's own early symphonies and quartets.

A significant earlier example of the use of 'progressive tonality' by a British composer is the First Symphony (The Gothic) by Havergal Brian. This huge six-movement, two-part work begins with a sonata movement in D minor whose second-subject area is initially D-flat, becoming C-sharp; this moves to E in the matching portion of the recapitulation. This is a harbinger of E's later importance. Part I of the symphony closes in D major (end of movement 3), and Part II begins there, but during movement 4 the tonality shifts to E major, which for the remainder of Part II is opposed by its relative minor C-sharp until the unequivocal E major of the final a cappella bars.

One notable comment about this subject was made by the American 20th-century composer Charles Ives. Looking back at the conservative musical establishment who would often insist a musical piece had to eventually return to its original key, Ives drew an analogy and stated to the effect that this made as much sense as being born and dying in the same place.[3]

"Dramatic key symbolism" is another term used to indicate directional tonality.[4]

Examples of compositions exhibiting progressive tonality edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Gordon Cameron Sly, ed. (2009). Keys to the Drama: Nine Perspectives on Sonata Forms, p.67. ISBN 9780754694601.
  2. ^ a b William Kinderman and Harald Krebs, eds. (1996). The Second Practice of Nineteenth-Century Tonality, p.9. ISBN 9780803227248.
  3. ^ "When his father told him it was customary to start and finish in the same key, Ives said that was as silly as having to die in the same house you were born in." Paul Moor, "On Horseback to Heaven: Charles Ives", pp. 410-411, in James Peter Burkholder, ed., Charles Ives and His World, Princeton U. Press, (1996). ISBN 0-691-01164-8
  4. ^ Radice, Mark A. (2012). Chamber Music: An Essential History. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0472051656. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  5. ^ Adrienne Fried Block (2000). Amy Beach, Passionate Victorian: The Life and Work of an American Composer, 1867-1944, p.375 n.18. ISBN 9780195137842.
  6. ^ Block (2000), p.268.
  7. ^ Mitchell (1980), p.265, n.160.
  8. ^ Mitchell, Donald (1980). Gustav Mahler: The Early Years, p.221. ISBN 9780520041417.
  9. ^ "Sonata for Violin and Cello (Ravel, Maurice) - IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library: Free Public Domain Sheet Music". imslp.org. Retrieved 2019-07-01.

Bibliography edit

  • George, Graham (1970). Tonality and Musical Structure. London.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • MacDonald, Malcolm (1974). The Symphonies of Havergal Brian Volume I: Symphonies 1-12. London.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Newlin, Dika (1978). Bruckner, Mahler, Schoenberg (rev. ed.). New York.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Simpson, Robert (1979) [1952]. Carl Nielsen, Symphonist (rev. ed.). London.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

November 24, 2023
progressive, tonality, music, compositional, practice, whereby, piece, music, does, finish, which, began, instead, progresses, ending, different, tonality, this, connection, different, means, different, tonic, rather, than, merely, change, different, mode, pic. Progressive tonality is the music compositional practice whereby a piece of music does not finish in the key in which it began but instead progresses to an ending in a different key or tonality In this connection different key means a different tonic rather than merely a change to a different mode see Picardy third and List of major minor compositions Gustav Mahler s Second Symphony 1888 94 for example which moves from a C minor start to an E flat major conclusion exhibits progressive tonality whereas Ludwig van Beethoven s Fifth Symphony 1804 08 which begins in C minor and ends in C major does not A work which ends in the key in which it began may be described as exhibiting concentric tonality The terms progressive and concentric were both introduced into musicology by Dika Newlin in her book Bruckner Mahler Schoenberg 1947 1 2 Contents 1 Instrumental and orchestral 2 Vocals 3 Schenker 4 Keller and others 5 Examples of compositions exhibiting progressive tonality 6 See also 7 References 8 BibliographyInstrumental and orchestral editIn instrumental and orchestral music progressive tonality is a development of the later nineteenth century but its seeds are already evident in the early part of the century One of the results of Franz Schubert s creation of the four movement fantasy in such works as the Wanderer Fantasy and the Fantasy in F minor was that individual movements no longer ended in the key in which they began but rather in the key of the immediately following movement Other composers became increasingly fascinated with ending movements in unstable ways Fanny Hensel Robert Schumann and Frederic Chopin all employed at one point or another the technique of avoiding a full cadence on the tonic in the last measure of a piece to create a sense of ambiguous closure examples of this are Hensel s lied Verlust published by Felix Mendelssohn as Op 9 No 10 Schumann s lied Im wunderschonen Monat Mai from Dichterliebe Op 48 No 1 Chopin s Mazurka in A minor Op 17 No 4 Chopin explored progressive tonality in his instrumental music as well see his second ballade beginning in F major and ending in A minor and efforts by him and other progressive composers such as Hector Berlioz and Franz Liszt whose 1855 Dante Symphony begins in D minor and ends in B major had a profound effect on later composers such as Richard Wagner whose harmonic developments in Tristan und Isolde and Der Ring des Nibelungen were altogether different from the use of tonal language by previous composers Charles Valentin Alkan also contributed several pieces such as his Grande sonate Les quatre ages beginning in D major and ending in G sharp minor his Symphony for Solo Piano beginning in C minor and ending in E flat minor and his Concerto for Solo Piano beginning in G sharp minor and ending in F sharp major Progressive tonality in the late nineteenth century no doubt reflects the increasingly programmatic and narrative orientation of late Romantic music Thus it occurs in five of the symphonies of Mahler nos 2 4 5 7 and 9 but never at all in the symphonies of his predecessors Brahms or Bruckner As Mahler s 7th Symphony shows progressive tonality may occur within an individual movement the work s first movement progresses from an implied B minor to an explicit E major as well as across an entire multi movement design the symphony ends with a C major finale Vocals editVocal music with its explicit and verbally defined narrative and programmatic allegiances perhaps featured the initial exploration of progressive tonality While J S Bach in his instrumental and orchestral suites would often place every movement in the same key see for example the solo cello Suites BWV 1007 1012 or the equally homotonal A minor solo flute partita BWV 1013 in a work like his St Matthew Passion he felt able to progress from an E minor start to an ending in C minor and his Mass in B minor actually ends in D major Nor after the establishment of opera did composers feel compelled to end even individual operatic acts and scenes in the starting key Single operatic numbers which usually for some discernible dramatic and expressive purpose fail to return to their original tonics can also be found while in the quartets symphonies and sonatas of the time such a practise was exceedingly uncommon As in his symphonies Mahler took the idea of progressive tonality in the song cycle to an extreme of refinement each of his four Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen ends in a key other than its original tonic The four songs progress as follows 1 D minor to G minor 2 D major to F sharp major 3 D minor to E flat minor 4 E minor to F minor Schenker editFor musical analysts of a Schenkerian orientation progressive tonality presents a challenge Heinrich Schenker s concept of the background Ursatz fundamental structure rooted as it is in a metaphysically elaborated appreciation of the acoustic resonance of a single tone inclines towards a severely monotonal approach to musical structure either the opening or the closing key of a progressive tonal structure will frequently not be considered to be a true tonic By contrast Graham George developed a theory of interlocking tonal structures in which two tonal axes could coexist with the second emerging after the first was established and persisting after it was abandoned Later generations of Schenkerians following Harald Krebs have begun to identify background conglomerates in works that permanently change tonics in this approach two fundamental structures Ursatze are held to be present in the background of such works one of them being the so called elided fundamental structure Ursatz Keller and others editIn British post World War II musicology progressive tonality was sometimes contrasted with regressive tonality e g in the analytic and critical writings of Hans Keller The distinction was not one of chronological or stylistic advancedness but rather a means of distinguishing between tonal motions that could either be reckoned as up or down around a circle of fifths construed as intersecting with the original tonic By this measure Mahler s 4th Symphony would exhibit progressive tonality it begins in G and ends in E three fifths higher while the same composer s 5th Symphony would display regressive tonality it begins in C and ends in D five fifths lower The same period showed a quickening of interest in progressive tonality as displayed in the music of Carl Nielsen in which it plays a particularly significant role In Nielsen s Fourth Symphony for example the initial tonal focus of D minor clashing with C issues at the end of the work in a firm E major In the two movement Fifth Symphony more radical in this regard the first movement begins in F and rises by fifths to a conclusion in G while the second begins on B with an opposing pull to F and while tending towards A major works round instead by a similar tritone opposition to a triumphant close in E flat The tonal workings of these symphonies were analysed with particular clarity by the British composer and writer Robert Simpson in his book Carl Nielsen Symphonist first edition 1952 which gave the whole conception of progressive tonality something like popular currency in the English speaking world and similar principles partly derived from Nielsen infuse the tonal workings of Simpson s own early symphonies and quartets A significant earlier example of the use of progressive tonality by a British composer is the First Symphony The Gothic by Havergal Brian This huge six movement two part work begins with a sonata movement in D minor whose second subject area is initially D flat becoming C sharp this moves to E in the matching portion of the recapitulation This is a harbinger of E s later importance Part I of the symphony closes in D major end of movement 3 and Part II begins there but during movement 4 the tonality shifts to E major which for the remainder of Part II is opposed by its relative minor C sharp until the unequivocal E major of the final a cappella bars One notable comment about this subject was made by the American 20th century composer Charles Ives Looking back at the conservative musical establishment who would often insist a musical piece had to eventually return to its original key Ives drew an analogy and stated to the effect that this made as much sense as being born and dying in the same place 3 Dramatic key symbolism is another term used to indicate directional tonality 4 Examples of compositions exhibiting progressive tonality editBach St Matthew Passion e c Amy Beach Variations on Balkan Themes 1936 revision 5 Brahms Schicksalslied 1871 6 Handel Messiah e D Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No 1 c E No 6 D B Mahler 2nd 1895 c E 4th 1900 G E 5th 1902 c D 7th 1905 e C and 9th 1909 D D Symphonies 2 Carl Nielsen Symphony No 1 op 7 g C 1892 7 Schumann String Quartet in A minor op 41 no 1 i a F 1842 8 Ravel Sonata for Violin and Cello a C 1922 9 See also editList of major minor compositionsReferences edit Gordon Cameron Sly ed 2009 Keys to the Drama Nine Perspectives on Sonata Forms p 67 ISBN 9780754694601 a b William Kinderman and Harald Krebs eds 1996 The Second Practice of Nineteenth Century Tonality p 9 ISBN 9780803227248 When his father told him it was customary to start and finish in the same key Ives said that was as silly as having to die in the same house you were born in Paul Moor On Horseback to Heaven Charles Ives pp 410 411 in James Peter Burkholder ed Charles Ives and His World Princeton U Press 1996 ISBN 0 691 01164 8 Radice Mark A 2012 Chamber Music An Essential History University of Michigan Press ISBN 978 0472051656 Retrieved 2014 08 10 Adrienne Fried Block 2000 Amy Beach Passionate Victorian The Life and Work of an American Composer 1867 1944 p 375 n 18 ISBN 9780195137842 Block 2000 p 268 Mitchell 1980 p 265 n 160 Mitchell Donald 1980 Gustav Mahler The Early Years p 221 ISBN 9780520041417 Sonata for Violin and Cello Ravel Maurice IMSLP Petrucci Music Library Free Public Domain Sheet Music imslp org Retrieved 2019 07 01 Bibliography editGeorge Graham 1970 Tonality and Musical Structure London a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link MacDonald Malcolm 1974 The Symphonies of Havergal Brian Volume I Symphonies 1 12 London a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Newlin Dika 1978 Bruckner Mahler Schoenberg rev ed New York a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Simpson Robert 1979 1952 Carl Nielsen Symphonist rev ed London a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Progressive tonality amp oldid 1153044086, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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