DOCSLIB.ORG

Parsifal As Domestication Script: Semitones and Seventh Chords, Rejections and Redemptions

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Parsifal As Domestication Script: Semitones and Seventh Chords, Rejections and Redemptions Parsifal as Domestication Script: Semitones and Seventh Chords, Rejections and Redemptions Contrary to received opinion, neither in its musical nor in its dramatic language does Parsifal enact a script of expulsion or elimination; rather the script is one of domestication. In this paper I perform close readings of two crucial passages of this drama in defense of that thesis. The first focuses on the central and famously resistant moment of Kundry’s kiss. Parsifal’s reaction to this kiss, which culminates in a rejection of Kundry’s advances, is characterized by his rewriting of the diminished seventh chord associated with Kundry, magic, and evil: in what can be seen as a radical recomposition, Parsifal appropriates the diminished seventh chord as vii˚7/V in G minor and uses it to compose a diatonic tonal cadence. Kundry’s diminished seventh chord, her symmetrizing threat, is thereby neutralized by virtue of its being domesticated within the bounds of tonality. Musical evidence thus informs my dramaturgical claim: a diminished seventh chord simply cannot be purged from this musical fabric; the work could not function without it. Kundry’s symmetrical diminished seventh chord can be subdued, even rewritten by Parsifal, but not eliminated. And similarly with Kundry. The structure of Parsifal as a whole mirrors the structure of Parsifal’s rejection of Kundry in Act II, and certain features of the naturalization or domestication of Kundry(’s chord) can be taken as clues to the brotherhood’s eventual treatment of the more central, pain- laden semitone: what they learn from Parsifal is how to use potentially dangerous or infectious harmonies or leitmotivs within the bounds of the tonal system, within which they become naturalized. In this case, the falling semitone, which sometimes generates symmetrical, chromatic music and is associated with pain from the first moments of the opera, ultimately gets naturalized within descending diatonic linear progressions, those most perfect signifiers of tonality. Themes associated with the Grail and the communion service show this understanding to have been latent in the brotherhood. The final moments of the opera apotheosize this musico-dramatic behavior: just after Parsifal has healed Amfortas’s painful wound and laid Kundry to rest, the Grail motive is spun out into an enormous descending diatonic line, spanning five entire octaves, from the top of the orchestra’s palette to its very bottom. This is as much a celebration of the triumph of (linear, diatonic) tonality over (transformational, symmetrical) atonality as it is a celebration of the healing of the wound and the restoration of the brotherhood of the Grail. But crucially, it is not a purging of those harmonic elements, but their domestication. The brotherhood of the grail does not expel magic from the communion service, they learn how to use it, to make it their own. They do not purge the semitone associated with pain from their diatonic musical language; they naturalize it within the bounds of tonality and diatonicism. .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Common Jazz Chord Symbols Here I Use the More Explicit Abbreviation 'Maj7' for Major Seventh
    Common jazz chord symbols Here I use the more explicit abbreviation 'maj7' for major seventh. Other common abbreviations include: C² C²7 CMA7 and CM7. Here I use the abbreviation 'm7' for minor seventh. Other common abbreviations include: C- C-7 Cmi7 and Cmin7. The variations given for Major 6th, Major 7th, Dominant 7th, basic altered dominant and minor 7th chords in the first five systems are essentially interchangeable, in other words, the 'color tones' shown added to these chords (9 and 13 on major and dominant seventh chords, 9, 13 and 11 on minor seventh chords) are commonly added even when not included in a chord symbol. For example, a chord notated Cmaj7 is often played with an added 6th and/or 9th, etc. Note that the 11th is not one of the basic color tones added to major and dominant 7th chords. Only #11 is added to these chords, which implies a different scale (lydian rather than major on maj7, lydian dominant rather than the 'seventh scale' on dominant 7th chords.) Although color tones above the seventh are sometimes added to the m7b5 chord, this chord is shown here without color tones, as it is often played without them, especially when a more basic approach is being taken to the minor ii-V-I. Note that the abbreviations Cmaj9, Cmaj13, C9, C13, Cm9 and Cm13 imply that the seventh is included. Major triad Major 6th chords C C6 C% w ww & w w w Major 7th chords (basic structure: root, 3rd, 5th and 7th of root's major scale) 4 CŒ„Š7 CŒ„Š9 CŒ„Š13 w w w w & w w w Dominant seventh chords (basic structure: root, 3rd, 5th and b7 of root's major scale) 7 C7 C9 C13 w bw bw bw & w w w basic altered dominant 7th chords 10 C7(b9) C7(#5) (aka C7+5 or C+7) C7[äÁ] bbw bw b bw & w # w # w Minor 7 flat 5, aka 'half diminished' fully diminished Minor seventh chords (root, b3, b5, b7).
    [Show full text]
  • Naming a Chord Once You Know the Common Names of the Intervals, the Naming of Chords Is a Little Less Daunting
    Naming a Chord Once you know the common names of the intervals, the naming of chords is a little less daunting. Still, there are a few conventions and short-hand terms that many musicians use, that may be confusing at times. A few terms are used throughout the maze of chord names, and it is good to know what they refer to: Major / Minor – a “minor” note is one half step below the “major.” When naming intervals, all but the “perfect” intervals (1,4, 5, 8) are either major or minor. Generally if neither word is used, major is assumed, unless the situation is obvious. However, when used in naming extended chords, the word “minor” usually is reserved to indicate that the third of the triad is flatted. The word “major” is reserved to designate the major seventh interval as opposed to the minor or dominant seventh. It is assumed that the third is major, unless the word “minor” is said, right after the letter name of the chord. Similarly, in a seventh chord, the seventh interval is assumed to be a minor seventh (aka “dominant seventh), unless the word “major” comes right before the word “seventh.” Thus a common “C7” would mean a C major triad with a dominant seventh (CEGBb) While a “Cmaj7” (or CM7) would mean a C major triad with the major seventh interval added (CEGB), And a “Cmin7” (or Cm7) would mean a C minor triad with a dominant seventh interval added (CEbGBb) The dissonant “Cm(M7)” – “C minor major seventh” is fairly uncommon outside of modern jazz: it would mean a C minor triad with the major seventh interval added (CEbGB) Suspended – To suspend a note would mean to raise it up a half step.
    [Show full text]
  • Discover Seventh Chords
    Seventh Chords Stack of Thirds - Begin with a major or natural minor scale (use raised leading tone for chords based on ^5 and ^7) - Build a four note stack of thirds on each note within the given key - Identify the characteristic intervals of each of the seventh chords w w w w w w w w % w w w w w w w Mw/M7 mw/m7 m/m7 M/M7 M/m7 m/m7 d/m7 w w w w w w % w w w w #w w #w mw/m7 d/wm7 Mw/M7 m/m7 M/m7 M/M7 d/d7 Seventh Chord Quality - Five common seventh chord types in diatonic music: * Major: Major Triad - Major 7th (M3 - m3 - M3) * Dominant: Major Triad - minor 7th (M3 - m3 - m3) * Minor: minor triad - minor 7th (m3 - M3 - m3) * Half-Diminished: diminished triad - minor 3rd (m3 - m3 - M3) * Diminished: diminished triad - diminished 7th (m3 - m3 - m3) - In the Major Scale (all major scales!) * Major 7th on scale degrees 1 & 4 * Minor 7th on scale degrees 2, 3, 6 * Dominant 7th on scale degree 5 * Half-Diminished 7th on scale degree 7 - In the Minor Scale (all minor scales!) with a raised leading tone for chords on ^5 and ^7 * Major 7th on scale degrees 3 & 6 * Minor 7th on scale degrees 1 & 4 * Dominant 7th on scale degree 5 * Half-Diminished 7th on scale degree 2 * Diminished 7th on scale degree 7 Using Roman Numerals for Triads - Roman Numeral labels allow us to identify any seventh chord within a given key.
    [Show full text]
  • Ninth, Eleventh and Thirteenth Chords Ninth, Eleventh and Thirteen Chords Sometimes Referred to As Chords with 'Extensions', I.E
    Ninth, Eleventh and Thirteenth chords Ninth, Eleventh and Thirteen chords sometimes referred to as chords with 'extensions', i.e. extending the seventh chord to include tones that are stacking the interval of a third above the basic chord tones. These chords with upper extensions occur mostly on the V chord. The ninth chord is sometimes viewed as superimposing the vii7 chord on top of the V7 chord. The combination of the two chord creates a ninth chord. In major keys the ninth of the dominant ninth chord is a whole step above the root (plus octaves) w w w w w & c w w w C major: V7 vii7 V9 G7 Bm7b5 G9 ? c ∑ ∑ ∑ In the minor keys the ninth of the dominant ninth chord is a half step above the root (plus octaves). In chord symbols it is referred to as a b9, i.e. E7b9. The 'flat' terminology is use to indicate that the ninth is lowered compared to the major key version of the dominant ninth chord. Note that in many keys, the ninth is not literally a flatted note but might be a natural. 4 w w w & #w #w #w A minor: V7 vii7 V9 E7 G#dim7 E7b9 ? ∑ ∑ ∑ The dominant ninth usually resolves to I and the ninth often resolves down in parallel motion with the seventh of the chord. 7 ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ & ˙ ˙ #˙ ˙ C major: V9 I A minor: V9 i G9 C E7b9 Am ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ? ˙ ˙ The dominant ninth chord is often used in a II-V-I chord progression where the II chord˙ and the I chord are both seventh chords and the V chord is a incomplete ninth with the fifth omitted.
    [Show full text]
  • Boris's Bells, by Way of Schubert and Others
    Boris's Bells, By Way of Schubert and Others Mark DeVoto We define "bell chords" as different dominant-seventh chords whose roots are separated by multiples of interval 3, the minor third. The sobriquet derives from the most famous such pair of harmonies, the alternating D7 and AI? that constitute the entire harmonic substance of the first thirty-eight measures of scene 2 of the Prologue in Musorgsky's opera Boris Godunov (1874) (example O. Example 1: Paradigm of the Boris Godunov bell succession: AJ,7-D7. A~7 D7 '~~&gl n'IO D>: y 7 G: y7 The Boris bell chords are an early milestone in the history of nonfunctional harmony; yet the two harmonies, considered individually, are ofcourse abso­ lutely functional in classical contexts. This essay traces some ofthe historical antecedents of the bell chords as well as their developing descendants. Dominant Harmony The dominant-seventh chord is rightly recognized as the most unambiguous of the essential tonal resources in classical harmonic progression, and the V7-1 progression is the strongest means of moving harmony forward in immediate musical time. To put it another way, the expectation of tonic harmony to follow a dominant-seventh sonority is a principal component of forehearing; we assume, in our ordinary and long-tested experience oftonal music, that the tonic function will follow the dominant-seventh function and be fortified by it. So familiar is this everyday phenomenon that it hardly needs to be stated; we need mention it here only to assert the contrary case, namely, that the dominant-seventh function followed by something else introduces the element of the unexpected.
    [Show full text]
  • The Dominant Seventh Is the Diatonic Seventh Chord Built on the Fifth Scale Degree
    The Dominantmusic theory Seventh for musicians and normal people by toby w. rush The dominant seventh is the diatonic seventh chord built on the fifth scale degree. we already discussed diatonic seventh chords... why give this one all this special attention? for one thing, the but another reason dominant seventh is, for spending a little extra 77 by far, the most common time with it is the fact that seventh chord used by there are a few things the composers of the that apply to it that don’t common practice period. apply to the other diatonic seventh chords. first, a note on terminology: it’s just a major-minor seventh... the reason these are often VVconfused is that in popular the terms “major-minor seventh” bw and jazz theory, the term and “dominant seventh” are not w “dominant” is used to label interchangeable! “Major-minor & w the chord type instead of until it’s placed in a particular key! seventh” is the chord’s type, and the chord’s role. “dominant seventh” is the role the chord plays in the context b w of a particular key. b w & Vw7 the other important thing to know about the dominant seventh chord is that common practice period composers would sometimes use some non-standard ways of resolving the seventh! theornamental resolution thetransferred resolution in this resolution, the seventh is still this is the “hot potato” resolution: instead of resolved down by step, but it takes an being resolved down by step in the same voice, ornamental before getting there. “detour” the seventh is passed to another voice in another dominant seventh chord.
    [Show full text]
  • MUSIC 122: Music Theory 2
    West Virginia University at Parkersburg Uniform Course Syllabus (UCS) MUSIC 122: Music Theory 2 Credit Hours: 4 Scheduled hours per week: Lecture: 4 Lab: 0 Other: 3 (MacGamut) Catalog Course Description: Music Theory 2 is a continuation of Music 121 focusing on four-part harmonizations utilizing the dominant seventh, leading-tone and diminished sevenths, and secondary seventh (non-dominant) chords, secondary dominants, and modulation. Two and three part forms will also be examined. The course will continue to develop student skills in ear training, sight singing, and keyboard harmony. Pre-requisites: Music 121 Co-requisites: None Course Learning Outcomes: WRITTEN THEORY: 1. The student will write and resolve the major-minor dominant seventh chord in root position and inversions with correct resolution. 2. The student will write and resolve the leading-tone and diminished seventh chords in root position and inversions. 3. The student will write and resolve non-dominant seventh chords. 4. The student will complete exercises in all species of counterpoint. 5. The student will identify and use secondary dominant chords. 6. The student will identify and use modulation. 7. The student will harmonize figured bass lines and soprano melodies using all seventh chords and modulation. 8. The student will analyze hymns and Bach Chorales. 9. The student will analyze music compositions in binary and ternary forms. EAR TRAINING: 1. The student will distinguish among all primary and secondary triads in root position and inversions. 2. The student will identify the following seventh chords after hearing them: Mm, Dm, DD, MM, mm, and other. 3. The student will notate unfamiliar melodies which move stepwise, outline triads, and begin on pitches other than the tonic in major and minor keys.
    [Show full text]
  • Information to Users
    INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfihn master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely afreet reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Company 3 0 0 North Z eeb Road. Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Order Number 9401386 Enharmonicism in theory and practice in 18 th-century music Telesco, Paula Jean, Ph.D. The Ohio State University, 1993 Copyright ©1993 by Telesco, Paula Jean.
    [Show full text]
  • The Strategic Half-Diminished Seventh Chord and the Emblematic Tristan Chord: a Survey from Beethoven to Berg
    International Journal ofMusicology 4 . 1995 139 Mark DeVoto (Medford, Massachusetts) The Strategic Half-diminished Seventh Chord and The Emblematic Tristan Chord: A Survey from Beethoven to Berg Zusammenfassung: Der strategische halbverminderte Septakkord und der em­ blematische Tristan-Akkord von Beethoven bis Berg im Oberblick. Der halb­ verminderte Septakkord tauchte im 19. Jahrhundert als bedeutende eigen­ standige Hannonie und als Angelpunkt bei der chromatischen Modulation auf, bekam aber eine besondere symbolische Bedeutung durch seine Verwendung als Motiv in Wagners Tristan und Isolde. Seit der Premiere der Oper im Jahre 1865 lafit sich fast 100 Jahre lang die besondere Entfaltung des sogenannten Tristan-Akkords in dramatischen Werken veifolgen, die ihn als Emblem fUr Liebe und Tod verwenden. In Alban Bergs Lyrischer Suite und Lulu erreicht der Tristan-Akkord vielleicht seine hOchste emblematische Ausdruckskraft nach Wagner. If Wagner's Tristan und Isolde in general, and its Prelude in particular, have stood for more than a century as the defining work that liberated tonal chro­ maticism from its diatonic foundations of the century before it, then there is a particular focus within the entire chromatic conception that is so well known that it even has a name: the Tristan chord. This is the chord that occurs on the downbeat of the second measure of the opera. Considered enharmonically, tills chord is of course a familiar structure, described in many textbooks as a half­ diminished seventh chord. It is so called because it can be partitioned into a diminished triad and a minor triad; our example shows it in comparison with a minor seventh chord and an ordinary diminished seventh chord.
    [Show full text]
  • Fully-Diminished Seventh Chords Introduction
    Lesson PPP: Fully-Diminished Seventh Chords Introduction: In Lesson 6 we looked at the diminished leading-tone triad: vii o. There, we discussed why the tritone between the root and fifth of the chord requires special attention. The chord usually appears in first inversion precisely to avoid that dissonant interval sounding against the bass when vii o is in root position. Example 1: As Example 1 demonstrates, placing the chord in first inversion ensures that the upper voices are consonant with the bass. The diminished fifth is between the alto and soprano, concealed within the upper voices. In this case, it is best understood as a resultant interval formed as a result of avoiding dissonances involving the bass. Adding a diatonic seventh to a diminished leading-tone triad in minor will result in the following sonority: Example 2: becomes This chord consists of a diminished triad with a diminished seventh added above the root. It is therefore referred to as a fully-diminished seventh chord. In this lesson, we will discuss the construction of fully-diminished seventh chords in major and minor keys. As you will see, the chord consists of two interlocking tritones, which require particularly careful treatment because of their strong voice-leading tendencies. We will consider its various common functions and will touch on several advanced uses of the chord as well. Construction: Fully-diminished leading-tone seventh chords can be built in major or minor keys. In Roman numeral analyses, they are indicated with a degree sign followed by seventh-chord figured bass numerals, o7 o 6 o 4 o 4 depending on inversion ( , 5 , 3 , or 2 ).
    [Show full text]
  • The Consecutive-Semitone Constraint on Scalar Structure: a Link Between Impressionism and Jazz1
    The Consecutive-Semitone Constraint on Scalar Structure: A Link Between Impressionism and Jazz1 Dmitri Tymoczko The diatonic scale, considered as a subset of the twelve chromatic pitch classes, possesses some remarkable mathematical properties. It is, for example, a "deep scale," containing each of the six diatonic intervals a unique number of times; it represents a "maximally even" division of the octave into seven nearly-equal parts; it is capable of participating in a "maximally smooth" cycle of transpositions that differ only by the shift of a single pitch by a single semitone; and it has "Myhill's property," in the sense that every distinct two-note diatonic interval (e.g., a third) comes in exactly two distinct chromatic varieties (e.g., major and minor). Many theorists have used these properties to describe and even explain the role of the diatonic scale in traditional tonal music.2 Tonal music, however, is not exclusively diatonic, and the two nondiatonic minor scales possess none of the properties mentioned above. Thus, to the extent that we emphasize the mathematical uniqueness of the diatonic scale, we must downplay the musical significance of the other scales, for example by treating the melodic and harmonic minor scales merely as modifications of the natural minor. The difficulty is compounded when we consider the music of the late-nineteenth and twentieth centuries, in which composers expanded their musical vocabularies to include new scales (for instance, the whole-tone and the octatonic) which again shared few of the diatonic scale's interesting characteristics. This suggests that many of the features *I would like to thank David Lewin, John Thow, and Robert Wason for their assistance in preparing this article.
    [Show full text]
  • Concise Manual of Harmony, Intended for the Reading of Spiritual Music in Russia (1874)
    Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic Volume 7 Issue 1 Article 3 May 2014 Concise Manual of Harmony, Intended for the Reading of Spiritual Music in Russia (1874) Piotr Illyich Tchaikovsky Liliya Shamazov (ed. and trans.) Stuyvesant High School, NYC, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/gamut Part of the Composition Commons, Music Pedagogy Commons, Music Theory Commons, and the Slavic Languages and Societies Commons Recommended Citation Tchaikovsky, Piotr Illyich and Shamazov, Liliya (ed. and trans.) (2014) "Concise Manual of Harmony, Intended for the Reading of Spiritual Music in Russia (1874)," Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic: Vol. 7 : Iss. 1 , Article 3. Available at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/gamut/vol7/iss1/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Volunteer, Open Access, Library Journals (VOL Journals), published in partnership with The University of Tennessee (UT) University Libraries. This article has been accepted for inclusion in Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic by an authorized editor. For more information, please visit https://trace.tennessee.edu/gamut. CONCISE MANUAL OF HARMONY, INTENDED FOR THE READING OF SPIRITUAL MUSIC IN RUSSIA (1874) PIOTR ILLYICH TCHAIKOVSKY he presented study is nothing more than a reduction of my Textbook of Harmony T written for the theoretical course at the Moscow Conservatory. While constructing it, I was led by the desire to facilitate the conscious attitude of choir teachers and Church choir directors towards our Church music, while not interfering by any means into the critical rating of the works of our spiritual music composers.
    [Show full text]