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The Rise of 6ˆin the Nineteenth Century TheRiseof6ˆ intheNineteenthCentury JeremyDay-O’Connell INTRODUCTION prevalenceofahandfulofscalesthroughouttheworld, andtode- limit those scales’ structural potentials, but they fail to address Ethnomusicologistsandtheoristsofnon-Westernmusicmain- melodic practice. Setting out along the musicalcontinuum pic- tainausefuldistinctionbetween“scale” and“mode”—thatis, be- tured in Example 2, wewill begin to explore the question of tweenaneutralcollectionoftonesinagivenmusicaltraditionand scales“in/as” music. the actual conventions of melodic practice in that tradition. Westernmusic, tobesure, hasnoequivalentofraga; afterall, Example1, forinstance, illustratesthetonalhierarchyandmotivic it isharmony, not melody, that largelydominates itstheoretical dispositionsthattransformtheundifferentiatedpitchmaterialofa andcompositional discourse.Nevertheless, “modal,” or“syntac- Hindustanithat (“scale”)intoaraga (“mode”), whichinturncon- tic” aspectsofthemajorandminorscalesresideérmlywithinthe stitutesthegoverningsyntaxforapieceorimprovisation.Inshort, intuitionofcompetentmusicians, andwecanthereforeattemptto 1 “[mode]ismorethanmerelyascale.” Whileinquiriesintounfa- delimittheseaspectswiththehopeofilluminatinganalyticaland miliarmusicalsystemsengagemodeasamatterofcourse, recent style-historical issues.In thispaper I will discuss such melodic studies of theWestern major scale have more often concerned principles, examininginparticularthetheoryandpracticeof6ˆ in scaleasscale, investigating group-theoretic criteriasuchas“co- themajorscale.Bytracingthehistoryand, asitwere, therecep- herence” and “well-formedness,” or acoustic properties such as tionofthisdegree, Iwillreinforcesomewell-wornformulations 2 “optimumconsonance.” Thesestudieshelptoexplaintherelative whilealsoofferingnewevidenceforwhatmightbecalleda“sec- ondpracticeofnineteenth-centurymelody.”3 Alongtheway, Iwill AversionofthispaperwaspresentedattheannualmeetingoftheSociety alsoextendmyobservationsbeyondtherealmofsyntaxintothat for MusicTheory, Atlanta, Georgia, November, 1999. I am grateful for the stimulatingdiscussionofferedtherebyDavidEpstein, WilliamCaplin, Mary ofsemantics(thusaddingafurtherlayerofcorrespondencewith Arlin, and anonymous others; for the input of David Neumeyer and Daniel raga), providingtherebyasourceforhermeneuticinsights. Harrison; andabove all for the careful readings byJamesWebster, Steven Stucky, CarolKrumhansl, SarahDay-O’Connell, andmyanonymousreferees. Foramoredetailedstudy, seeDay-O’Connell(inprogress). 1Powers2001, 776. 2The most recent such studies include Clough, Engebretsen, & Kochavi 1999; van Egmond & Butler 1997; Agmon 1996; Carey & Clampitt 1996; Huron1994;Hajdu1993;Rahn1991;andClough&Douthett1991. 3IparaphrasethetitleofKinderman&Krebs1996. This content downloaded from 141.222.119.246 on Fri, 16 Oct 2015 17:35:21 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 36 MusicTheorySpectrum Example1. RagaMiyan-ki-Mallar (Kaufmann1968, 3, 404) Example2. Modewithinthecontinuumofthemelodicdomain(afterPowers2001, 776) SCALE MODE TUNE “particularized “generalized scale” / tune” THEORY: 6ˆ INTHEMAJORMODE stayedwithintherealmofmusicarecta.4 Therealityofheptatoni- cism, ofcourse, entailedthefrequentapplicationofhexachordal older theories of the scale mutation.Nevertheless, tosomeextentthehexachorditselfmust ˆ ˆ Technically, 6 wasnot 6 until the emergence of the major havebeéttedtherestrainedambitusofthemonophonicrepertoire ˆ mode, andhenceahistoryof6 mightbeginsometimeduringthe forwhichGuidod’Arezzoinventedsolmizationintheérstplace.5 seventeenthcentury.However, wedowelltorecallthesystemof Furthermore, severalcompositionsattesttothehexachord’scon- hexachordal solmization, which (alongside modal theory) had ceptualstatusasaself-sufécientmusicalentity: keyboardcompo- dominatedmusicalpedagogyforcenturiesbeforetheseventeenth. Duringthistime, theuniverseofdiatonicmaterialcomprisedsu- perimposedtranspositions ofasinglehexachord, astepwiseunit 4Equivalently, hexachords “have the function of representing the range encompassing a major sixth. The sixth embodied pedagogical withinwhichcoincidethesurrounding intervalsoféfth-relatedtones” (Dahl- considerations incontaining asingle, uniquely positioned semi- haus[1967]1990, 172). 5Guido’sfamousparadigmaticmelody, theHymntoSt.John, notonlyfea- tone, whileitalsorepresentedatheoreticalboundary inthatthe turessuccessivehexachordalpitchesatthebeginningofeachphrase—thevery hexachordwasthelargestcollectionwhich, whentransposedfrom propertythatsatiséedGuido’smnemonicpurposes—butinfactremainswithin CtoeitherGorF, introduced no newtonesinto thegamutbut therangeofthehexachordthroughout. This content downloaded from 141.222.119.246 on Fri, 16 Oct 2015 17:35:21 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions TheRiseof6ˆ intheNineteenthCentury 37 sitionsbySweelinck, Byrd, andBull, andaMassmovementby Example3. Rameau, Générationharmonique 1737, ExampleVI Burton, whethermeantasself-consciousdidacticismornot, useas cantusérmus thearchetypalsequenceut-re-mi-fa-sol-la.6 Around 1600, anew solmization degree, si, gained increasingly wide- spread acceptance, although not without heated objection from conservatives;evenaslateastheeighteenthcentury, controversy surroundedtherelativemeritsofhexachordalversusmajor-minor thinking. 7 Eventually, asthemajor-minorsystemcoalesced, theleading tonebecameadeéningcomponentoftonality, andtheheptatonic by 6ˆ on the upper.11 Over a century later, Moritz Hauptmann’s octave énally emergedastheunqualiéed foundation ofmusical aversiontoarising6ˆwouldechoRameau’s, butwithacharacter- pitch.Butasimportantas7ˆ becameincommon-practiceharmony, istically Hegelian twist: since6ˆ isassociatedwith subdominant itpresentedcertainproblemsfromthestandpointofscale, atleast harmonyand7ˆ withdominant, asuccessionfromonetotheother whenreckonedasthestepabove6ˆ.8 InoneofRameau’smodelsof impliesaharmonicprogressionbetweenchordsthatdonotshare themajorscale, showninExample3,9 thestepfrom6ˆ to7ˆ con- acommontone, contrarytotheveryfoundation ofHauptmann’s foundedthefundamentalbass: inthecourseofharmonizinganas- theory.Hauptmanngoessofarastodescribeagapbetweenthe cending melodic scale, the normative harmonic progression by twodegrees;andalthoughheadmitsthattheintervalinquestion éfthsbreaksoffatthispoint.Thesuccessionofthreewholetones, isnolargerthanthatbetween1ˆ and2ˆ or4ˆ and5ˆ, hisdialectical 4ˆ –5ˆ–6ˆ–7ˆ, strikesRameauas“notatallnatural,” andhegivesin systemrequiresthat, inthecaseof6ˆ–7ˆ theintervalbeconsidered responseamoreroundaboutoctaveascent, whichbegins on7ˆ, ap- aleap—evenonecomparableindiféculty tothetritone.12 (Both parentlyacompensationforanirregularityinthehigherregister, Rameau and Hauptmann ultimately relax their prohibitions where6ˆ returnsto5ˆ beforealeaptotheconclusive7ˆ–8ˆ.10 Asimi- throughtheintroduction ofsecondarytriads, butineachcasethe larreluctancetobridge 6ˆ and7ˆ characterizesHeinichen’speda- rising 6ˆ enterswith excuses.) The tradition continued into the gogical schemata modorum for the égured bass, shown in twentieth century, with Louis and Thuille again postulating a Example4.Althoughthebasslinetouchesuponallthescalede- “gap” betweenthemajorscale’s6ˆ and7ˆ.13 grees, itdoessowithinascaleboundedby7ˆ onthelowerendand Descriptionsofthemajorscale, then, havehistoricallycast6ˆ as somethingofanupperboundary, notwithstandingtheassumption ofaseven-noteoctave.The“modal” analogueofthisview, more- ˆ 6SeecompositionsintheFitzwilliamVirginalBook(#51, #101, #118, #215) over, emergedintheconceptionof6 asatendencytonedirected andBurton’sMissaUt, re, mi, fa, sol, la. 7Fux, forone, insisteduponthehexachord, andthesystemformedthebasis of Haydn’schoirboyeducationunder Fux’ssuccessorReuter(not underFux 11Schröter’soctave is similarly disposed, as is Gasparini’s. In contrast, himself, pace Lester1992, 171).Schenkman(1976)hasdescribedvestigesof Matthesongivesthestraightforward1ˆ–8ˆ versionthathasbecomethestandard thehexachordalorientationinBaroquemusic. “ruleoftheoctave”—unsurprisingly, consideringhisoutspokenoppositionto 8Harrison1994, 73–126, surveysthisissue. hexachords.SeeArnold1931. 9Rameau1737, ExampleVIverso. 12Hauptmann[1853]1893, 34–8. 10Rameau1737, 66. 13Schwartz1982, 47. This content downloaded from 141.222.119.246 on Fri, 16 Oct 2015 17:35:21 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 38 MusicTheorySpectrum Example4. Heinichen, DerGeneralbass 1728, 745 toward5ˆ.Thenotion oftendency tonesinitially concernedonly Example5. Curwen, StandardCourse 1880(inRainbow2001, 606) theleadingtoneand, later, itstritonepartner, 4ˆ.Butstartinginthe nineteenth century, theorists and pedagogues attributed melodic energy to 6ˆ as well. The English pedagogue John Curwen de- scribed the non-tonic degreesastones of “suspense and depen- dence,” where6ˆ in particular “leaves no doubt as to its resting tone[5ˆ],” albeitwithlessofanimperativethan4ˆ and7ˆ.Curwen depicts 6ˆ as a skyrocket, which, “having reached its height, shinesbeautifullyforamoment, andthensoftlyandelegantlyde- scends.”14 Inaddition, Curwen’schironomy, showninExample5, visuallyunderscoresthecharacterofeachdegreeinthescale;a downturnedpalmandsaggingwrist(notethevisualsimilaritywith 4ˆ) signalthesixthdegree, “LAH.Thesadorweepingtone.”15 The ViennesetheoristSimonSechterofferedanaccountofscalarten- denciesthatrevolvedaroundquestionsoftuning; becauseofthe “dubiouséfth” between2ˆ and6ˆ, treatmentofthesixthdegree, at least when supported by a ii chord, requires preparation and downward resolution, as if it were a dissonance.16 Louis and Thuille alsocharacterized6ˆ asadownward-tending
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