Transcendental Oscillations in Popular and Classical Music Since the 1800s by Maxwell Ramage Department of Music Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Nicholas Stoia, Advisor ___________________________ Philip Rupprecht ___________________________ R. Larry Todd ___________________________ Jacqueline Waeber Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Music in the Graduate School of Duke University 2021 ABSTRACT Transcendental Oscillations in Popular and Classical Music Since the 1800s by Maxwell Ramage Department of Music Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Nicholas Stoia, Advisor ___________________________ Philip Rupprecht ___________________________ R. Larry Todd ___________________________ Jacqueline Waeber An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Music in the Graduate School of Duke University 2021 Copyright by Maxwell Ramage 2021 Abstract In music both popular and classical since the nineteenth century, one finds everywhere chord progressions that alternate between two harmonies in ways that deviate from conventional “textbook” tonality. This thesis aims to answer the following questions: are there meaningful generalizations to be made about these progressions? What is their role in music history? Why have they been so popular with composers of the past two centuries? And how do they operate in specific pieces by particular composers? To answer these questions, I use methods such as Roman-numeral analysis, voice-leading diagrams showing how harmonic phenomena emerge from linear counterpoint, and multi-level readings of entire works. The study has four foci: Claude Debussy, Jean Sibelius, Stephen Sondheim, and modern pop music. I discover that modality has a symbiotic relationship with harmonic oscillation; that neighbor chords constituted important sites of innovation in nineteenth-century harmony; that transcendental oscillations can govern entire works in manifold ways; that the theatrical device known as “vamping” saturates Sondheim’s scores and produces transcendental oscillations; and that correspondences exist between styles that otherwise have little to do with one another, such as Impressionism and rap. This study explores the harmonic theory and analysis of music that is neither traditionally tonal nor atonal. iv Contents List of Tables ....................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures and Examples ............................................................................................... ix Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 1. Transcendence .................................................................................................................... 10 1.1 The fundamental attribute ............................................................................................ 12 1.2 Boundaries ....................................................................................................................... 17 1.4 Functional profiles .......................................................................................................... 27 1.3 Nineteenth-century origins ........................................................................................... 37 1.5 Minimalism ..................................................................................................................... 55 1.6 Larger contexts ................................................................................................................ 59 2. Types of Oscillations .......................................................................................................... 74 2.1 Structures of repetition .................................................................................................. 74 2.2 Modal oscillations ........................................................................................................... 79 2.2.1 Some historical considerations ................................................................................ 81 2.2.2 Modal theory .............................................................................................................. 88 2.3 Examples of mode-defining oscillations ................................................................... 105 2.4 Chromatic oscillations ................................................................................................. 117 2.5 Case study: Richard Strauss, Tod und Verklärung ..................................................... 131 3. Debussy .............................................................................................................................. 139 3.1 Freedom ......................................................................................................................... 141 v 3.2 The otherworldly .......................................................................................................... 156 3.3 “C’est l’extase” .............................................................................................................. 163 3.4 La mer .............................................................................................................................. 171 3.5 Sonatas ........................................................................................................................... 182 4. Sibelius ............................................................................................................................... 190 4.1 Modality, nature, and Karelian folk music ............................................................... 191 4.2 Holding pattern ............................................................................................................ 203 4.3 Dorian i–IV–i ................................................................................................................. 206 4.4 Fifth Symphony ............................................................................................................ 212 4.5 Britain ............................................................................................................................. 219 4.6 The Oceanides ................................................................................................................. 227 4.7 The Lord of the Rings ...................................................................................................... 232 5. Sondheim ........................................................................................................................... 239 5.1 Forerunners of Sondheim on Broadway ................................................................... 240 5.2 Ravel ............................................................................................................................... 260 5.3 Pedal points ................................................................................................................... 266 5.4 General trends ............................................................................................................... 271 5.5 Sunday in the Park with George ..................................................................................... 280 6. Pop Music Since the 1960s ............................................................................................... 295 6.1 Language ....................................................................................................................... 296 6.2 Bacharach and the Brill Building ................................................................................ 302 6.3 Modal jazz ..................................................................................................................... 307 vi 6.4 Repetition ....................................................................................................................... 310 6.5 Disco and related happenings .................................................................................... 314 6.6 Synthwave ..................................................................................................................... 323 6.7 Kaputt .............................................................................................................................. 326 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 334 Glossary ...................................................................................................................................... 337 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 339 vii List of Tables Table 2.1: Collection-defining oscillations involving major or minor triads. ..................... 95 Table 2.2: Mode-defining, non-diminished, non-locrian triadic oscillations. ................... 101 Table 2.3: Principal mode-defining oscillations. ................................................................... 104 Table 2.4: Modal labels for collection-defining oscillations. ............................................... 104 Table 2.5: Neo-Riemannian modal transformations.