Chromatic‐Third Relations in the Music ofBruckner: a Neo‐Riemannian Perspective

Abstract

The present study offers an extended neo‐Riemannian examination of chromatic‐third relations in selected Bruckner compositions of the 1880s, and it constitutes the first such examination of the composer's music. Owing to its inherent indifference towards the notions of tonal centre and conventional harmonic syntax, a neo‐Riemannian transformational model seems particularly apt for the analysis of the music selected – music in which non‐functional chord progressions, symmetrical divisions of the octave and the temporary suspension of tonic centricity are featured. The characteristics of the works analysed here suggest an evolution in Bruckner's handling of chromaticism, from the seemingly sui generis mixture of plagal and chromatic‐third relations in the coda of the opening movement of the Sixth Symphony, to a more methodical use of hexatonic‐polar transformations in the motet Ecce sacerdos magnus, to the exhaustive, almost systematic exploration of hexatonic cycles in the finale of the Eighth Symphony.

Sonata Form as Temporal Process: the First Movement of Bruckner's Sixth symphony

“…1), and the emphasis on C♯ as $$\hat 3$$ of A major, which also works potentially as the dominant of F♯. Miguel Ramirez further elaborates on the source of tonal tension in VI/1 by pointing out ‘harmonic and tonal relations by both fifths and chromatic thirds’ (2013, p. 162). According to him, the tension between A major and D minor (and C♯ and F♯) suggests a fifth relation, while A major and C♯ together form a chromatic‐third relation.…”

“…With the thematic introduction's (‘a0’, bars 1–2) repeating C♯ in the background, the theme proper's entrance from bar 3 tentatively establishes A major (retrospectively confirming C♯’s status as $$\hat 3$$ of A major) by emphasising perfect fifths, both descending and ascending (motives a1 and a1′ respectively). As Korstvedt (2001) and Ramirez (2013) point out, however, the triplet motive in bar 4 (a2, which may be seen rhythmically as an augmented variant of a0) still indicates tonal vagueness by temporarily alluding to V 7 /d (along with a Phrygian implication), which suggests a pull to the minor subdominant. This basic idea's two‐bar extension (conveyed by the echoing‐horn gesture in bars 7–8) further elaborates motive a1 through its transposition to C♯ (implying V 7 of F♯ momentarily with the pitch B), promoting a connection to the next segment (from bar 9), which further clarifies the C♯ harmony 31.…”

“…The coda's extraordinary harmonic progressions can be explained in this light. Ramirez characterises the coda's harmony as ‘juxtapositions of triads whose roots are related by perfect fifths and chromatic major thirds’ (2013, p. 165), using neo‐Riemannian terms. This harmonic logic can be further clarified by considering its form‐functional context, which sufficiently complies with the coda's teleological urgency.…”

“…66As Miguel Ramirez points out, in Kurth's studies of Bruckner, ‘he did not attempt to integrate harmony and tonality as central elements in his energeticist approach to Bruckner's oeuvre’ (2009, p. 13).…”

Form and Orbital Tonality in the Finale of Bruckner's Seventh Symphony

“…This habit has been recognised as structurally germinal at least since Paul Dawson‐Bowling (); subsequent contributions include William Benjamin (), Julian Horton (, pp. 115–43) and most recently Miguel J. Ramirez ( and ), who tracks its application in the later symphonies, employing a mixture of neo‐Riemannian and Schenkerian approaches in the process. A consensus methodology, which substantially confronts Bruckner's challenge to the principles that control Viennese Classical syntax, however remains elusive.…”