Voice-Leading Parsimony in the Music of Alexander Scriabin

Callender, Clifton

doi:10.2307/843875

Cited by 43 publications

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“…Set class 6-Z19 is particularly rich in P 0,2c relations which involve either one or two voices skipping over, as well as a P 0,1 relation that skips over. By contrast, 6-Z19's 'Z partner', 6-Z44, is capable of seven distinct relations by whole-tone voice-leading (two single, two whole-tone contrary and three whole-tone similar, all without skipping over), emphasising the fact that, despite Voice-leading operation Number of instances P 1,0 (0) P 0,1 (14) (0, 0, 0, 0, +2, −2) 14 (5 shared with P 2s,0 ; 2 shared with P 0,2s ) P 2s,0 (34) (0, +1, 0, −1, 0, 0) 16 (5 shared with P 0,1 ) (+1, −1, 0, +1, −1, 0) 7 (0, 0, +1, −1, +1, −1) 11 P 0,2s (25) (0, +2, 0, −2, 0, 0) 11 (2 shared with P 0,1 ) (0, −2, +2, 0, −2, +2) 2 (0, +2, −2, +2, Ex. 17 shows the opening six bars of this piano piece.…”

Section: P Mn Relations Between Pentachords and Hexachordsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Some Observations on P_m,n Relations within Set Classes

Russ

2007

Music Analysis

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It is well known (from Riemann, Lewin, Cohn and others) that two voices of a triad (set class 3–11) may be held and one moved ‘parsimoniously’ by a tone or semitone to produce another triad; or two voices of a dominant and half‐diminished seventh (set class 4–27) may be held while two voices are displaced by a semitone to produce another dominant or half‐diminished seventh (Lewin's ‘DOUTH2’ relation). This article takes 4–27 as its starting point and first explores examples of such parsimonious voice‐leading between sets of the same class in nineteenth‐century music (notably Brahms, Chopin and Musorgsky). The discussion introduces the idea of a diminution existing between forms of 4–27 when the two voices do not proceed simultaneously. The capability of tetrachords of other classes as well as set classes of larger cardinality to engage in parsimonious voice‐leading either by semitone or whole tone is then explored (with examples drawn from the music of Bartók, Mahler, Scriabin and Stravinsky). The type and degree of parsimony are indicated by the Pm,n designations developed by Douthett and Steinbach, and the article examines the ways in which the capacity of sets to behave in this manner may be predicted from interval strings and invariant subsets.

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Section: P Mn Relations Between Pentachords and Hexachordsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Some Observations on P_m,n Relations within Set Classes

Russ

2007

Music Analysis

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“…Even those who oppose a mystic‐chord reading do not suggest diatonic keys, but rather the octatonic and other post‐tonal collections (Baker and Cheong ). Accordingly, diatonic collections are rarely noted in any of the extensive pc set analyses of Scriabin's other late works (Baker , Pople and Callender )…”

Section: Chords or Keys?mentioning

confidence: 99%

(Post‐)Tonal Key Relationships in Scriabin's Late Music

Yunek¹

2017

Music Analysis

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One of the leading theories of Scriabin's late music is that his collections are chords that are related through invariant transposition. Whereas this theory is effective in relating symmetrical collections such as the octatonic, it cannot relate asymmetrical collections such as Scriabin's mystic chord. In order to overcome this issue, I explore Scriabin's own understanding of his harmonic language and interpret it through his personal statements, philosophical beliefs and theoretical training. I reveal that Scriabin thought of his collections not as chords, but as closely related keys (tonalnosti). Although close key relationships are tonal in nature, this relationship can be transferred to post‐tonal music when defined as a maximally invariant transposition. Accordingly, this operation accounts for transpositional relationships between symmetrical and asymmetrical collections in Scriabin's late music, suggesting that his late harmonic language equates to a rapid succession of closely related keys. This theory is applied to excerpts spanning the late period, from Op. 58 to Op. 74, with extended applications to Op. 63 No. 2 and Op. 73 No. 2.

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“…Seventh-chord transformations among chord types of the same set class, especially dominant and half-diminished, or set class 4-27 (0258); see Lewin 1996, 205ff., Childs 1998, andCallender 1998. 2.…”

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Types and Applications of P3,0 Seventh-Chord Transformations in Late Nineteenth-Century Music

Reenan

Bass²

2016

MTO

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[1.1] P refers to one class of parsimonious voice-leading connections between seventh chords introduced in an article by Jack Douthett and Peter Steinbach (1998) as P . In addition to common tones that may be held between the two chords, the subscripts indicate the number of voices that move by half step (m) or whole step (n) in progressing from one chord to another. Thus, the smaller the sum of m and n, the more parsimonious the connection, and the more closely related the two chords are from a neo-Riemannian perspective. P indicates a relationship between two seventh chords in which holding one tone in common and moving each of the other three by half step will transform one chord into the other.[1.2] Numerous other studies of voice-leading transformations in nineteenth-century chromatic harmony appeared around the time P was identified and in the years since. A comprehensive survey of these investigations is not practical here, but it is useful to note that studies of transformations based on such common-tone-plus-stepwise voice leading tend to fall into three general categories, as listed below: (2): 241-63). In addition to tones that may be held in common, the subscripts indicate the number of voices that move by half step (m) or whole step (n) in connecting one seventh chord to the next. P designates a transformation in which one of the chord members is held in common while each of the other three moves by half step. P transformations produce some of the most striking chromatic harmonic progressions in the late Romantic repertoire. This study focuses on aspects of P transformations that include 1) their place in the broader context of neo-Riemannian voice-leading transformations; 2) their properties and a specific means of notating all possible P types; 3) explications of how the various types are integrated within late nineteenth-century harmonic practice and interact with traditional tonal harmony; and 4) analytic applications that demonstrate how P transformations operate within and contribute to musical structure, including the opening of the Prelude to Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, and a complete song ("Ruhe, meine Seele!" op. 27 no. 1) by Richard Strauss.

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Voice-Leading Parsimony in the Music of Alexander Scriabin

Cited by 43 publications

References 0 publications

Some Observations on P_m,n Relations within Set Classes

Some Observations on P_m,n Relations within Set Classes

(Post‐)Tonal Key Relationships in Scriabin's Late Music

Types and Applications of P3,0 Seventh-Chord Transformations in Late Nineteenth-Century Music

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Voice-Leading Parsimony in the Music of Alexander Scriabin

Cited by 43 publications

References 0 publications

Some Observations on Pm,n Relations within Set Classes

Some Observations on Pm,n Relations within Set Classes

(Post‐)Tonal Key Relationships in Scriabin's Late Music

Types and Applications of P3,0 Seventh-Chord Transformations in Late Nineteenth-Century Music

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Some Observations on P_m,n Relations within Set Classes

Some Observations on P_m,n Relations within Set Classes