[Smt-talk] BELGIAN +6

Tue Nov 22 17:48:29 PST 2011

Dear Colleagues,

again, I would like to add a voice from the past to this discussion. It is interesting that neither German, nor French theorists of the past ever used national chord names for the chords with the augmented sixth. My question is whether they were and still are not on the level,  behind, backward,out of the context of contemporary tonal theory, or, au contraire, they have their own understanding of the issue. In addition, I have to say that neither Rimsky-Korsakov, nor Tchaikovsky, nor Scriabine, nor Rachmaninoff, ever applied these terms. The question is Why?

For all the great composers and musicians of the 19th century, the chords with the augmented sixth had very important meaning. They all were the modifications of the simpler chords and, together with them, they belonged to the Subdominant function. I do not want to respond to the earlier arrogant remark about "vulgar Riemannism" here because I think that it is inarppropriate to associate anything vulgar with one of the most advanced German theorists of the most advanced period of German culture. 

There is no such thing as French augmented sixth chord. This metaphor is misleading. It is the augmented Supertonic 3/4. There is no German augmented sixth chord either. It is either the doubly augmented Supertonic  4/3  or augmented Subdominant 6/5. By giving these chords special names you are only confusing your students and taking their attention away from structural significance of these chords. And, there is not such thing as Predominant. On the one hand, Tonic, and not only Subdominant, may precede and prepare the Dominant. On the other, there is such independent and self-standing entity as Subdominant.

There is no such thing as French augmented sixth chord on lower scale step two. This is a chord from a different function: the Dominant. It can be called the Dominant 4/3 with lowered fifth, or simply, a tritone substitution of the Dominant seventh chord. The chord mentioned in this discussion is not Belgian. It is the half-diminished seventh, a part of the Dominant group, more precisely, a part of the double Dominant. This terminological precision translates into hearing abilities of the students. 

The enthusiasm for innovation is commendable. The lack of enthusiasm for hearing the voice of theoretical tradition is not. In any case, the rationale for giving these strange and impertinent names must be reflected upon before introducing them in the classroom.

Best wishes,

Ildar Khannanov
Peabody Conservatory
solfeggio7 at yahoo.com

________________________________
 From: "Salley, Keith" <ksalley at su.edu>
To: Stephen Jablonsky <jablonsky at optimum.net> 
Cc: smt smt-talk <smt-talk at societymusictheory.org> 
Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 6:33 PM
Subject: Re: [Smt-talk] BELGIAN +6

A quick (possible) correction, some excerpts, and a citation:

1) According to 
Marvin and Clendinning's discussion in the "Musician's Guide' textbook 
(Norton), Calcott's treatise does discuss the three national favors of 
augmented sixth chords, but does not attribute the geographical 
designations to any localized practices. See p. 500 of the first 
edition, or p. 551 of ed. 2, and you'll see that the names are hardly 
the product of research. To quote the text 

"The chords were named according to Calcott's perception of the 
national character of the Italians ('elegance'), French 
('feebleness'??!),and Germans ('strength')." 

I must admit that I
 haven't read Calcott's treatise. It may be that he does refer to 
national styles at some point. So, please forgive me if I'm speaking out
 of turn. 

2) Regarding the 'strange' augmented sixth chord that started this 
thread: Scriabin uses such a chord in at least a few early works.

	* It occurs in his op. 1 (1885).  Measures 52-53 produce an odd case, where a sonority comprised of the tones Ab, C, E, and Gb functions like a 
dominant seventh on Ab (though the augmented sixth between Gb and E 
resolves properly). 

	* See also m. 16 of op. 16 no. 1 (1895). Here, it really functions like an augmented sixth. 

	* See also mm. 30-32 of his op. 8 no. 10 (1894). There, you'll hear the 
sonority 'inverted' with a diminished 3rd above the bass. The local key 
is Ab, and the tones are (D, Ab, C, and Fb). 
	* Finally, see op. 23 (1898), mvt. IV, mm. 32-33. Here, the sonority is also 'inverted' the same way as above.

When the harmony functions as it 'should' (i.e., leading to V), I like to 
think of it at the major-mode equivalent of the German (with 'mi' 
instead of 'me'). 

I believe you'll find references to this harmony as a 'Russian 
augmented sixth' in Bettsylyn Dunn Goldwire's (DMA)  nearly impossible-to-find dissertation. If I'm
 not mistaken, Rimsky-Korsakov used it before Scriabin did (but don't tell 
you-know-who). Here's the citation:

Goldwire,
Bettsylynn Dunn. 1984. Harmonic Evolution in the Piano Poems of Alexander
Scriabin. D.M.A. thesis, The University of Texas at Austin. 

Hope this is helpful. 

On Sat, Nov 19, 2011 at 7:58 PM, Stephen Jablonsky <jablonsky at optimum.net> wrote:

In the music of such late Romantics as Cesar Franck we occasionally see a 
half diminished chord, usually viiø/V, that has its third lowered in the first inversion or even root position. This is just like the German 
augmented 6th chord but it is half-diminished, not diminished. I was 
wondering if there is a nationality associated with this phenomenon. We 
have the Italian, German, and French versions of augmented sixths chords but I know of no name for this chord.  I am, therefore, suggesting for 
lack of better appellation that we call this chord the Belgian augmented 6th in honor of Franck. A nice example of such a chord is found in the 
first movement of his Symphony in Dm (p. 17 in the Kalmus score).
>
>
>
>
>Prof. Stephen Jablonsky, Ph.D.
>Music Department Chair
>The City College of New York
>160 Convent Avenue S-72
>New York NY 10031
>(212) 650-7663 
>
>  
>
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-- 
Keith Salley
Coordinator of Music Theory
the Shenandoah Conservatory
Shenandoah University
Winchester, VA

On Sat, Nov 19, 2011 at 7:58 PM, Stephen Jablonsky <jablonsky at optimum.net> wrote:

In the music of such late Romantics as Cesar Franck we occasionally see a half diminished chord, usually viiø/V, that has its third lowered in the first inversion or even root position. This is just like the German augmented 6th chord but it is half-diminished, not diminished. I was wondering if there is a nationality associated with this phenomenon. We have the Italian, German, and French versions of augmented sixths chords but I know of no name for this chord.  I am, therefore, suggesting for lack of better appellation that we call this chord the Belgian augmented 6th in honor of Franck. A nice example of such a chord is found in the first movement of his Symphony in Dm (p. 17 in the Kalmus score).
>
>
>
>
>Prof. Stephen Jablonsky, Ph.D.
>Music Department Chair
>The City College of New York
>160 Convent Avenue S-72
>New York NY 10031
>(212) 650-7663 
>
>  
>
>_______________________________________________
>Smt-talk mailing list
>Smt-talk at lists.societymusictheory.org
>http://lists.societymusictheory.org/listinfo.cgi/smt-talk-societymusictheory.org
>
>

-- 
Keith Salley
Coordinator of Music Theory
the Shenandoah Conservatory
Shenandoah University
Winchester, VA

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