[Smt-talk] Displaced Fifth and Normative Doubling in Suspensions and Appoggiatruras

[Ninov, Dimitar N]

“If anyone has any thoughts about suspensions of the fifth -- when it becomes popular, what sort of contexts it occurs in -- I'd be very interested to hear them.  Right now I'm thinking that "avoid suspensions that resolve to the fifth of a chord" is a pretty good rule of thumb for the baroque and classical style.”

I respectfully disagree with this rule of thumb. An immediate example of a normatively suspended fifth is: Mozart, Sonata for piano K 283 in G (I), m. 6 (the fifth is displaced in a 7-6 suspension figure in G major, B-G-E, B-G-D. 

A fifth displaced by an appoggiatura in the same movement is illustrated in m. 25 (C#-A-F#, C#-A-E).

These moments of course are repeated later in the sonata, and I am sure we may find quite a few in both Baroque and Classical style.

Also, let us think about a minor tonic with a suspended minor sixth that resolves into the fifth.

Dmitri also mentioned the iii6 (V sus6-5) that is a commonplace in any style.

About the tone of resolution: “1. Don't double the tone of resolution unless you have a 9-8 suspension over a root-position triad; and

2. More generally, the tone of resolution is almost always the root or a third of the chord.”

Again, with all due respect, I have a big disagreement with this statement. The tone of resolution may also be normatively doubled in a number of additional situations, among which are the following:
 
a)	A 7-6 fugure (a first inversion triad with a displaced root, where the suspension is a ninth above the displaced tone: E-C-G-D, with D resolved to C. 
Example: Mozart, K 332 in F (I), mm. 45 and 53, and later.

b)	A 9-8 figure but not necessarily a root position triad (for instance, the ii6 normatively doubles the third; therefore, a 9-8 suspension within ii6 may very well accompany the third in the bass). 
Example: Mozart, the above sonata, mm 46 and 54.

Another doubling in a 9-8 figure that does not represent a root position triad is the displacement of the fifth in the cadential six-four, where the bass accompanies the suspension.
Example: Mozart, Piano Sonata in B-flat, K. 281 (I), m. 7 and Chopin, Grande Valse Brilliante, Op. 18, m. 9

c)	A 4-3 figure (a first inversion triad with a displaced fifth, where the suspension is a ninth above the chord tone). I have seen such examples but cannot pull them out right now; I will look further.

e)	A 4-3 figure in a deceptive resolution, where the suspension is displacing the third of the vi chord.

Example: the prelude to Tristan and Isolde is full of deceptive resolutions of the type V7/vi – IV, where the latter appears with a doubled third, as it is actually a submediant of the vi area.

I would like to reiterate again that numbers do not matter in our consideration of the possible doubling in a suspension/appoggiatura configuration. This decision may be made after we consider the following factors:

a)	which chord tone is being displaced; 
b)	what is the chord’s harmonic position; 
c)	what is the normative doubling of the moment; and 
d)	what does the voice-leading suggest.

The above list is a part of a study of non-chord tones that I am currently doing as part of one short and one long term project. 

In addition, I agree with Dmitri that it would be very good if we always keep in mind how the suspended tone refers to the root of the chord, even if the latter is not in the bass. For instance, the oddly looking 5-4 suspension over the cadential six-four is nothing more than a disguised 9-8 as referred to the root of the tonic. Since the cadential six-four has an outer tonic structure, any non-chord tone or chromatic chord will resolve into it as if it resolves into a tonic triad. Thus what looks like a consonant suspension (5) and a dissonant resolution (4) is acoustically exactly the opposite: a dissonant suspension (9) and a consonant resolution (8). Of course, the dominant bass does not undermine the aural effect of embellishment of the cadential six-four. It has a deeper functional conflict with the tonic structure itself, that is solved with the arrival of the genuine dominant chord.

Thank you,

Dimitar

Dr. Dimitar Ninov, Lecturer
School of Music
Texas State University
601 University Drive
San Marcos, Texas 78666