Trans-Diatonic Theory and the Harmonic Analysis of Nineteenth-Century Music
Date
2018-04-25
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Abstract
A hallmark of nineteenth-century music is the conscious and systematic exploration of ‘non-normative’ harmonic relations especially by composers such as Liszt, Brahms, Wagner, and others. Non-normative in this context is taken to refer to any harmonic relation that fulfills the following two conditions: (1) at least one, but normally both chords (or harmonic regions) are chromatic to each other and/or to their context; and (2) the intervallic relationship between their roots is derived from a symmetrical division of the octave (i.e., they must be either a semitone, a whole-tone, a minor third, a major third, or a tritone apart). By their nature, diatonic-based analytical systems do not have the necessary tools or flexibility to explain Romantic non-normative harmonic relations, as defined above. This thesis proposes a new approach to analysis of later nineteenth-century harmony. In chapter 1, this thesis considers four modern theories of harmony that were developed to address the issues raised above. The theories examined are by Gregory Proctor (1978), Harald Krebs (1980), David Kopp (2002), and Richard Cohn (1996, 2000, 2012). Because all of these theories are ultimately rooted in an adaptation of conventional diatonic analytical practices or concentrate upon very limited aspects of non-normative harmonic relations (mainly, chromatic mediant relations), they are found to be inadequate to deal with characteristically difficult passages of nineteenth-century harmony. In chapter 2, this thesis proposes a new theory of harmony, entitled ‘trans-diatonic theory.’ The key concept of trans-diatonic theory is the ‘diptych principle,’ which fuses parallel keys (and chords) into a new, greater unit. The diptych principle generates a trans-diatonic scale, which provides richer, more complex harmonic relations that, in turn, allows for a more logical understanding of non-normative harmonic relations. The final chapter shows the practical advantages of the trans-diatonic system through the analysis of a variety of harmonically challenging passages from different works. These analyses demonstrate the use and effectiveness of the trans-diatonic theory.
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Keywords
Trans-Diatonic Theory, Trans-Diatonic Harmonyy, Nineteenth-Century Music, Chromatic Harmony
Citation
de Andrade Negri, A. J. (2018). Trans-Diatonic Theory and the Harmonic Analysis of Nineteenth-Century Music (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/31872