harmony tonality

Stamitz Op.3 No.2:

• 3 opening chords designed to grab attention in grand hall at mannheim

• Very simple and diatonic harmony with lots of pedals and primary chords

• Harmony relatively slow movement

• Used to build up dramatic tension e.g first few bars build tension over tonic pedal, simplicity and drama combined

• Double return of the tonic and thematic material that would become standard in sonata form is not yet established

• Tonic returns in development

• Second movement in subdominant - normal

Cpe bach e minor

• Tonal and harmonic sudden contrast

• Sudden chromaticism -heightened sense of emotion 

• Empfinsander style- emotional harmony 

• Strurn and drag style- stormy chromaticisms

Mozart No.40:

• Only one of two Mozart symphonies that begin and end in a minor key

• Usually finale would end in a major key

• 3rd movement in g minor, trio contrastingly in g major

• Modulating passage in movement 4 at the beginning of the development in which every tone in the chromatic scale was played but one, strongly destabilising the key

Haydn 104

• Weird Harmony of second movement:
  theres is an interrupted cadence on 29 with a dim chord,  

• flattened submediant in d minor on 46 then ii V7 I moves to Bb major on 48

• enharmonic c sharp minor on bar 113

• 4th movement you could use the f sharp minor pivot chord as an example

• Or f sharp minor interrupted cadence into recap

• Uses  secondary dominant in coda of mvt 4  (at start)

Beethoven no 3: eroica

• Dramatisation of tonality and harmony

• As focus shifted to rhythmic motivs, harmony became more to keep interest

• First mvt beginning has a swinging cello diatonic theme, and as piece grows diatonic harmony becomes a big gesture and invaded with chromticisms e.g a c sharp in e flat major- this harmonic feature becomes a dramatic moment with a crescendo on it and syncopated violins

• Violent clashy harmony in moments e.g at recap uses enharmonic db moment to highlight that c sharp clash.

Mendelsohhn no 4

• It includes chromaticism, but it does not play a crucial part in his music

• He was fond of using the diminished 7th chord and use of the extended dominant  

• Frequent usage of inversions, particularly first inversion chords 

• Fondness of the subdominant minor chord 

• simple passages of ‘block’ harmony like a calmer beethoven

• Major to minor key relationship

Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique:

• Frequent diminished chords - sometimes for suspense, or sometimes for drama

• Fluctuates between major and minor

• a theatrical IC-V-I at the end of the introduction -poking fun at the classical convention?

• Often dissonance is added to diatonic chords

• There are occasional cadences that don't actually resolve, despite a huge sense of dominant expectation

• fairly fluid approach to tonality - 1st movement concluding in C major

Schubert symphony no 5

• Surprising changes in key for amusement and contrast

•  e.g second subject there is a moment where a perfect cadence to f major is expected but instead a db major interrupted cadence happens (Flat subdominant) and stays there for a bit, then goes via aug 6th chord bach to f major and get proper perfect cadence

Dvorak no 9

• Starts in E but by the main theme it has been modulated to D (in second movement)

• Dorian and Mixolydian modes, influenced by African American spirituals and Native American melodie

• The finale (Allegro con fuoco) shifts rapidly through keys before settling back into E minor,

Strauss - Don Juan (symphonic poem)

• Starts on flat subdominant, deceptive beginning

• frequent use of mediant relationships and even tritone-related modulations.

• ending with a muted E minor chord, a half-step descent from the original key

Mahler no 2

• Starts in c minor and ends in a different minor key- very unusual for time

• At times, Mahler layers multiple tonalities

• More advanced techniques e.g inserts harmonic “cracks”: sudden chromatic modulations to C♯ minor and B♭ minor