In 1871, Johann Strauss, jr., published the polka 'Auf freiem Fusse," his opus 345. With the one score available to me, I can't tell if it is meant to be
française or
schnell, that is, in slow or fast tempo. (The slower polka is close to the dance as it first became popular about 1840; the faster one is often musically indistinguishable from the galop—and had largely replaced it by 1860. The title is an idiom that can literally mean "free feet"—that is, not wearing shoes—but more generally means "on your own," "without obligations," etc. I will refrain from making a judgment based on the title, noting only that it would be unwise to attempt a galop or polka schnell without shoes. . . .)
The first strain does indeed offer some freedom to its harmonies. In bars 2-3, a proper Iadd6: both fifth and sixth are present, the sixth is at the top, and it is not "resolved," either within the chord or from it. Similarly, in bar 7 is a proper V9 chord (the ninth is at the top, and it is
directly resolved, that is, not within the chord but from it).
The beam covering the last three bars marks the descent from ^7 to ^5 over V; it is figure (g) from the introductory post -- see below. Not found very often earlier in the century, it had become a commonplace by the 1860s, in the time of the mature, now best known waltzes of Strauss. As such, it should be a familiar sound to any reader.
