Johann Strauss, jr., later waltzes (2a)

This continues a series of posts on ten late waltz sets by Johann Strauss, jr.

2. Consonance/dissonance parallelisms and lines (mostly descending)

In an earlier post (link), I made the point that in the dance and concert dance repertoire, the history of the dominant ninth is bound up with a remarkably free treatment of the scale's upper tetrachord. Although this is a general practice in the dance repertoire (especially but not exclusively in waltzes, and by no means only in Strauss), I am concerned here with a set of figures that instantiates it in a particularly clear form.     (NB: Some examples are repeated from the previous post but are discussed in terms of lines, not just the treatment of ^5 and ^6.)

Adelen-Walzer, op.424 (1886), no. 2. A simple example to begin. Here every note in the pair (circled) is a chord tone. The E5 in bar 2 is locally a passing tone, but in bar 3 it is clearly the ninth of V9 and it resolves directly to ^5 over I.

Figaro (polka), op. 320 (1867). Out of the normal order—a polka from the 1860s, not a waltz from the 1880s—but another excellent example of the descent ^8 to ^5 where ^7 descends rather than rises and ^6 as the ninth of V9 resolves directly, but here with the added detail of a hint of Iadd6.

Waldteufel, Je t’aime, op. 177 (1882), no. 4. From Strauss's contemporary and the leading waltz composer in Paris at the time, here is a figure that Strauss himself also makes frequent use of: a descent ^8 to ^5 over the tonic bass. In this case, ^7 and ^6 are both understood as passing tones, but the attention given each opens the possibility—fully exploited in other circumstances—for Imaj7 and Iadd6.

Eduardo di Capua, “O sole mio” (1898). Without question one of the most famous songs from the venerable Neapolitan Piedigrotta Festival. Here is the first phrase in the second half. One can certainly hear F#5 in bar 1 and E5 in bar 3 as very expressive (sighing) escape tones, but the turn to D5 to end the phrase suggests a different, longer-range possibility -- see the sketch below the score.

--sketch of the first phrase

Strauss, Kaiser-Walzer, op.437 (1889), no. 1b. In the second strain of no.1, we encounter what appears to be a much longer line but in fact is two lines moving (almost) in parallel, where ^8 descends to ^5, as we have seen in previous examples, while ^10 descends to ^8. Note the Imaj7 sound in bar 2, but also the complication of bar 3: certainly we would like to hear bars 3-4 as a neighbor note dissonance, B5 resolving to the chord tone A5, but then retrospectively B5 in bar 2 sounds very much like a preparation, so that we have the sound of a classic suspension figure: [dissonant] preparation (bar 2)-[reiterated] suspension (bar 3)-resolution (bar 4). In the modified consequent phrase, we have the same figure a scale degree lower: the harmony in bar 6 then is unequivocally V9 with a direct resolution. As a postscript, note the now-familiar turn in the harmony in bar 13 and the participation of the ninth and internal resolution in the dominant in bar 15.

An der Elbe, op.477 (1897), no. 2. I have already discussed this under the shifting consonance/ dissonance heading. It is copied here only as an additional example of the ^8 to ^5 descent.

Hochzeitsreigen, op.453 (1893), no. 1b. In bars 1-2, Imaj7 continues its distinctive role as perhaps-prominent-sonority-perhaps-harmony, while Iadd6 in bar 2 is plainly defined as a harmony through chord change and the step down in bar 3. In the parallel phrase (a2), B5 is definitely a chord tone and V9 is clearly defined as a harmony.

Hochzeitsreigen, op.453 (1893), no. 3. Here ^7 retreats to melodic status, while ^6 is given more prominence.

Rathausball-Tänze, op.438 (1890),  no. 1a. Scale degree ^6 is part of a defined Iadd6 harmony in bar 4, then the fifth of ii in bars 8-10, then the ninth of V9 in bar 14, and the root of vi in bars 15-16. Quite a journey for a single pitch! Note another instance of ^7 over the tonic in bars 13 and 20.

Gartenlaube, op.461 (1895), no. 4b. This was discussed in the previous post. It is reproduced here to show an instance of a long line, ^8 down to ^2, then ^11 down to ^5 in the parallel phrase.

Rathausball-Tänze, op.438 (1890),  no. 3. A 16-bar period, where the antecedent has a line running down from ^8 to ^5, points of interest being the unclear harmony in bar 4 and the almost direct resolution of the ninth in bars 6-7. The consequent picks up this line but then takes it down all the way through the octave. In William Caplin's terms, bars 10-16 are built on an ECP (expanded cadential progression, typically starting with I6 as in bar 10).

”O sole mio,” introduction. The figure from the second part (see earlier in this post) is used for the introduction in the published song. As in the preceding example, the line moves through an entire octave to conclude in a perfect authentic cadence.

This study of lines continues in the next post.

Johann Strauss, jr., late waltzes (1)

In the previous post I listed ten sets of late waltzes by Johann Strauss, jr., that I chose for examination. Here is that list again:

Op.407 - Italienischer Walzer
Op.410 - Frühlingsstimmen, Walzer
Op.423 - Wiener Frauen, Walzer
Op.424 - Adelen-Walzer
Op.437 - Kaiser-Walzer
Op.438 - Rathausball-Tänze, Walzer
Op.440 - Groß-Wien, Walzer
Op.453 - Hochzeitsreigen, Walzer
Op.461 - Gartenlaube, Walzer
Op.477 - An der Elbe, Walzer

Instead of going through these one by one, I have sorted examples by topic, or, perhaps more accurately said, by technique or device or figure. With the exception of a few slightly different figures and harmonizations in op. 410 (Frühlingsstimmen) and op. 461 (Gartenlaube), everything in these late sets of waltzes departs little if at all from the mid-1860s through early 1870s (at which point Strauss began focusing more on operetta), in the still-famous waltzes such as An der schönen blauen Donau, Künstler-Leben, Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald, Wein, Weib und Gesang, Tausend und eine Nacht, Wiener Blut, and Du und Du (derived from the operetta Die Fledermaus [1874]). That being the case, an inventory of techniques or figures involving the dominant ninth chord seemed more useful than analyses of individual sets. I have enriched the survey, so to speak, with occasional examples from his contemporary Emile Waldteufel and from the late waltzes of his father, Johann Strauss, sr.

1. Consonance/Dissonance and ^5, ^6.

The place to begin is with the play of consonance/dissonance in parallel figures involving ^5 and ^6. Here is the first strain of the first number of the Kaiser-Walzer [Emperor Waltz], op. 437 (1889). Apologies for the odd-looking score; it's a composite of score and ossia I made to show the harmonies more clearly. The consonant G5 in bar 1 is parallel to A5 in bar 5. We can—and should—take the A5 as an expressive "one-note-too-far" that provides the turn to the cadence (IAC), but at the same time the parallelism reinforces the sense that this is a chord tone, the ninth of V9. Note two features that are basic to Strauss's practice: the harmonies are exactly parallel in the two phrases—I (-?) I V, and V (-?) V I—and there is a strong descending scale-wise frame for each phrase. Though not relevant to the specific point here, I have marked the point (bar 12) where V (in other places, we'll see V9) is turned back, as it were, to ii. Similar figures are routinely used, as here, to make a turn toward the final cadence.

In Wiener Frauen, op. 423, the second strain of no. 1 reveals a second basic method: exchanging consonance for dissonance (or chord member for non-harmonic element). In bar 4, a conservative hearing for the 1880s would make Bb5 and E6 chord tones and D6 (the ninth) a dissonance. In bar 8, a conservative reading would reverse the second and third elements: D6 is a dissonance and C6 a chord tone. One finds hints of things like this even in Schubert, but the later waltz repertoire exploits the ambiguity at every opportunity and in every conceivable way, foremost with ^5 and ^6 but sometimes with the other scale degrees as well. In this particular case Strauss suggests a possible conservative reading, in that we might think of D6 in bar 4 as a non-harmonic note "left open" until its reappearance and resolution in bar 8. See the sketch below the score.

The same motive works differently in Waldteufel's Estudiantina waltzes, op. 191 (1883), the second strain of no. 1. Here the parallelism is strict: C#6 is an appoggiatura, B5 is a chord tone, then B5 is a non-harmonic note and A5 is a chord tone. The eight-bar unit does end with a direct resolution of a V9 chord.

From Strauss again: no. 2 in Gartenlaube, op. 461 (1895). As in the preceding, but now G4, as the ninth in V9, is paired with D5, as the third of the tonic triad. This time the turn in the consequent of this 16-bar theme comes early: where G4 changes from the ninth of V9 to the third of the IV chord.

From Strauss's father, Die Schwalben, op. 208, a late waltz set from 1847. The first strain of no. 4 suggests how the play of ^5 and ^6 helped domesticate not only V9 but also Iadd6. Here E6 resolves internally within I but the parallel note, D6, is consonant within V7, and C6 in bars 5-6 is a chord tone. Below the score I have added an indirect motion of E6 to D6; this gives the same kind of ambiguous weight to E6 as does the immediate resolution in bar 2.

From Waldteufel's op. 101, Myosotis (from the 1860s), an example of ^5-^6 play within a double neighbor figure, with attention given to E5 and thus the sonorities—the sound of—Iadd6 and V9.

From Strauss, jr., Kaiser-Walzer, op. 437 (1889), this time the opening of no. 2. A pleasant muddle of notes in the upper tetrachord of Ab major. The incomplete neighbor G5 (another label is "escape tone") is dissonant, suggesting a possible Imaj7, though the inversion (bass C) makes things less clear, but the parallel F5, also dissonant, is more plainly the ninth in V9. A long distance registral connection to F5 over the tonic in bar 9 brings still another suggestion of Iadd6.

From Waldteufel's op. 148, Violettes (1876), the first waltz. A simple 16-bar period where the consequent takes the melody up a scale degree and the harmony is I-V then V-I. In bars 6-8 and 14-16, we are invited to hear "conservative dissonances" as chord tones, thanks to the parallelism: D5 is a chord tone in bar 14, so perhaps is C5 in bar 6? Bb4 is a chord tone in bars 6-7, so perhaps is C5 in bars 14-15?

The second waltz. A "reversion" to clear dissonance/consonance pairs: F5-Eb5 in bar 1, C5-Bb4 in bar 2.

From Gartenlaube, op. 461 (1895), no. 4, second strain. The neighbor note figure about C6 is repeated about A5 above the tonic bass. Note also that B5 as a passing tone in the second bar of the strain suggests that G5 in bar 4 might be one, also -- in fact, to my ear, it really does sound like it.

From the Italienischer Walzer, op. 407 (1882), no. 1, second strain. Clear, parallel roles for the half-note pairs E6-D6 and D6-C6. The point of interest is in bar 7: A5 repeated, not G5. The boxes labeled b1 and b2 show another turn effected by harmony.

From Frühlingsstimmen, op. 410 (1883), no. 1, first strain. Still another instance suggesting Iadd6 (G5 in bar 3 is parallel to A5 in bar 9).

From An der Elbe, op. 477 (1897), no. 2, first strain. The thirds make this difficult to decipher. Some recurring elements, at least, are obvious: add6 in bar 1, the suggestion of Imajor7 in bars 1-2, and V9 in bar 4. The Iadd6 is firm in bars 9-10 (circled) and can even be understood as moving upward to D6, so ^6-^7.

Johann Strauss, jr., waltz introductions

As a follow-up to the series of examples from Wagner and the post on the Franck violin sonata, I have decided to start a series on music by other composers from roughly 1880-1900, starting with late waltzes by Johann Strauss, jr. From the nineteen sets between opus 400 and 409, I chose ten:

Op.407 - Italienischer Walzer
Op.410 - Frühlingsstimmen, Walzer
Op.423 - Wiener Frauen, Walzer
Op.424 - Adelen-Walzer
Op.437 - Kaiser-Walzer
Op.438 - Rathausball-Tänze, Walzer
Op.440 - Groß-Wien, Walzer
Op.453 - Hochzeitsreigen, Walzer
Op.461 - Gartenlaube, Walzer
Op.477 - An der Elbe, Walzer

My notion—I suppose we can call it a hypothesis—was that the late sets might well make more of complex harmonies and progressions in their introductions than was the case in earlier sets. The survey did not turn out as I expected: the introductions do not differ in any substantial way from those in earlier sets and, in particular for my purposes, they do not feature the dominant ninth harmony except in their presaging quotations from the waltzes themselves. (There is one exception—see op. 407 below—but even there the musical topic is a waltz acceleration.)

Of the introductions in the ten sets, three have moments in which the ninth chord does appear, although only the first of these is convincing as a dramatic treatment. In op. 407, the first 20 bars quote an Andantino grazioso tune from the operetta (the set uses themes and motives from Der Lustige Krieg), after which a stereotypical acceleration suggests a rush to the close, but it cuts off at the seventh bar in the second system and an equally stereotypical anticlimax brings the introduction to a close with heightened anticipation of the first waltz. The acceleration gives considerable attention to C: V9 (boxed) then "converts" it to V7. There are hints of ^6 above G: V9 (circled), but then at the end an exaggerated operatic "hand-lifting" pause on C: V9, which again resolves internally. The motives in this section do not reappear in the waltzes themselves.

True to its title, the introduction to op. 438 consists mostly of a march, but it ends with the following transitional passage. Although the circled D: V9 is clear, it is very obviously just one element in the stepwise, then arpeggiated, ascent. Here again the motives do not reappear in the waltzes.

The introduction to op. 477, Strauss's last published waltz set, consists of three pastoral segments of 10-20 bars and a waltz section. Here is the third pastoral section, with the transition into it. The very familiar play of ^5-^6 with dominant and tonic, sometimes resulting in clear expressions of V9 and Iadd6, is employed here, though it sits above a tonic pedal in this case.

In earlier sets, Strauss would often anticipate one (or more) of the waltz melodies in the introduction. For the late sets, it of course is not surprising that he might quote from an operetta that the set is based on, but for the others I wouldn't be surprised to be told he is quoting from earlier works of his own (if so, no doubt a combination of nostalgia and marketing). Tune-hunting (for that matter, tune-remembering), however, is not a strength of mine, and in retirement I do not have reference sources handy. I apologize for not looking into this further, but honestly it would make little if any difference to this survey of the appearance and uses of major dominant ninth chords.

Franck, Sonata for Violin and Piano, I

In this post from February—link—I looked at the examples for V9 from the standard harmony textbook anthology Music for Analysis: Examples from the Common Practice Period and the Twentieth Century, 8th edition, by Thomas Benjamin, Michael Horvit, Timothy Koozin, and Robert Nelson (2018). They include the opening of Cesar Franck's Sonata for Violin and Piano, first movement (1886), which I characterized as "one of the most striking cases of an extended (prolonged) dominant ninth before 1900" and said that I would post a separate study of it at a later date. Here, seven months later, is that study.

The opening really doesn't need additional commentary:

Here I have reduced/blocked-out the harmonies. Again this isn't really necessary but it does help to bring out in another visual representation the wonderful expansion of the V9 harmony and also makes the pairing of ^6-^5 and ^4-^3 more obvious. Although F#5 is prominent in the violin's first bar, by the end of the phrase we realize that it acts as a cover tone, and the violin's main voiceleading figure is ^4-^3, while the piano takes the long-held F#4 down to E4 in bar 8.

I will restrict myself to the violin version, but I have one comment on the cello arrangement made by Jules Delsart and sanctioned by Franck. Delsart moved the solo line down an octave, with the result that ^6-^5 (in the piano) becomes the upper voice and the solo part's cover tone F# becomes a pleasant touching on the principal voice while its continuing line ^4-^3 becomes an alto part.

The movement is a pastorale, though it has its dramatic moments, to which, of course, the emphasis on ^6 and also on V9 is certainly congenial, by the later 19th century a cliché. The design is that of a very compact sonata movement apparently without transition—what we would call the subordinate theme area begins in bar 9. In the approach to the exposition's structural cadence (the closing tonic in E major is at bar 31 in the example below), the major dominant ninth assumes an even greater (and more nearly continuous) role than is typical.

Here is a harmonic sketch. The progress by key is a shifting of thirds, from A major to C# major to E major, represented in the first instance either by their tonics or their dominant sevenths. The greatly expanded cadence is very traditional, despite its rich surface of dominant ninth harmonies: from ii (as  region) to V to I.

The final moments of the approach to the recapitulation are a play on the minor versus the major dominant ninth: the notes of the minor are given arrows.

And here is the structural cadence of the recapitulation, bars 78-89 being parallel to bars 24-31 (though obviously somewhat expanded).

The first cadence in the coda brings a rising figure from ^5 in the piano part, as the violin touches on ^6 but then dives down to the tonic A3.

Two events are of interest in the final bars. First, the V9 chord is "shortened" to viiø7 and its sonority given considerable attention. (With other evidence, this hints at the possibility that Franck shared the theorists' idea of viiø7 as an incomplete dominant ninth harmony.)  Second, the counterpoint of bars 98-99 is inverted in bars 115-116: the violin closes with its descending line two octaves higher (not A3 but now A5) while the piano part gives one last expression of the minor 9 (though as E# rather than F-natural).

Wagner (4), Siegfried Idyll

Wagner's Siegfried Idyll was composed in 1870; a private premiere took place that year, the public premiere in 1876, and the piece was published in 1878. About the use of the major dominant ninth chord, I have little that's new to say. The examples below show two distinct uses, literally soft and loud in cadences or climax points.

Near the beginning, arrival on V, then two treatments of V9, as V9 at (a), and as V9/V at (b).

Shortly thereafter, another "soft" moment: the sudden drop in dynamics and slowing of movement and harmony:

The remaining examples are all the typical treatment of V9 in climaxes.  At (d), the chord is in an approach to a cadence, which turns out to be deceptive.

At (e), V9/V in Ab major, resolved internally in its second bar.

At (f), C: viiø7/V--an "incomplete dominant ninth chord" that leads to a pedal dominant.

At (g) a very similar use of the "incomplete" chord; here C: viiø7 alternates with iiø7. At (h), a complete dominant ninth chord, as C: V9/V. It drifts off chromatically towards E major instead; I have sketched the voiceleading below the score.

Wagner (3), Tristan und Isolde, part 2

Here is a postscript, as it were, to the previous post. Eric Chafe observes that "the first of the dream chords of 'O sink hernieder' [reappears at the end] leading the duet to pass over into the f# tonality of Brangaene's warning" (2008, 268). Here are the two passages—beginning:

. . .  and ending:

In a later scene between Tristan and Kurwenal, the dominant ninth chord becomes thoroughly embedded in the full Tristan motive/phrase:

Finally, in the climax of Isolde's "Liebestod," the determined (and extended) progress toward the structural dominant and the 6 1/2 bars of the subsequent F# bass (as V in B major) support multiple rapid statements of the Tristan motive that eventually lead to the V9 of the cadence from the first page of the Prelude (but now in a major key). I have aligned the two cadences in a sketch below the score.

Reference:
Eric Chafe, The Tragic and the Ecstatic: The Musical Revolution of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde (2008).