Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Foote and Spalding, Modern Harmony (1905) (3)

Here are more of Foote and Spalding's repertoire examples for the dominant ninth chord. These are from p. 160.



The Chopin example comes from the first movement, the second theme in the recapitulation—see the boxes in the third and fourth systems. It is indeed a proper major dominant ninth with a direct resolution (although with octave change). It is also an isolated instance, as nowhere else in the movement, or in the sonata, does the ninth chord play any role. In this theme, the far more prominent feature is the 13th (see arrows), which is a melodic rather than harmonic element but contributes a distinctive sound to the theme and so illustrates that characteristically uncertain positioning of the extended chords between harmonic and linear processes.


Incidentally, the ninth in the example above is not in the second theme in its initial presentation during the exposition:


George W. Chadwick's "Lovely Rosabelle" sets a short ballad from Sir Walter Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel.  The form is that of a melodrama—like an operatic szena, alternating dramatic recitative with more formal sections of air or chorus melody. The example comes from near the end, where the chorus repeats several times text including "a dirge for lovely Rosabelle" (who has drowned).


The example isn't very convincing as a ninth chord. There are several better ones earlier in the piece. Throughout the 19th century, the major dominant ninth chord as a harmonic entity was more likely to appear in lyrical, sentimental, or even pastoral movements or passages, as here, with "soft" and "sad." Note especially the contrast between the vigorous, minor-key, martial music and this passage.


Here are two good textbook examples that Foote and Spalding might have used to better effect. Note the direct resolution of the ninth C5 in the soprano.

The ^6-^8 figure in the cadence was a common Scots-Irish touch. We have encountered it before in Macdowell's "To a Wild Rose": link to the blog post.


Reference:
Arthur Foote and Walter Spalding, Modern Harmony in its Theory and Practice (1905). Source: Internet Archive; digital facsimile of a copy in the UCLA library.