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.
--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.
