Le 30 juin 2017
de 16h30 à 17h00
Le Patio (université de Strasbourg)
22 rue René Descartes, 67000 Strasbourg
salle 3202
Pré-acte / Acte
Auteur : Karst de Jong
The concept of structural modes aims to describe tonal organization in terms of underlying patterns of the structural bass. The structural bass is an interpretation of the fundamental bass, whereby real (or virtual) bass notes are identified as scale degrees of the underlying structural modes. Voice-leading schemata are abstractions of compositional building blocks, which appear in common-practice tonal music in numerous individual elaborations. In studying their possible combinations, one should focus on their inner melodic, contrapuntal and harmonic constitution. Although the term voice leading nominally includes the study of the bass voice, not enough attention is yet paid to its constitutive role to the inner life of schemata and their combinations.
This paper will investigate the tonal organization of Bill Evans’ Waltz for Debby in terms of structural modes, interruptions and prolongations, and interaction of structural modes with known voice-leading models. Through the analysis of this piece and a few secondary examples, I shall examine different modal constellations and describe how they relate to and are coordinated with known voice-leading models. Furthermore, I intend to present a preliminary list of combinatorial types and appropriate ways to annotate them. First of all, Structural and Linear bass patterns are distinguished. Prolongations and interruptions can be achieved by nesting structural bass patterns. Linear patterns are diminutions of structural intervals. An underlying relation of these basic structures with many of our known voice-leading schemata becomes visible and promises further insights to be gained from this type of analysis.
