SAN FRANCISCO CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC

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1 SAN FRANCISCO CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC CHROMATIC HARMONY 216 Professor Jacques Desjardins Office: Room 309 Voic Time and place: Tuesday and Thursday from 3:00 to 4:20 pm, room 501 Office hours: Monday and Wednesday, from 10:30 to 12:00; Friday from 9:00 to 11:00 or by appointment Student Learning Outcomes: Become familiar with the harmonic language of the mid- to late nineteenth century. The goal of this course is to give a sense of the musical practice that guided composers through much of the Romantic era. The unresolved - or deceptively resolved - dissonances of Schubert, Chopin, Brahms, Liszt, Wagner, Bruckner, Wolf, and many others from the period are a testimony to an era that encouraged artists to create for themselves and not for aristocratic patrons, as was most often the case for their predecessors. Studying this repertoire should give an insight as to how music evolved from a clearly hierarchical system to one that sometimes deliberately avoided tonal centers. It is hoped that the student will come out of this course with a better understanding of the harmonic language that ultimately led to the twentieth century tonality of Broadway musicals and jazz, and ultimately to film music. Content: This course will survey the chromatic harmony practice, as observed in works selected from the late Baroque up to the very end of the Romantic era. Chromaticism is studied through the prism of J.S. Bach, Schubert, Chopin, Beethoven, Liszt, Wagner, Bruckner, Wolf, and Fauré to name the most salient representatives of this course. Chromatic techniques will be studied, such as: common tone progressions, mixture and double mixture, deceptive resolutions of dominant seventh and diminished seventh chords, modulation to remote keys through the parallel or relative major or minor, cycles of thirds progressions, sequences, augmented 6 th chords, and augmented triads. Course work includes weekly written assignments, analyses, one midterm creative project, an oral presentation, and two exams (midterm and final). Class participation will also be taken into consideration.

2 Materials: Bring staff paper, pencils, eraser, and your head to every class. The course will begin by following the later chapters of Aldwell & Schachter s Harmony and Voice-Leading, 4 th edition, but it is not required to buy the book if you do not own a copy. (I do recommend you acquire it as it is a truly excellent resource to learn or brush up on harmony, should you need assistance in this matter.) The course pack for this class is available at the UPS Store located on Van Ness at Fell Streets (right next to the Subway restaurant). Evaluation: The Department of Musicianship and Music Theory has adopted the following grading system: % 80 89% 70 79% 60 69% Assignments: Midterm project: Midterm exam In-class presentation Final exam: Class participation: A B C D 40% 15% 10% 15% 15% 5% The Music Theory Department s Policy on Attendance, Lateness, and Assignments: 1) Attendance: Two absences from class are allowed per semester without penalty. Additional absences will lower your grade by 5% per class missed and a Monitoring Report will be sent to the Dean s office. 2) Lateness: Each time you are late to class, you will lose 1% from your semester grade for the course. 3) Assignments: No late assignments will be accepted. If you are absent from a class for which an assignment is due, it is your responsilibity to get your work to your professor, and on time. You are fully responsible for all material covered in class during your absence. There will be no make-up sessions for exams. HAVE A GREAT SEMESTER!

3 MUSIC THEORY 216: COURSE PLAN AND ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE Week One: January ) Presentation of syllabus and introduction to course materials 2) Review of baroque/classical harmony 3) Literal chromaticism from successive secondary dominants 4) Augmented 6ths chords and bii, also known as Neapolitan 6 th Repertoire: CH pack no. 1: - Bach, Saint John Passion, Peter s lament - Mozart, Concerto for Piano K Vivaldi, Magnificat, I and III - Schubert, Symphony no. 8, I, m Bach, B minor Mass, Crucifixus - Purcell, Dido and Æneas, Dido s lament - Chopin, Prelude op. 28 no. 4 in e minor Assignment 1: chromatic bass and soprano due January 29 Week Two: January ) Descending chromatic bass 2) Parallel/relative major minor modulations Repertoire: CH pack 1 continued; CH pack no. 2: - Smetana, Bartered Bride - Schubert, Rosamunde and Drei Klavierstücke D Schubert, Symphony no. 8, II, beginning Assignment 2: Modulation to remote keys through use of mixture, parallel/relative major-minor and enharmonics due February 5 Week Three: February 3 5 1) Properties of the dim 7 th chord: multiple modulation possibilities 2) Substitute resolutions of vii 7/dom 7ths: 3) vii 7 to suspend key: Repertoire: CH pack no. 3: - Chopin, Mazurka op. 24 no. 2 - Schubert, Symphony no. 8, I, m and Scriabin, Prelude op. 11 no. 8 - Schubert, Wegweiser

4 Assignment 3: Modulation through multiple resolutions of vii 7 and substitute resolutions of dom 7 ths due February 12 Week Four: February ) Augmented 6ths chord potential for modulation + use of enharmonics 2) Common tone progressions: smooth modulations to remote keys 3) All of the above techniques Repertoire: CH pack no. 4: - Schubert, Waltzes op. 9 - Beethoven, Capriccio - Liszt, Ave Maria I - Schubert, Symphony, no. 8, II, m Assignment 4: Use of augmented German 6 th chords becoming a dominant 7 th, and common tone progressions due February 19 Week Five: February ) Cycle of thirds: combination of common tone and mixture 2) Augmented triad and its resolution Repertoire: CH pack no. 5: - Bruckner, Motet Ecce sacerdos magnus - Wagner, Siegfried, Act III, scene I - Wagner, Parsifal, Prelude - Liszt, Gebet - Liszt, Via crucis Assignment 5: Cycle of 3rds and augmented triads resolutions due February 26 Week Six: February ) Consolidating all techniques seen so far 2) Analysis of longer passages Repertoire: CH pack no. 6: - Chopin: Prelude op. 28 no. 9 in E major - Schubert, Ständchen, m Brahms Intermezzo op. 76 no. 4 (vii 7)

5 Assignment 6: Integrating all of the above techniques in longer progressions due March 3 Week Seven: March 3 Please note: No class on Thursday, March 5. It is required to use the time to work on your midterm projects. More consolidating of chromatic harmony techniques Repertoire from CH pack no. 7: - Chopin: Mazurka op. 68 no. 4 - Scriabin: Rêverie op. 45 no. 3 (extended harmony) - Liszt: Consolations I - Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem, VI MIDTERM PROJECT PHASE I: Write a chromatic progression that will serve as a basis for a Prelude for piano. Use at least four of the techniques studied so far: - Mixture/double mixture - Secondary dominants with substitute resolutions - Chain of secondary dominants - vii 7 with multiple resolutions - Augmented triads with multiple resolutions - vii 7 with substitute resolutions - augmented 6 th /dom 7 th respelling - Common tone progressions - Enharmonic spellings leading to remote keys - Parallel/relative major minor relationships - Progressions and/or modulations by cycle of thirds As you conceive your chord progression, I encourage you to keep in mind the models of preludes studied in class: Chopin s Preludes op. 28, Beethoven s Capriccio, Schubert s Drei Klavierstûcke, Scriabin s Prelude op. 11 no. 8, Liszt s Consolations. This awareness might affect the particular techniques you might choose and the personality/tonal behavior of your progression, and, eventually of your own prelude. CHORD PROGRESSION DUE: March 10 MIDTERM PROJECT PHASE II: COMPLETE PRELUDE DUE MARCH 31

6 Week Eight: March Review for midterm exam Week Nine: March ) Tuesday: In-class midterm 2) Thursday: Harmonic sequences Repertoire from CH pack no. 8: - Wagner: Siegfried, Prelude to Act III - Fauré: Requiem, Agnus Dei - Bruckner: Motet Locus iste - Wagner, Götterdämmerung, Prelude - Fauré, Requiem, Libera me Assignment 7: Harmonic sequences due April 3 Week Ten: March 31 April 2 1) Half-diminished seventh chord also known as the Tristan chord and its resolutions 2) Tristan chord as a means to create an atmosphere Repertoire from CH pack no. 9: - Wagner, Tristan und Isolde, Prelude - Bruckner, Symphony no. 9, II Assignment 8: Writing of an exercise à la Tristan due April 10 Week Eleven: April 7 9 1) Analysis of more Tristan-like excerpts 2) Writing in the style of Tristan Repertoire from CH pack no. 10: - Wagner, Wesendonck Lieder - Wagner, Tristan und Isolde, Act II, Scene 2: Brangäne s warning - Wolf, Anakreon s Grab

7 Assignment 9: Prepare presentation on one of Fauré s songs from La bonne chanson Week Twelve: April ) Preparation for in-class presentations 2) Analysis and writing of progressions based on the above Repertoire from CH pack no. 11 (on reserve in the library): - Fauré : La bonne chanson, Une sainte en son auréole Thursday: Tirst In-class presentations Week Thirteen: April In-class presentations Week Fourteen: April In-class presentations Week Fifteen: May 5 7 Tuesday, May 5: Review for final Thursady, May 7: Final Exam SUMER IS ICUMEN IN!