Subject: RE: [VIHUELA] Re: Matteis

From: "Lex Eisenhardt" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 17:51:20 +0100

For an on-line article by Roland Jackson, about all sorts of harmonic
clashes, follow the download link
http://scholarship.claremont.edu/ppr/vol11/iss1/2/
Lex

-----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
Van: [email-masked] [mailto:[email-masked]] Namens
Martyn Hodgson
Verzonden: zaterdag 16 november 2013 10:26
Aan: Monica Hall; WALSH STUART
CC: Vihuelalist
Onderwerp: [VIHUELA] Re: Matteis

   Dear Monica,
   This is all a question of context; mostly to do with expected cadential
   effects and the prevailing tonality of the melodic line.
   1. For example a dissonance of seconds at a cadence was a common
   practice at the time; both in orchestral writing as well as on the
   guitar etc. The effect even has a modern name: the 'Corelli clash'
   after his frequent use of it.  Typically this occurs at a cadence where
   the (sharp) third of the dominant (the sharpened leading note) is
   sounded concurrently with an anticipated tonic (so for a cadence ending
   with a G major chord an F# is sounded together with a G).  It is, in my
   view, important to play this effect with 'boldness and conviction'  to
   ensure auditors don't think it's a mistake! In short, it is by no means
   too exotic for the period as you suppose below  ('Just talking about
   the last two bars of line three: playing the top and  bottom courses
   open sounds quite rich and exotic! But perhaps far too rich for its
   surroundings').
   So the B to Em cadence at the end of the third line on page 2 of the
   1682 publication with a D# and E sounding concurrently is perfectly
   correct. I suppose you could throw in the open fifth course too (to
   give a 7th A)  but this is not really in line with general practice at
   that time (use of sevenths at cadences became much more common in the
   18th century).
   2. However where there is no such cadential (or similar effect)
   context, contemporary auditors would not have expected such rude
   clashes interfering with the melodic line. So, for example on the same
   line and 4 bars from the end, the D chord on the second beat would not
   have the first course added (an open e' according to Matteis' guitar
   tuning) - Matteis either overlooked this or took it as read that a
   player would not need to be told. Similarly in the 'Aria' at the
   beginning of page 4 the player should not include non-melodic notes
   (such as an open e' on the first beat of the first full bar or the open
   b and e' on the first beat of the next bar).  It simply requires
   careful control of the strum - perhaps some guitarists basing their
   early strumming technique on modern flamenco rasgueado may find this
   more difficult but, of course, it's no reason to believe the Old Ones
   were not technically capable/accomplished to achieve such refined
   playing.
   There's also a parallel with unwritten practice in continuo playing:-
   here sometimes a sixth cord is not figured at all - it being assumed
   that the player has sufficient knowledge of basic rules of harmony that
   in a particular key sequence such bass notes will generally need first
   inversion chords (unless otherwise indicated).
   regards,
   Martyn
   PS Incidentally, I find it easier to follow a discussion if the
   responder does not interweave their reply with the sender's text - but
   perhaps that's just me................
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