My bad, of course there is no vi in harmonic minor, I switched the roman numerals. I meant iv. Thanks for pointing that out.Toxikator wrote:Adaerus: There is no vi in a harmonic minor mode.
The Aquarium (analysis help)?
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- KVRist
- 144 posts since 17 Nov, 2000 from Chicago IL
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- KVRAF
- 2356 posts since 30 Sep, 2003 from Sunny Staffordshire
Absolutely!but when i play just the chords and pause to listen to the difference between two chords, there's no "spooky and serene" (of course). it's like analyzing film frame by frame. you see technique (maybe), but no cinema
That is where the art comes into it!
At that time, the exploration of tonal ambiguity through chromatic chord relationships, unresolved dissonance etc, was all very 'hot'. Saint Saens obviously what that air of mystery to his music, and achieved it wonderfully through a VARIETY of devices, harmony being only one of them.
I think that the figuration and orchestration of this music also plays a very important part. I mean, if you play just the piano score on its own, you dont get half the effect.
But as always, I think that if you want to really get under the skin of music, you have to look at the bigger picture. Who was Saint Saens? Who were his influences? What are his other pieces like? What typifies his style at that particular time? etc
Personally, I find it extraordinarily difficult to look at one work of an unfamiliar composer and 'get' it. You need to know how their music came to be, how it compares to the music of their contemparies etc. For instance, the little transition might be very difficult to understand if you were only familiar with Baroque music. But if you had studies a lot of early romantic piano music, there you'd recognise it immediately!
TB