gregg@azure.UUCP (Greg Gadeholt) (05/11/84)
Well Jeff, you inspired me! Now it's pontification time.
Although D may come out the winner if one is forced to pick a key for
"Le Sacre", I think it is more valid to say that is in two keys: Eb and D.
Eb prevails in the first part, and D prevails in the second part. The most
important aspect of this dual tonal scheme, however, is the semitone
relationship that results. As with Strauss's "Zarathustra" (in which case
the keys are quite obviously B and C), the contrast between two keys a semitone
apart is the harmonic generator for the work.
Time for some examples to back up my claim. Please note that this is ALL
from memory; I haven't got a score with me at work.
1. Dance of the Young Girls (or however you want to translate it)
The main feature of this movement is the irregular stomping of an
Eb major-minor 7th(the term "dominant 7th" doesn't cut it here)/Fb major
polychord; there's an obvious semitonal relationship. Since the Eb*
chord is on top, the Eb flavor is the one that predominates. Its funny
how the key signature just happens to have three flats...
2. ???? (Can't remember the name of the next movement! ARG! It's the slow
one with the ponderous parallel fifths in the bass line, etc.)
This section is quite obviously in Eb minor, if my memory doesn't fail me;
otherwise it's in a closely related key. Notice the throbbing seventh
chords in the upper parts, voiced so the seventh is always inverted to
a second.
3. Games of the Rival Tribes.
This movement tends toward the D side of things, I think, with
leanings toward C as well. The semitone is still important,
because the main motive often exploits simultaneous
major/minor thirds/sixths as much as possible. As this movement winds
to a close with at least part of the orchestra trying to emphasize D
(C had been present for a while but starts dying away) the tenor tuben
are blasting in (approximately) Db. Once again, there's tension between
two keys a semitone apart. Also, if we pick D as the predominant key
of the Eb/D tonality the work is in, the key scheme here represents
an inversion of the work's overall key scheme.
4. Dance of the Earth.
This movement starts out more or less in C, but Eb takes over to the
end of the piece. C is always present in the bass, but Eb predominates
as the first part closes.
5. Intro to Part II.
Quite obviously in D. The semitone relationship is also quite obvious
as the woodwinds alternate between c# minor and eb minor triads over the
prevailing d minor harmony.
6. Mysterious Circles of the Young Girls.
This section is predominantly in B; once again there's a key signature to
emphasize the key. There are a couple of interesting relationships here.
First, the relationship between B and the overall D surroundings parallels
the Eb/C relationship present at the end of the first movement. Second,
the semitone again is important as a lot of the harmony uses major and
minor thirds simultaneously in each triad.
7. Glorification of the Chosen One.
This movement is centered around A, the dominant of D. The semitonal
relationship is quite evident in the minor seconds/major sevenths that
"dirty up" the music.
8. Ritual Actions of the Ancestors (or something like that).
As I recall, the root of the ostinato chord is D. The loud sections
as I recall are in G (subdominant of D) with the horn melody on top
in Db (there's that semitone again - Db to D). The middle section
of this movement has some of the most classic functional harmony
of the entire work, although there's a lot of good old 20th Century
frosting on the top.
9. Sacrificial Dance.
Rondo time! The scheme is:
A. Heavy meter trip theme. Key of D. Notice that the basic
harmony is derived from a D7/Eb polychord similar to the
Dance of the Young Girls in the first part, although there
are added notes to "dirty up" the sonority.
B. Ostenato (pseudo)irregular chord with quintuplet motive above.
Key of G (subdominant of D).
A. Key of Db (or C#, leading tone of D).
C. Second subject (can't think of a descriptive phrase right now).
Key of D. Heavy Eb suggestions in the bass line and horn
glissandi (What, me a horn player?) recall the first part's
tonality.
A. Key of A (dominant of D). Resolution to D is saved until the
very end of the piece. Much of this final A section is a
development of the coda motive from the original presentation of
section A. In this context, A minor is set up strongly in the
bass line while the upper-register coda motive is in Bb minor.
Whew. Thanks for bearing with me. I hope I've shown how the Eb/D relationship
is important to "Le Sacre" both in terms of absolute tonalities and in terms
of the use of the resulting semitone relationship as a harmonic generator.
The conventional wisdom about this piece is that the rhythm is everything,
and that melody, harmony, etc. are subservient. Although this is true in
comparison to preceding western music, this viewpoint doesn't do justice
to the harmonic architecture of "Le Sacre".
This analysis should provoke a lot of response, partially because I'm analyzing
from memory, partially because the piece has a lot more to it, and partially
because I could be dead wrong. That's what makes analysis fun. Anyway,
please post responses to the net, because I'm going to a new site this weekend
and any mail will probably get lost.
Greg Gadeholt
Tektronix MDP