Subject: RE: [LUTE] Re: diatessaron/diapente
To those of you who were discussing this - I had the following reply from
Wilfred which I think clarifies pretty well what he means in the context of
the Bach piece..........
The use of diatessaron and diapente in this context relates to the
structure of the works. The position of the diapente (perfect fifth)
within the octave has connotations for the development and disposition
of music on the fingerboard.
By way of example, 'Twinkle, twinkle little star' outlines a perfect
fifth melodically with the upper note elaborated using what some might
call an upper auxiliary note, whereas other might use the terminology of
Heinrich Schenker and call it a complete neighbour note pattern. In
essence, the opening perfect fifth creates implications for the voice
leading which are fulfilled at the conclusion of the work. In most
tonal music, the position of the diapente within the musical structure
dictates a good deal of the range of the upper voice, and the associated
harmonic progressions.
Taking examples I am sure are known to you, Dowland's 'Awake sweet love'
has the diatessaron above the diapente, which means that the work
requires an upper octave in the vocal part (i.e. note 8, unlike note 5
in the Twinkle example). Campion's 'Never weather beaten sail', by
contrast may begin on note 3, but its apex is akin to that of Twinkle.
In the Campion example the diapente is above the diatessaron. For both
examples the tonic note is the same.
If you consider the opening bars of the Prelude BWV 1006, the note 8 is
clearly present and, in my view, requires a resonance which is greater
than that available on fret n of the first course. If you consider the
well-known passacaglia in D by Weiss, note 8 is very resonant in D Major
and, since BWV 1006a sits well on the 13 course lute in D major, it made
sense to me to use that key rather than the more common F major. Philip
MacLeod Coupe wrote to me and provided his version of the minuets from
BWV 1006 which he had transposed to D major. I have a recollection that
someone in the SLF had done the same.
The disposition of the diapente and diatessaron also governed modal
categories; if the diapente is at the bottom, the mode is authentic, if
it is at the top, the mode is plagal.
There is a fair amount of material on the net about Schenkerian theory,
but this is mainly related to the Austro-Germanic musical culture.
Felix Salzer (Schenker's pupil and nephew to Wittgenstein) had broader
horizons and even analyzed 'What if I never speed' in his Structural
Hearing: Tonal Coherence in Music (New York Dover Edition, 1962). This
kind of analysis is not for everyone (a certain well-known German
Chancellor was none too impressed with Mr Schenker) but it represents
the way I think about music.
I used the terms diapente and diatessaron as I felt they would be more
recognizable to the lute world than terms like Kopfton...................
Monica
Dear friends,
In the Supplement to LUTE NEWS 99 there is a second part of Bach
Suite bwv1006a intabulated by Wilfred Foxe. It is presented here
in
a key of D major, quite unusually. In the Critical Commentary
Wilfred Foxe explains:
"The tonality of the original suite is E major, and this has been
transposed by a major second to D major. The Weiss Sonata 18 in D
Major provides a useful structural example since the work makes
use
of the diatessaron above the diapente for a work with a high
tessitura. In other of Weiss's sonatas with a high tessitura, such
as Le fameaux corsaire -- Sonata 22 in F Major, the diatessaron is
not employed. The fact that the same exists in BWV 1006a is the
principal reason for adopting D major in preference to F major."
I understand what means "diatessaron" and "diapente" in Greek, as
applied to historical music theory, but still I understand nothing
from Wilfred's explanation. Can someone enlighten me on this?
Jurek
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