Ah! The gift of brevity! Wasn't it Pascal who wrote "Sorry this letter is so long - I didn't have time to make it shorter". Bill From: Rob MacKillop <robmackil...@gmail.com> To: Monica Hall <mjlh...@tiscali.co.uk> Cc: Lutelist <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu> Sent: Friday, 4 November 2011, 19:50 Subject: [LUTE] Re: diatessaron/diapente So he put it in D because he thinks it sounds better. Rob www.robmackillop.net On 4 Nov 2011, at 19:14, "Monica Hall" <[1]mjlh...@tiscali.co.uk> wrote: > 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 >> --- >> To get on or off this list see list information at >> [2][2]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >> >> -- >> >> References >> >> 1. mailto:[3]jurek...@gmail.com >> 2. [4]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >> > > > ______________________________________________________________________ > This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System. > For more information please visit [5]http://www.messagelabs.com/email > ______________________________________________________________________ >
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