Monica,
What specifically about 18th century compositional context makes a 6/4
chord acceptable at the end of a piece? Are there historical sources that
discuss the procedures you mention? As far as I know, all contemporary theory
writers classify the chord as a dissonance in need of resolution, but maybe you
know of an obscure treatise that catalogs the 6/4 as a sonority stable enough
to serve as a final chord. I suspect this is another case of official theory
vs. actual practice.
In your comments, are you describing your preferences as a modern
listener? For the record, my modern ears have no difficulty "believing" an
inverted chord at the end of a work. (They've heard a lot worse!)
Stuart - Very nicely played! What a pity there aren't more pieces in minor
for the guittar since it sounds so atmospherically introspective and plaintive
on the instrument.
Chris
Dr. Christopher Wilke D.M.A.
Lutenist, Guitarist and Composer
www.christopherwilke.com
--------------------------------------------
On Wed, 9/18/13, Monica Hall <[email protected]> wrote:
Subject: [LUTE] Re: G.B. Noferi: Largo c.1775
To: "WALSH STUART" <[email protected]>
Cc: "Lutelist" <[email protected]>
Date: Wednesday, September 18, 2013, 7:52 AM
Ayeee! It ends with a six-four
chord unless my ears deceive me! I believe
that is acceptable as the lowest part remains
stationary. It is even more
acceptable if the lowest part simply moves back and forward
by step which is
why six-four chords in baroque guitar music are not the
problem which the
uninitiated seem to think.
A very nice little piece and nicely played.
Monica
----- Original Message -----
From: "WALSH STUART" <[email protected]>
To: "lutelist Net" <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2013 11:28 PM
Subject: [LUTE] G.B. Noferi: Largo c.1775
> The little wire-strung guitar/guittar of the second
half of the the 18th
> century was almost always tuned to a C major chord. And
almost all of
> the music written (or arranged/adapted) for it is in...
C major.
> Occasionally there will be pieces in C with sections in
C minor and A
> minor. After C major, the second most common key is F
major. Pieces in
> keys other than C or F are rare. And pieces exclusively
in minor keys
> are rarer still.
>
> (The seven-string Russian guitar, tuned to a G major
chord, is quite
> different - with pieces in a range of keys and
many pieces, including
> virtuoso pieces, in minor keys. Perhaps this is
because it has gut
> rather than wire strings.)
>
> But there are very few pieces for the wire-strung
English guitar in
> minor keys. Rudolf Straube, who was harmonically the
most adventurous
> for this instrument, didn't write any pieces in minor
keys in his 1768
> collection (but there are minor key sections within
major key pieces.)
>
> Maybe minor keys don't work well on a wire-strung
instrument tuned to a
> major chord (I think Rob Mackillop has suggested this).
Well here's one
> in D minor by G.B. Noferi. I'm playing this on an
original instrument
> with peg tuning and the fretting of that time - not a
modern instrument
> with ET.
>
> Interestingly, at the end of each section of the piece,
the final chord
> (F major at the the first, D minor at the second)
doesn't have the root
> of the chord. There are no technical difficulties in
playing the lower
> note F or D - but Noferi conspicuously omits
them, leaving the final
> chord as an inversion. (Suggesting his background as a
violinist?)
>
>
>
>
>
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2MukVuk1Os
>
>
> Stuart
>
>
>
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