Harmonic Function in Chromatic Music: A Renewed Dualist Theory and an Account of Its Precedents [Hardcover]

Daniel Harrison (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0226318087 | ISBN-13: 978-0226318080 | Publication Date: May 28, 1994 | Edition: 1

The highly chromatic music of the late 1800s and early 1900s includes some of the best-known works by Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Cesar Franck, and Hugo Wolf. Yet until now, the harmonic complexity of this repertory has resisted the analytic techniques available to music theorists and historians. In this book, Daniel Harrison builds on nineteenth-century music theory to provide an original and illuminating method for analyzing chromatic music.

One of Harrison's central innovations is his reconstruction of the notion of harmony. Harrison understands harmonic power to flow not from chords as such but from the constituents of chords, reckoned for the most part as scale degrees of a key. This insight proves especially useful in analyzing the unusual progressions and key relations that characterize chromatic music.

Complementing the theoretical ideas is a critical history of nineteenth-century German harmonic theory in which Harrison traces the development of Hugo Riemann's ideas on dualism and harmonic function and examines aspects of Riemannian theory in the work of later theorists. Combining theoretical innovations with a sound historical understanding of those innovations, Harmonic Function in Chromatic Music will aid anyone studying this pivotal period of Western music history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book will clearly be of great importance to music theorists and historians alike." - Patrick McCreless, Yale University"

About the Author

Daniel Harrison is the Allen Forte Professor of Music Theory at Yale University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (May 28, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226318087
• ISBN-13: 978-0226318080
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,340,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lively alternative to Schenkerian analysis, December 30, 2008

By 

Stephen D. Kahn (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harmonic Function in Chromatic Music: A Renewed Dualist Theory and an Account of Its Precedents (Hardcover)

This is a brilliant work. Harrison analyzes music from a basis informed by the work of Hugo Riemann. Riemann's ideas went into eclipse during the 20th century (obscured by those of Schenker), but there is an impressive body of scholars who are rediscovering his work. As I have found Schenkerian analysis to be part of the picture, but not all of it, I welcome non-Schenkerian perspectives. Harrison constructs a powerful set of ideas concerning the identities of the various degrees of the scale; when various of these are highlighted by a composer in the course of a piece, different aspects of the tonal space are "lit up". Though this perspective is not unique to Riemann or Harrison, I find (as a practicing musician and composer) Harrison's way of seeing it quite persuasive. He also does not advocate a "one-size-fits-all" approach to analysis, but in Chapter 4 recognizes that different pieces call for different foci. Since Schenkerian work can seem a bit Procrustean at times, I find this a welcome change. This is one of the most exciting works on musical analysis I have ever come across.

5.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not without prerequisites, February 4, 2011

By 

P. Makk "PopcornBubbleRay" (Indiana) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Harmonic Function in Chromatic Music: A Renewed Dualist Theory and an Account of Its Precedents (Paperback)

This is a beautifully clear explanation of many of the concepts of duelist thought. Be sure to read Riemann first in order to really understand Harrison. I personally feel that the duelist concept comes closer to the core of music than Schenker does particularly in the context of late Romantic music, which is the main focus of this book.