Re: Toccata in Dmin


"Jon Slaughter" <Jon_Slaughter@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:11jb5nsdb7jc2b7@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> "Steve Latham" <llatham@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:D0gZe.4114$kH3.3289@xxxxxxxxxxx
>> Jon, I don't have the score, could you write out the notes in text here
>> and I'll try and give some advice if you want it.
>>
>> Steve
>>
>
> I posted the notes earlier. I've looked on two scores and they both agree
> with C# being in the root, as I have written in the earlier post.
>
> Heres a link to a score of it:
>
>
> http://www.free-scores.com/download-***-music.php?pdf=147
>
> Its kind hard to tell exactualy what is going on as there are 6 notes that
> move into 3(with the G sustained)...

Ok, this is keyboard music, not four part vocal or instrumental writing. It
is common in keyboard textures to fluctuate between number of voices. There
are a couple of bach 2-part inventions (maybe all of them) that end on a
chord. But the third (or more) voice didn't juet "rest" for the whole piece.
It's keyboard - it gets special priveleges :-)

But obviously the C# is the leading
> tone. I mean, it looks just like a simple C#dim7 - Dmaj over a D pedal

It is, almost. It' a C# half diminished over a Tonic. (Bn).

And you're wrong about the 6 parts. The C#s and Es resolve to unisions on D,
the B resolves down to A (as any good 7th should), and the G resolves down
to F# as a 4-3 suspension with an elaborated resolution (and a common
Baroque (and I'd wager earlier too) cliche). Of course the F# makes the i a
I and is simply a Picardy idea.

In a sense, the Adagio is a little piece in minor that ends on a Picardy
Third (if you feel you need to justify a Picardy at other than the "real"
end of a work, I don't).

This whole thing is just basically an Appoggiatura chord like those that
ende the Beethoven phrases, but instead of I with a bunch of non chord tones
that look like V, you have here a I with a bunch of non chord tones that
look like vii%7.


but
> it sounds much more than that because if I actually play the thing
> without the suspension then it doesn't sound nearly as good(i.e., the G in
> the C#dim7 chord goes to F#).

You're just used to it sounding this way. But if you like, Bach is tyoing
with you because you at this point still expect it to be d minor, and he
gives you the D, then the A - the two that don't tell you whether it's major
or minor, and holds the F# off until the last possible moment - even
delaying it further with the elaborated suspension (although this
elaboration is so common that by the time you hear the E, most people would
be surprised if it WASN'T the F# - try it and change the F# to F).

>
> Maybe Jeff's interpretation of the ambitugity thing is what makes it sound
> good... I just don't have much experience with abiguity and don't know its
> there or not.

You know Jon, I was going to bring this up in some other conversations. One
way in which composers often "trick" you is like the following: You're in C,
then a new section starts. They'll write every note common to C and Cminor -
C D F G and B, and hold off on Eb and/or Ab to really surprise you. Then
when you hear it, you're like, wait a minute - this means the last 8 notes I
just heard were not really in C, but in Cm!

Steve



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