Studies in post-tonal diatonicism: Amod7 perspective.
Item
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Title
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Studies in post-tonal diatonicism: Amod7 perspective.
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Identifier
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AAI9924847
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identifier
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9924847
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Creator
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Santa, Matthew S.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Joseph N. Straus
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Date
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1999
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Music
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Abstract
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There is a substantial body of music written in the 20th century in which the notes of a diatonic scale predominate, but which often lacks one or more of the other basic requirements necessary to be considered tonal: (1) a centricity around a single tone perceived as tonic; (2) a harmonic organization based on triads and seventh chords; (3) a hierarchical organization of functional harmonies; and (4) a contrapuntal substructure based on the laws of species counterpoint. Such music, by the likes of Barber, Copland, Prokofiev, and Stravinsky, has always posed a problem for music theorists, since neither traditional tonal analysis nor pc-set analysis yields satisfying analytic results. This dissertation argues that the problems inherent in analyzing post-tonal diatonic music can be solved by a careful application of set theory modulo 7, in interaction with the more familiar mod12 set theory. The first chapter outlines a system of mod7 set theory designed specifically for the analysis of post-tonal diatonic music. Chapter 2 then utilizes that system to analyze a range of post-tonal diatonic works in order to demonstrate the system's validity, its flexibility, and its explanatory power. Chapter 3 rigorously examines chordal tone centers in post-tonal diatonic music, an aspect of centricity that has thus far only been discussed in the vaguest of terms. Chapter 4 deals with structural levels in post-tonal diatonic music, presenting an approach that considers both the salience of individual pitches and their place in a work's formal and motivic structure in determining their structural weight. The final chapter explores how diatonic partitionings of the octave interact with pentatonic, whole-tone, octatonic, and chromatic partitionings in much music of the 20th century, and addresses the analytic problems posed by such interactions.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
