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Modal Sensibility in Gabriel Fauré's Harmonic LanguageAuthor(s): Taylor GreerSource: Theory and Practice, Vol. 16 (1991), pp. 127-142
Published by: Music Theory Society of New York StateStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41054249 .
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Modal Sensibilityn
Gabriel
Fauré's
HarmonicLanguage
byTaylor
Greer
of the
greatest
hallenges
n
interpreting
he music of Gabriel Fauré is
accounting
orthe
originality
f his harmonic
anguage.
t is often sserted
that
Fauré's unusualblend
of
tonality
nd
modality
an be attributedo his
education t l'Ecole
Niedermeyer,
ne of the two
principal
music conservatories
n
France
during
he mid-nineteenth
entury.
o
be
sure,
n
his classes he was
exposed
not
only
o Louis
Niedermeyer's
wn modal
accompaniment
or
lainchant
ut lso
to
the harmonic heories f Gottfried
Weber as formulated
y
his
student,
ierre de
Maleden,
and laterwritten own
by
Gustave Lefèvre.1 ew criticshave considered
what
onsequences
hismodal
ensibility,
owever auré
developed
t,
had forhis har-
monic anguage s a whole.2 orexample, hough rançoiseGervaisdevelopsuseful
categories
n her
xhaustive
tudy
f Fauré's
harmonic
ractice,ncluding orrowings
from
regorian
nd
non-Gregorian
odes,
modulatory
ormulas,
nd the
ike,
he fails
to consider owthenumerous
ncipits
hat he solates it nto broader
armonic
on-
text.3
It s
my
ontentionhat linear
onception
f tonal tructures crucial f we are
to
understandherole
modality lays
n
Fauré's
unique
harmonic
tyle.
n
thefollow-
ing
essay
will
showthat
n
threemature
ongs,
Les
Présents,"
La
Rose,"
and "Une
Sainteen son
auréole,"
auré uses
theflatmediant s both
coloristic
onority
nd a
structural
armony.
ince his
experiments
ithmodalcolor
and
chromaticism
n
gen-
eral)
become more
pronounced
n
the
songs
written
uring
he 1880s and
1890s,
the
works o be discussed re drawn rom hisperiod.Yet his modalborrowingsre not
limited o theharmonic
phere;
hey
re also
inextricably
ound
up
with he
develop-
mentof linearmotives.
My
reason
for
considering
armonic
ractice
nd motivic
treatment
ogether
s that n Fauré's modal
sensibility hey
re linked: his
greatest
works
re
distinguished
ess
by
a
revolutionaryarge-scale
esign
or new
species
of
chromatic
armony
han
by
the
way
in
whichhe uses
traditional odal elements o
unify
n
entire
omposition.
n
addition,
n
the ast
ong
will
how hat auré's reatment
127
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128
Theory
nd Practice
Example
: Two
Progressions
sing
lat
Mediant
(a)
(b)
»te.
o
^==s=
==
^S
h
.
if
L
ft
v
.
i
P«»
II
Vol.
XVI
of the
flat
mediant s intimate-
ly
connected
withhis musical
setting
f the ext.
Whenwritingn major
keys,
Fauré,
like
other
igh-
teenth-nd
nineteenth-century
composers,
was fond of
enriching
is harmonic
alette
by borrowing
r
mixing
otes
from the
parallel
Aeolian
mode and
more
rarely
from
the
parallel Phrygian
and
Lydian
modes.
The
object
of this
tudy
s two
ases
of modalmixture
n
which
single
chord
a
major
triad
builton
the flat
mediant
is
placed
in two differentarmonic
contexts,s illustratedytheprogressionsnExample1 Thecrucial uestion s what
harmonic
unction
oes
the middle
hord
n
each
group
have.
By examining
aurés
musicfor
nswers
o that
uestion,
we can
develop
a harmonicexicon
forhis use of
the
flat
mediant.
n theone
hand,
t can be
interpreted
s a means
of
prolonging
he
initial
hord
f
the
progression:
he
onic
t
a)
and
thedominant
t
(b).
According
o
such
n
interpretation,
his hord
s
a coloristic
onority
hich
urely
risesfrom
oice
leading
and
thusnever
ontributes
o a
piece's
fundamental
armonic
tructure.
n
Example
2a the
Al?
hord
esults
rom he
nteraction
f
contrapuntal
ines:
the
oprano
contains
common
one;
the
nner
oices
consist
f a chromatic
nflectionf
3
and
a
chromatic
ower
neighbor;
nd
finally
he
hird
motion
n the
bass
elaborates
he
onic.
Likewise,
he
second
progression
an be
viewed
as a variation
f
a traditional
oice-
leadingpatternetween utervoices:̂ 5-8 substitutingor5-6, as shown nExample
2b and
2c.
Also,
the
oprano rolongs
via
an
upper
neighbor.4
Yet,
on
the other
hand,
n some
of
Fauré
s works he
flat
mediant erves
s a
structural
armony, elping
o
shape
a
composition's
middleground
esign.
Naturally,
the
chord's
harmonic unction
iffers
adically,
epending
n whether
t
follows
he
dominant
r
tonic.
n theformer
ituation,
t
provides
harmonic
upport
or
>3
within
the
oprano's
escent
etween
and
2,
as indicated
n
Example
3a.
The direct
ctaves
Example
2:
Flat Mediant
s Tonic
Prolongation
t
(a)
and
Dominant
rolongation
at
b)
and
c)
(a)
(b)
(c)
a
I
N
N
n
(2*^
IL
^
»
^
IL
o^«
p.
i
p.
y
5
-
6
-
5
p.
y5""8"*5
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Gréer
Modal
Sensibility
n
Fauré
129
Example
: Flat
Mediant s
Middleground armony
(a)
(b)
J 11 j
,ljqg
J
I
7
7
7
[tf
'~"^
7
~
, '
:
3EE^JT-f
r-
*-
^r-
T
"
F:
V
till
V
F:
V
till
V
implied
by
the outer wo
voices'
approach
o
5
in
this
xample
re alleviated
y
the
interpolationf a VI6 chord hown t (b). By contrast, hen heflatmediant ollows
the
onic,
ts
arge-scale
armonic unctions more lusive.Since at the nd of a
piece
Fauré often voids
a traditional
-I
cadence,
other actors
ome into
play
that
help
reinforce losure:
1)
the statement
nd
development
f
melodic motives ssociated
with heflat
mediant,
ften
n
the
bass;
(2)
the
trategic
lacement
f the
till
pro-
gression
t the
opening
nd close of a
piece.
Both factors
will
be illustratedt
greater
length
elow.
"Les Présents"
In
many
f Faurés
songs
he
piano accompaniment
onsists f a
short,
epeating
figure
which
ventually
ecomes
hevehiclefor
ntroducing
ubtleharmonic
hanges.
"Les Présents,"p. 46,no. 1 (1887), his musical ettingf a poem byVilliers e l'Isle
Adam,
provides good example
f this
ype
f
opening.5
he
piano
begins
by repeat-
ing
a two-measurestinato
igure
our
imes,
wice
by
tself
nd twice s
accompani-
ment or he
vocal
line which nters t measure
(see
Example
4).
The ostinato on-
sists of two chords
F
and
At6
which are
presented
n
different
egisters
nd are
closely
ntertwined ith n
eighth-note
elody
lternating
etween
he
pianist's
wo
hands.
Despite
he
parallel
motion
mong
he
upper
hree
oices,
Fauré avoidsfifthsr
octaves
n
the
pair
of chords
y presenting
heflatmediant n
firstnversion. hus the
primary
ifferenceetween he eduction
n
Example
5
and
themodel
n
Example
2a is
that he bass
ascends a fifth
n
place
of the
original
minor hird. n
addition,
auré
Example
: "Les
Présents,"p. 46,
no.
1
mm.
1 4
dolce
WVi 1
[jj
I
I
i
[y>
1
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130
Theory
nd
Practice
Vol.
XVI
Example
5: "Les
Présents,"
Reduction
f
piano
ntroduction,
mm.
-3
F:
I
-
Example
6: "Les
Présents,"
middleground
reading
f
mm. -12
Ä
to
( 3)
to"
/*
fr;
*
hi «*
*
F:
I
occasionally
ndows
he ass
with
strong
elodic
unction,
s
inmeasure
,
wheret
unfoldsshortmotive,b-D-C,which he ingerchoes t measure1 and n retro-
grade
tmeasures
-8.6
The
song's
orm
an be described
s
ternary:
easures
-12,
measures
2-24,
and
measures
4-31.Of
the hree
ections,
he irstnd
hirdre
distinguished
y
the
conspicuous
bsence f
any
tructural
ominant
armony,
s
opposed
o
the econd
that
oncludes
ith
traditional
-I cadence
measures
3-24).
t s
inthese uter
wo
sections
here he hird
motion
etweenonic nd
flatmediant
nd the
bass's
nitial
melodic
motive
lay
hemost
rominent
ole.
In
the
middleground
eduction
f measures
-12
displayed
n
Example
the
third
pan,
b-D-C,
now
ppears
n
different
uise
as
part
f he tructural
oprano.
This ine
begins
nd
nds
n
5,
which t
measure
2 sounds
n
the
iano
ccompani-
ment.he l?2sinitiallyupportedy he iano'sAb6hord ut s laterupercededy
a
V^
of
V at measure
1 This atter
armony
s
striking
n
that
t reflects
he
opra-
no's
rpeggiation
p
to his
oint:
-A-C-Eb.
In
the
hirdection
he
latmediant
inally
akes
ts
ppearance
s a structural
harmony:
he
middleground
eduction
n
Example
strongly
esembles
he
model
n
Example
a. What
s unusual
bout
the
song
is
that t
presents
his
modal-based
onority
n
two
com-
Example
: "Les
Présents,"
iddleground
reading
f
mm.
2-31
pletely
înèrent
ettings:
s
a means
^ ^ ^-^
of
prolonging
he
onic t the
fore-
'^y
(¿9
(27)
^-^
(3y
ground
nd
as a fundamental
ar-
,
^^ p
i
-
monyn tsownright. he use of n£ ^ ^^^J^m ^t .^ Lfi====f
bill
n
the
inal ection
omes
s
no
i
W)
m
"
y'
'*
H*
surprise,
s
it s
implied
r at
east
1*^
^
l
hinted
t from
he
very eginning.
<j
Indeed,
t s this
harmonic
inship
il
between
he
nitial
iano
ostinato
f|^:i
m
i
=^
and
theharmonic
lan
of
thefinal
#^_ ^^H ^i* '?
section
which
ompensates
or he
1 ̂ ^
'
U^ 1
lack of a
final
V-I
cadence
and
helps
bring
he
ong
o a
close. Of
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Gréer
Modal
Sensibility
n
Fauré 131
particular
nterests the
principle
f "motivic
arallelism"
t
work
n
this
ong
through
which chromatic iminutionn
the
accompaniment
orresponds
ith he
ong's
fun-
damentalmelodic ine.7
The third
pan,
?7-5,
lso controls
hemelodic tructure
n
the
final ection uthere t s harmonizedifferently:hebass ascendsbyminor hird nd
then eturns
o via an
El?7
hord,
s
illustratedn
Example
7.
"La Rose"
In
another
ong
from he
ame
period,
La
Rose",
Op.
51,
no.
4
(1889-90),
the
flatmediant
lso
plays
a central
ole. This
harmony
ppears
twice
n
the
song,
as a
brief xtension f a
cadence nearthe
beginning
nd
in the
dense,
middle ection n B
major.
We shall examineboth
nstanceswith
pecial
emphasis
n themotivic
unction
of thebass.
Throughout
he
song
Fauré
creates a trio
among
three
parts,
he
singer,
he
pianist's oprano
ine,
nd
therest f
the
piano
accompaniment,
ach of
whichhas its
own distinct melodic shape and
rhythmic
ontour. he
singer's
alling
lines
in
measures
3, 5, 7, 9,
and
11
complement
he
right
and's ascend-
ing argeggios
n
measures
, 4, 6, 8,
and
10 in
a
quasi-antiphonal
rrange-
ment.
The
piano's
opening
rpeggio
is
reproduced
n
Example
8).
In
addi-
tion,
a
sharp
contrast
n
rhythmic
Example
8:
"La
Rose,"
op.
51,
no.
4,
piano's
opening
rpeggio
■
.
fl - r ff f h
contour xists
between he
pianist's
eft
and nd
the wo
upper
parts:
onstant
napes-
tic
rhythms
n
the
formernd
more
rochaic
hythms
n
the atter
reate
continuous
texturef sixteenthotes.
The
underlying
armonic
lan
of
measures
-12,
lthough
ased on the
descend-
ing
third ass
motion
utlined
n
Example
3b,
contains
everalnew
chromatic
ouches.
At measure
the
V7
proceeds
o a
D'>6 chord
ubstituting
or he
tonic
see
Example
9a).
The
flatmediant
n
measure
ushers n
a
passingharmony,
*
which
hen ontin-
ues on
to the
dominant ne
measure
ater.
n
this
ontext,
ecause the
flatmediant
up-
ports
>3
n
the
oprano's
escent,
t s
part
f
the
fundamental
armonic/melodictruc-
ture
of the
opening
section.
Within
measures
6-9 the bass
also
plays
a
significant
motivic
ole,
tracing
ut a
chromatic
ersion
f the
pianist's
nitial
ising
rpeggio
n
measure
,
as shown
by
the
beam in
Example
9a:
5-l-l>3-5.
This
arpeggiation
s an
elaboration f the
bass's
descending
hird
motion,
-
bill,
slightly
ifferentersion
f
which
ppears
ater n
the
ong.
Like^
he
bass,
the
soprano
lso contains heflat
mediant,
assing
downward
from
to 2.
As the
graph
n
Example
9b
indicates,
>3
s
initially
upported y
a
Dl?6,
which t
measure
is
supplanted
y
an
A'>
harmony.
uriously,
when
viewedfrom
middlground
erspective,
he
opening
ection s
a whole
displays
he same
dialogue
between
inger
nd
accompanist
witnessed
n
the
opening
measures.The
three-staff
format
f
Example
9a
emphasizes
he
antiphonal
haracter
f the
structural
elody:
c^al?1
in
thevoice
and
aM-e1
n
the
ccompaniment.
The
piano's tranquillamente
t
measure
9
signals
moment f
great
ontrast
n
"La
Rose" for
nowhere
lse
in
the
ong
do
abrupt
hanges
n
texture,
egister,
hythm,
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132 Theory
nd
Practice Vol.XVI
Example
a: "La
Rose,"
middlegroundeading
f mm.
1-11
©
©
Qi
/^
/y±
rì*
,/Tpg
/
fr
*
0
w
^ «^ ^ y^
F:
I
V
till
V
Example
b:
© © ©
^r
uv 'lip/3
r
^
77 6' |r 7
F:
I
V
till
V
and
dynamics
ll coincide.
et
his
extremeurface ontrast
onceals
the
nderlying
armonic
ontinuity
which onnects
7
in
measure
8
with hedominant
n measure
4.
Indeed,
he
progression,
-1>III-V,
and the ircuitousass arpeggia-
tions oth
ppear
n measures
-
11,
seen
in
Example
10.
In
this
middleground
raph
he
latmedi-
ant
performs
structural
armonic
function,
upporting
>3
in
the
soprano.
t s as
if,
yrepeating
he ame hord
air
ive imes
measures
8-37),
aure
magnifies
single
momentromhe irstection
nd hen ontinues
ith more
hro-
matic ersion
f he
pening
armonic
rogression.
measures
8-44
lsowitness
wo imultaneous
tatements
f n
arpeggiated
ug-
mented
riad hat
rows
ut f the
peningassage. hey
re solated
n
Example
0
by
brackets.he ugmentedifthpan nthe assdependsnthe hromaticrpeggia-
tion
mentioned
bove,
eginning
ith
l>
n
measure
6
and
ontinuing
hrough
'>
nd
C.
The derivation
f this
pan
from hebass's
third
pan,
C-Ab-C,
is
depicted
n
Example
1
The
descending
inor
ixth
pan
n the
oprano
s no
less
prominent,
connecting
2 at
measure
8 with 1 n measure
0. These
wo
rpeggiated
ugmented
triads
eveal ne
ofFaurés mature
ethodsf
motivic
evelopment:
he
imultaneous
presentation
f wo
rmore inearmotives
n
different
oices.8
n the
ollowingong,
this
echniqueelps ortray
nmusical erms central
mage
n
he
oem's
inal
ines.
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Gréer
Modal
Sensibility
n Fauré
133
Example
10: "La
Rose,"
reduction
f mm.
27-44:
two
arpeggiateciugmented
riads
marked
y
brackets
@ @ ®
i
I
^^^^^^™
'
r
^^^
b#
^
^ -
<fl
8
-
7
|>6
'
6
.^^
5
_
6 7 7
l_
8
-
7
|>6
^
'
I
^6
*
5
M
6 7 7
v
kn
v i
Example
11: Derivation
f "La
Rose,"
mm.
27-43
from
escending
ass motion
y
C27) C43)
(fr
J
J
J
J
lJ
J
J
lJ;
~.
^J
F:
V
till
V
V
till
V
'V
till
V
"Une
Sainteen son
auréole"
La Bonne
Chanson,
Op.
61
(1892-94),
Fauré's
settings
f nine
poems
from aul
Verlaine's
ycle,
reveals
daring
ut
refined
armonic
anguage.
Une Sainteen son
auréole"
hereafter
bbreviateds
"Une
Sainte"),
hefirst
ong
n
the
ycle,
s
a virtual
showcasefor
Fauré's
unique
fusion f
modality
nd
tonality.
he
prolongational
ech-
niques
involving
he flat
mediant
bserved n
"Les
Présents" nd "La
Rose" both
appear tcrucialuncturesnthis ong. n addition,inearmotivesnvolving>òperme-
ate the ntire
work,
erving
ot
only
s the
ong's
structurallimax
but lso as a
musi-
cal
commentary
n the
poem
tself.
Fauré's
treatment
f
modal
mixture lso
highlights
nother
rucial
spect
of La
Bonne
Chanson:
his
sensitivity
o
the
poetry.
Although
ome critics
rgue
that
his
musical
ettings
f
Verlaine
ail to
do
justice
to
the
poet's
aesthetic f
ambiguity
nd
pure
nuance,9
thers
raise
Fauré's
gift
or
apturing
he
distinct mood" of
each
poem
in
the
ycle
with n
"instinctive
usical
perception."10
et this
instinct" or
ortraying
poetry
n
musical
erms s
difficulto
define.On the
one
hand,
Fauré
himself
dmitted
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134
Theory
nd
Practice
Vol.XVI
in
a 1902
interview
hat is aim
was
to "extricate
he
general eeling
f a
poem,
rather
than o concentrate
n itsdetails."1
On the ther
and,
substantial umber
f Fauré's
ninety-seven
élodies
how
profound
wareness f
poetic
details.While
thorough-
going xegesisof his text etting racticewould constitute book-lengthtudy,nthe
remainder
f
this
ssay
will focuson three
spects
of his
setting
f
"Une Sainte":
1)
the
role
that he
flatmediant
lays
n
the
ong's
fundamentalarmonic/melodic
truc-
ture;
2)
the
presentation
nd
development
f
inearmotiveswhich nvolve
?3;
nd
3)
the
expansion
of the
song's prevailing hrase
ength
which,
t two
different
oints,
coincides
with
ne of these
inearmotives.
Let
us
begin
with
synopsis
f the
poem,
the text orwhich s
reproduced
n
Figure
1 The narrator
as
completely
urrendered o
reverie,
ontemplating
hat
thoughts
is
lover's
name wakens
n
his mind:
saint,
horn
all,
or
the
pearlish
ue
of a
young
girl's
blushing
ace. As a
single
xhalation
f sixteen
ines,
he
poem
is a
continuous
itany
f
visual nd
auditory
mages,
wo
per
stanza.The final
wo ines
of
this itany erve s the limaxof thepoemand theaxis aroundwhich verythinglse
turns.
here
is
ample
evidence
n the text o
support
uch an
interpretation.
irst,
Verlaine
ccentuates
hese
ines with
his choice of
punctuation:
he
first
eriod
n
the
poem
occurs
t the
nd of
ine 16.
Second,
the
only
ctive
verbs,
I see"
and
"I
hear,"
appear
n
the
ame ine
where he
narrator
inally
merges
rom is
heretofore
ndless
series
of
free ssociations.
ntil
his
point
hereader
s at a loss as
to whatholds
this
paradise
of sounds
nd
images
together.
ndeed,
they
re united
n that he
narrator's
imagination
s stirred
o
eloquenceby
a
single hought,
is over's
name,
which
ven
n
the
final
ine
he never
ivulges.
he closest
he
comes
s his
description
f ts
regal,
.e.,
"Carlovingian,"
haracter.
Figure
1: "Une Sainte n sonauréole, La BonneChanson, aul Verlaine
Une Sainte
n son
auréole
Une Châtelaine
n sa
tour,
Tout e
que
contient
a
parole
Humaine
e
grâce
t
d'amour;
La note 'or
que
fait
ntendre
Le
cordans
e lointain
es
bois,
Mariée
la
fiertéendre
Des
nobles
Dames
d'autrefois;
Aveccela lecharmensigne
D'un
frais ourire
riomphant
Eclos
dans
des candeurs
e
cygne
Et des
rougers
e
femme-enfant;
Des
aspects
acrés
lancs
t
roses,
Un doux
ccord
atricien.
Je
vois,
'entends
oute es
choses
Dans
son now
Carlovingien.
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136
Theory
nd Practice Vol.
XVI
Fauré's
treatment
f
phrase engths
lso
emphasizes
modal
mixture,
nd their
comparison
s
particularly
ppropriate
n this
ong
because of the
repetitive
ature
f
the
piano
accompaniment,
hich ften
epeats
two- r three-measurestinato.
igure
2 summarizeshesong's phrasegroupings;ach bracket epresents phrase nd the
number
f measures
s indicated
y
an arabic
numeral elow.For
example,
n
the
pen-
ing
thirteen
easures
i.e.,
ending
n thedownbeat
f measure
14)
the
piano's
three-
measure
ccompaniment
igure ppears
four
imes,
he ast
time
engthened
y
one
measure.
Whenviewed
gainst
his
attern
f
regularity,
uch an occasional
rregulari-
ty
has a
strongmpact
n the
istener. his
particular
hrase xpansion
s also
signifi-
cant s
itcoincides
with hebass's
inflected
hird
pan.
As the
ong
unfolds,
auré on-
tinues
o
link
rhythmic
nd
pitch
rganization
y uxtaposing
he
development
f the
third
motive
with he
xpansion
f
phrase
ength.
The
shift
n
phrase
ength
an also be
interpreted
s a musical
referenceo the
poem's
rregular
eter.
erlaine s well
known or
he nexhaustible
ariety
f
metric
schemesnhispoetryalledvers mpair.Une Sainte" s noexception. erethemetric
scheme
consists
of constant
lternation
etween
eight
and nine
syllables per
line
throughout
ll sixteen
ines.13
hough
Fauré
makes
no
attempt
n his
setting
o mirror
this cheme
directly,
is
occasional
expansion
f
phrase engths
erves s a
musical
counterpart
o
Verlaine
s
pattern
f
alternation.14
The
arrival
f the
El?
7
chord
n measure
2 ushers
n
a
new,
more
brooding
sti-
nato
in both
voice and
accompaniment
he
piano's
ostinato
pattern
s
striking
n
account f ts
ow
range
nd ts
polyrhythmic
haracter.
henthevoice enters
t mea-
sure
24,
it contains
rochaic
hythms
gainst
which
he
piano uxtaposes
wo
ines
n
duple
meter,
oth
n
half
notes,
ne
lagging
ehind he
other
y
a
quarter
ote.
These
interlockinguple
patterns
top
every
hreemeasures
t the
change
of
harmony.
he
piano'smoving ine voice spansa diminished ourth, t>-G, n which s nested he
bass's
inflected
hird
motive,
k-Bt-Ak
The
flatmediant
lso
plays prominent
ole
n the econd
stanza's
overallhar-
monic nd
melodic
tructure,
s
shown
n
Example
13. The same
bass
arpeggiation,
5-l_|,3-5
f
already
bserved
n "La
Rose,"
occurs
between
measures
22
and
38,
but
here
tforms
motivic
orrespondence
ith
he
piano's
pentatonic
igure
f the
pening
Example
3:
"Une
Sainte,"
middleground
eading
f
mm.
14-38
(u)
(22)
(38)
iÎ"^Î* M"~r#LJ ~d~i
r--r^^i-+-
j-
Ah
I
V
till
V I
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138
Theory
nd
Practice
Vol.XVI
Example
4: "Une
ainte,"
m.
0-94
67
'ii'h' rij i ,1 i J j i ■ 1} { Ji f
pa-
tri- ci-
en,
Je
vois,
I ___-
-
-
- -
-
-
19
'
73
^1T> J r irrJ r ir i^ff
J'en-
tends tou- tes ces cho- ses
Dans son
ijkj, _ il |j r r j |j.^ _ u_^,
"^j
_
i i
_
'
nom Car- lo-
vin-
gi-
en.
I
P
dolce
¿Vj *m
-
i
-
i
■
i
-
i
-
i
"
i
...a j
r
^r"
=^-
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Gréer
Modal
Sensibility
n Fauré 139
Example
15: "Une
Sainte,"
overlapping
tatements
f four
fragments
f
pentatonic
motive,
mm.
70-80
© ® ®
^ N
é
J
J
'K H
Hf
Vf
f
This
motivic condensation also serves an
important
formal
function.
Considering
he factthatno dominant hord
appears
n
the final
twenty-eight
ea-
sures,
he
ong's
conclusion acks the raditionaladential
losure hat
haracterizeshe
end of stanza I.15
nstead
Fauré relieson motivic
epetition
s much
as
harmony
o
convey
sense of
finality.
Fauré also expandstheprevailing hrase ength rom hree o fourmeasures
one last
time,
buthe
delays
t until
he
piano's
solo
epilogue
measures
85-89).
One
possible explanation
or this
delay
is the conflict
betweenthe
voice's and
piano's
phrase engths hroughout
hefinalmeasures. efore
measure
0,
the
voice and
piano
share he same
phrasegrouping.
etween
measures
0
and
84,
however,
his
unity
s
disrupted,
s the
voice
part
ings
n
two-measure
hrases
n
complete
efiance f the
by-now
amiliar
hree-measurestinato n
the
piano. By
reserving
he
final
phrase
expansion
or he
piano
alone,
Fauréresolves his
onflict f
phrase
ength
n
favor f
thevoice
and,
n
the
process,gives
the
piano
a more
reflective
haracter,
s
if
t
had
been
istening
o thevoice all
along.
The
close
correspondence
etween
music and text n
"Une
Sainte" becomes
clearonly nthefinal pproach o the onic,where hevivid extualmages numerated
over
the
entire
oem
still
inger
n
the
istener'smind
like a "halo" of
memories.
Fauré
creates a
musical
counterpart
o this
"halo"
by
recapitulating
ragments
nd
inflections f the
openingpentatonic
motive
uring
he
final wo
lines of text.
Thus
when he
inger ays
"I
see,
hear
ll these
hings,"
he udience
hears hem
oo.
This
musical halo"
is also
reflected
n
the
repetition
f the
bass's
inflectedhird
span,
which
not
only
helps
naugurate
he
ong
i.e.,
ends stanza
)
but lso
brings
t to
a
conclusion.
n
this
respect
he flat
mediant's
function s a
prolongation
f tonic
serves
large-scale
ormal
unction.
middleground
eduction
f the
entire
iece
is
displayed
n
Example
16.
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Gréer
Modal
Sensibility
n
Fauré
141
Notes
1.
"L'Ecole de
Musique
Classique
Niedermeyer,"
ncyclopédie
de
la
Musique
et
Dictionnaire
u
Conservatoire,
d.
Albert
avignac
(Paris:
Delagrave,
1913-31),
Part2, Vol. 6, 3617-21. See also Lefevre'sTraitéd'harmonie l'usage des cours
de
l'Ecole de
musique
lassique
fondéepar
L.
Niedermeyer
Paris,
Ecole
Niedermeyer,
889).
2. Two
studieswhich
xplore
arious
onsequences
f
Fauré'
exposure
o
theories
f
modality
n
his
compositional
echnique
re
James
Kidd,
"Louis
Niedermeyer's
System
for
Gregorian
Chant
Accompaniment
s a
Compositional
Source for
Gabriel
Fauré,"
Ph.D.
diss.,
University
f
Chicago,
1974),
and
Robin
Tait,
The
Musical
Language
of
Gabriel
Fauré
(New
York:
Garland,
1989).
Neither
uthor,
however,
ocuses
n the inear
spects
f Fauré's
harmonic
ractice.
3.
See "Etude
comparée
des
langages
harmoniques
e
Fauré et
Debussy,"
La Revue
Musicale,
197 ):
272-73.
4. A good illustrationf this ype f dominant rolongationan be found nFauré's
song
Au
Cimetière,
Op.
51,
no.
2,
mm.
10-12.
5. The scores used
in
this
tudy
nclude heHamelle
editions f Deuxième
Recueilde
Vingt
Mélodies,
Troisième ecueil
de
Vingt
Mélodies,
nd the nternational
dition
of La Bonne Chanson,
6. It can be debated
whetherhe hird
pan,
El?-D-C,
s the enor
oice
dropping
elow
the bass or the bass
presenting
ts
own melodic material.
ndeed,
throughout
Fauré's
musicthedistinctionetween
hebass as an
independent
elodic ine and
as a succession f chord oots ecomes
blurred.
7.
This
concept
has
a
long
history
n
Schenkerian
nalytical
tudies,
ncluding
harles
Burkhart's Schenker's 'Motivic
Parallelisms,'"
Journal
of
Music
Theory
22
(1978):
145-75;
John
Rothgeb's
"Thematic Content:
A
Schenkerian
View,"
Aspects ofSchenkerian heory, d. David Beach (New Haven: Yale University
Press,
1983),
39-60;
and
Allen
Cadwallader
Echoes and
Recollections: rahms's
Op.
76,
No.
6,"
Theory
nd Practice
13
1988):
65-78.
8. For a detaileddiscussion
f the
ways
n
which he imultaneous
tatementsf
aug-
mented riads
ortray
econtede l'Isle's
text,
ee
my
dissertation
Tonal Process
in
the
Songs
of GabrielFauré:
Two
Structural
eatures f theWhole-tone
cale,"
(Ph.
D. diss. Yale
University,
987),
94-104.
9. Two studiesuse Verlaine's
poetry
s a means of
comparing
auré's
approach
o
text-setting
ith thatof his
contemporary,
laude
Debussy.
See Laurence M.
Porter
Meaning
n
Music:
Debussy
and Fauré as
Interpreters
f
Verlaine,"
Topic:
A
Journal
f
theLiberal Arts
35
(Fall 1981):
26-37
and Arthur
.
Wenk,
Claude
Debussy
nd thePoets
Berkeley:University
f California
ress,
1976),
22-63.
10. David Cox, "France,"A History f Song,ed. Denis Stevens London:Hutchinson,
1960),
209.
11.
Interview ith ouis
Aguettanteprinted
n
Paris-Comoedia,
March
3, 1954,
106.
12. An
extreme
xample
of this occurs
in
the
song
"Clair de
lune,"
Op.
46,
no.
2,
where he voice
enters
nly
t m.
12
as
if
to
accompany
he
piano's free-standing
menuet.
13.
Of the nine
poems
whichFauré chose from he
original
wenty-one
n
Verlaine's
cycle,
two others
onform o this ame metric cheme: La lune blanche uitdans
les bois"
no.3)
and
"J'allais
par
des chemins
erfides"
no.
4).
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142
Theory nd
Practice
Vol.XVI
14. Fauré
lso
mphasizes
he nflectedhird
pan y lightlyistorting
he
oem's
ine
organization;
e uniteshewords
arole
and
humaine
which
re he astword
n
line
3 and
thefirst ord
n
ine
4,
respectively)
n
a
singlephrase:
musical
enjambementf orts.
15. While t s
certainlyossible
ohear omekind f
El?
hord the
xpected
ontinu-
ation f he adential
^
implied
n
m.
78
when he
iano
ndvoice all
ilent,
lti-
mately
must
eject
uch
reading.
t s a mistakeo
try
nd
xplain
auré's ar-
monic ubtleties
y upplying
he
ery
adence eavoids.
16. Two
examples
re "Clairede
lune,"
Op.
46,
no.
2
and "La
lune
blanche,"
a
Bonne
hanson,
hich
reboth et o
poems
y
Verlaine.
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