Some modern harmonic methods in Vietnamese symphonies after 1975
Vũ Tú Cầu
The formation and development of harmonic art in the Western countries has been a long historic and changeable process. Harmonic development has corresponded to the changes in music history in general, because, each period or school incorporates new ideas that cannot be obtained without changes in other parts of musical expression, including harmony.
Western music in the twentieth century presents many trends of composition, the diverse artistic and aesthetic viewpoints.
The language of harmony in the twentieth century was a response to the development of modern composition and the inheritance of ideals bequeathed by previous generations of composers. The harmonies developed by musicians of this period successfully matched the works’ content with the aesthetics of that age.
On the way to building and developing a traditional and modern professional music, Vietnamese musicians have received selectively the quintessences of the music of the world, including the modern harmony methods of the West in the twentieth century.
One of the popular harmony methods in Vietnamese symphonies is the multi-function harmony. The multi-function hamony is used in the instrumental works and passages with tonalities. The multi-function characteristic makes the structure of the chord more complicated. However, it doesn’t change the centre of tonality.
The multi-function form of the chord has existed since the beginning periods of Western classical harmony, for example the finished chord (K64). This chord performs two functions. The bass of this chord belongs to the function of (V) and is increased double. The two rest sounds belong to the tonic functions (I).
In the modern musical period, the multi-function harmony is much more complicated and diverse. It usually creates the levels of harmony that develop independently. For instance, in the concerto Sinh tử luân hồi written by Đỗ Dũng for piano and orchestra, some passages use this method.
Example 1: rhythm 38 – 39, second chapter:
In this example we can see that the passage is at tonality of C-major and the first beat, whereas the piano solo is the chord VII7 and its syncopations belong to the function of (V). The orchestral part (the chordophone) is the second chord that belongs to the function of the subdominant (IV). For the second beat, harmony of the piano and orchestral part is at V7 - I of C-major.
In Concerto Es-dur for the piano of Ca Lê Thuần, we also see the multi-function harmony in the ending of the first passage.
Example 2
For this example, there are three levels of harmony at the tonality of E-flat major. Two levels of harmony at two hands of the piano perform the different functions of harmony. The harmony of the orchestra is sometimes similar to the part of the right hand or the left hand of the piano. The harmony of the orchestra with the tonic has extra the sound of 6 (I+6), which is a combination between the tonic and sixth chord (VI).
Second chapter of the Concerto for the Violin written by Thế Bảo is at the tonality of B-minor. From beat No. 36 to beat No. 40, the musician uses the method of multi-function harmony to raise the new and colorful sonority in this passage.
Example 3
For this example, the musician uses the natural B-minor. In addition to the chords of diatonique, he also uses the subdominant chords. In this example, the symbols of V43/IV and VII43/III are for the fourth and third subdominant chords. However, they do not appear in the subdominant tonic.
For the first three beats, the chords played by the pianist’s right hand are similar to the harmony of the orchestra. At the fourth beat, the orchestra plays what should have been the chord for the piano, while the piano performs a natural seventh chord. Both climb up chromatically, then by F sharp minor, while the left-hand goes down to D-major.
Except for the first chord of the second beat, the piano’s left-hand part acts independently with chords whose functions are completely different from the function of two above parts.
The multi-function harmony creates the diverse and colourful structure of harmony.
The multi-function harmony is also a method of modern harmony that is shown diversely in Vietnamese works.
The multi-function harmony is shown in the structure of works with the appearance of two or more modes that develop rather independently.
The multi-function harmony is formed from the melodies or the group of melodies, or from the different modes that exist independently. The effect of this phenomenon creates the colorful levels of harmony.
An example of the multi-function harmony is the concerto Tuổi trẻ (The youth) of Chu Minh.
Example 4: beats 168 - 172:
The above example shows that the piano’s right-hand parts comprise the reversible seventh chords, which are in parallel with the spread and broken figure of F (Lydien). The bass sounds of the chords are also the sounds at the beginning of each beat that follows the order of F (Lydien) (the major F with the fourth that increases a semitone).
The left-hand part comprises the seventh chords that are presented in the spread and broken figure of the pentatonic mode. The bass of these chords is led according to the sounds of D-sharp (d#-f#-g#-a#-c#).
Two different modes that appear in the sonority of the reversible seventh chords succeed continuously, thus creating the unique passages.
In the work Ngày hội of Đặng Hữu Phúc, we also find the passages with multi-mode harmony. At the score measure No. 20, we see that the woodwinds and the chordophone perform two completely different modes. The former shows the main subject of this work with xon Nam (g-b-c-d-f), while the latter shows the motif of the six-tune mode (e-f#-g#-b-c#-d#). The author builds two harmonies that are different from a chromatic, thus creating the new and strange harmonic color.
In the first passage at score measure No. 12 in Rhapsody Viet Nam of Đỗ Hồng Quân, two oboes perform two solo melodies at two different modes. The first oboe is basically built on La Nam tune (a-c-d-e-g), and the second one is built at the mode of (gb-ab-b-db-eb-f). These two melodies combine at andante to create the lyrical and profound sounds, which are similar to the khèn (a wind instrument) tunes of minorities in Northern mountainous regions.
Example:
In the second chapter of the Concerto for symphony orchestra of Trọng Đài, the musician uses many different pentatonic scales in a performance. Thanks to that, the sonority of harmony is diverse and colorful.
A well developed harmony method in the twentieth century is the multi-level harmony.
In classical harmony, the ostinatos at bass appear and combine with the melody and chords of the above parts, and then develop and do not directly depend on the bass. This is the first model of the multi-level harmony.
The multi-function and multi-mode harmonies show themselves to have multi-level meanings. However, these two forms are bound by the system of harmony function or the system of modes.
The concept of the multi-level harmony in modern music has been expanded much more. Two or more levels of harmony and melodies appear simultaneously, but their structures and development are quite independent. In this development, the binding of the transversal relation at each level plays the main role, and in the structure of each level there is a combination of vertical harmonies.
The collision in the vertical at the particular moments that combines the levels of harmony is accidental and has no rules.
In general, the concept of multi-level harmony is the combination of two or more parts that are independent of the transversal relation and quite independent in the vertical harmonies.
In the book Harmony syllabus, Prof. Dr. Phạm Minh Khang calls the multi-level harmony the simultaneities. He remarks, “the composition techniques based on the simultaneities are very popular in music of musicians in the later half of the twentieth century[1].
The multi-level harmony is quite diverse in the Symphony No. 3 of Nguyễn Văn Nam.
At the score measure No. 48 of the second chapter, the parts of the cor anglais and the cello perform the motif; at high register, the parts of the first and second violins perform a bourdonnance bass, and the piano performs the two-level harmony at two hands with high speed (f).
The right hand is the chord of second simultaneities (f-g-a-h-c), and syncopation.
The left hand is a third chord and extra a second (gb-ab-b-db), and the non-syncopation. This two-level harmony is completely different from structure and the mode as well.
This method lasts and creates an ostinato which contrasts with the above parts.
Example 5
The multi-level method is more complicated in the fourth chapter of this symphony. To analyse the passage from the score measure No. 102, this passage combines many levels of harmony:
- The flute performs a bunch of minor seconds (e-f), and ostinatos on a regular rhythmic figure.
- For célesta and the piano, a reverse simultaneity performed via the arpège method is repeated many times. This simultaneity is a combination of two chords. The right hand plays a chord of the reverse fourth simultaneities: d-e#-g#-a (eb-a-d-g#). The left hand plays a chord of the second simultaneities: gb-ab-b.
- The leitmotif melody is a lullaby in which the part of the mezzo soprano is performed according to the vocalisation. The lyrical motif of the lullaby presents the sonority of Oán tune in Southern Viet Nam and mixes with the timbres of the musical instruments in the symphony orchestra.
- The first violin, the second violin, and the viola are performed via tremolo on the thick harmonies of two simultaneities. The high part is a chord of the fourth simultaneities: f-b-e-a-d. The below part are simultaneities: e#-gb-ab-b.
- The harp, the English horn and the cello are the lowest level that performs E-flat, and thus they play the role of the droning bass.
Each level of harmony of this passage follows a specific rhythmic figure. As a result, the passage shows the colorful sonority.
The multi-level harmony can be seen in the Concerto for the symphony of Trọng Đài, Symphony No. 1 of Đỗ Hồng Quân, A thousand years of moments of Vĩnh Cát.
One of the expressions of the multi-level harmony is also shown in the simultaneities of chords. This is the simultaneous combination of different chords in the various instrumental parts. This phenomenon creates the complicated simultaneities.
In the symphony Returning Điện Biên of Trần Trọng Hùng (the score measure No. 3, beat 24-25), each part of the chordophonic instrument performs a seventh chord at fortississimo (fff).
At two beats of this example, we can see that the seventh chords are presented in the parts as below:
|
|
Beat 1 |
Beat 2 |
|
First violin |
A7 |
H7 |
|
Second violin |
G7 |
A7 |
|
The viola |
F7 |
G7 |
|
The cello |
G7 |
A7 |
-These seventh chords have the different structures:
-The G7 chord is a minor – major seventh chord (the major third chord + the minor seventh).
-The A7 chord is a minor seventh chord (the minor third chord + the minor seventh).
-The F7 chord is a major seventh chord (the major third chord + the major seventh).
-The H7 chord is a diminished seventh chord (the diminished third chord + the diminished seventh).
The combination of different seventh chords in pitches and structures creates the dramatic effects.
In classical harmony, the succession of chords is closely regulated. One of those regulations is to prohibit the parallel of the perfect eighths and the perfect fifths at the pairs of parts. People suppose that this succession will create the “empty” sonority, and the parts then are no longer independent. These regulations changed in the works in the late nineteenth century. However, in the early twentieth century there was a tendency that the eighth and the fifth were succeeded and used in parallel, or the third chord and the seventh chord were used in parallel. This was considered a new and different phenomenon of the modern harmony.
According to A/Prof., Dr. Phạm Phương Hoa, “the usage of parallel chords is popular in many works that are written according to the Impression musical language. It becomes one of the specificities of this harmony language, which serves the purpose of creating the colourful pieces[2]”.
In Vietnamese symphonies, some musicians have received and presented the parallel chords in their works.
In the concerto Youth by Chu Minh, the solo piano performs one passage of the parallel chords.
Example 6: from beat No. 177 to beat No. 180
In this example, harmony in the piano’s right hand comprises the seventh chords (mostly the dominant seventh chord) which are in parallel and raises higher according to the second.
Harmony in the piano’s left hand comprises the parallel third chords.
First chapter of the concerto Cello of Thế Bảo (from beat No. 278) also leads the third chord of the piano’s parts and the chordophonic instruments in parallel.
The symphonic poem Thánh Gióng of Doãn Nho uses the parallel chords, but those are the chords of the reversible fourth simultaneities.
Example 7: from beat No. 311
The parallel leading of chords can be shown in the Concerto for the symphony orc
hestra of Trọng Đài. From beat No. 5 of the score measure No. 7, the first and second violins and the viola perform the parallel fifth chords in the background of the pentatonic mode (the parts of the cello, the double bass and bassoon)
The twelve-tone technique is an important composition method that was initiated by composer A. Schoenberg (1874-1951) and has been popular in Western music since 1920s. The twelve-tone technique is atonal music. This composition method is based on the twelve chromatic notes of the tempered scale. People use twelve chromatic tones to make a series of sounds in a fixed sequence. Those are a base for the development of a part or the whole of the work. The twelve sounds of this series have equal value.
Some Vietnamese musicians have applied the twelve-tone technique in their works. However, the usage of the twelve-tone technique in Vietnamese symphonies is a little different from symphonies of the West, thus matching the modern music perception of the Vietnamese people and the composing intention of each musician.
Some musicians only use the series of twelve chromatic to build the leitmotiv in a period, and they do not develop this series of sounds in other parts of the work.
In the first part, passage C of the Non-subject symphony written bymusician Đàm Linh, the French horn and trumpet perform simultaneously two series of twelve chromatic with different rhythms, the base is glissando.
The series of sounds at the cor (in F)
The series of sounds at the trumpet (in B)
In the concerto for the violin Thăng Long, Đàm Linh builds a motif on a series of twelve chromatic tones in the solo violin to finish the second chapter of this work.
Example 8
Via the twelve-tone technique, musician Vĩnh Cát builds a motif to begin chapter I in the concerto for the violin and orchestra Đây sông Hồng - sông Cái.
The melody is built on the series of twelve chromatic tones.
The harmony of the chordophone and the woodwinds is built via the sounds of this series.
The leitmotif building via a series of chromatic scale can also be seen in the symphony suite Eternal flame of Lê Quang Vũ.
Among the symphonies that we approached, there are two musical works that creatively apply the unique composition methods of the twelve-tone technique: concerto for the violin Phantastic of Phúc Linh and the nocturne Tiếng vọng (Echo) of Đỗ Hồng Quân. Two musicians not only build the leitmotif via twelve chromatic tones but use it many times in their work as well.
In the concerto Phantastic, the leitmotif is built via a series of twelve chromatic tones, which appears four times in the whole work.
The leitmotif appears in the beginning:
Example 9
A series of twelve chromatic:
This lyrical motif is performed by the parts of the first and second violin at pianissimo (pp) and andante cantabile. According to author Phạm Phương Hoa, “musician Phúc Linh builds this series of twelve chromatic tones by the combination of three pentatonic modes including C, A, F# and one more sound[3]”.
The harmony accompaniment for the mediant and bass of the chordophone highlights the slow melodies that descend chromatically and contrast with the ascending main melody.
Three later appearances of this leitmotif are performed by the violin solo. Each repetition is marked by a change in rhythms and registers of the sounds in the chromatic series. It matches the composing principles of dodecaphon seriel, in which the relation of pitches in the sounds of the series is important. Those sounds can be raised in any register or rhythm. The harmonies that appear later can change to lead to the richness of tunes.
The change of the leitmotif appearances in later parts:
Example 10
Second time: Part A (beat 24)
Third time: Part C (beat 71)
Fourth time: Part M (beat 238)
Đỗ Hồng Quân, in his work of Tiếng vọng, applies another composing method of the twelve-tone technique.
Part C - Andantino Soustenuto of this work is developed based on the motif that is built from the series of twelve chromatic tones.
Example 11
This motif appears seven times in the whole passage. However, this motif does not change in pitch or rhythm in the first six appearances. It is performed by the cello and double bass to make a droning bass sound.
Whenever the motif of the twelve-tone technique appears, it is contrapuntal to the diverse melodies. It is performed by the bassoon (second time), the viola and clarinet (third time), the second violin (fourth time), or is the background of the woodwinds and the chordophone (fifth time). This creates the poloyphonic harmony.
For the last appearance, the musician applies the change in the series of twelve chromatic tones, via the inversion (R). This is the way that the last sound of the series moves and and returns to the first sound.
The beginning series of sounds (P)
The inverse series of sounds (R)
For the last appearance, the sounds of the series of twelve chromatic tones appear in turn via different musical instruments of the woodwinds and the brass.
The modern harmony of the West in the twentieth century consists of many schools and styles with diverse methods. Vietnamese composers have received selectively these harmony methods to apply to their works. We, in this article, have introduced some typical harmonic methods developed in the twentieth century that effected directly the symphony composition of Vietnamese composers.
Vietnamese composers, on the way to building professional and scholarly modern Vietnamese instrumental music, have achieved integrating harmonies of the classical and modern periods of the West.
The selective and creative reception of these harmonic methods of Western music is a proof that Vietnamese composers have learned the quintessences of the world’s music. They have found the new and beautiful things of western harmony, and then have used the composing methods in their own writings.
Composers always try not to imitate inflexibly those harmony methods. They only select the valued things, which are suitable to their composing idea.
When approaching the Vietnamese symphonies, we found that some of them are affected by the classical harmony, and some are affected by the modern harmony. There is a common thing that all musicians always try to present the traditional colors and sonorities in harmony.
The combination of Western modern harmony methods with elements in Vietnamese traditional music brings both traditional and contemporary sonorities to the harmony language.
[1] Phạm Minh Khang: Harmony syllabus. The Information Center of the Music Library, Hanoi, 2005, p. 137.
[2] Phạm Phương Hoa: Some typical composition methods in music of the twentieth century. The Music Publisher, 2013, p. 90.
[3] Phạm Phương Hoa: Some typical composition methods in music of the twentieth century. The Music Publisher, 2013, p. 151.