Parsimony and Extravagance Cook PDF

Yale University Department of Music
Parsimony and Extravagance Author(s): Robert C. Cook Source: Journal of Music Theory, Vol. 49, No. 1 (Spring, 2005), pp. 109-140 Published by: Duke University Press on behalf of the Yale University Department of Music Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27639392 . Accessed: 01/04/2013 12:33
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PARSIMONY AND EXTRAVAGANCE
Robert C. Cook
Introduction
Among rent music heading, the to cur made and conceptual contributions terminological the "neo-Riemannian" under the work gathered by so thor no other the common entered has parlance
theory perhaps
oughly as "parsimonious voice leading" and its variants. Richard Cohn first used the phrase to describe the ability of the consonant triad to gen erate more of its own kind through (1) the movement of a single pitch class by step while (2) preserving two common tones. In either one or both aspects, this ability has been a compositional desideratum for cen
turies, the two so much aspects a habit are that it is easy?and descriptions warranted?to of the same reciprocal that imagine behavior. Indeed,
though Cohn presented each aspect as a separate property in his first public presentation on the subject, he then gathered them together as the "P relation" (Cohn 1994). They have since remained essentially together
under a single rubric in neo-Riemannian literature.
In this article, Iwant to take the opposite approach and see what con sonant triad relations look like when we understand stepwise voice motion
Journal of Music Theory, 49:1
DOI 10.1215/00222909-2007-003
? 2008 byYale University
109
and
common-tone
retention
to be
strictly
separate voice are
properties.
I wish
to
ask what
common conversely,
relations between
tones, what while
triads are possible when we
insist on two
it can insist and, that
the moving allowing between triads relations
to go where we when possible
each voice move,

parsimony and the
but only by semitone.

second property
I shall call the first property
extravagance.
In the process, Iwish to probe the interpretive and terminological hab its of neo-Riemannian theory and the expression of these habits at the
moment coherence influence when while a musical at the event same tonic. or time The series this of events coherence intuitions of encourages to the resists ascription response are to this moment
of a diatonic
neo-Riemannian
has been to set aside traditional tonal, acoustically

els for triadic and music?those function whose theories?and antecedents to models invoke of scale-step, generated
based interpretive mod

fundamental-bass, variously place succession.1 in their chord
algebraic
transformational
Following the practices of transformational theory, these models are usually generalized to identify possible broader families of musical phe nomena to which the transformations in the model might belong. The impression of unity in a generalized model for triad relations can, how
ever, obscure the differences among the intuitions about chromatic music
that one is attempting to convey in a transformational model.21 wish to can illuminate such differences show that some formal particularization
and encourage Algebraic about thinking of musical models the premises relations of neo-Riemannian and diatonic, tonal, theory. or acoustic
premises are not mutually exclusive in the history of harmonic theory, of course. Nora Engebretsen has shown how one may find implicit alge braic groups in the theories of Moritz Hauptmann and Arthur von Oet tingen, both of whom sought to model diatonic tonal concepts, and the latter of whom worked explicitly from an acoustic perspective (Engebret sen 2002, 101-17, 168-81). By contrast, Engebretsen shows that Carl a Friedrich Weitzmann's work, though presenting fully chromatic view
of tonal space, obscures the algebraic structures of his teacher Haupt
mann
(135-42).3 Hugo Riemann explicitly uses algebra to calculate distances between and thus to illustrate how we might tonics in the Verwandtschaftstabelle conceive of relations between keys (Riemann 1914-15, 19-24). The implicit algebraic features of Riemann's harmonic systems have been well
However, Riemann's identification of tonal functions and
documented.4
transformations of tonal functions with individual triads rather than with connections between triads has been viewed as an impediment to fulfill ing his theories' (algebraic) transformational potential (Lewin 1987, 177; Hyer 1995, 116 and 128). When Riemann posits a tonic, he deforms the
otherwise smooth lattice of the Tonnetz, creating a metaphorical centrip
etal center (Hyer 1995, 127-28).
110
This
referred ter's more
is another way
above. When pull, Hence,
of framing
music the algebraic it is through
the analytical moment

seems to break of algebra triad free relations coherence group
to which
of this cen becomes
chromatic
gravitational apparent.
that neo-Riemannian
theorists seek to capture intuitions of coherence inmusic that is generally agreed not to find accommodation under the roof of a tonal hierarchy as historically constructed, implicitly or explicitly algebraic as various his torical models might be. Voice leading and tonality are deeply and historically intertwined, too. Indeed, Cohn finds antecedents of his P property in the work of seven in the writings of A. B. Marx teenth-century theorist Charles Masson, and Ottokar Hostinsky, and inArnold Schoenberg's "Law of the Shortest
Way" tion des (Gesetz and stepwise n?chsten voice Weges), are motion under features which of common-tone tonal coherence preserva and good
diatonic part-writing (Cohn 1997, 62).5 Still, aside from the interpretive utility of separating parsimony from extravagance, as I shall show, there is some historical precedent for distinguishing between these voice leading properties. Schoenberg's Law of the Shortest Way rehearses the familiar heuristic that one should move a voice from chord to chord only if necessary, and then by step if possible (he says he is recalling the teaching of Anton
on But he goes Bruckner). monic bond" (harmonisches to refer Band), to common marking tones as common-tone a "har forming connections
as having tonal meaning
beyond
simply good syntax (Schoenberg

of
1966,
com (Haupt
classifies triad successions 41-42). by the number Hauptmann mon tones to chord that change "harmonic from chord meaning"
mann
1893, 45-46). Disjunct triads must be "mediated" by chords of opposite mode with which the two disjunct triads share tones (46-48).6 Stepwise voice leading is important toMarx, of course, given his melodic orientation, but common tones between diatonic triads?and the implied
common tones between the scales of which the triads themselves are
tonics?are modulations
Broadly
bearers of tonal coherence, both within a single key and in to other keys (Engebretsen 2002,68-79; Kopp 2002,45-51).
we can consider the privileging of common-tone rela
speaking,
tions to be a special case of thinking about tones as belonging with or to other tones in general, which leads ultimately to the ways tones belong
to the overtone In contrast series of a given fundamental. retention, stepwise voice leading has been to common-tone
understood to provide coherence tonal intuitions. As Engebretsen

diatonic and chromatic successions
that draws little or not at all on diatonic and Kopp show, Marx explained both
lacking common tones as acceptable
when smooth voice leading made the connection (Engebretsen 2002,74 79; Kopp 2002, 48-51). Cohn shows how Weitzmann first finds each augmented triad in the conjunction of nebenverwandten Akkorde,1 and
111
(a)
(b)
mm. 90-93
94-97
98-99
100-101
102
Example
1. Franck, Piano Quintet

mm. 90-102
in F minor, first movement,
112
then
produces
his reconfigures six consonant
presentation triads by
to "single
show
how
each
augmented and
triad six
semitonal
displacement"
other consonant triads by "double semitonal displacement," thus imply ing "that the augmented triads bear conceptual priority, with the Kl?nge [consonant triads] receding into secondary status" (Cohn 2000, 92-94).
In sum, the various theories formalize wise, there reason to distinguish there is good between, or algebraic structures?implicit explicit?of uses neo-Riemannian and, on the other hand, ways is good of interpreting reason to distinguish and intuitions about between on the one hand, diatonic harmonic
chromatic
to of group algebra music. Like retention, as an aspect
common-tone
which
tonic
as an aspect of voice-leading
tonal relatedness, stepwise tonal
practice
voice
supports intuitions of dia

which of
motion,
the same practice

be separate from
supports intuitions of fluency

diatonic relatedness.
and coherence
that may
I. One Extravagant
Sequence
and One Parsimonious
Sequence
Two passages from the first movement of the Piano Quintet in F minor by C?sar Franck, both of which move sequentially by minor third but to different effects, suggest different transformational models. Example la is the score of the later passage (mm. 90-102), which I treat first because it serves as the lens through which I see the distinctions between parsi
mony earlier This and extravagance as a and interpret their effects. It was not until I
thought of this later passage

passage passage
as "extravagant"
that I began
consists
to hear the
of a root
"parsimonious" complement. is a sequence in which each iteration
position major triad elaborated in neighboring fashion by its own bVlK Cohn's "hexatonic pole" (1996, 19).8 Each successive iteration sounds a minor third higher than the preceding, but this transposition is not articu lated directly, moving from the major triad of one iteration to the next.
Instead, seventh chords mediate the major triads?a half-diminished sev
enth followed by a dominant seventh inmm. 93 and 97, and a dominant seventh inmm. 99 and 101, where the sequential unit is abbreviated from
four bars to two. triads tone. of One the might tone. One voice where same mode with roots a minor Franck at Now, third any two consonant share a common apart chords of obscure
reasonably notices moves, the
expect instead and
least to make use of this link if not emphasize

seventh agance motion the common the voice every leading. Nearly even into m. semitone, 102,
it. Instead, the mediating

the extrav every nearly breaks. (I sequence
is by
find that the change of register and texture inm. 98 does not disturb my sense of the voice leading.) Example lb sketches what I hear in four voices. Imark those motions
that are not by semitone with asterisks. In each case, the motion is by
113
(a)
J^
WTf ^^m ^s v-% nh> Trn

^#
Vln II8-* Vln I;
-j^
a hyî
i?ip,jp",.t m^
il
?*^
Jf,
Jf
?^^ ?
J"?j..bfl
J"?j
ta
g^gpp
î^>
tffi i?! M
ta wV
Vln I;others8* and 15"*
?H=
W^g^^M
Hi>5
"h-? h^;
Example
2. Franck, Piano Quintet

mm. 26-37
in F minor,
first movement,
114
tone in the tenor and reaches between themajor triad of a four-bar seventh chords. (Abbrevia sequential unit and the first of the mediating tion of the sequential unit inmm. 98-101 leaves only motion by semitone in the upper voices and by minor third in the bass.) The motion creates a subtle la-ti-do passing through the minor third from the root of one major triad to another. Imark this minor third with brackets in the tenor, and also in the bass, where it comes through in the lowest register. Just before this passage, there is a clear modulation to Dt major (mm. 80-88), encouraging one to interpret the first iteration of the sequence in relation to the global F-minor tonic. This interpretation soon fades in rele whole
vance, sitions The however, between earlier leaving only each iteration. passage, Example the effects of voice leading the only and the transpo
2a,
contains
use
of
hexatonic
poles in the piece before the extravagant sequence. The poles, A minor and Dt major, do not sound until mm. 34-37, however; before that, the voice leading of Example 2a is as parsimonious as the voice leading of the other is extravagant. I sketch out my interpretation in Example 2b. The major triad anchoring each of the first two sequential units has two
common tones with its elaborating minor triad.9 Furthermore, the single
common-tone effect of the minor-third transposition is obscured by the pair of common tones between the elaborative minor triad of the first iteration and its parallel major triad in the second iteration. In this con text, I find the sudden intrusion of voice-leading extravagance between Dt?major and A minor tremendously jarring. This passage is shorter than the other, and I find a place for itmore easily in an F-minor tonal context. In mm. 19-25, just before Example 2a opens, El? major has been V of Al? minor (which in turn is III^ of F minor) and is tonicized inmm. 25-26. Past the point at which Example 2a ends, D\? major becomes VI of F minor. Despite the tonal clarity of la, there are several similarities Example 2a in relation to Example between the passages, and it is these that draw me to juxtapose the two
sequences analytically:
(1) Until
I hear the complete, eight-bar second theme later in the piece (mm. 124-31), these sequences are the only two places I hear the
sound of hexatonic poles.
characteristic
(2) In both cases, the interval of sequential motion to the next is by minor third. The parsimonious
by minor third; the extravagant passage ascends.
from one iteration passage descends
(3) The structural major triad in the sequential unit of each passage in supports its fifth in the top voice. This support is prolonged each passage by an upper neighbor tone harmonized by theminor
triad.
(4) The elaborating minor
triad in the sequential unit of each passage
115
is a submediant
to
the major
triad.
In the parsimonious
passage,
this is a locally diatonic VI; in the extravagant passage, as I noted above, the submediant harmony is bVlk (5) The sequences have similar formal roles. The parsimonious pas sage precedes what eventually shows itself to be a long elaboration in F minor (mm. 38-51), leading to the first theme of of VI-V7-I
the movement. The extravagant passage precedes an approach to
an elaborated dominant pedal inAb major

of the second theme.
(mm. 115-21),
the key
In sum, many of the same things happen in each sequence, but to dif ferent cumulative effects. The first sequence (mm. 26-37; Example 2a)
stresses a diatonic relation?relative major and minor?and a chromatic
relationship easily integrated into diatonic interpretation?parallel major and minor. The second sequence (mm. 90-102; Example la) stresses chromatic relationships; the hexatonic poles are difficult to interpret ton
ally, as are the seventh-chord mediations between sequential iterations. I
attribute the different effects of the two passages

parsimonious extravagant voice voice leading leading of of the the later earlier sequence.
to voice leading?to
in contrast to
the
the
sequence
II. Formal Aspects
of the Parsimonious
and Extravagant
Groups
I define parsimonious relations to be those that retain two common tones when moving between triads. The motion of the third voice is unre
stricted; another move as many or it may steps by consonant triad. As it happens, there as a reference. as necessary leaps are three such only the members to reach relations
possible,
given of the
and the three are familiar. Example

Example
3 shows the possibilities

of the
Db major chromatic
3a preserves a note that will
major third Db-F while triad. Example

third voice moves,
allowing
the third voice tomove

make
through the rest

a consonant
collection
seeking
3b preserves
and Example
the members
3c preserves
of theminor
the members
third F-Ab as the

of the perfect
fifth Db-Ab as the third voice moves. The three relations shown in Exam ple 3 are identical to the neo-Riemannian R, L, and P, respectively. I define extravagant relations to be those in which each of the three
triadic tones voices are moves permitted.10 semitone by are also There and three no semitone; only by such relations possible. common Exam
ple 4 shows them, again using Db major as a reference. In Example 4a, the top voice, Ab, ascends toA4, while the lower two voices descend from the major third Db-F to the major third C-E. Db major and A minor are, of course, hexatonic poles; hence I label the relation H (Cook 1994). The
extravagant remaining and 4c, respectively. relations are Tj and Tn as shown in Examples 4b
116
(a)
(b)
?h
(c)
\.
\>- \* u
b' ^^
y?
Example
**-9?
b? u
\*
3. Parsimonious
relations
between
consonant
triads
(a)
(b)
(c)
3g
H"U tt^f
relations between
??
consonant triads
Example
4. Extravagant
The different notations of the parsimonious and extravagant relations in Examples 3 and 4 reflect my intuitions about the two types of relation and their effects in the Franck passages. On one hand, the notation in
Example 3 expresses the sense of near-identity between parsimoniously
related triads, a sense that aids the loosely tonal interpretation of the par simonious sequence inExample 2. The common tones are literally held in common by the pianist's right hand. Example 3 shows them the same way
and tests them against all possible third tones, searching for another con
sonant triad. Example 3 implies a claim like, "This new triad is as much the same as the first triad as possible."11 Example 3 illustrates a lack of
117
(a)
etc. ... <-,9,3> Elr ^-G\,+ <-,4,8> ^-Bb<-,9,3> -<-D?+<-,4,8> F<-,9,3> A^<-,4,8> Cetc. ...
-,0,0> ?
... etc. D+ -+-Gk <-,4,8> -+-A+ <-,9,3>
<-,0,0> -<-Dk<-,4,8> <-,9,3> E+
<-,0,0> Ak<-,4,8> <-,9,3> B+ ... etc.
Bt ' Gb+
D[,+ Ahs
N' B+ M"
E+
A+ nnxD+ B
Dk
E+ A],B+
G>-
C,'
V
EH
Ek
G+
E
~ Gt+
B\,B\,+
D, C+
A+ F+
Gk D+ BG+ E D BH E^+ C+ CAb+ A
D^+ D
F+
(b)
<+,l,l> D>+ ?^D+? etc. ?Ê+?*-?+?*E;^+ ?^0+? G \,+ A^ ? A^-? Bk+ ?*-B+ ?*-C+
-H?!
Figure
Bt-
B-
1
groups
C?
? ?
D\,acting on
D-
Eb
M
triads
G?
I M
Ab
1. Product networks of the (a) parsimonious

the consonant
and (b) extravagant
118
concern for how exactly

sible notes it may
the third voice moves

the two sustained
by showing all of the pos

notes.
try against
The notation in Example 4, on the other hand, transmits an impression of pervasive motion constrained by set-class. I do not include all possible
sonorities created by semitonal movement of all voices because, unlike
in Example 3, here I am not interested in judging the interaction of some or part of the Dt? major triad with other tones. I am concerned only with the motion between two triads. Example 4 does not implicitly claim some sort of hierarchical, tonal relation between two triads as in Example 3. Instead, it states, "When Imove like this, the type of sonority [set-class]
is consistent." Examples salient formal 3 and 4 may two not reflect the most concise repre
sentations of voice
capturing Distinct
leading between
of the of
triads, but they do a good job of

sequences. and extravagant transforma
aspects models
parsimonious
tions would seem ideal support for the intuitions depicted in Examples 3 and 4 and for the interpretations offered above. Indeed, the two families of transformations do belong to different algebraic groups. One may rea sonably ask, however, whether the formal differences themselves have any musical relevance. To show that they do, Iwant to set the distinction
drawn between parsimonious and extravagant transformations in relief by
detaching
them The
them from their heuristic mnemonic

to the ways extravagant
labels and instead naming

triads. are of the sort
consistently
according and parsimonious
they transform transformations
Julian Hook calls uniform triadic transformations, or UTTs (Hook 2002). A UTT is named by an ordered triple (?,t+, r), where + indicates mode
preservation, transposition nomenclature monic labels, when indicates acting mode on a reversal, major t+ indicates triad, and the root-interval the root t~ indicates
interval transposition when acting on aminor triad (63-64). Where Hook's

sacrifices it offers salient the intuitively an orderly, analytically connotations transparent of diverse means of mne repre
senting transformations and of grasping their algebraic properties. as UTTs, are (-, 0, 0) (or P), The parsimonious transformations, = 0; (-, 9, 3) (or R), and (-, 4, 8) (or L). For each transformation, t++ r
that is, each of the parsimonious transformations transposes major triads
triads by complementary root-intervals mod 12 (Hook 2002, 74-75). Any combination of parsimonious UTTs will do likewise.12 Fig and minor
ure la illustrates this non-commutative behavior.13 The figure depicts two
cycles alternating parsimonious UTTs (-, 4, 8) with (-, 9, 3) (or L alter nating with R). The inner cycle matches D\? minor with its (-, 0, 0) (or P) sibling Dl? major. In both cycles, clockwise is "up" and counterclockwise from the is "down." Synchronized motion through the cycles?starting
same pair of triads?in the same direction uses opposite alternations of
transformations.
directions uses
Synchronized
the same
motion
of
through the cycles

transformations.
in opposite
alternation
119
The
extravagant
transformations,
as UTTs,
are
(-,
8,
4),
or H;
(+, 1, 1), or T?; and (+, 11, 11), orTn. Figure lb illustrates the commuta tive behavior of extravagant UTTs. No matter the order of UTTs with which one moves through the network, (-, 8, 4) followed by (+, 1, 1) or (+,1,1) followed by <-, 8, 4) (H followed by Tt or T, followed by H), the
result of the motion will be the same. Furthermore, one may substitute
is, any other T??for any UTT of the form (+, n, n)?that (+, 1, 1) in Figure lb and its form would remain substantially the same.14
Both groups, the parsimonious UTTs and the extravagant UTTs, are
simply transitive; that is, for any two triads, there is one and only one UTT in either group that relates the two triads. Simple transitivity is useful for
musical interpretation: one need not choose among transformations to
model a given relation between two triads. ("Useful" need not imply "without interpretive cost," as will be suggested below.) But that is where
the similarities Hook's stitute end. The parsimonious UTTs non-commutative Riemannian and their combinations T^, the con group twenty-four
UTTs of the form (?, t, r1). The extravagant UTTs and their combina tions constitute a commutative group of the sort generated by (+,1,1 ), or
Tb and The nected vations a mode-reversing non-commutative the preservation above, UTT, in this of case behavior of with the 8, 4), or H.15 UTTs is con parsimonious tones the obser and, following (-, Example 5a illustrates.
with
common tonal
discussed
relations.
Imagine the bar line in the middle of the example as a mirror reflecting parsimonious motion from a Db major triad in the top staff and from a Db minor triad on the bottom staff. The labels "M3" and "m3" refer to the
intervals spanned by common tones shared by adjacent triads. Preserve
the minor
Ab-C
third F-Ab
in the Db major
triad and switch the major
third to
and one moves above, to F minor. direction Next,
to the right or "up" in the sharp or dominant the major third Ab-C, and one con preserve
tinues the ascent. Preserve themajor third Db-F in the Db major triad and switch the minor third to Db-Bb below, however, and one moves to the left or "down" in the flat or subdominant direction. The progressions are
reversed when starting of non-tonal 5b illustrates. from a minor triad.
By contrast,
reminiscent sion.16 Example
the commutative
behavior
and
of the extravagant UTTs

a single of transformations, contextual inver
is
the
transposition No matter
the order
results and the overall registral direction of the motion are the same. The example implies no connection with tonal relations (though such connec tions could be established by other means in a given composition).
It is true that (-, 8, 4), or H, is "Riemannian" in Hook's sense and
therefore a member of the parsimonious group (it is equivalent to both PLP and LPL). Algebraically, PLP and LPL are no more complex than P,
L, or R. That is, the names are compound but the members of the alge
120
(a)
<-,4,8> <-,9,3> <-,9,3> <-,4,8>
f
^ m3 it M3 m3
f?f M3
<-,4,8>
^f
<-,4,8>
I:
<-,9,3> <-,9,3>
(b)
<-,8,4> <+,l,l> <-,8,4> <+,l,l>
kifc
<-,8,4> <+,!,!>
?
<-,8,4> <+,!,!>
Example
5. Parsimonious
and extravagant UTTs beginning and minor triads
on D\? major
braic group are simple elements, differing only in the ways they act on a set of objects (in this case, consonant triads). But because the concern here is with the path from my interpretation of themusic to the construc tion of appropriately evocative transformation groups, I imagine PLP and in the LPL to be some distance from the center of comprehensibility
parsimonious comprehensibility parsimonious center to be the very H I imagine Conversely, It is not true, however, realm.17 in the extravagant are members of the extravagant transformations group. realm. of that For
to B\? minor and Bl? example, the parsimonious UTT taking Dl? major minor toDl?major is (-, 9, 3), or R, but the extravagant UTT in the former case is (-, 8, 4)(+, 1, 1) = <-, 9, 5), or HTb and in the latter case, (-, 8, 4) = (+, 11, 11) (-, 7, 3), or HTn. Though the parsimonious and extravagant groups overlap at (-, 8, 4), or H, they represent substantially different
conceptions of the metaphorical space occupied by consonant triads.18
121
Parallel or divergent
formational analyses.19
interpretations
Transformational
are not usually

studies move,
the goal of trans

broadly speak
ing, through three stages of engagement

the analyst (1) As as articulative listens, of the certain experience. or events.
with a composition:
gestures?emerge some transformation
events?motives, She names
T (or a few such transformations)

ticularly salient event
that depicts themotion
of a par
(2) The analyst constructs a formal model of the family of transforma tions to which riogically belongs. "If Tis a transformation in this model, then T' must also be a transformation in this model," the analyst might say. (3) The analyst generalizes
possible. By "generalize"
the model
to the greatest pertinent extent

sense, I mean pur
in the mathematical
suing algebraic aspects of the model in order to identify possible broader families of musical phenomena to which the transforma tions in the model might belong. By "generalize" in a more colloquial sense, I mean seeking to understand the model as a space, or what David Lewin would call a "paradigm metaphorical that [is] only sometimes fulfilled in any given piece" (1982-83, 335-36). Situating the piece and its transformational paths in that space enriches and critiques both the interpretation of the piece and the suitability of the initial interpretive choices. This critical moment creates a cyclic path back to the first stage of
engagement.20
Figure 2a illustrates the process I have described, especially its circular path and the gathering of intuitional strands, as they emerge out of the
musical experience, into a small family of canonical transformations. This
gathering is a selective activity because,

excludes group,
in doing it, the analyst necessarily

The closure practice, of an algebraic and for explicitly
some of musical experience. portions a construct to transformational central
mally
defines both this exclusion

the music "exclusion
and the characteristics

moves. from the model,"
of the space or
not exclu
which "paradigm" through Imean By "exclusion"
certainly
sion from engagement with themusic. Under a given model, the excluded objects and relations may be of as much interest as those included. Indeed, much music, especially chromatic music of the late nineteenth century, sounds rich inmultiple, oddly complementary or mutually contradictory
relations that can motivate multiple complementary or contradictory mod
els. As Lewin puts it, "[W]e should generally want our analysis to convey the characteristic multiplicity of the perceptions involved and the charac
teristic incompatibility of their assertion in-the-same-place at-the-same
time. The rhythm of the dialectic thus engaged will be a significant aspect of our rhythmic response to the music" (1986, 371).
122
(a)
Canonical transformations
Generalized space
Formalization
(b)
Canonical transformations I
Canonical transformations II
Intuitions
Formalization
I & II, Generalizations separate or interacting
Formalization
II
Figure 2. Illustrations of transformational
practices
In that spirit, the approach in this article follows the paths illustrated by Figure 2b, dispersing rather than gathering the intuitional strands into a pair of canonical families, each of which collects different interpretations of salient relations, of "characteristic gestures" (Lewin 1987, 159). What follows will accent the critical moment of the third stage of transforma tional engagement, where two interpretive paths meet, and use it to pick apart the common thread of triad relations in neo-Riemannian thinking.
123
III. Transformational
Let us now take a second look at the
Interpretations
sequences, but from a transforma
tional perspective. Example 6 reproduces the sketches from Examples lb and 2b. I have added arrows and labels for the transformations. Example 6a is a sketch of the earlier, parsimonious sequence, and Example 6b is a sketch of the later, extravagant sequence. Each is labeled with transforma
tions from the appropriate group. I mean for these figures to serve as
guides to the transformational networks at which we shall look below. Figures 3a and 3b give network interpretations of each passage. Figure
3a conveys a sense of the parsimonious connection between the two itera
tions of the sequence through the vertical arrangement of the parallels C minor and C major (as if they have some phenomenological identity). One effect of this interpretive arrangement is to suggest that the relationship between Eb major and C major is not simply a transpositional one, but one that also entails the tonal relationship between Eb major and its submedi ant C minor, which in turn is parsimoniously inflected by the parallel move to C major. The "long way" around the right triangle formed by the
(b)
mm. 90-93
Example 6. Interpretations of Franck, Piano Quintet in F minor, mm. 26-37 and 90-102, labeled with (a) parsimonious and (b) extravagant transformations
124
(a)
D^+
LPL/ PLP
H
A-
H
C-
H
El,-
H
Gk
Figure 3. Networks
triad terms vertices of the an that
interpreting Examples
not
6a and 6b
an seen the
conjures two edges
of the edge image are taken. Figure
taken,
image
in
3a also
emphasizes
stark
contrast of the disrupted third iteration by depicting the relation between A minor and Db major as a sudden, far-reaching PLP gesture. In contrast, Figure 3b transmits the impression that the toggling H pairs
of each iteration interdependence the parsimonious in the extravagant sequence in of the transformations of carry none the parsimonious the relational sequence.
There are no diagonal paths to illustrate the sort of relationship heard in

sequence.
Now, if one imagines the latent transpositions by minor third in Figure 3a, then one might just as easily imagine a shearing of the network to cre
125
(a)
T9
(b)
T9
A T3
Figure 4. Reshaped
C T3
networks
Gk T3
6a and 6b interpreting Examples
ate Figure 4a. (For clarity, I have temporarily disconnected the PLP arrow; itwill reappear below with a new name.) This rendition of my interpreta tion of the parsimonious sequence is less representative of my listening experience. The parallel relationship between C minor and C major, which is important for Figure 3a, is questioned because it renders the network
malformed.21 son with the arrangement of Figure 4a facilitates However, compari the extravagant sequence. as a product each network combin 4b and 4c render sequence Figures or more vertical Rs in the first ing two transformations?parsimonious Hs in the second?with horizontal If one case, T3s or T9s. extravagant
were to add an H theA-minor triad could belong to a to produce Figure Figure 5 a is a

sequences tracing
arrow (equivalent to PLP and LPL) descending from in Figure 4a to a Db-major triad, then the two networks single larger product network. I have done exactly this 5 a. space in which I imagine the two larger metaphorical
parallel paths that weave or T9 among by T3 the conso
126
nant triads. I have isolated each relevant portion of the larger network in Figures 5b and 5c. I described above how we may hear the two sequences as similar. But in order to transmit this sense of similarity through trans formational networks, I have had to deform and abbreviate the network for the parsimonious sequence (compare Figure 3a with Figure 5b). This of the reshaping draws attention away from my tonal impressions way I hear C minor and A minor in terms of their Eb-major passage?the the way I then hear C and C-major relatives (the R transformations), as C P inflected minor and the way I hear (the transformation), by major the overall motion of the passage articulating a progression from Ab minor to F minor (fflb-I) through the agencies of Ab minor's dominant and F minor's submediant. Accommodating similarities between the two
passages requires removing the P arrow and trading some of the parsimo
nious
with
sequence's
the extravagant
individual character for a way

sequence.
to show its interaction
Fjt+
E+
(c)
Gk H
E|r
E+
Cfrf
B^+
G+
Figure 5. Product networks including portions Examples 6a and 6b
interpreting
127
IV. Utter Extravagance

The nious The less extravagant one, interpretation not because the uses in the extravagant rather than that to overshadow the parsimo is better. extravagant interpretation model accommodation of encourages has the reverse. no The reference extravagant to tonal model intuitions. is come
though of generality extravagant
the
generalized classes in the
sense
it makes
Indeed, itmodels
the behavior of consonant

equal-tempered
triads as collections
system, rather than as
of pitch
sonori
twelve-note
ties having potential tonal references. I can demonstrate the extent to which this epistemological shift takes place by reformulating and gener
alizing the concept of voice-leading extravagance to account not just for
triads but for the seventh chords Franck uses in the extravagant sequence and, indeed, for voice leading between any sonority that is a minimal perturbation of an equal division of the octave. First, another look at Example la is in order. As noted in part I, the
major mediated triads by that anchor each iteration in m. 93, of bts. the 3-4, seventh chords: extravagant and m. 97, sequence bts. 3-4, are by a
consonant
half-diminished seventh chord and a dominant seventh chord (spelled as an augmented sixth chord), and in m. 99, bt. 4, and m. 101, bt. 4, by
dominant seventh chords alone. Cohn notes that these members of set
class [0, 2, 5, 8] are "minimal perturbations of a symmetrical division of the octave," namely, the fully diminished seventh chord (1996, 39 n. 40). The consonant triads (set-class [0, 3, 7]) are also minimal perturbations
of a symmetrical division of the octave, namely, the augmented are. We for these triad.
These mediating
motion, be able chords
seventh chords are related entirely by semitonal voice

should seventh
as the triads in the passage just hexatonic-polar to generalize the extravagant to account group as well as the consonant triads.
Imagine that there is some passage of music in which the composer has perturbed an augmented triad such that first one note moves down by
a semitone and returns to its original position, then the same note moves
up by a semitone and returns to its original position. Next, the second note in the triad follows the same routine. Finally, the third note in the
triad does the same. We can name a function m to model the motions in
this passage. The result of m is a set of six consonant triads. Table 1 shows the four possibilities.22 The definition of m has to do with augmented triads only because we imagined it acting on them. In principle, what m does has to do only with equal divisions of the octave, not with any properties, cardinality or oth erwise, of equal divisions themselves. We could apply m to fully dimin ished seventh chords; Table 2 shows the three sets that result from doing so.23 In principle, we could apply m to whole-tone collections, yielding Mystic chords; or to tritones, yielding perfect fourths and fifths.24
128
Table Function m(
1. Set m for each Result )
augmented
triad
{C, E, Ab} F, A}) G, B})
{E+, Db-, {F+, D-, {G+, E-,
Ab+, A+,
F-, Ft-,
C+, A-} Db+, Bb-}
m({Db, m({Eb,
m({D, Gb, Bb})
{Gb+,Eb-, Bb+, G-, D+, Bb-}

B+, Ab-, Eb+, C-}
Table
2. Set m for each Result Eb, Gb, A}) E, G, Bb}) F, Ab, B})
fully
diminished
seventh
chord
Function m({C, m({Db, m({D,
{B7, Eb07, D7, Ft07, F7, A07, Ab7, C07} {C7, E07, Eb7, G07, Gb7, Bb07, A7, Db07} {Db7, F07, E7, Ab07, G7, B07, Bb7, D07}
As we apply m to each equal division, each minimal perturbation sends one pitch class of the given equal division into a semitonally adja cent equal division. For example (see Table 1), to reach Db minor from {C, E, Ab}, we move C to Db, which is in {Db, F, A}. In fact, each of the minor triads in the set obtained from m({C, E, Ab}) involves a motion from one pitch class in {C, E, Ab} to one pitch class in {Db, F, A}. Like
wise, the major triads in the same set involve motions from one pitch
class in {C, E, Ab} to one pitch class in {Eb,G, B}. In each case, the other two pitch classes of {C, E, Ab} are held as common tones. We can refine m, therefore, to account for the equal division of origin and the equal division into which a voice moves through minimal perturbation. Let X be an equal division of the octave of cardinality n with the pitch
classes xm in an arbitrary but fixed order (x0,.xn-\)Next, let F be
an equal division of the octave of cardinality n ordered such that each pitch class ym is a semitone higher or lower than each pitch class xm.Then define M(X, Y) to be a function thatminimally perturbs the equal division X into the equal division Y by moving xm to ym, records the result, and
returns
0 ^ m ^ n - 1. The cardinality of the resulting set of sonorities is n. Tables 3 and 4 list the resulting sets for augmented triads and diminished
seventh tone chords, higher respectively. than X, but one In each could do case, I have taken In any Tto case, be one semi the reverse. the contents
ym to xm. The
function
then
does
the
same
with
xm+x, and
so forth,
of the sets of three consonant triads or four [0, 2, 5, 8] tetrachords would be identical to those in the table.
Now, the behavior of triads under the extravagant transformation H
bears an interesting resemblance to the behavior of sonorities under the function M. Example 7 shows the triads of the first phrase of the extrava gant sequence, Ctt major and A minor, in the middle bar of the example.
129
Table
3. Sets M(X,
Y) for the augmented
triads X Y Result
{C,E, Ab}
{C,E, Ab}
{Eb,G,B)
{Db,F,A}
{E+,Ab+,C+}
{Db-,F-,A-}
{Db,F,A} {Db,F,A} {D,Gb,Bb} {D, Gb,Bb} {Eb,G,B} {Eb,G,B}
{C,E,Ab} {D,Gb,Bb} {Db,F,A} {Eb,G,B} {D,Gb,Bb} {CE,Ab}
{F+,A+,Db+} {D-,Ft-,Bb-} {Gb+,Bb+,D+} {Eb-,G-,B-} {G+,B+,Eb+} {E-,Ab-,C-}
Table 4. Sets M{X, Y) for the fully diminished seventh chords

X Y Result
{C, Eb, Gb, A} {C, Eb, Gb, A} {Db,E, G, Bb} {Db,E, G, Bb} {D, F, Ab, B} {D, F, Ab, B}
{D, F, Ab, B} {Db,E, G, Bb} {C, Eb, Gb, A} {D, F, Ab, B} {Db,E, G, Bb} {C, Eb, Gb, A}
{B7,D7, F7,Ab7} Ft07,A07, C07} {Eb07, {C7,Eb7,Gb7,A7} G07, Bb07,Db07} {E07, E7, G7, Bb7} {Db7, Ab07,B07,D07} {F07,
The outer bars show the two augmented triads involved. The open note heads are members of {C, E, Gtt}, and the closed note heads are members of {Ct, F, A}. Cttmajor is an element of the setM({Ct, F, A}, {C, E, Gt}), while A minor is an element of M({C, E, G?}, {C#, F, A}). The musical notation shows that H moves each pitch class from one augmented triad
to the other as the voices shift from one consonant triad to another. Thus,
H flips the arguments of M,

two triads. augmented transformations The only other
toggling adjacent pitch classes between

under which each voice of a consonant
the
triadmoves
other
by exactly one semitone are the transpositions T} and Tn, the

transformations. One can see how Tj relates to M by
extravagant
comparing E major in the first result set of Table 3 with F major in the M in the third row are each third set. The pitch classes of the arguments to one semitone higher than the pitch classes of the arguments toM in the
first row.
Though we defined H as a characteristic transformation between tri ads, this brief exploration of M suggests that we can generalize H to apply in all cases of minimally perturbed equal divisions of the octave. Take X and Y to be semitonally adjacent equal divisions of the octave of the same cardinality in an arbitrary but fixed ordering as above. Let S be a sonority inM(X, Y), and let T be a sonority inM(Y, X) such that each pitch class sm in S is related by semitone to each pitch class tmin T.
130
Note that a given pitch class s or tmay be amember of X or itmay be a member of Y because S and T are minimal perturbations of the equal divisions of the octave X and Y. Then define H' as the operation thatmoves from S to T by taking each
sm to tm. Put more casually, H' acts on any chord that is a member of a set
M(X, Y), flipping each pitch class in the chord that is an element of X into T and each pitch class that is an element of y intoX, effectively producing a member of the setM(Y,X). This is exactly what happens between the hexatonic poles Ctt major and A minor in Example 7. With H\ the reformulated model of extravagant voice leading drops
already tenuous connections to a strictly triadic model and thus to any a
priori privilege the consonant triad and its traditional roles have in orga nizing musical motion. From the standpoint of atonal theory, H' is simply a complementation operation on subsets of any equal division of the octave. H' generates the complete hexatonic collection [0, 1, 4, 5, 8, 9] from one of its [0, 3, 7] subsets, a complete octatonic collection [0, 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10] from one of its [0, 2, 5, 8] subsets, and so on.
We need not define transposition operates any transformations in the same way T' on because any in common set. usage, Clearly, pitch-class
though, we can describe the transpositions in terms ofM. Let W, X, Y, and Z be equal divisions of cardinality n, let W and X be ordered such that each pitch class xm inX is one semitone higher than each pitch class wm inW, and let Y and Z be ordered such that each pitch class zm in Z is one semitone higher than each pitch class ym in Y, 0 ^ m ^ n - 1 in all cases. Finally, let t equal the interval of transposition from W to Y and X to Z. Then T, of any sonority that is an element of M(W, X) is a sonority that is an element of M(Y,Z). From this revised view of voice-leading extravagance, it is possible to
interpret triads and seventh chords in Franck's extravagant sequence using
the same group of transformations. The left-hand network in Figure 6 depicts the triadic portion of the phrases; the right-hand network depicts themediating seventh chords. (The reader may wish tomove slowly here, comparing Figure 6 with Example la when necessary.) Brackets around A07 and C07 indicate portions of the network that remain unused when the sequential phrase contracts to two bars inmm. 98-101. The final A7 of the
,"
i ,* H
'< :
i :
Example
7. Relation between Ctt major and A minor expressed between minimal perturbations of augmented triads
as H
131
Q+
-?? H'
A-
Df7
H'
T3 E+
T3
y
H'
Ta3
Ff7
T x3
H' T3 y
G+
-?H'
Ek
A07 H'
F*7 T3 y
B^+
-?H' triads
Gk
C07 H' and
A?
seventh chords 6b using H' and T3
Figure 6. Networks
interpreting Example
seventh-chord network appears inmm. 102^4- (not shown inExample la), though the sequential pattern of mm. 90-97 leads one to expect it earlier. Ifwe imagine triads and seventh chords inhabiting amusical space divided into regions by equal divisions of the octave, then the triads and seventh chords of the sequence fulfill the same product network. I am not offering M as amodel for use in the practical study of music. Among the issues I have not considered are the precise definition of a generalized equal division of the octave and what, exactly, a complete space defined by M would look like. Such a space would certainly be so broad as to be unwieldy. Virtually no relation would be excluded, making critical distinctions next to impossible. I find it absurd to think meaning fully about themusic inExample 2a as somehow moving through a space inwhich set-classes [0, 3,7], [0,4, 8], [0, 2,5, 8], [0, 3,6,9], and all other minimal perturbations and their associated equal divisions of the octave that attempts reside equally. Rather, M is an exercise in generalization some excavation of the thought behind the notion of extravagant voice
leading. It turns the discussion here toward that moment when we con
sider just how the voice leading in a succession of sonorities, a passage, or a work is primarily tonal in effect or primarily algebraic in effect.
132
V. A Critical Moment The phenomenological

arrange the interpretations
order in which
of part I corresponds
the networks
nicely?and
of Figures
suggestively?
3-5
with the process of judgments, questionings, and reinterpretings through which I go as I listen to Franck's quintet. I cross from tonal, even diatonic
of the parsimonious minor-third sequence?and interpretation an of tion with it?to voice-leading interpretation algebraic transposi the extrava
gant sequence,
ous sequence with shows, I suggested of
and then find Imight

in the same terms as reservations that, about in one way is crucial
retrospectively
the extravagant the extent of
hear the parsimoni
some
above
moment
chromatic
reinterpretation music. We may
one but, as part III the extravagance. or another, a such and crossing in neo-Riemannian of analysis of the moment at many places
observe
traces
in the literature, of which

Cohn.
I will mention
three, two by Hyer and one by Tristan und Isolde,

as a semiotic sys
Near
Brian
the beginning of his dissertation onWagner's

proposes a reading of functional harmony
Hyer
tem. D[ominant] and S[ubdominant] are read as signifiers of T[onic], the . . . form a system inwhich there signified. He writes, "The [three triads]
are but three which, two signs, the dominant the are tonic, signs and the subdominant... and subdominant The tonic elements, however, dominant, in themselves." has system none of triads, is not a sign. This .The
seems difficult to accept until one recalls that it takes more than the simple statement of a harmony to assert it as tonic. More specifically, "[i]t is the relation between the dominant seventh and the tonic that actually has significance, however, not the dominant seventh itself" (Hyer 1989, 26-28). tonal functions, but Hyer writes only of the traditional Riemannian already from a transformational perspective that drives his comprehensive development of a group-theoretical model for harmonic relations later in the project. Hyer's semiotic approach allows him to disconnect the triads themselves from their tonal functions or the production of tonal meaning. Function and meaning are carried instead by the relations between triads. The result is an interpretive stance that is both extremely flexible and
highly sensitive. For example, "The says, or present] one does not say, "This chord is a dominant
because
and [implied, complex
its root [implied, inferred, or present]

one relation signifies between inferred, of ways."
is 5 and it contains both 7

this chord and another way or in some
4." Rather,
'dominantness'
It is a rather small conceptual step to extend this perspective to rela tions between triads other than fifth relations, and even to do away with
tonic altogether. Hyer's algebraization of triad relations provides a foun
133
dation
from
which
to assert
that "tonal
coherence
does
not
require
piece
to elaborate a single prolonged tonic, but rather that we regard relations between harmonies as being tonal" (Hyer 1995, 130).
"Tonal" here does not mean "diatonic," but it does mean that there is
some heuristic quality of repose. In the Schlafakkorden Die Walk?re, this quality adheres to E major: It is the transformational
(C, +), measures. (E, +) then, that prolongs The realization produces
from Wagner's (Ab, +) and

tonic in these to an
process
that relates (E, +) with

significance three times tonic thus as
tonal (E, +)'s that LP applied (E, +)
in succession engages
tonic
an equivalent
the notion
of "closure," both musical
and algebraic: (E, +)(LP)3 = (E, +). (115)
More generally, I interpret this quality as "I know where I am," a sense that one frequently does not have in chromatic music if one is looking for
a diatonic tonal center.
Interestingly, Hyer asserts such coherence in the Schlafakkorden while explicitly attributing that quality to aspects of triad relations other than voice leading: "[T]he tonal structure of the Schlafakkorden lies not in the
three recurring triads, nor in the melodic processes connecting them, but
in the transformational relations that bind them together, relations that gain an intrinsic intelligibility from the algebraic structure of the group" (115; emphasis added). In Cohn's opening gambit to "Maximally Smooth Cycles," traditional means of interpreting triad relations founder on the shoals of amajor-third progression (1996, 9-11).25 Cohn then notes that writings by Hyer and
Lewin, dressed "[i]n the assuming reasons that a status of consonant triads, priori late nineteenth-century composers leave continued unad to
favour triads as harmonic objects" (12). Cohn then outlines the objectives of his essay, which include treating the elements of triads?the notes and
the intervals between the notes?as elements of pitch-class for their mnemonic sets, and thus
only incidentally as unitary tonal objects. He writes, "[T]his article adopts

the convention use on of these of invoking should acoustic not be roots value," but status pcs Per the labels of as implying generative interpreted On the component the contrary, pitch-class. as equally in all cases be considered weighted. analysis triad here presented situates relations suggests the analyst
the part
the named
should classes] the importantly, haps more to chosen describe vocabulary [pitch
that
to one
side of this crossing. (13) There is deep consonance between Hyer's and Cohn's projects in the main, despite their different locutions. They do represent, however, two different threads of thinking that have met in the last twenty years in the study of chromatic music from the late nineteenth century. The strand that Hyer's work represents is one that grows out of familiar, but perhaps
134
not recently critically enough examined,

tion, but seeks harmonic hand, to generalize procedures represents these heard ideas complex on the other tonal music.
ideas of tonality and chord func

to account for music. tools a wide Cohn's range work, for post of
in Romantic of
the application
conceived
This is not to say that Hyer clings to the intuitions of diatonic tonality, or that Cohn uncritically applies atonal pitch-class theory to an often
tonal repertoire. Rather, each takes a different transformational approach motivic
to music
twelve-note,
in which
harmony and tonal process on the one hand, and the

chromatic scale and associated
equal-tempered
development on the other, are both important compositional palettes. The interpretations presented here suggest that the vocabulary chosen to describe triad relations situates the analyst to one side of a conceptual boundary, and she or he is wise to think clearly about the implications of the model or models employed.
On from one hand, when as we name transformations such words "parallel," "Leittonwechsel," with symbols we or "relative," derived implic
itly refer to a broad, historically

about triads and relations among
nuanced
them, even
collection
while
of tonal intuitions
interpre
generalizing
tations of these relations to describe more satisfyingly the coherence, closure, or progressions we sense in their passing (Hyer 1995, 115). On
the other tonic itions hand, when we derive or pole," about "transposition," triads as pitch-class as "hexa our symbols such words from we to intu refer "minimal perturbation," of some sets, and as subsets larger pitch
class set?the
hexatonic
collection
[0, 1,4, 5, 8, 9] or the equal-tempered engage
aggregate (Cohn 1996, 12-13). Iwould like to recall part of the third stage of transformational ment. In part III wrote:
By
I mean in the mathematical sense, pursuing algebraic "generalize" broader of musi families in order to identify of the model possible aspects in the model to which the transformations cal phenomena belong. might to understand Imean in a more sense, seeking colloquial By "generalize" or what David as a metaphorical call Lewin would the model space,
"paradigm that [is] only sometimes fulfilled in any given piece" (1982-83,
335-36). enriches ability cyclic in that space and its transformational the piece paths Situating of the piece and the suit the interpretation both and critiques a creates This critical moment choices. of the initial interpretive path back to the first stage of engagement.
Two diverging
extravagance
circular paths began when

to interpret differences
I separated parsimony
between the two
and
as a way
sequential
passages
differences trast
from Franck's quintet. Part II gave formal expression

of the parsimonious in the non-commutativity The of the extravagant group. commutativity group consonant
to these
in con triad
to the
135
is privileged
eralized model
under parsimony
of commutative
(Cohn 1996 and 1997), but under the gen

extravagance with diatonic in part IV, that status dimin
ishes. The formalization

maximal common-tone
thus underscores
retention
historical
precedents
linking
coherence
and maximal
semitonal voice leading with chromatic relations. With this formal perspective, interpretations of Franck's music in Fig ure 3 led to the networks of Figure 4 and to situating them in the more general space of Figure 5. Taking into account the trajectory from Figure 3 to Figure 5, we gained critical insight to aspects of neo-Riemannian analytical practice. We might say that themoment chromatic music becomes
more than or other than tonal?or the moment our interpretations of the
the moment when motion between triads music are likely to do so?is traces commutative paths through the metaphorical space triads inhabit. The change of motion leads to a change in interpretation of the objects or locations in the space: these may be triads, or these may be all sonorities that are minimal perturbations of equal divisions of the octave. The privi
lege consonant triads continue to enjoy is no more than convention.
Thus, the circle of Figure 2, inscribed by the parsimonious and extrav agant aspects of Cohn's P relation as they arced away from each other in the first paragraphs of this article, is closed again. We should consider
the properties together, but we have a clearer sense of just where and how
in their union we experience

increasingly tonally non-committal
the interface of traditionally diatonic

voice leading.
and
136
NOTES
This draws article mannian on Neo-Rie at the Symposium as an invited paper delivered at 2001. Part IV New York of State the Buffalo, July University Theory, on Cook 2001. An earlier version of the present text was read at the Univer began
to John Rahn, Brandon inApril 2005. Thanks School of Music sity of Washington for improve Derfler, Peter Shelley, and Jason Yust for their insight and suggestions a small but important and Fritts for requesting ments. Thanks also to Lawrence warranted bit of formal clarification. theory and a sketch of its transformational char 1. For a history of neo-Riemannian 1998. acter, see Cohn 2. Hook
to this issue in work that both generalizes calls attention (2002, 60, 89-93) triad relations. and particularizes as Cohn 2000 shows. triad is an exception, treatise on the augmented 3. Weitzmann's in this and following For a comprehensive para survey of the issues sketched Mooney 1996, 210-68; Gollin
2002. graphs, see Engebretsen 4. See Klumpenhouwer 1995, 110-11; 1994; Hyer and Engebretsen 2002, 209-51. 2000, 210-40; 5. For a detailed treatment of Hostinsky's and stepwise mon-tone, voice-leading 181-96. 2002, ity, see Engebretsen study of Hauptmann's
ideas, which encompass relations as determinants common-tone
com acoustic, of triad proxim 2002,
6. For a thorough 79-117. 7. Nebenverwandten stood dominant?Db 8. Cohn as a major
theory,
see Engebretsen
or "adjacent" chords, may be under Akkorde, "neighbor-related" or a minor triad and its major subdominant triad and its minor for Cohn and Gb minor, says the two interpreta example. major (2000, passage 92). later in the same
tions of the pair are of "equal strength" for Weitzmann the use of hexatonic discusses poles in this very (26-28). refer to mm. inA major, 26-37
article 9. I will ning
at m.
through of the two passages. interpretation I have difficulty 10. Obviously, escaping my habit of hearing to a particular diatonic but it is only a step in reference expectation, formational tonal and whole-tone of whole-tone-related
as a sequence because I expect a third iteration, begin clear below, this experience of disrupted become the agency of the hexatonic poles, helps to shape my trans 34. As will a whole collection. tone as a "step," On the semi
contexts and the status in diatonic and chromatic adjacencies see Proctor notes in chromatic music, 1978, 143. trans read "same" to mean "identical, but for a contrapuntal 11. One might reasonably triad transformed such as a root-position formation," through 5-6 motion against in a major key. the Relative relation the bass. This is a common way to imagine are clear: a submediant is part of a compos thus expressed tonal implications and of intuitions about Relative The connection tonal of the tonic Stufe. ing-out is addressed in Part V of this article. to neo-Riemannian other relations practices S = (-, s, s~{) and T= (-, t, r1). Trans two parsimonious transformations 12. Imagine to transforming the same triad by (+, s forming a triad by ST would be equivalent The + r1, s~[ + t) (Hook 2002, 61 and 68-69). because transformations the parsimonious (s + rl) ST is clearly the same sort of UTT as + (s~{ +t) = 0; that is, the trans
137
levels of ST for major and minor triads are complementary. Similar results position or if they are both positive. obtain if the signs of S and T are opposite character of these transformations has been reflected in neo-Rie 13. The dualistic mannian sions by literature, especially to progres of different by the ascription qualities on the mode of initial triad or key. A recent example:
thirds, depending
takes issue with Lewin's networks of (1992, 49-52) (2002, 183-85) though Kopp Wagner's Ring, both Kopp and Lewin by third in interpret a progres progressions on a minor to a progres triad as figuratively in direction sion beginning opposite on a major triad. sion beginning two extravagant U = (-, u, u~x) and V = {+, v, v) (V is 14. Imagine transformations a triad by UV would be equiva to the Tv). Transforming transposition equivalent lent to transforming the same triad by (-, u + v, u~l + v). Clearly, UV is equivalent v will have the same effect applied before to VU; the transposition by root-interval or after the root intervals u or ux. 15. The the commutative UTTs group of UTTs generate 7^(1, 8) (Hook to D[2, the dihedral group of 84-88). The parsimonious group is isomorphic to Z2 X Z12, the direct product of 24. The extravagant group is isomorphic 2 and modulo 12. the groups under addition of integers modulo extravagant (1993, 25-30) the neo-Riemannian first defined literature
2002, order
16. Lewin
contextual inversion. They have been studied in (1998) and Kochavi (1998). by Clough 17. Gollin 2002 (15-29) address the conceptual differ 2000 (4-11) and Engebretsen ences between trans and compound single transformations apparently fundamental which characterize formations groups in terms of through "group presentations," 18. Cohn 19. Hook transformations. their generating the technical 2004 explores See also Kopp and figurative 2002 (142-64). roles of H in chromatic plural modeling, for triad progressions music. but his (91-92)
121 n. 24) cites a few papers (2002, own discussion of different group-algebraic
that illustrate models
20. A
if the practice were habitual. be unnecessary similar view of transformational 2000 (157). practice is offered in Klumpenhouwer triad in the upper left of 21. To see how Figure 4a is malformed, replace the Eb-major of triads in the remaining the network with C minor. The resulting rearrangement would corners lower the horizontal and vertical but the arrow from transformations, preserves to A minor, which left to upper right would extend from Eb major is not P. to this fact and for agreeing I thank Julian Hook for calling attention that my this "bad graph" a good idea. interpretive point makes
22. The
triads inhabit what Cohn calls "Weitzmann resulting regions" after the nine theorist Carl Friedrich Weitzmann See particu (2000, 89-103). teenth-century 4 (93), which the material of Table 2 inWeitz presents larly Cohn's Example mann's manner. Cohn's "SSD," or "single semitonal displacement" property (94?98, 101), is identical to m, though Cohn does not pursue the notion of minimal pertur bation as I do here. seventh as minimal chords as
23. Boretz
to treat fully diminished (1972) uses a similar approach and "Tristan" chords. conceptually prior to dominant-seventh of Mystic chords 24. Callender (1998, 222-23) gives an example collections. bations of whole-tone 25. Cohn's is E major-G example on C major, cycle, beginning out IV and V (Musik-Lexicon,
pertur
uses the same major-E major. Riemann major-Ab to assert that tonal function may be expressed with "Tonalit?t").
138
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Yale University Department of Music

PARSIMONY AND EXTRAVAGANCE

? 2008 byYale University

separate voice are

triads are possible when we

the moving allowing between triads relations

to go where we when possible

each voice move,

but only by semitone.

I shall call the first property

has been to set aside traditional tonal, acoustically

based interpretive mod

etal center (Hyer 1995, 127-28).

the analytical moment

as having tonal meaning

simply good syntax (Schoenberg

understood to provide coherence tonal intuitions. As Engebretsen

1. Franck, Piano Quintet

in F minor, first movement,

his reconfigures six consonant

to of group algebra music. Like retention, as an aspect

supports intuitions of dia

the same practice

supports intuitions of fluency

and One Parsimonious

thought of this later passage

"parsimonious" complement. is a sequence in which each iteration

reasonably notices moves, the

expect instead and

least to make use of this link if not emphasize

it. Instead, the mediating

WTf ^^m ^s v-% nh> Trn

Vln I;others8* and 15"*

2. Franck, Piano Quintet

from one iteration passage descends

(4) The elaborating minor

triad in the sequential unit of each passage

an elaborated dominant pedal inAb major

attribute the different effects of the two passages

II. Formal Aspects

and the three are familiar. Example

3 shows the possibilities

3a preserves a note that will

major third Db-F while triad. Example

the third voice tomove

through the rest

third F-Ab as the

<-,0,0> -<-Dk<-,4,8> <-,9,3> E+

<-,0,0> Ak<-,4,8> <-,9,3> B+ ... etc.

1. Product networks of the (a) parsimonious

and (b) extravagant

concern for how exactly

the third voice moves

by showing all of the pos

triads, but they do a good job of

them from their heuristic mnemonic

labels and instead naming

according and parsimonious

they transform transformations

interval transposition when acting on aminor triad (63-64). Where Hook's

through the cycles

triad and switch the major