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At 12:43 PM +0100 4/9/02, Jimmy Fowler wrote: >are you referring to music such as perotin or gesualdo (a bit >later)? in those instances, the composer may have focused less on >the outcome but wouldn't the "lines/counterpoint" still be a >function of the harmony, although it may be incidental. > >i have a hard time believing that the end result (i.e. the harmony) >was happen-stance, not that i disagree with anything that's been >said; rather, personally i have a difficult time understanding >writing a "line" that doesn't take into consideration the "chord" it >forms with other instruments playing different "lines". Polyphonic composition doesn't disregard the harmonic implications of the pitch simultaneities, its just that the primary interest is in the harmonic lines and the dynamic relationships between them. Gesualdo is interesting because he did use harmony in deliberate ways to underscore the meaning of the text. Some of his "chords" were quite dissonant when used to illustrate passion or heartbreak. But they tended to be coloristic devices rather than functional harmony. Your line of argument seems to spring from a harmonic bias (you're a guitarist, right?), with such statements as "wouldn't the 'line/counterpoint' still be a function of the harmony" or "the end result (i.e. the harmony)." In discussing polyphonic music I'm more inclined to say that "the harmony is a function of the polyphony" or the end result is "a polyphonic fabric given support by careful attention to the harmonic implications of the voice leading." But then, I was a singer before I was a guitarist. -- ______________________________________________________________ Richard Zvonar, PhD (818) 788-2202 http://www.zvonar.com http://RZCybernetics.com http://www.cybmotion.com/aliaszone http://www.live365.com/cgi-bin/directory.cgi?autostart=rz