In the first movement of his Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra Op. 31, Gerald Finzi utilizes downward bass motion, disagreeing key areas, and ambiguous cadences for the purpose of establishing a sense of wandering and despair.
Much like other well-known British composers of mid-twentieth century, Gerald Finzi’s music takes advantage of dissonant and dense orchestration, as well as reflections upon political turmoil and personal ailment of the period. During World War II, Finzi became more prolific than ever. During the latter half of the war, he took in German and Czech refuges. As seen in letter between Finzi and composer Howard Ferguson, the refuges stories of wartime dismay influenced much of his compositional style during the …show more content…
In this example, the bass motion suggests a firm dominant tonic relationship resolving to G-sharp in measures 74 and 75. However, the scale that is shaped in the upper strings outlines B major. When placed below the stagnant trill on Bb in the clarinet, the suggestions of B major create the clashing half step dissonance theme observed earlier. Another issue that displays ambiguity with this cadence, is the V sonority is incomplete and missing an implied third. Rather than having the F double-sharp stressed in measure 74, a G-sharp is stressed instead. The end result is a five note tone cluster with B and B-flat being the center. Based off of the tension that is executed by the clarinet trill and the run in the upper strings, one can consider the B and B-flat is be encased within the texture, ultimately wanting to break out. Rather than falling onto either of these tonal centers, the harmony falls onto the G-sharp that is expected by the bass. If one considers the movement in building up to this climax in measure 73, they could consider the G-sharp minor harmony to be presented in second inversion, particularly with the triad being arpeggiated in the middle string voices. This motion undoubtedly suggests a cadential V64-53 movement going into measure 74. With this harmonic assertion in combination with the bass motion, no matter what lies above the D-sharp bass in measure 74, it is difficult to categorize in as anything other than a dominant. The complications that build above the bass act as a device for establishing a sense of forced
Much like other well-known British composers of mid-twentieth century, Gerald Finzi’s music takes advantage of dissonant and dense orchestration, as well as reflections upon political turmoil and personal ailment of the period. During World War II, Finzi became more prolific than ever. During the latter half of the war, he took in German and Czech refuges. As seen in letter between Finzi and composer Howard Ferguson, the refuges stories of wartime dismay influenced much of his compositional style during the …show more content…
In this example, the bass motion suggests a firm dominant tonic relationship resolving to G-sharp in measures 74 and 75. However, the scale that is shaped in the upper strings outlines B major. When placed below the stagnant trill on Bb in the clarinet, the suggestions of B major create the clashing half step dissonance theme observed earlier. Another issue that displays ambiguity with this cadence, is the V sonority is incomplete and missing an implied third. Rather than having the F double-sharp stressed in measure 74, a G-sharp is stressed instead. The end result is a five note tone cluster with B and B-flat being the center. Based off of the tension that is executed by the clarinet trill and the run in the upper strings, one can consider the B and B-flat is be encased within the texture, ultimately wanting to break out. Rather than falling onto either of these tonal centers, the harmony falls onto the G-sharp that is expected by the bass. If one considers the movement in building up to this climax in measure 73, they could consider the G-sharp minor harmony to be presented in second inversion, particularly with the triad being arpeggiated in the middle string voices. This motion undoubtedly suggests a cadential V64-53 movement going into measure 74. With this harmonic assertion in combination with the bass motion, no matter what lies above the D-sharp bass in measure 74, it is difficult to categorize in as anything other than a dominant. The complications that build above the bass act as a device for establishing a sense of forced