Consecutive fifths
Encyclopedia
In music
, consecutive fifths (sometimes known as parallel fifths) are progressions in which a perfect fifth
is followed by a different perfect fifth between the same two musical parts (or voices
): for example, from C to D in one part along with G to A in a higher part. Intervening octaves are irrelevant to this aspect of musical grammar; for example, parallel twelfths (i.e., as created by successive intervals of an octave
plus a fifth) are equivalent to parallel fifths.The term parallel fifths is therefore misleading, because some consecutive fifths occur with contrary motion
: from a true uncompounded fifth to a twelfth, for example. If parts move by oblique motion (for example, one part moving from a C to a higher C, and another part repeating a G higher than both of those Cs), the intervals are not considered to differ in the relevant way, so parallel fifths do not occur.
In the medieval period, large church organs and positive organ
s would often be permanently arranged for each single key to speak in a consecutive fifth. It is believed this practice dates to Roman times. A positive organ having this configuration has been reconstructed recently by Van der Putten and is housed in Groningen, and is used in an attempt to rediscover performance practice of the time.
Parallel motion in perfect consonances (P1, P5, P8) is strictly forbidden in species counterpoint instruction (1725–present) and during the common practice period
, the use of consecutive fifths was strongly discouraged. This was primarily due to the notion of voice leading
in tonal music, in which, "one of the basic goals...is to maintain the relative independence of the individual parts." A common theory is that the presence of the 3rd harmonic of the overtone series
influenced the creation of the prohibition.
and conductus
styles. Around 1300, Johannes de Grocheo became the first theorist to prohibit the practice. However, parallel fifths were still common in 14th-century music. The early 15th century composer Leonel Power
likewise forbade the motion of "2 acordis perfite of one kynde, as 2 unisouns, 2 5ths, 2 8ths, 2 12ths, 2 15ths," and it is with the transition to Renaissance-style counterpoint that the use of parallel perfect consonances was consistently avoided in practice.
Composers avoided writing consecutive fifths between two independent parts, such as tenor and bass lines.
The fifths did not have to be undisguised, or the only two notes of a melodic line. The interval may form part of a chord of any number of notes, and may be set well apart from the rest of the harmony
, or finely interwoven in its midst. But the interval was always to be quit by any movement that did not land on another fifth.
The prohibition concerning fifths did not just apply to perfect fifths. Some theorists objected also to the progression from a perfect fifth to a diminished fifth in parallel motion; for example the progression from C and G to B and F (B and F forming a diminished fifth).
The strict avoidance of consecutive fifths is one of the major reasons some musicologists doubt whether Johann Sebastian Bach
composed the famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Bach was an accomplished composer, highly skilled at avoiding consecutive fifths, but the toccata abounds with them. However, more recent arguments suggest this is not the case at all, and that the Toccata was written by Bach but written for violin and transcribed for organ.
The identification and avoidance of perfect fifths in the instruction of counterpoint
and harmony
help to distinguish the more formal idiom of classical music from popular
and folk music
s, in which consecutive fifths commonly appear in the form of double tonic
s and shifts of level. The prohibition of consecutive fifths in European classical music originates not only in the requirement for contrary motion in counterpoint
but in a gradual and eventually self-conscious attempt to distance classical music from folk traditions. As Sir Donald Tovey explains in his discussion of Joseph Haydn
's Symphony no. 88, "The trio is one of Haydn's finest pieces of rustic dance music, with hurdy-gurdy drones which shift in disregard of the rule forbidding consecutive fifths. The disregard is justified by the fact that the essential objection to consecutive fifths is that they produce the effect of shifting hurdy-gurdy drones
."
In the course of the 19th century consecutive fifths became more common, arising out of new textures and new conceptions of propriety in voice leading generally. They even became a stylistic feature in the work of some composers, notably Chopin; and with the early 20th century and the breakdown of common-practice norms the prohibition became less and less relevant. (See
below for later developments.)
or beyond. For contrapuntal and harmonic analysis this does not add new parts at all. By convention, common practice sometimes allows more transient parallel octaves, or even fifths, with certain melodic embellishments such as anticipations.(Piston 1987, pp. 306–312.)
Parallel fourths (consecutive perfect fourths) are allowed, "even though a P4 is the inversion of a P5." The literature deals with them less systematically however, and theorists have often restricted their use. Theorists commonly disallow consecutive perfect fourths involving the lowest part, especially between the lowest part and the highest part. Since the beginning of the common practice period, it has been theorized that all dissonances should be properly resolved to a perfect consonance (there are few exceptions). Therefore, parallel fourths are generally dismissed in voice leading as a series of consecutive unresolved dissonances.
, or the interval is approached in the higher part by step. The details differ considerably from period to period, and even among composers writing in the same period.
An important acceptable case of hidden fifths in the common practice period are horn fifths. Horn fifths arise from the limitation of valveless brass instruments to the notes of the harmonic series
(hence their name). In all but their extreme high registers, these brass instruments are limited to the notes of the major triad
. The typical two-instrument configuration would have the high instrument playing a scalar melody against a lower instrument confined to the notes of the tonic chord. Horn fifths occur when the upper voice is on the first three scale degrees.
Traditional horn fifths actually come in pairs. Begin with the upper instrument on the third scale degree and the lower instrument on the tonic. Then move the upper instrument to the second scale degree and the second instrument down to the fifth of the chord. Because the distance from 5 up to 2 is a perfect fifth, we have just created a hidden fifth by descending motion. The first instrument can then complete its descent to 1 as the lower instrument moves to 3. The second hidden fifth of the pair is obtained by making the upward maneuver a mirror image of the downward maneuver. The reason that these fifths are acceptable is that one would otherwise have to commit the gaffe of doubling the third scale degree at the octave, or else forbid the low instrument from using that degree (therefore giving him only the tonic and fifth to work with). Although traditional horn fifths come in pairs and in passing, the acceptability of horn fifths has been generalized to any situation of hidden fifths where the top voice moves by step.
In Iceland
, the traditional song style known as tvísöngur, "twin-singing", goes back to the Middle Ages and is still taught in schools today. In this style, a melody is sung against itself, typically in parallel fifths.
Georgian music
frequently uses parallel fifths, and sometimes parallel major ninths above the fifths. This means that there are two sets of parallel fifths, one directly on top of the other. This is especially prominent in the sacred music of the Guria
region, in which the pieces are sung a cappella
by men. It is believed that this harmonic style dates from pre-Christian times.
Consecutive fifths (as well as fourths and octaves) are commonly used to mimic the sound of Gregorian plainsong
. This practice is well-founded in early European musical traditions. Plainsong was originally sung in unison
, not in fifths, but by the ninth century there is evidence that singing in parallel intervals (fifths, octaves, and fourths) commonly ornamented the performance of chant. This is documented in the anonymous ninth-century theory treatises known as Musica enchiriadis
and its commentary Scolica enchiriadis
. These treatises use Daseian music notation, based on four-note patterns called tetrachord
s, which easily notates parallel fifths. This notation predates Guido of Arezzo
's solmization
, which divides the scale into six-note patterns called hexachord
s, and the modern octave-based staff notation into which Guido's gamut evolved.
Another use of the term "Mozart fifths" results from the non-standard resolution of a German augmented sixth chord in the retransition of the finale of the Jupiter Symphony (bars 222-223). Mozart (and all common-practice composers) almost always resolve German augmented sixth chords to cadential six-four chords to avoid these fifths. The Jupiter example is unique in that Mozart spells the fifth enharmonically (A-flat and d-sharp) as a result of the progression arising from a B-major harmony (presented as a dominant of e-minor). Arnold Schoenberg humorously refers to these as acceptable only because Mozart wrote them.(Schoenberg, Arnold, Theory of Harmony, third edition 1922, trans. Roy Carter, University of California Press, 1978, p. 246). Other theorists have tried to make the case that this resolution of the augmented sixth chord
is more frequently acceptable. "The parallel fifths [in the German sixth] arising from the natural progression to the dominant are always considered acceptable, except when occurring between soprano and bass. They are most often seen between tenor and bass. The third degree is, however, frequently tied over as a suspension, or repeated as an appoggiatura, before continuing down to the second degree" (Piston, Walter, Harmony, 5th edition revised DeVoto, Mark, 1987, p. 422). they are called Mozart fifths, because of their use by that composer. However, seeing as the vast majority of German augmented sixth chords in common-practice works resolve to cadential six-four chords to avoid parallel fifths, we can conclude that common-practice composers deemed these fifths undesirable in most situations.
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, consecutive fifths (sometimes known as parallel fifths) are progressions in which a perfect fifth
Perfect fifth
In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is a musical interval encompassing five staff positions , and the perfect fifth is a fifth spanning seven semitones, or in meantone, four diatonic semitones and three chromatic semitones...
is followed by a different perfect fifth between the same two musical parts (or voices
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
): for example, from C to D in one part along with G to A in a higher part. Intervening octaves are irrelevant to this aspect of musical grammar; for example, parallel twelfths (i.e., as created by successive intervals of an octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
plus a fifth) are equivalent to parallel fifths.The term parallel fifths is therefore misleading, because some consecutive fifths occur with contrary motion
Contrary motion
In music theory, contrapuntal motion is the general movement of two melodic lines with respect to each other. In traditional four-part harmony, it is important that lines maintain their independence, an effect which can be achieved by the judicious use of the four types of contrapuntal motion:...
: from a true uncompounded fifth to a twelfth, for example. If parts move by oblique motion (for example, one part moving from a C to a higher C, and another part repeating a G higher than both of those Cs), the intervals are not considered to differ in the relevant way, so parallel fifths do not occur.
In the medieval period, large church organs and positive organ
Positive organ
A positive organ is a small, usually one-manual, pipe organ that is built to be more or less mobile. It was common in sacred and secular music between the 10th and the 18th centuries, in chapels and small churches, as a chamber organ and for the basso continuo in ensemble works...
s would often be permanently arranged for each single key to speak in a consecutive fifth. It is believed this practice dates to Roman times. A positive organ having this configuration has been reconstructed recently by Van der Putten and is housed in Groningen, and is used in an attempt to rediscover performance practice of the time.
Parallel motion in perfect consonances (P1, P5, P8) is strictly forbidden in species counterpoint instruction (1725–present) and during the common practice period
Common practice period
The common practice period, in the history of Western art music , spanning the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods, lasted from c. 1600 to c. 1900.-General characteristics:...
, the use of consecutive fifths was strongly discouraged. This was primarily due to the notion of voice leading
Voice leading
In musical composition, voice leading is the term used to refer to a decision-making consideration when arranging voices , namely, how each voice should move in advancing from each chord to the next.- Details :...
in tonal music, in which, "one of the basic goals...is to maintain the relative independence of the individual parts." A common theory is that the presence of the 3rd harmonic of the overtone series
Harmonic series (music)
Pitched musical instruments are often based on an approximate harmonic oscillator such as a string or a column of air, which oscillates at numerous frequencies simultaneously. At these resonant frequencies, waves travel in both directions along the string or air column, reinforcing and canceling...
influenced the creation of the prohibition.
Development of the prohibition
Singing in consecutive fifths may have originated from the accidental singing of a chant a perfect fifth above (or a perfect fourth below) the proper pitch. Whatever its origin, singing in parallel fifths became commonplace in early organumOrganum
Organum is, in general, a plainchant melody with at least one added voice to enhance the harmony, developed in the Middle Ages. Depending on the mode and form of the chant, a supporting bass line may be sung on the same text, the melody may be followed in parallel motion , or a combination of...
and conductus
Conductus
In medieval music, conductus is a type of sacred, but non-liturgical vocal composition for one or more voices. The word derives from Latin conducere , and the conductus was most likely sung while the lectionary was carried from its place of safekeeping to the place from which it was to be read...
styles. Around 1300, Johannes de Grocheo became the first theorist to prohibit the practice. However, parallel fifths were still common in 14th-century music. The early 15th century composer Leonel Power
Leonel Power
Leonel Power was an English composer of the late Medieval and early Renaissance eras. Along with John Dunstaple, he was one of the major figures in English music in the early 15th century.-Life:...
likewise forbade the motion of "2 acordis perfite of one kynde, as 2 unisouns, 2 5ths, 2 8ths, 2 12ths, 2 15ths," and it is with the transition to Renaissance-style counterpoint that the use of parallel perfect consonances was consistently avoided in practice.
Composers avoided writing consecutive fifths between two independent parts, such as tenor and bass lines.
The fifths did not have to be undisguised, or the only two notes of a melodic line. The interval may form part of a chord of any number of notes, and may be set well apart from the rest of the harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
, or finely interwoven in its midst. But the interval was always to be quit by any movement that did not land on another fifth.
The prohibition concerning fifths did not just apply to perfect fifths. Some theorists objected also to the progression from a perfect fifth to a diminished fifth in parallel motion; for example the progression from C and G to B and F (B and F forming a diminished fifth).
The strict avoidance of consecutive fifths is one of the major reasons some musicologists doubt whether Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
composed the famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Bach was an accomplished composer, highly skilled at avoiding consecutive fifths, but the toccata abounds with them. However, more recent arguments suggest this is not the case at all, and that the Toccata was written by Bach but written for violin and transcribed for organ.
The identification and avoidance of perfect fifths in the instruction of counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
and harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
help to distinguish the more formal idiom of classical music from popular
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
and folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
s, in which consecutive fifths commonly appear in the form of double tonic
Double tonic
A double tonic is a chord progression, melodic motion, or shift of level consisting of a, "regular back-and-forth motion," in melody similar to Bruno Nettl's pendulum type though it uses small intervals, most often a whole tone though may be almost a semitone to a minor third .It is extremely...
s and shifts of level. The prohibition of consecutive fifths in European classical music originates not only in the requirement for contrary motion in counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
but in a gradual and eventually self-conscious attempt to distance classical music from folk traditions. As Sir Donald Tovey explains in his discussion of Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
's Symphony no. 88, "The trio is one of Haydn's finest pieces of rustic dance music, with hurdy-gurdy drones which shift in disregard of the rule forbidding consecutive fifths. The disregard is justified by the fact that the essential objection to consecutive fifths is that they produce the effect of shifting hurdy-gurdy drones
Drone (music)
In music, a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout most or all of a piece. The word drone is also used to refer to any part of a musical instrument that is just used to produce such an effect.-A musical effect:A drone...
."
In the course of the 19th century consecutive fifths became more common, arising out of new textures and new conceptions of propriety in voice leading generally. They even became a stylistic feature in the work of some composers, notably Chopin; and with the early 20th century and the breakdown of common-practice norms the prohibition became less and less relevant. (See
below for later developments.)
Parallel octaves and fourths
Consecutive fifths are avoided in part because they cause a loss of individuality between parts. This lack of individuality is even more pronounced when parts move in parallel octaves or in unison. These are therefore also generally forbidden among independently moving parts.The restriction to independently moving parts is important. It has always been standard to double a part in unison or at the octave, even at several different octaves simultaneously, for the duration of a phrasePhrase (music)
In music and music theory, phrase and phrasing are concepts and practices related to grouping consecutive melodic notes, both in their composition and performance...
or beyond. For contrapuntal and harmonic analysis this does not add new parts at all. By convention, common practice sometimes allows more transient parallel octaves, or even fifths, with certain melodic embellishments such as anticipations.(Piston 1987, pp. 306–312.)
Parallel fourths (consecutive perfect fourths) are allowed, "even though a P4 is the inversion of a P5." The literature deals with them less systematically however, and theorists have often restricted their use. Theorists commonly disallow consecutive perfect fourths involving the lowest part, especially between the lowest part and the highest part. Since the beginning of the common practice period, it has been theorized that all dissonances should be properly resolved to a perfect consonance (there are few exceptions). Therefore, parallel fourths are generally dismissed in voice leading as a series of consecutive unresolved dissonances.
Hidden consecutives
So-called hidden consecutives, also called direct or covered octaves or fifths,The traditional terms for these progressions are as vague and variable as the traditional rules that govern them. occur when two independent parts approach a single perfect fifth or octave by similar motion instead of oblique or contrary motion. A single fifth or octave approached this way is sometimes called an exposed fifth or exposed octave. Conventional style dictates that such a progression be avoided; but it is sometimes permitted under certain conditions, such as the following: the interval does not involve either the highest or the lowest part, the interval does not occur between both of those extreme parts, the interval is approached in one part by a semitone stepSteps and skips
In music, a step, or conjunct motion, is a linear or successive interval between two pitches which are consecutive scale degrees. Any larger interval is called a skip , or disjunct motion...
, or the interval is approached in the higher part by step. The details differ considerably from period to period, and even among composers writing in the same period.
An important acceptable case of hidden fifths in the common practice period are horn fifths. Horn fifths arise from the limitation of valveless brass instruments to the notes of the harmonic series
Harmonic series (music)
Pitched musical instruments are often based on an approximate harmonic oscillator such as a string or a column of air, which oscillates at numerous frequencies simultaneously. At these resonant frequencies, waves travel in both directions along the string or air column, reinforcing and canceling...
(hence their name). In all but their extreme high registers, these brass instruments are limited to the notes of the major triad
Triad (music)
In music and music theory, a triad is a three-note chord that can be stacked in thirds. Its members, when actually stacked in thirds, from lowest pitched tone to highest, are called:* the Root...
. The typical two-instrument configuration would have the high instrument playing a scalar melody against a lower instrument confined to the notes of the tonic chord. Horn fifths occur when the upper voice is on the first three scale degrees.
Traditional horn fifths actually come in pairs. Begin with the upper instrument on the third scale degree and the lower instrument on the tonic. Then move the upper instrument to the second scale degree and the second instrument down to the fifth of the chord. Because the distance from 5 up to 2 is a perfect fifth, we have just created a hidden fifth by descending motion. The first instrument can then complete its descent to 1 as the lower instrument moves to 3. The second hidden fifth of the pair is obtained by making the upward maneuver a mirror image of the downward maneuver. The reason that these fifths are acceptable is that one would otherwise have to commit the gaffe of doubling the third scale degree at the octave, or else forbid the low instrument from using that degree (therefore giving him only the tonic and fifth to work with). Although traditional horn fifths come in pairs and in passing, the acceptability of horn fifths has been generalized to any situation of hidden fifths where the top voice moves by step.
Special uses and exceptions in early music
Consecutive fifths are typically used to evoke the sound of music in medieval times or exotic places. The use of parallel fifths (or fourths) to refer to the sound of traditional Chinese or other kinds of Eastern music was once commonplace in film scores and songs. Since these passages are an obvious oversimplification and parody of the styles that they seek to evoke, this use of parallel fifths declined during the last half of the 20th century.In Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, the traditional song style known as tvísöngur, "twin-singing", goes back to the Middle Ages and is still taught in schools today. In this style, a melody is sung against itself, typically in parallel fifths.
Georgian music
Music of Georgia
Georgia has rich and still vibrant traditional music, which is primarily known as arguably the earliest polyphonic tradition of the Christian world. Situated on the border of Europe and Asia, Georgia is also a home of variety of urban singing styles with the mixture of native polyphony, Middle...
frequently uses parallel fifths, and sometimes parallel major ninths above the fifths. This means that there are two sets of parallel fifths, one directly on top of the other. This is especially prominent in the sacred music of the Guria
Guria
Guria is a region in Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 143,357 and Ozurgeti is a regional capital.-Geography:...
region, in which the pieces are sung a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
by men. It is believed that this harmonic style dates from pre-Christian times.
Consecutive fifths (as well as fourths and octaves) are commonly used to mimic the sound of Gregorian plainsong
Plainsong
Plainsong is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Catholic Church. Though the Eastern Orthodox churches and the Catholic Church did not split until long after the origin of plainchant, Byzantine chants are generally not classified as plainsong.Plainsong is monophonic, consisting of a...
. This practice is well-founded in early European musical traditions. Plainsong was originally sung in unison
Unison
In music, the word unison can be applied in more than one way. In general terms, it may refer to two notes sounding the same pitch, often but not always at the same time; or to the same musical voice being sounded by several voices or instruments together, either at the same pitch or at a distance...
, not in fifths, but by the ninth century there is evidence that singing in parallel intervals (fifths, octaves, and fourths) commonly ornamented the performance of chant. This is documented in the anonymous ninth-century theory treatises known as Musica enchiriadis
Musica enchiriadis
Musica enchiriadis is an anonymous musical treatise from the 9th century. It is the first surviving attempt to establish a system of rules for polyphony in classical music. The treatise was once attributed to Hucbald, but this is no longer accepted. Some historians once attributed it to Odo of...
and its commentary Scolica enchiriadis
Scolica enchiriadis
Scolica enchiriadis is an anonymous ninth-century music theory treatise and commentary on its companion work, the Musica enchiriadis. These treatises were once attributed to Hucbald, but this is no longer accepted....
. These treatises use Daseian music notation, based on four-note patterns called tetrachord
Tetrachord
Traditionally, a tetrachord is a series of three intervals filling in the interval of a perfect fourth, a 4:3 frequency proportion. In modern usage a tetrachord is any four-note segment of a scale or tone row. The term tetrachord derives from ancient Greek music theory...
s, which easily notates parallel fifths. This notation predates Guido of Arezzo
Guido of Arezzo
Guido of Arezzo or Guido Aretinus or Guido da Arezzo or Guido Monaco or Guido d'Arezzo was a music theorist of the Medieval era...
's solmization
Solmization
Solmization is a system of attributing a distinct syllable to each note in a musical scale. Various forms of solmization are in use and have been used throughout the world.In Europe and North America, solfège is the convention used most often...
, which divides the scale into six-note patterns called hexachord
Hexachord
In music, a hexachord is a collection of six pitch classes including six-note segments of a scale or tone row. The term was adopted in the Middle Ages and adapted in the twentieth-century in Milton Babbitt's serial theory.-Middle Ages:...
s, and the modern octave-based staff notation into which Guido's gamut evolved.
Mozart fifths
In Brahms' essay "Octaven und Quinten," he identifies many cases of apparent consecutive fifths in the works of Mozart. Most of the examples he provides involve accompaniment figuration in small note values that moves in parallel fifths with a slower moving bass. The background voice-leading of such progressions is oblique motion, with the consecutive fifths resulting from the ornamentation of the sustaining voice with a chromatic lower neighbor. Such "Mozart Fifths" occur in bar 254-255 of the Act I finale of Così fan Tutte, and in bar 80 of the Act II sextet from Don Giovanni.Another use of the term "Mozart fifths" results from the non-standard resolution of a German augmented sixth chord in the retransition of the finale of the Jupiter Symphony (bars 222-223). Mozart (and all common-practice composers) almost always resolve German augmented sixth chords to cadential six-four chords to avoid these fifths. The Jupiter example is unique in that Mozart spells the fifth enharmonically (A-flat and d-sharp) as a result of the progression arising from a B-major harmony (presented as a dominant of e-minor). Arnold Schoenberg humorously refers to these as acceptable only because Mozart wrote them.(Schoenberg, Arnold, Theory of Harmony, third edition 1922, trans. Roy Carter, University of California Press, 1978, p. 246). Other theorists have tried to make the case that this resolution of the augmented sixth chord
Augmented sixth chord
In music theory, an augmented sixth chord contains the interval of an augmented sixth above its "root" or bass tone . This chord has its origins in the Renaissance, further developed in the Baroque, and became a distinctive part of the musical style of the Classical and Romantic periods.-Resolution...
is more frequently acceptable. "The parallel fifths [in the German sixth] arising from the natural progression to the dominant are always considered acceptable, except when occurring between soprano and bass. They are most often seen between tenor and bass. The third degree is, however, frequently tied over as a suspension, or repeated as an appoggiatura, before continuing down to the second degree" (Piston, Walter, Harmony, 5th edition revised DeVoto, Mark, 1987, p. 422). they are called Mozart fifths, because of their use by that composer. However, seeing as the vast majority of German augmented sixth chords in common-practice works resolve to cadential six-four chords to avoid parallel fifths, we can conclude that common-practice composers deemed these fifths undesirable in most situations.
Further reading
- Jeppeson, KnudKnud JeppesenKnud Jeppesen was a Danish musicologist, composer, and writer on the history of music....
. Counterpoint: the polyphonic vocal style of the sixteenth century, English translation 1939, reprint by Dover, NY, 1992. ISBN 0-486-27036-X. - Meech, Sanford. "Three Musical Treatises in English from a Fifteenth-Century Manuscript", Speculum X.3, July 1935.
External links
- Hopkins, Pandora and Thorkell Sigurbjörnsson: Iceland, Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 8 June 2006), Grove Music - Access by subscription only