Unaccompanied Single Melody Line, do lesser used modes sound more complete Options

[zoda]

One of my favourite viola melodies of which I never seem to tire is the simple slow peasant like tune which opens the second movement of Shostakovich String Quartet No 1 on viola, initially totally unaccompanied, and then joined by Cello Pizz for the repeat, before the others join in.

I have always thought that whilst the violin has practical advantages over the viola as a concerto instrument, due to the ability to take a clear top line above everyone else, as an unaccompanied instrument the viola spans a range which is very pleasant to the ear.

However, on viola as much as any other instruments, many well known tunes, when reduced to a single melody line, sound to me disappointing and thin not for reasons of instrument tone, but because they cry out for the missing harmony.

Shostakovich's above viola tune doesn't have that disappointing effect - it sounds full and complete in the melody alone, without relying on Bach-like linear harmonies. I notice on looking at the music that the modality of the tune is Phrygian - being based from E to E despite being in C major. Is there some link between unaccompanied music in this or other modes sounding more complete than music written in the more usual Ionian (C-C based in C major) mode?

I had a similar feeling playing a simple unaccompanied arrangement of "O come O come Emmanuel" at church over Christmas - apparently as a result of being in the natural minor key (A-A based in C major), the tune seemed to be complete in itself, rather than a melody forlornly lacking its harmonic support.

I notice that Heinrich Schenker observes in his book "Harmony" that many primitive peoples seem to take to the minor much more easily than to the major mode.

Until quite recently I had viewed modes as another nightmarish reason not to try and understand music, but the above thoughts make me interested to look for other tunes which I like as much as the Shostakovich one. I wonder if anyone has any examples of simple tunes in different modes which they feel sound full and complete without harmonic accompaniment.

[Cyrilla]

I think almost all modal folk melodies sound 'complete' without accompaniment, which of course is how they were originally performed. Modal unison plainchant also, for the same reason..

[zoda]

Cyrilla to the rescue! :D

When you say "modal" is there a particular mode that you tend to get folk melodies in more than others? The ones in my book are Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian and Aeolian.

[Cyrilla]

The majority are in Ionian, Aeolian, Dorian and Myxolydian. The others are much more rare.

Glad to be of some small help!! :)

[Violinia]

And Locrian. :)

Violinia

[Violinia]

My God Cyrilla we posted at the same moment...

Great minds and all that...

And I love the Locrian mode - it's great for jazz - all mysterious and smoky..!

Violinia

[Cyrilla]

Hardly ANY folk melodies are in the Locrian mode!

Great fun for a long car journey though - transform a melody into a mode via solfa...'This Old Man' in the Phrygian mode is SO spooky.. :o

[Violinia]

Ooh I don't know - I think This Old Man in the Locrian mode would sound rather cool and jazzy! :D

Violinia

[zoda]

wow! I think I've sparked off the unexpected "Easter number 1" thread! Thanks Violinia, and thanks again Cyrilla - I didn't really expect anyone to be lurking around at this time (particularly not singing "this old man" in a deliberately spooky mode- I think I'll go to bed feeling a bit safer if I think "jazzy and smokey" instead!)

[davidyko]

well ive read that no medieval/renaissance melody has ever been composed in the Locrian moade...

[Violinia]

Oops, sorry, I didn't read the posts properly and hadn't realised you were talking about the modes for specifically folk melodies - durrr!! - as they say down in the West country where I live.

However, having said all that, Cyrilla did say they were "hardly any" so there must be one ot two!

Violinia, desperately seeking vindication. :blink:

[zoda]

not at all, Violinia; even if I didn't say it well, what I really wanted was to find any tunes in any modes which sound complete without harmony - your comment about jazz tunes was most welcome. :)

[George Burrell]

QUOTE (zoda @ Mar 19 2005, 11:10 PM)

I had a similar feeling playing a simple unaccompanied arrangement of "O come O come Emmanuel" at church over Christmas - apparently as a result of being in the natural minor key (A-A based in C major), the tune seemed to be complete in itself, rather than a melody forlornly lacking its harmonic support.

I was just humming throught "O Come O Come Emmanuel" to myself - do we need to say it is in the "natural minor"? To me it is simply a bone fide minor melody, that appropriately conforms to the rules of the "melodic minor.

It has a 6th, but there is no reason to raise it because it has no 7th immediately following it. It has a seventh but it is approached from the tonic downward, hence no temptation to sharpen it.

It could be this works well unaccompanied because there has been no need to raise/lower the 6th and 7th notes; i.e. it is a primitive example of what it is.

This tune can been harmonised too. Although it is some time since I listened to such a version, it can sound quite haunting when performed in that manner also.

"Scarborough Fair" is another example of the above. Like "O Come O Come Emmanuel", it is easy to sing unaccompanied because it has none of the 6ths and 7ths to contend with. But Simon and Garfunkel showed what could be achieved with a guitar.

I am keen to learn more about the modes.

[Cyrilla]

'O Come, O Come, Emmanuel' IS written in the natural minor scale - ie the Aeolian mode. This is the 'original' minor scale from which, with the advent of musica ficta, the harmonic and then melodic minors developed. The 'la-so-la' ending (sorry, I speak in solfa) is typically modal.

'Scarborough Fair' is written in the Dorian mode, which is like the natural minor scale but with a raised 6th.

If you are trained in solfa this really helps understanding of and facility with all the modes :)