Happy Valentines Day!

Mozart’s art song "An Chloe" is a charming little ditty about love and the all to familiar occurrence of the 'little death' (Any one who has sat through a Balensuela lecture on Carlo Gesuald's "Io Parto" will know exactly what I am talking about). If you're thinking that I chose this song solely for the celebration of St. Valentine, you are only partially correct.

Mozart uses many very effective harmonic devices throughout this piece to help convince the listener of the singer’s emotions. To begin with the piece opens with what I like to think of as very innocent harmonies. The whole first page is purely I to V, in various inversions. In this section of the piece nothing too scandalous has happened, yet. The singer is merely expressing the fluttering joy in his heart whenever he sees love shinning from his beautiful lovers eyes. It is when things start getting spicy in the text that the harmonies start getting more complicated.

The first change from the I-V pattern is in the appearance of a V6/5 of V when the singer talks of holding his beloved tight and kissing her, but things cool down momentarily once the singers line is finished (he has only kissed her blushing cheek). Once again things heat up when the singer beckons to her (Liebes Madchen) and catches her up in a very sensuous embrace (once again expressed through the secondary dominant V7/V). When the act of passion is committed the emotion is reflected in the harmonies through the use of multiple V6/5 of IV's and a V65 or ii. When the singer begins describing his deep longing for his love the harmony borrows from Eb minor through the use of a diminished ii7. I think this borrowing was perfectly placed and helps exaggerate the feelings of the performer. The exhaustion that inevitably follows such a scene is expressed by both the piano and the voice. The word ermatet (exhausted) is set surrounded by breaks in both parts and is harmonized by secondary dominants, which make the listener feel the superficial tension and release of the scene.

The piece concludes as major and innocent as it was started while the singer conveys his utter bliss while lying at the side of his goddess of love.

"Pine Apple Rag"- Scott Joplin

I found this a very interesting piece for a first dabble into the workings of mixture chords. The one mixture which is used in this particular section of the piece (m.69-84 end) is repeated only twice and both times in very similar settings. Both mixture chords (bVI) are resolved in a surprising manner by resolving the bG up to a G natural instead of the expected downward resolution to an F natural. The first time the bVI appears it opens the closing section of the piece and is not introduced but carries an "almost done" feel with it in its surprise. The second appearance however is foreshadowed in the preceding measure (76) in the similarly surprising movement of the soprano from F# up to G. This mimics the "surprising" resolution of the soprano in the bVI and in that since prepares the listener for what is to come.

In the same excerpt of Joplin's piece, we are shown the 6/4 in all of its capacities. In the third measure of the except (m. 71) the first 6/4 appears in its cadential disguise. The I6/4 moves from the pre-dominant (bVI) to a V (in varying forms) creating a half cadence of sorts. The Cadential 6/4 appears third measure from the end once again (m. 82) when it moves from IV to V and the back to a I adding its say in the PAC which concludes the piece. The Neighboring 6/4 appears in measure 75 and the passing in measure 79. I very much like the utilizing of the 6/4 in all of its capacities in such a short excerpt of only 16 measures. Way to go Joplin!