Sousa, two marches

Contrary to what one might expect, linear rising cadential figures are relatively rare in late 19th century marches and the closely related repertoires of the one-step and rag. Here are two examples from John Phillip Sousa.

In The Manhattan Beach March (1893), we are obliged to settle for an internal cadence (dominant ending for the first strain).

In Our Flirtation March (1880), an equally stark ascending line from ^5 to ^8 closes the second strain. I am quoting here from an early 20th century theater orchestra set of parts. In such circumstances, the violinist was considered the leader. In the second strain, the flute part duplicates the upper notes of the violin's octave, the first cornet and first clarinet the lower notes.

Combined with the melody, the circled notes would create what I call a "wedge," two voices approaching the final tonic from opposite directions. Historically, the more common version has a descending line above and a rising line below, but here Sousa does the opposite. We are obliged to imagine the final tonic note in the descending line ^5-^4-^3-^2- (^1). I have examined the full band score for this march and no part makes a ^2-^1 descent.

Rusca, Sacri concerti (1630), 2

Yesterday I looked at two motets from Rusca's collection that make expressive use of the upper register for "alleluias." The third piece is another four-voice motet: "Gaudete gaudio magno martyres Christi." Here is a familiar separation of roles in the concertato style: upper-register instrumental descant or obbligato and principal (cantus or soprano) choral part. Note the ritornello at the outset and the repetition of it over the chorus's "alleluias" in bars 22 ff.  The score in modern notation is by Lorenzo Girodo (2016).

Notwithstanding the above, the three chorus voices end the main text with a firm descent for "in caelis" . . .

. . . after which, the ritornello is repeated . . .

. . . and the alleluias are considerably expanded with antiphonal play before the section from the beginning (22 ff.) is repeated to close.

Rusca, Sacri concerti (1630), 1

Claudia Francesca Rusca published a varied collection of music in Milan in 1630: her Sacri concerti a 1-5 con salmi e canzoni francesi includes nearly 30 choral pieces, ranging from solo motets in a modern style to an 8-voice Gloria in Venetian style. Along with these are two instrumental "canzoni francesci." Of all these pieces, a surprising eight have upper register endings. I will look at the equally surprising three of those that tie their endings to exultant "alleluias." Although one might suppose that a closing section with multiple "alleluias" would be an open invitation to upper register endings and even rising lines--whether exuberant or mystical-transcendental--that doesn't seem to be the case, which of course makes the three illustrated here all the more remarkable.

From the fourth of five solo motets for soprano or tenor with continuo, here are the opening and the close of "Veni sponsa Christi." In the end, the hushed echo of "in aeternum" (boxed) gives way to dotted rhythms in the continuo and then the voice in sequences that lead to a lower register cadence in bars 72-73 (circled). The sudden shift to the "subdominant"--arrow in bar 74--normally signals a final flourish over that sonority and ending with the tonic major. Here, the octave-length rising line fits the description but a final full cadence with the voice in the upper register literally upends the usual structural cadence/coda flourish design. As the subdominant flourishes in published music are often frozen versions of improvisations, it is not at all difficult to imagine a solo singer in the first half of the 17th century (and probably earlier) adding one of these spontaneously.  The score in modern notation is by Lorenzo Girodo (2016).

Ending:

The four-voice motet "Hic accipiet benedictionem," on the other hand, gives us a firm upper-register structural cadence (boxed), after which the alleluias follow.

I will discuss the third piece, "Gaudete gaudio magno martyres Christi," in tomorrow's post.

Paul Peuerl, Padouan (1611)

Paul Peuerl (1570-c. 1625?) was a German-Austrian composer, organist, and organ builder. Below is the first pavane in the collection Newe Padouan, Intrada, Dantz und Galliarda (1611). Source: Denkmäler der Tonkunst in Österreich, Bd.70.

The opening -- at (a) and (b) -- gives us a very compact "mirror": from Dorian ^8 down to ^5 and back up again. At (c) and two later places (arrows), an expressive upper note F5. At the end, the figure of (a) is repeated with a repetition of its head (also boxed) and then the cadence line follows: (e), which is a variant of (b). The surprising restriction on range is typical of published instrumental ensemble music through as late as 1650.