I just have no interest in harmony. I can’t hear it, I don’t enjoy it when I recognize it, it’s boring to read about, etc. Timbre on the other hand…

It had never occurred to me that one can enjoy music without enjoying harmony. You might read that and think, “Goodness, how closed-minded!” That’s a matter of opinion; to me it’s a perfectly valid point of view, although I don’t share it. (I do agree that harmony is pretty boring to read about, but sometimes we just have to.)

If anything, my own closed-mindedness is exactly the opposite. I rarely enjoy music where the emotional content is not driven by harmony; where it’s all about timbre and nothing else. (Although, for some reason, I do quite like Varèse.) My mind wanders during 12-tone music, and music that’s all about timbre and/or atmosphere, like that of George Crumb, for example. Harmony, not necessarily tonality, is the key to activating the listener’s Emotional Goose Bumps.

Not that I don’t appreciate timbre at all. It’s a major component of lots of music that I like: Stravinsky’s Les Noces is largely about timbre, as is most of Steve Reich’s music, which I thoroughly enjoy.

Question: If you’re in the harmony-doesn’t-matter camp, would you be put off by accessible lyricism in a piece, despite any interesting timbral qualities? I would truly like to know.

Back in the late Eighties, a fellow composition student and I became obsessed with a relatively recent work he had discovered. Joseph Schwantner’s Sparrows, for soprano and chamber ensemble, combines all of your favorite late-20th-Century shtick with accessible, almost-cloying-but-not-quite lyricism.

Largely based on a pattern of fifths, the harmonic language is devised in a way so as to avoid predictability. It’s a cycle using familiar diatonic-sounding harmonies, although it avoids triads and the harmonic progression never really resolves. For example (I use the terms “minor” and “major” very loosely here): B-flat minor – down to G-flat major – down to F minor – down to D-flat major down to C-minor, etc. In other words, down a major third, down a minor second… resolution never occurs. But it’s beautiful to hear.

(Oops. Sorry…. just made you read about harmony.)

This harmonic idea is combined with some aleatory, humming string players, bowed vibes, etc., making for a richly interesting sound experience.

Have a listen:

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“Sparrows” is a well-rounded work too: there’s a “B” section to, which contrasts the material I’ve just described beautifully. It’s not as immediately accessible; quite dark and angular in fact.

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