This second group of readings is more theoretical in focus, although there is some analytic content. The Barskii is a wide-ranging tome on chromaticism, concentrating as much or more on Greek, medieval, renaissance, Russian, and twentieth-century music than on western European common-practice styles. Barskii sometimes speaks in broad historical sweeps, generalities, and associations, and sometimes relies on questionable secondary sources; nonetheless, it is worth reading him for the conceptual content. Note the spectrum of definitions of chromaticism he describes, the various levels on which chromaticism may function, and the different types of organization which chromaticism may be opposed to - on both sides.

Proctor articulates concepts now often cited as alternative means of harmonic organization in nineteenth-century chromatic music. Please note the way in which these more abstract operations (transposition, equal divison of the octave) are shown to interact with conventional, "functional" tonal processes, how they are justified as musically valid, and how chromaticism is framed in relation to diatonicism. The short excerpt by me amplifies Proctor's discussion of enharmonicism.

Along the way, Proctor analyzes several passages from the first and third movements of Schubert's piano sonata in D major, D850. Give these your close attention, as we will be analyzing both pieces in greater detail. Think through the movements and do a rough harmonic analysis, identifying elements of chromatic interest. I have posted scores and recordings.

Readings (please click on authors' names and supplemental links for PDF files)

Barskii, Vladimir. "Chromaticism as a Category of Musical Thinking," chap. 2, pp. 35-54, of Chromaticism, trans. Romela Kohanovskaya (Harwood Academic Publishers, 1996), supplemented by "Chromaticism and Tonality," from chap. 3, "Historical Concepts of Chromaticism," pp. 122-139, and excerpts from chap. 1, "Evolution of the Concept of Chromaticism, pp. 24-34. All of chapter 1 is included for optional reference to some of the concepts from earlier music that Barskii cites later on. Please note: the previously missing page (p. 54) is now added to the file. Single page is available here.

Proctor, Gregory. Excerpts from Technical Bases of Chromatic Tonality: A Study in Chromaticism (PhD diss., Princeton University, 1978), pp. 130-143; 149-170; 198-200; 206-211.

Kopp, David. Excerpt from Chromatic Transformations in Nineteenth-Century Music (Cambridge University Press, 2002), section 4.5, pp. 80-83.

Supplementary Schubert Materials

-- Piano Sonata in D major, D850, movt. I, score
-- Piano Sonata in D major, D850, movt. III, score

-- Piano Sonata in D major, D850, movt. I, recording
-- Piano Sonata in D major, D850, movt. III, recording

Recordings are by Trudelies Leonhardt on period hammerflügel. She shows no fear of playing slowly and communicates the weirdness in the music (but is not always sensitive to harmony).

Tovey, Donald Francis. "Tonality in Schubert" (1928), reprinted in The Main Stream of Music and Other Essays (Meridian Books, 1959).