Modal Harmony: Western and Indian

Author(s): Arthur Hutchings

Source: Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, 74th Sess. (1947 - 1948), pp. 25-31
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of the Royal Musical Association
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 12 FEBRUARY,
1948.

FRANK HOWES, Esq., M.A.,

PRESIDENT,
IN THE CHAIR.

MODAL HARMONY--WESTERN AND INDIAN.

BY ARTHUR HUTCHINGS,
Professorof Music in the Universityof Durham

A FEw monthsago I held thatmodal harmony-chordsand

progressionsdistinctfromthose of diatonicharmony--con-
sistedonlyof a fewidioms beloved by nationalistcomposers,
who spiced diatonic progressionby makingscales modal;
as in the practice of musicaficta the polyphonistseased
modal progressionby makingthe modes scalar. Last Sep-
tember,when Dr. Andrews came to Durham to examine,
I somewhatrudelypooh-poohed his appreciationof modal
writing in Palestrina, declaring that, though Palestrina
observed the authenticor plagal range of a vocal part, it
was churchly reverence,melodic and rhythmicrestraint
ratherthan any harmonicprocedure,that distinguishedhim
fromsuch a composeras Byrd. StripByrdof his " changing
notes," his modulations,his bold accents and basses, and
what differenceis there between Palestrinain the Dorian
mode and Byrd in D minor? Dr. Andrews was gentle in
his reproof,which amounted to " Look again." Let any
materialin this paper that results from my looking again
express my apology and thanks.
There was modal harmonyin the Roman school, despite
the fact that musicaficta was consistentlyapplied almost as
soon as harmonyitselffound consistentprinciples. True,
some of the most beautiful modal cadences might have
been as strangelybeautifulto sixteenth-century ears as to
theirfirstnineteenth-century audiences. (Here the lecturer
played examples by Faur6, Dvofik, and Charles Wood).
Yet the best-knownpiece of Palestrina's plain chordal
writing,the opening of his Stabat Mater, is still strangein
its beauty; let us recall any passage from Tallis or Byrd
that followsthe firstthreerising notes of the minor scale.
If we cannot imagine Byrd's soprano keeping to conjunct
movementand only two note-valuesfor a lengthof music
equal to Palestrina'sopening phrases,let us also recognise

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26 Modal Harmony--Western
and Indian
that his harmonictreatmentcould never have been similar.
A parody oftenexaggerates,but I submit the followingas
having some of the points one might find in a Byrdian
imitationof Palestrina's opening.

----- --
--4tl i- F ....-
.' W
-:i -A5 : ..
I

I T= -------.
_-__d_1f---T-

Ifl=I -_ -
,

-I=op 0 A.
lZANI.
A.. _. _ _. . _ , -
I
zl
. ..
OP

At least that shows the differencebetween A minor and

the Hypodorianmode. Consideronly the progressionfrom
the second to the thirdchord in Palestrina'sStabat Mater;
it makes a favouriteinterruptedcadence with the Roman
polyphonists. Having played V.A., when improvising,we
should never follow it by IV.A. (the subdominanttriad)
unless seeking archaic flavour,for our thoughtswould be
set upon a leading note, that of our firsttonic, or that of
the key to which we were moving. Mr. Miller Hartmann
has referredto this progressionas occurringin the most
unlikelyof places-in the last scene of Tannhauser,while
the Younger Pilgrimssing " Hoch fiberaller Welt ist Gott,
und sein Erbarn ist kein Spott."
(Other examples were played by the lecturerfromnon-
folkycomposers,includingVerdi, Brahms and Sibelius).

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 Modal Harmony-Westernand Indian 27
In days when Riemann almost convinced musiciansthat
all triads could be classifiedunder the functionsof tonic,
dominant, and sub-dominant,the effectof such a pro-
gressionwas even more markedthan it is now. Once we
regardharmonyfromthe " Rameau " viewpoint-as chords
built upon a bass-the diatonicsystemcontainseverychord
needed for modal suggestion; it is just a matterof pro-
gression. The basic triads sound strongerin a modal con-
textthanwhen seekinga leadingnote,yetI cannotagreewith
those who thinkthe diatonic-chromatic systemto be played
out. No technique is played out while genius employs it.
Rubbra, forinstance,has made the melodic minorscale his
chief vehicle of expression,either making normal leading-
note or enharmonicmodulations,or, like Faur6, suggesting
key change withoutestablishingit. The firsttwo pages of
his Cello Sonata show several beautifullycontrolled"side
slips " back into G minor-the tonality to which the
strainingharmoniesare tethered. (They were then played
by the lecturer.) And if the diatonic scales are not played
out, neither are the ecclesiastical modes, even though a
minorcomposeris unableto use themwithoutarchaiceffect.
Nothing could be more natural than Vaughan Williams's
progressfromtraditionalmodes to those of his own inspira-
tion, as, for instance, that in the slow movementof the
Fourth Symphony,whereinwe may regardthe finalas G.

4-4-4)
II.

low4
t;-9
.--,----- _

It is axiomatic that, though a system founded on

acoustical facts makes us use the same chords whatever
mode we choose, the progressionsbetween chords should
be in keeping with the characterand individualityof the
given mode; or, if theyare not, we must deliberatelyseek
the new modern beauty of " bi-tonal" or " bi-planar"
recalcitrance,so often illustratedin Vaughan Williams's
scores. And there is no reason whatever,except that of
taste (which is imposed upon us by the sheer size of one
artistor another)why the individualityof one mode should
not be contrastedwith that of another. Why point to the

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28 Modal Harmony--Western
and Indian
E? which makes so poignanta Dorian sixthin the last line
of " Behold the Lamb of God," when Handel, like Tallis
and othersbeforehim (vide the lovely " Plorans ploravit"
in Tallis's " Lamentations") makes marvellousemotional
effectby the merecontrastof majorand minor? This effect
is the more poignant when one mode is established as
normal, so that another becomes an aberration. Classic
instances are the Lydian flavour of Beethoven's "Et
incarnus est," or the ritornelloto Desdemona's prayerin
Otello. Hybridisationmay produce monstersor beauties,
but we cannot condemn hybridisationfor itself. Tallis's
Beth and Daleth are lovely,because of surroundingminor
harmony,and thereare places where eitherthe sudden use
of archaic modal progression,or the sudden use of
pacific major harmony (a return to "normal ") in the
midst of the tortured sadness of Boris-(sometimes at
placeswhenPimenor Borislettheirmindsdwellon imagined
or past happiness and beauty,or upon the eternaltruths)--
which are so lovely as to cause our tears.
Sibelius is rarelycalled a modal composer; why then
does he, as did Liszt and othersbeforehim, inventscales ?
So that complete harmony,or " normal" harmonymay
return with unusual warmth and strength- for the
" abnormal" harmonyis oftensketchy,in two parts only.
For the same reason his formalperiodsof rhythm,balanced
or sequentialphrases,are the more movingwhen offsetby
surroundingasymmetry.Now it is when seekingthe new
scales thatcomposershave sometimesused one ofthe Indian
modes-often unconsciously. A fineexample occurs in the
finaleof Bloch's quintet; the notesof the themehappen to
be thoseof the Raga Hindole,and you will note the wonder-
ful emotionaleffectof a dominantthirteenthin C major,
played by the piano afterall this mysteriousand unearthly
stringtexture; the chord and the music followingus back
to a C major, which Ernest Newman has declared to be
never so triumphantly affirmed.(A record of the closing
section was played.)
Now I cannot believe that any genuine music is made,
even by musiciansof the standingof Liszt or Sch6nberg,by
the use of empirically-found scales-those based on whole
tones,or alternationsof tone and semitone,or on alternating
diminishedtriads,or on similaror dissimilartetrachords-
untilthe particularflavour,and the character,of such scales
are demandedas a meansofexpression,eitherby theinventor
or by one who heard and recognisedtheircharacterin the
workof an inventorwho himselfservedno intrinsicmusicaI

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 Modal Harmony--Western
and Indian 29

purpose by theiruse. I cannot,for instance,see that Haba

uses quartertonesto any intrinsicallymusicalpurpose; but
Bloch does-they are a means of very special expression.
That several composers,includingSibelius, have discovered
Oriental scales accidentally,shows that these particular
scales had undiscoveredcharacteristics.What is more to
my present purpose, they had harmoniccharacteristics, in
the Greek sense of the word-and I am supposing,though
some authoritiesconsider the supposition incorrect,that
Greek music was monodic unless " magadised" in octaves.
I am also certainthat even as gifteda composeras Roussel
who importsHindu modes for Padmdavati, is unable to use
them to any greatexpressivepurpose unless he has known
them, and the music made fromthem, sufficiently long to
know theirindividualcharacteristics, as surelyas the poly-
phonists knew the characteristicsof the Dorian, Phrygian
or other modes, or as we know the limited but definite
characteristicsof the whole-tonescale.
In an age of fluidtechniquelike ours,only a greatgenius
is able to express himselfin diatonic or " archaic modal "
harmony,and yet show it in new beauty; forthe ordinary
composer-that is to say for us average musicians who
know thatwe mustcompose,or tryto do so, or else become
dead and useless as teachers-there is the age-long quest
for new material,for hybridisationif you like. Seeking
more fromwell-usedWestern techniques,we smaller men
merelyfidget; to get a simulationof life we use more and
more complex rhythms,new instrumentalcombinations,
new modulationsifwe can findthem. (Afterall the English
polyphonistswere in the same state when modal technique
seemed finished.) Our nationalistcomposers reversedthe
musicaficta, which made modes into scales, by altering
notes (and chordal progressions)in scales to make them
sound modal. They soughtto avoid the fussinessof leading-
note modulation,but the resultantmusic seems expressive
only of one basic mood, that of pastoral or ecclesiastical
tranquillity-the very mood which commended Palestrina
to nineteenth-century Germans,includingWagner. Novels,
such as Huxley's " Brave New World," which depict a
future,are rarelyprophetic; they tend to be projections
of ideas ' in the air' at the time of writing; theyare a com-
mentaryupon thattimeratherthan upon the time to come.
For this reason I do not predict that we shall suddenly
begin to use the hundredsof Indian scales, but I found it
a wonderfulmusical experience to grow familiarwith the
character of some of them.
4 Vol. 74

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30 and Indian
Modal Harmony--Western

A raga is a scale which has its special charactermade

clear by the melodic patternwith which it is announced.
Connoisseurs,who are as few and as educated in their art
in India as are devoteesof chambermusicin England,much
enjoy the process called alapa which takes place before a
singeractuallybegins his variationson a raga; duringthe
alapa he 'tunes up' as it were, soundingthe characteristic
intervals. I shall now ask you to hear a fineostad singing
variationson two ragas; the first,Malkosh, is identical
with our Dorian mode, but you will note that you have
neverin Westernmusic recognisedthe fullcharacteristics of
that mode. I choose Malkosh because the music will not
be too strangeforyour appreciationof the singer'samazing
purityof intonation,his agilityand training. From that we
shall pass to raga Puriya,as an instanceof a mode almostas
far removed from our general experience as I heard in
purely classical Hindu music. (The records were played,
and the range and characteristic cadence at the end of each
variationnoted.)

III. MALjOSH. Final Cadence

(Drone)
PURIYA. Final Cadence

(Drone)

So much for ' harmony' in the Greek sense of the word.

But you will want to know what happens if we apply
harmonyin our sense to this brilliantmelodic arabesque--
not Oiurelymonodic, because of the complex percussion,
and the continuous sounding of final and dominantas a
drone bass on the vina. Well, the results,seen chieflyin
experimentsby Bengali filmmusicians,are sometimesun-
pleasant and sometimesfascinating. The firstunpleasant
specimen is the treatmentof a PhrygianBengali folk-song
by no less a personthan Tagore, who happened to get hold
of text-book western harmony,and has made a worse
mistake in harmonisinghis mode diatonically than we
usually make in harmonisingthe Phrygian "The First
Nowell." (Record played.)

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 Modal Harmony--Western
and Indian 31

But I thinkyou will admitthatif one of our youngcom-

posers included a grazioso movementin a new symphony
that began with the music to be heard next, we should
greatlyadmire it.
(Most of the restof the sessionwas occupied withrecords
of Indian music, some classical,some of the new harmonic
school. The lecturerreferredto the divisionbetweenragas
and modes, between those whose characteristics were to be
avoided in sacred music, as in the mediaevalwesternmind,
and between folk and art songs. Referencewas also made
to the use of musicaficta and of melodic ornamentsby
Indian performers.
In conclusion the lecturerdrew a parallel between our
artistic and our economic riches. We starved, though
the world overproduced, for we did not know how to
organise distributionand exchange. So far from being
'played out,' old harmonic and melodic systems as well
as new ones existed in abundance; we merelyawaited the
genius to use them to artisticpurpose).

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