Friday, September 17, 2021

HARMONIC ANALYSIS: Canción from Canción y Danza No.1 A. R. Pipó

The Andante Cantabile, written in 1958, is generally a tonal piece. However the French
influence, particularly C. Debussy, is present in this work through the use of the Dorian
mode (B natural), modal mixture (cadence on D and not Dm in m.17) and colorful four
note chords throughout the piece.

||: A :|| B A' || The musical form of the Dance is a two part binary form where the sec-
tions are equivalent and equal in length. The harmonic content is sectional except in the B section (m.17) where we get an unexpected surprise with a cadence on D and not Dm. This foreshadows the arrival of the next and final movement the Allegro in D.

||: A :|| This section starts and ends on the tonic chord of Dm. Pipó introduces various
chords from the Dorian mode ( F - G - Am, m.3-4) mixed with standard tonal chords 
( E/G dim.- A dom.7th, m. 7).

The B section is used as a contrast to the previous section. The first four bars are resolved modally (IV - VII) on Dm. The next 4 bars end on an unexpected D major chord preceded by F and C (m.15-16).

The A' section is a slightly varied form of A with grace notes in m. 20-21.