1. Introduction
Tango is a form of music written in the tradition of Western major-minor tonality, a system of relationships between tones (organized as scales), chords (tones sounding conjointly), and functions (usage) of chords. Together, scales and chords make up a key, and we speak of a composition as being in C-major, for example, when it is built on a C-major scale and the chords resulting from that scale. Likewise, a piece is said to be in a-minor if it uses the a-minor scale and chords.
If one asks a musician how
the key of a composition is determined, one will frequently hear that
the scale and the chord on which the piece ends are the indicators of
the key. This will be true in most cases, but it is ultimately not a
correct statement. Using a C-major scale and ending on a C-major
chord does not mean the piece is “in” C-major. In order to be
“in” C-major, the other chords in the piece must be in certain
relationship to the C-major chord. This is the principle of tonality
(hence, major-minor tonality), and harmony provides a set of rules by
which tonality is expressed.
We will here focus on two
fundamental rules of harmony:
- a tonal composition has one fundamental chord, the tonic, to which all other chords progress and resolve to;
- as the tonic constitutes a point of repose or arrival in a piece of music, the dominant is its counterpart, expressing tension with an implicit need for resolution to the tonic.
The tonic is represented
by the lowest tone of the scale and the chord built on it. This
corresponds to the musician's notion of “key” mentioned above,
that is, a scale (which starts with the tonic) and the final chord of
the piece. The tonic being the first degree of the scale, it is
customarily indicated in harmonic analysis by the Roman numeral I.
The dominant is the chord
build on the interval a fifth (five scale steps) above the tonic. It
is the counterpole of the tonic, implying a need of resolution to the
tonic. The harmonic progression from the dominant to the tonic is the
most common way to establish the tonic as the tonal center of a
piece. In harmonic analysis, the dominant is customarily indicated by
the Roman numeral V.
Composers did not select
the relationship between tonic and dominant to harmonize their music
by arbitrary choice. It is, rather, founded on the human perception
of music. We tend to perceive a descending movement to the tonic as a
resolution of tension.
Example 1: Ascending and descending major scale
Likewise, the harmonic
progression from the dominant to the tonic (indicated in the last two
measures if the following example by the Roman numerals V and I,
respectively) conveys a sense of arrival and repose.
Example 2: Harmonic progression in C-major
The preceding example
exhibits a harmonic progression that is frequently encountered in
tonal music: a cadence. A cadence is a harmonic-melodic formula used
to impart a sense of resolution and finality. It is typically applied
at the end of a composition. Every tango dancer knows—or should
know—the final “chan-chan” of a tango with which the dance
terminates. Musically speaking, it is a cadence, the final one, and
thus the strongest one in a tango. Woe betide the dancer who
continues to move after the “chan-chan”!
But cadences do not only
appear at the end of a piece. They are also utilized in many different
forms to delimit phrases and melodies, where they function as points
of arrival or transition. It is precisely through cadences that the
tonality of a piece is articulated.
2. Arturo De Bassi's El
Incendio
As an example of a
classical instrumental tango, let us turn to El Incendio
by Arturo De Bassi. (There are three recordings by Rodolfo Biagi, Juan D'Arienzo, and
Carlos Di Sarli, respectively, that are still played intermittently in milongas
today.)
Arturo De Bassi grew up in a musical family. At age thirteen, in 1903, he joined the orchestra of the Apolo theater in Buenos Aires as a clarinetist. Three years later he composed his first tango, El Incendio (“The Fire”). It was inspired by the warning signals of the fire brigade. (Sirens for the horse-drawn vehicles had not yet been invented. It seems that in Buenos Aires bugle calls were used instead.) De Bassi, who claimed to have sold some 50,000 copies of the score, published the piece himself with great success, leaving it in music stores on consignment.
3. The Formal Division
El Incendio
consists of three sections (hereafter labeled A, B, and C,
respectively), which is a form typical for instrumental tangos of the
first quarter of the 20th century. The third section was
often designated a “trio” and was composed in a character
different from the other sections. The “trio” designation was
omitted in the score of El Incendio,
but the section has nevertheless been composed in such a way that it
marks a contrast against the other two sections. Sections A and B,
for example, begin with melodies in the high register, then showing a
descending melodic movement. Section C, on the other hand, begins in
a low register with an ascending motion.
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| Example 3: El Incendio, section A, melody descending from high register |
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The three parts of a tango like El Incendio were not simply played in succession from A to C. Rather, sections were repeated, yet not necessarily in order. The order of play may or may not have been indicated by the composer in the score, but even if it was, the performers were not bound by it. In fact, different recordings show great variety in the order in which the ABC sections could be performed. In the case of El Incendio, however, most recordings show the standard repetition scheme of a three-part composition: section A was played at the beginning and repeated after each of the following sections, thus resulting in a pattern A B A C A. (This pattern is also followed by Firpo in the example of the complete recording given below.)
4. A Simple Harmonic Analysis
The
music examples given below are taken from a piano score of El
Incendio and a recording made in 1927 by Roberto Firpo and his
orchestra, respectively. There are differences between the piano and
the orchestra scores, but these do not affect the points of the
argument presented here.
The
harmonic analysis is kept to a minimum and only aims to demonstrate
the synergy between tonic and dominant. Below each stave of music,
the key of the example is indicated by a capital letter (F or C,
respectively). To the right, the occurrences of tonic and dominant
are indicated by Roman numerals, I or V, respectively.
Each section
of El Incendio is a self-contained unit with a distinct
melody of 32 measures length and a strong cadence at the end. The
first section, A, shows a key signature of F-major, which identifies
the corresponding scale used in this section. Furthermore, F-major is
also the final chord.
Example 6: El Incendio, section A
Sections
B and C differ from A in one important aspect: they are not written
in F but in C-major. This is evidenced not only by the key signatures
and final chords. The harmonic movement within these sections shows
the same kind of oscillation between tonic and dominant as in Section
A—only in C-major.
Example 7: El Incendio, section B
Example 8: El Incendio, section C
Thus
having three sections with two tonalities, the question arises: is El
Incendio “in” one
particular key, or does it have two? If it is one key, which one is
it? The answer to this question lies in the pattern of repetition
with which the piece is performed. Section A being in F-major, and B and C
being in C-major, it turns out that the piece starts and ends in
F-major, and that the two sections in C-major are excursions, as it
were. The unfolding of the tonality could be represented as follows:
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| Example 9: El Incendio, tonic/dominant relationships between sections |
Harmonically,
F-major is the starting point of the piece as well as it is the point
of resolution following the C-major sections. The relationship of B
and C to A is a clear example of dominant and tonic, that is, the
resolution from tension to repose. In conclusion, we may
unequivocally state that El Incendio
is written in a key, and that the key is F-Major.
It
is important to note that the rules of tonality apply to all levels
of the composition. The association of tonic and dominant governs the
harmonic development within each section, just as it determines the
relationship between the sections. Thus, the formal layout of the
piece mirrors the harmonic organization of the individual sections.
The formal and harmonic
layout of El Incendio is neither an original invention of De
Bassi, nor is it particular to tango. In fact, it is one of the most
common ways to structure instrumental compositions in Western music.
5. Assessment
De
Bassi's El Incendio is a delightful composition that has not
lost its charm in the more than 100 years of its existence. The
interpolation of the signal fanfares into the melodic fabric is witty
and makes the piece instantly recognizable. Moreover, the composition
is formally and harmonically well balanced and appealing at the same
time. A remarkable composition for a sixteen-year-old!
Without
repudiating the composer's accomplishments, it must be said
nevertheless that the formal and harmonic layout of El
Incendio is not original with De Bassi. Nor is it particular to
tango music. It is, in fact, one of the most common ways to structure
instrumental compositions in Western music. Rather, it demonstrates
that Arturo De Bassi, scion of musicians in Buenos Aires, had been
well trained in the family business.
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Example 10: El Incendio, performed by Roberto Firpo and his orquesta tÃpica, 1927
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