A Brief Harmony of Tango, Part II

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1. Introduction

Our preceding article discussed how tonal harmony is established through scales (key signatures) and harmonic progressions from the dominant to the tonic (in the examples identified as V and I, respectively). ( See A Brief Harmony of Tango, I for a discussion on key identification. In this article, we introduce two more concept of major-minor tonality: the subdominant and secondary dominants.

1a. The Subdominant

The subdominant derives its name from its position in relation to the tonic. Whereas the dominant is located a fifth (that is, five scale steps) above the keynote of a scale, the subdominant has its place a fifth below the tonic (or, by inversion, a fourth above—hence it is identified as IV in the following examples).

Example 1

The subdominant commonly participates in cadences and appears before the dominant. A typical progression would involve a move from the tonic to the subdominant, the dominant, and finally return to the tonic (I-IV-V-I, see the example below).

Another typical application of the subdominant is the so-called “plagal cadence”, in which a subdominant-tonic progression is appended to dominant cadence ( … V-I-IV-I). This is a very common figure in final cadences of church hymns.

Example 2: Cadences with subdominant

1b. Secondary Dominants

The idea of a secondary dominant is simple: create a chord that functions like a dominant to a chord other than the tonic. Turning a chord into a secondary dominant requires an alteration of at least one of its constituent tones. The resulting chord is not naturally found in the key. It is, so to speak, a (temporary) dominant borrowed from another key.

Secondary dominants are employed to enrich the harmony of a piece and to build up tension before the resolution to the tonic. A typical application is to create a dominant to the dominant. Thus, the secondary dominant resolves to the dominant, which in turn resolves to the tonic.

A simple harmonic progression in a major key, with a dominant-tonic cadence at the end, may sound as follows:

Example 3: Simple cadence (only dominant and tonic chords are indicated)

To enhance the sense of tension and resolution, one may precede the dominant with its own dominant (indicated as V/V in the following example). As can be seen the score, this chord is not set in its natural form but has one pitch (the lowest one) raised by an accidental. This raised tone acts as a leading-tone, that is, it creates tension and thus implies the expectation of resolution to the adjacent tone.

Example 4: cadence with a secondary dominant

As was mentioned above, a secondary dominant can be applied to any chord. Even secondary dominants may become the target of another secondary dominant, as in the following example: from the second to the fourth measure, we find four successive major chords. Each one is the dominant of the following chord, thus resulting in a progression B-Major – E-Major – A-major (dominant) – D-Major (tonic).

Example 5: cadence with two secondary dominants

2. “El Himno Bonaerense”

Angel Villoldo's El Porteñito, is one of the best-known tangos. Composed in 1903, it was among the first to be recorded. Villoldo called the piece a tango criollo but since the latter half of the 1930s, it has also been performed as a milonga. Practically all Argentinian movies of the 1930-40s, set in Buenos Aires around the turn of the 20^th century, included a dancing scene in which El Porteñito was performed, often at neck-breaking speed. If it is possible to name one tango that represents Buenos Aires more than any other, it is surely El Porteñito.

3. The Formal Structure

The formal structure of El Porteñito is simple and quite symmetric. It consists of three sections of 16 measures each (hereafter identified as A, B, and C). The three sections are “through-composed” in the score, that is, they are written successively without break and no repetitions are indicated. Nevertheless, each section ends on a strong cadence that provides a point of incision in the flow of the music and thus sets off one section from the next.

Each section is, in turn, divided into two phrases, antecedent and consequent, of 8 measures (henceforth A1, A2, B1, etc.). Melodically and harmonically, antecedent and consequent are very similar and differ only in their terminations. Section A is characterized by lively motives of fast note values in descending motion, leading to short figures of the most characteristic rhythm of tango, the síncopa (indicated in the examples by square brackets above the music stave).

Example 6: Section A1, antecedent

Example 7: Section A2, consequent

Example 8: Section A

The antecedent and consequent phrases of section B are also very similar. In contrast to section A, however, the rhythmic movement is calmer due to longer note values and an almost complete avoidance of the síncopa.

Example 9: Section B1, antecedent

Example 10: Section B2, consequent

Example 11: Section B

It must be noted, nevertheless, that in terms of the fundamental structure of the melodies, sections A and B differ little from each other. The direction of the melodic movement is complementary (descending) and the target notes of the descending motives correspond as well. A comparison of the melodic outline of Sections A and B demonstrates clearly the similarities between the two sections.

Example 12: Melodic outline of sections A and B

Section C, by contrast, shows a predominantly upward melodic motion, and there are no síncopas to be found.

Example 13: Section C1, antecedent

Example 14: Section C2, consequent

Example 15: Section C

As the a melodic outline shows, the general movement strives upward and thus creates a contrast to sections A and B.

Example 16: Melodic outline of section C

4. The Tonal Structure

As mentioned above, a strong cadence demarcates the end of each section. The final chord of these cadences corresponds to the key signature. Furthermore, the division between antecedent and subsequent phrases is also marked by cadences whose final chords coincide with those at the end of the section. Thus, it is evident that the tonality of sections A and B is D-major, whereas section C is set in G-major.

Key Signature	Phrase:	starts on	cadences on	Final Chord
D-Major	A1	I	V-I	D-Major
	A2	I	V-I
D-Major	B1	(I)	V-I	D-Major
	B2	(I)	V-I
G-Major	C1	(I)	V-I-IV-I	G-Major
	C2	(I)	V-I

All cadences occurring at phrase endings are dominant-tonic cadences (V-I), with one exception: phrase C1 ends with a plagal cadence (IV-I). The importance of this singular occurrence is underscored by the fact that all dominant-tonic cadences are strengthened by preceding secondary dominants. Let us recall that the subdominant (IV) is located at the interval of a fifth below the tonic (I). The dominant (V), on the other hand, is located a fifth above. It follows that a secondary dominant of the dominant is placed another fifth above the tonic, etc.

Examining the harmonic progressions that lead to the cadences in phrases A1 and B1, for example, we find the following harmonic progression in the last four measures: B-major, E-major, A-major (V), and finally D-major (I).

Example 17: Section A1

Example 18: Section B1

Describing these progressions in reverse and in functional terms, we can say that the tonic (I) is preceded by the dominant (V), by the dominant of the dominant (E), and once again by another dominant (B). In this way the passage preceding the cadence forms a sequence of secondary dominants.

By contrast, the harmonies of C1 remain within the limits of tonic and dominant, but then at the end swing into the opposite direction to the subdominant (IV) with the plagal cadence.

Example 19: Section C1

Looking at the larger context in which this singular plagal cadence occurs asserts that it did not come about by chance. Section C is the equivalent of the “trio” section in other instrumental tangos. Trios are customarily composed in a way that distinguishes them from the other sections. We have noted earlier that C differs from sections A and B in its melodic direction, which move upward in contrast to the descending movement in A and B. Similarly, the harmonic direction of C departs from the one encountered in the other sections. A and B were characterized by harmonies on the dominant side. C is in the subdominant key and exhibits at its midpoint the only plagal cadence of the entire piece. Hence, it emphasizes harmonies on the subdominant side.

5. The Repetitions

We have noted earlier that El Porteñito is “through-composed”, that is, sections A to C are written out in order in the score without any indication of repetitions. Yet, compositions of this type are always performed with some kind of repetition. A common way would be to play sections A through C in order and then to repeat sections A and B. Such an arrangement would highlight the contrasting character of section C and lend a symmetrical structure to the piece (ABCAB). A recording by the Quarteto Roberto Firpo (1936) expanded this scheme by adding another repetition of all three sections (AB C AB C AB).

Example 20: El Porteñito, Quarteto Roberto Firpo 

One will encounter a “standard” repetition scheme like Firpo's or a variation thereof in most of the many recordings of El Porteñito. Yet, tango orchestras appear to have been keen to record their own versions of pieces, and two interesting versions of Villoldo's tango with differing repetition schemes shall be mentioned here.

The first one is a recording from 1928 by the Orquesta Típica Victor. (We invite you to pay special attention to the spectacular first violinist in this recording. Unfortunately, we do not know who it was, but it is likely to have been Elvino Vadaro or Agesilao Ferrazano, who performed with the Típica Victor in the late 1920s.)

Example 21:  El Porteñito, Orquesta Típica Victor 

Striking about this arrangement of El Porteñito is that it starts with section C, thus, in the subdominant key. The complete repetition scheme looks as follows: CABCA.

Francisco Canaro recorded El Porteñito at least three times. In two of these recordings, he followed the “standard” model, but one recording with the Quinteto Pirincho from the 1950s is decidedly different.

Example 22:  El Porteñito, Quinteto Pirincho 

In this version, Canaro repeats all three sections in order: ABC ABC. Thus, the piece ends in the subdominant key.

The Victor and Canaro versions of El Porteñito raise the question whether rearranging the three musical sections alters the formal and tonal cohesion of the piece. A “standard” repetition scheme like ABCAB follows the compositional logic: it articulates a musical idea (AB, D-major), contrasts it with an opposing one (C, G-major), and returns to the first idea. Both in terms of form and tonality, it is clear what the original and the contrasting ideas are: the piece ends where it started and thus presents a closed entity.

The Victor and Canaro versions loosen the formal and tonal coherence. But these performers were not the only ones to do so. It was quite common to rearrange pieces and start or end them in the “wrong” key. No one took exception to it. Pieces like El Porteñito were well-known enough for the audience to quickly recognize a different arrangement. The end justifies the means.

© 2017 Wolfgang Freis