Tone-Problems of To-day

Author(s): Alfredo Casella and Theodore Baker

Source: The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Apr., 1924), pp. 159-171
Published by: Oxford University Press
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THE MUSICALQUARTERLY

VOL. X

APRIL, 1924

NO. 2

TONE-PROBLEMS OF TO-DAY

THE

By ALFREDO CASELLA
present rapid, deep-reachingevolution of the ancient

diatonic absolutism (of the past) into out-and-out

chromaticism (of the future) has been very diversely

apprehended,according to the diverse mentalityof individuals.
For those who, like the writer,have for years been familiarwith
the mysteries of ultra-moderntechnique, "polytonality" and
"atonality" are now two phases of music not merelyarrived at,
but also, in certain of their aspects, well-nighsuperseded. In
any event, they are fixed historical facts of sufficientmaturity
to furnishplentifulmaterial for careful research. For others,
however, these same problems are nothingmore than fantastic
imaginingsof some fewimpotentmindsavid ofself-advertisement.
Those belongingto this second category we shall leave to
theirown melancholyfate,in so faras they refuseto conceive the
possibilityof evolution,and intrenchthemselveswith desperate
obstinacybehind the ivorytower of theirwillfulblindness. We
shall turn,instead, to those who speak without adequate knowledge, but are reasonable and willingto listento anyone who can
demonstrate,by solid arguments,the correctnessof certainideas.

Polytonality, atonality-these are terms a la mode. But,

among all the personswho employthem daily, veryfewknow,in
reality,preciselywhat theymean. And not seldomone may note
some critic(shakyin matterstheoretical)whoactuallythinksthese
two vocables identicalin meaning.
159

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The Musical Quarterly

to avoid
Now, a modicumofetymologicalacumenshouldsuffice
this error. "Polytonality"signifies,to be sure,the interpenetration of diversescales; but it likewiseassumes-in the verynature
ofthings-the survivalofthe originalscales (as one mightsay that
graphiccubism is nothingbut theparoxysmof themass-complex).
Contrariwise,"atonality" signifiesthe destructionof the several
diatonic scales (of seven tones), substitutingthereforthe chromatic scale, eithertemperedor Pythagorean.
two totallydifferent
They mean, therefore,
things.

DEFINITIONS:

as understoodto-day,is nothingmorethan moduPolytonality,

lationin simultaneity.
Atonalityis the negationof the diatonicscale and thecommon
chord.-A more abstract definitionof atonality would be, "the
fourthdimensionin music."--And a third (humoristic)definition
wouldbe, "the exceptionmade the rule,or,the death ofthe scale."

Too protracted(and futile) would be the task of recording

(even briefly)how our music,fromits unitonaland exclusivelyconsonantstatusat theRenaissance,has arrivedstepbystepat Tristan.
of passing-notes;then the suspensions;
First of all, the infiltration
afterthem,the appoggiaturas;-the advent of modulation,beginningtimidlyand rarely,growingmoreand morebold and frequent;
the "chromatization"of the passing-notes(the originof the "harmonicalterations");the suppression(1) ofthepreparationof dissonant chords,and (2) of theirresolution;all this is well known,and
constitutesthat long evolutionin whose course the antique consonant music of the fifteenth
centuryhas been graduallydirected
toward the prismatichorizonof chromaticism.
However-in so far as we may assume the solid historical
cultureof the reader-it willnot be superfluousto note the significance ofsome fewphenomenaembracedin the aforesaidevolution.
Amongthese,one of the mostimportant(and too littleinvestigated) is that of the modal contrastbetweenthe ascendingminor
scale:

i~IWO

Tone-Problemsof To-day

161

and the descendingHypodoricscale of the Greeks:

The contrapuntalemploymentof melismata based on these two

scales indubitablyconstitutesthe firsthistoricalexample of the
ofscales and, consequently,ofpolytonality,and it was
simultaneity
the originof singularlybold harmoniceffects:'
a

(Orazio Vecchi)

(J.S. Bach)

4(MozartC

(Beethoven)

1Speaking of the origins of polytonality, we ought to quote, as an example

of simultaneity suggested by a humoristic intent, the end of Mozart's exquisite
Dorfmusikanten-Serenade:

V 6,
,.

.-

for it contains (at the conclusion of the comic "cadenza" of the violin solo which
terminates the Adagio) perhaps the firsthistorical instance of the whole-tone scale
(scala esafonica):
B,9a.

----'----'-":-~

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The Musical Quarterly

And lying at the root of the above, a classical melodic appoggiatura:

originatedone of the most fruitfulchordsin music,namely:

a chord with whichDebussy, Ravel, Stravinskyand many others
have succeeded in workingwonders.
To companionthisalreadyremotephenomenonprecursoryto
polytonalitythereis anotherhighlyinstructiveone, a forerunner
of modernatonality-that of the "dramatic" employmentof the
diminished seventh-chord.
Domenico Alaleona sympathetically
definesthis quadrad as "the chordof astonishment";and, in fact,
it possessed a mightyquality of melodramaticenergy for our
ancestors. We know that this chord, without being properly
"atonal," none the less representedin its time the most indefinite
harmonic artificeas regards tonal significance,because it may
minor
to six,seven,or even eightdifferent
belong,enharmonically,
scales. Hence it was favoredbetween1750 and 1850 to illustrate
the most despairfuland gloomy theatricalsituations. It would
be hard to say how many deceptions,surprises,oaths and perjurations, assassinations, matrimonial mishaps, tempests, capital
punishmentsand violent deaths of every sort, etc., etc., found
natural expressionin this famouschordforover a century-until
Wagner supplantedit by the seventh-chord

therewithputtingan end to the age of "astonishment."

At all events,it is interestingto note how (forexceptionally
violent situations) the melodramaticcomposers of that period
feltan imperiousdemandfora formofmusicalexpressionreaching
out beyond pure diatonicism,and thereforehad recourse to a
harmonythat was theleasttonalof any knownto them.

Before grapplingwith present-dayproblems,we shall define

Richard Wagneras the final,supremegiant of classic diatonicism.

Tone-Problems of To-day

163

Heir general to the vast tonal apparatus, his genius enriched

diatonic harmonywith resourcesunknownbefore. And marvellously did they interprethis barbaric, forcefulsensuality,these
refinedchromaticalterationsthat invest Tristanwith its
infinitely
morbid,terribleeroticism.
But extremechromaticismis not shownforthby this admirable score. As a matterof fact,the atonal chromaticismofto-day
does not appear in it. The music of Tristanis the uttermostsynthesis, indeed, of chromaticized diatonicism,but its harmonic
substructurerests throughoutand invariably on the major and
minormodes and the threegrandfundamental"functions"-tonic,
dominant,and subdominant.

It is clear that whenthe diatonicsystemhad once attained to

Wagnerian magnificence,nothing was left for the successors of
the Master but to plan their escape, at any cost, fromthe now
exhaustedbinomialmajor-minor,
and to seek new ways of musical
utterance.
Then came Debussy-and a miracle took place. The old
dogmatic fortress,that had successfullyresisted the assaults of
ages and Wagner's tremendousoffensiveas well, crumbledin a
twinkling,as at the touch of a magic wand. And, in its place,
Nature at last arose, resplendentand unfettered. The antique
restrictionof the scales to threein numberbeingfinallyabolished,
the music of Debussy set forthto exploit,with adolescent eagerand Far-Eastern
ness,the resourcesofthe Greek,oriental,whole-tone
scales, neglectedforcenturies.
It is of record,however,that certain Russians had already
pointed out the path forthe youngFrenchmanto follow. Inheritors of the vast treasures, plastic and musical, of fabulous
Byzantium, these men had a premonition-an intuitioncaught
fromtheir ancestral Gregorianvocalization-of the freemusic of
the future. For this reason,our debt of gratitudeto themcannot
be lightlyestimated. It may well be that we actually owe the
salvation of music to theirwork.
Having arrived,withDebussy, at polymodalityin successivity,
and thepossibilitiesfornewtone-combinations
beingthusinfinitely
extended,it was logical that the next generationshould thinkof
introducingthe recent acquisitions in simultaneity. And so it
came, between 1910 and 1914, that our "polytonality" was
born.

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The Musical Quarterly

As stated above, there are still many who wronglyconsider

polytonalityto be somethingpurely arbitrary,the monstrous
birthof a fewdegenerateminds. They ought,on the contrary,to
in simultaneityofdiatonicfragments
considerthattheintroduction
until then employedonly in successionby means of modulatory
artifice,was bound to come sooneror lateras the resultofthisvery
abuse of modulation. Moreover, the nineteenthcentury (and
even a part of the eighteenth)abounds in polytonalchordsformed
by suspensionsor appoggiaturasand containingmost vital germs
of polytonality:

(Mendelssohn)

The firstworkpresentingpolytonalityin typicalcompleteness

-not merelyin the guise of a more or less happy "experiment,"
but responding throughoutto the demands of expression-is
beyond all question the grandioseLe Sacre du Printempsof Stramimicdramathe tonal supervinsky(1913). In thisextraordinary
the
the
assume
of a new and necesaspect,
positions
significance,
the
for
the
which
evokes
sary language
poet
ingenuous,dolorous
of
the
In
Slavic
soul.
prehistoric
primitivity
my opinion, the
influenceofthiscompositionhas been ofcapital importanceduring
the last decade. It is no exaggerationto comparethis audacious
music to a dazzling beacon which,kindledbut yesterday,dispels
the gloom on the path of our youngmusiciansof the future.

Afterthe appearance of the Sacre du Printemps,polytonality

became a thingof currentusage among the majorityof European
musicians belongingto the "vanguard." And to-day it is no
longer in point to discuss whether the new phenomenonhas
wroughtgood or evil; it appears to us as a fait accompliof such
importthat it is a natural necessity-foranyone who is reallyin
earnest-to studyrationallythe aforesaidphenomenon. We shall
have to wait a long time,though,beforesuch a course of studyis
added to the curriculumof our harmony-schools.
Polytonality,properlyso called, subdividesinto two species,
harmonicand melodic.

Tone-Problems of To-day

165

The harmonic species' is that which superposes and interweaves chordsbelongingto diversetonalities;e.g.:

F?major
$1

ol.maj.

P Mai.

FImaj,'

(B.Bartdk)

(Casella)

(I. Stravinsky)

In certain cases one can speak confidentlyof an "harmonic

counterpoint":
(fromthe Elegia Eroica,191s)

In such a collocationof ideas one mightdefinepolytonalityas

"a representationof harmony." Indeed, it is evident that, with
'Among the most curious of polytonal harmonies we should mention the synthetic major-minorchord, tried several times by Stravinsky,the writer,and others:

.An

(fromthe"Sacredu Printemps"
1913)

(fromthe"Notte di Maggio" 1913)

(4)

.u
.-)

A..

And-marvel of marvels!-we already findsimilar formsin Monteverdi's Orfeo:

A
--AVL

O-ELM6

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The Musical Quarterly

regardto the greaterpart of modernchords,it is always possible

to attributeto them-with the assistance of God, Padre Mattei,
and a fairamountofgood will-a scholasticinterpretation. E.g.,
in the chord

we may easily conceive the fourhighertones as so many appoggiaturasdestinedto resolveinto

but how much simpler to divide the entire harmonyinto two

chords, the tonic triad of E major and the dominant seventhchordof G-sharp,whollyrejectingthe idea of resolution!
I once comparedthe Odysseyof the Dissonance, "enchained"
frombirthand gainingfreedomlittleby little,to the peregrinations
of some delinquentbetweentwo policemen,Preparationand Resolution, of whose undesirableattentionshe gradually succeeds in
freeinghimself. Such was the careerof the appoggiatura. Originally it was a suspension straitly confined between our two
policemen;then,Preparationbeinggot rid of,it became a real appoggiatura. As time went on, Resolution was also set aside, and
now this same note that was formerlycalled "foreignto the harmony"-atrophied as a resolvable entity-obviously requires
revaluationaccordingto new criticalstandards.
Hence, harmonic polytonality,besides revealing new and
limitless horizons of tone-combinationto the composer,constimeans ofanalysis,throughthe aid of which
tutes a mostefficacious
nevertheone obtains a clear insightinto modernchord-building,
less always conservingthe idea of the diatonic scale, the natural
and indispensablebasis of the polytonalconception.

Melodic polytonalityis that which superposes two or more

melodiesofdiversetonality. It was bornon that day whencanons
fromthe classic canon "at the octave" were admitted;
differing
that is, canons at the second,at the third,at the fourth,etc. Scholastic rigorfor centuriesconstrainedthe voices composingthese

contrapuntal forms to live and move within a common tonality;

but, evidently, a change at any time of the "alterations" of one of

167

Tone-Problems of To-day

the parts would sufficeto arriveat our present-daymelodicpolytonality.

However, while harmonicpolytonalityhas shownitselfto be
a musicalagencyofgreatexpressivepower,as wellas an analytical
factorof the highestvalue, we cannot affirmthe same of melodic
polytonality. The systematicsuperpositionof melodiesbelonging
to diverse tonalities has hithertoled to very few convincing
results. The chief paladin of this new counterpointis Darius
Milhaud, but I cannot say withsinceritythat whenI hear, in his
quartets or his symphonies,four,five,or more instrumentsperformingsimultaneouslyas many melodies of an inoffensiveness
quite inadequate to the end proposed-I repeat, that I cannot
conscientiouslyassertthat the resultis agreeableto my ear.
Yet I myself have variously employed melodic polytonal
superpositions. But, in these,the several melodiesacknowledged
the leadershipof one among them,as in the followingexcerpts:
a (fromthe"Pagine di guerra,"1915)
whole-tone scale

chrom.scale

E major

neutraltonality

E minor
b (from"5 Pieces for string quartet" 1920)
EL min. Hypodoric

B maj.

F
OIL

min

.Hypodoric

7
" ]
'.
D min. Hypodoric

,-._ .

"

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The Musical Quarterly

Still, nothingshould be rejected a priori. And it may easily

come to pass that this same Milhaud-still so young-will
find some day soon (for in him there is no lack of talent) an
expressiveformulathat willconquereven my skepticism. He has
my fraternalgood wishes.

Before taking up atonality we would call attention for a

momentto two interestinghistoricalfacts.
One of these is the whole-tone
scale, the bugbear of harmonyteacherstwelve or fifteenyears ago. This scale was adopted for
the firsttimeby Liszt in the SursumCordato be foundin Book III
of his Annies de Pelerinage. Anotherexperimentis known (of
nearlythe same epoch, I believe) in Dargomijsky's Stone Guest.
But it was Debussy who has made the mostofthe new scale. His
marvelloussensibilitytaughthim its use to serve his ends. And,
in so doing,he exhaustedits-sooth to say-very limitedpossibilities. So that those who, coming afterhim, continuein an obstinate abuse of "esafonism,"will lose theirtime in the writingof
futilemusic. The whole-tonescale was thoughtby many (some
years since) to be the key to modernmusic. And how oftenhave
I feltobliged to warn our Italian youth against the perilsof this
system,whichlimitsto six the tones of the scale,
poverty-stricken
and the chordsto one only!
The second historicalfact (which is deservingof far more
extendedtreatment,and whichI mustcontentmyselfto-day with
on the
barely mentioning)is the influenceof the piano-keyboard
evolutionof harmony. Let us hope that a thorough-going
treatise
may speedilyappear to illuminatethis neglectedfieldof research.
-Here I can only call attentionto the quantityof combinations
suggestedby the natural polytonality
resultingfromthe mingling
of whitekeys(major scale) and blackkeys(Chinese scale).
Below, for example, is a genial "find" which would hardly
have occurredto its authorhad the keys been otherwisearranged.
(from Petrouchka. I. Stravinsky)

u .
e"
,l

~i, .-

.1

e--

Tone-Problems of To-day

169

Atonalityrepresents,in contrastto polytonality,the second,

and indubitably the most venturesome, of post-Debussyan
problems.
This is a favorableopportunityonce more to pay homage to
the propheticgenius of Liszt, who wrote,as early as 1847, this
surprisingatonal fragment:
(fromthe"FaustSymphonie")

Whereas polytonalityoriginatedin what we may term an

of diatonicism,1and implies in its very being an
intensification
absolute faith in the seven-tone scale and the common chord,
atonalityis rootedin the chromaticscale and, consequently,is the
negationof the consonanttriad.
For these reasons,atonality evades all analysis based on the
ancient diatonic methods:
(A. Sch6nberg,"Erwartung")
.
6 I U
II-----..

An analogy is frequentlyfoundbetweenpolytonaland atonal

chords. But these two species of music conserve fundamental
characteristicswhich cannot be confounded. He who ignores
them,may confoundthem-as one unfamiliarwiththe languages
mightconfoundChinese and Japanese. But this mistake is impossible for an expert in modern problems. In fact, in atonal
music one not seldom meets with chords belongingto traditional
harmony. But their neighborlyrelations to the other chords
deprive the student of any inclinationto reattributeto them the
propertieswhich they enjoyed or the obligationsto which they
weresubjected in the diatonic system.
1I again insist on the close analogy existing between polytonality (simultaneity
interpenetratedby diatonicism) and cubism (simultaneity interpenetratedby masses,
volumes).

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The Musical Quarterly

It is not easy to determinewhichnatural chord assumes the

functionof fundamentalin atonalityand thus servesas a pendant
to the functionofthe commonchordin diatonicism. But it might
not be impossible-at least provisionally-to recognize the ensemble of the twelve chromatic tones-perhaps as arranged
accordingto an harmonicordersui generissuch as I attemptedas
early as 1913 in my Nottedi Maggio:

-as the natural harmonyof the atonal system,and then to consider any chord of fromthreeto twelve tones as a fragmentor a
permutationof the basic chord.
As a matterof fact,atonalityappears to be the creationof a
ratherthan of a group. He was
single artist,ArnoldSchtinberg,
the firstto cut definitivelyall ties with the idea of tonality.
And since that day, already farbehindus (the threeKlavierstiicke
Op. 11, in whichthe great "transition"was accomplished,date at
least twelve years back, and possibly longer), this man has not
wearied in pursuing the same path, and, heroicallycontending
and even actual
ofhis contemporaries
againstthe incomprehension
destitution,has constructed a musical edifice that represents
to-day one of the grandest creative effortsin musical history.
Works like Pierrotlunaire or the five Orchesterstiicke
may, as the
but
or
case may be, arouse enthusiasm irritation;
they are creas
dismissed
more or less
be
ations which,unquestionably,cannot
of
a
with
novel
tone-technics,but
system
happy experiments
rather demand recognitionas marvellousexpressionsof modern
sensibility,whose musical speech,in its wondrousperfection,may
be comparedonly withthat of a Bach, a Mozart, or a Chopin.

Someone once likened the abolition of tonality to the suppression of private propertyby the bolsheviki. But this witty
paradox does not hold good, forpossessionin private undoubtedly
goes back to the family of Adam, whereas our tonal sense is a
growth of only a few centuries.

Tone-Problems of To-day

171

All the same, I franklyadmit-while admiringSchtinberg's

greatnessand fullyappreciatingthe vast scope of his conquestmy continuingbelief in the possibilitiesof newer musical utterances whichwillmake greateraccount oftraditionalusage. I confess that this total repudiation-however genial in form-of a
past age to which we owe so much, disquiets me in a measure.
And I thinkit probablethat Schtinbergwillremainforfuturetimes
a magnificent,isolated star, and that his imitatorswill, in their
turn,share the fate of Debussy's, Wagner's,or Rossini's.
Furthermore,I fail to perceivehow "Sch*nbergism"can ever
be adapted to the Italian temperament.

To sum up : We have, in the above, recognizedthe perfect

legitimacyof the two grand evolutionaryphenomena at present
controllingour art. We have established their deep-seated and
essential divergence-a divergence,however, which does not at
all exclude a frequentcotiperationbetween the two systemsfor
the creation of new formsof expression. And we hope-despite
the necessary brevity of this essay-that we have sufficiently
demonstratedthe baselessnessof the accusation so oftenbrought
against both tendencies,of arbitrarinessand willfulsystematization. Neither polytonalitynor atonalityis an arbitrarysystem;
the one is a sonorous enhancementresultant fromdiatonic history; while the otheris, perchance,the dawn of a new music-at
all events the conceptionof a mind of exceptionalpotency.
The futurewill sooner or later pronounceits verdict,and will
be in a commandingposition to divide the few actual genuine
creators (for whom these recenttechnical resourceswere nothing
morethan simple,indispensableagenciesforthe attainmentofnew
formsof Beauty) fromthe innumerablefalse revolutionaries,the
clumsy and disingenuousadopters of the selfsameresources,but
merelyforthe sake of an immediateand ephemeralcelebrity.
(Translated by TheodoreBaker.)