Re: GG: Tuning

[Thayer A <A.Thayer@RHBNC.AC.UK>]

I know that diatonicism was not officially invented until the times of
Corelli, but I'm quite confident that some composers had associations with
major and minor keys (even if they didn't know them as major and minor
keys). I'm no expert on this, but in the history course I just did I have
been told that Italian madrigalists often have certain emotional
associations with modes. Weelkes (an Italian influenced composer in england)
does actually tend to use keys (or rather hexachordal modes) with a minor
feel for 'sad' pieces and those with a major feel for happier ones. I won't
dispute what others have stated here, as this is certainly not my particular
field, but I'm sure that there were already certain associations with
tonalities (even if they were not officially defined) in the renaissance
times. I don't believe for a moment that we have merely attached particular
emotions to particular keys. I'm quite confident that there is an inherent
emotional differentiation between major and minor keys and that any composer
attempting to override this (eg. writing a sad piece in a major key) must
make a concious effort do so. Often when a piece in a major key is indeed
'sad' it relies on a great deal of chromaticism to be so. It is hard to
generate a 'sad' feel when the standard chords of a major key are used
conventionally.

Andrew