A false relation (also known as cross-relation, non-harmonic relation) is the name of a type of dissonance that sometimes occurs in

polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ...

music, most commonly in vocal music of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

and particularly in English music into the eighteenth century. The term describes a " chromatic contradiction" between two notes sounding simultaneously (or in close proximity) in two different voices or parts; or alternatively, in music written before 1600, the occurrence of a

tritone In music theory, the tritone is defined as a interval (music), musical interval spanning three adjacent Major second, whole tones (six semitones). For instance, the interval from F up to the B above it (in short, F–B) is a tritone as it can be ...

between two notes of adjacent chords. In the above example, a chromatic false relation occurs in two adjacent voices sounding at the same time (shown in red). The

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

voice sings G while the

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

sings G momentarily beneath it, producing the clash of an

augmented unison In modern Western tonality, tonal music theory an augmented unison or augmented prime is the interval (music), interval between two notes on the same staff position, or denoted by the same note letter, whose alterations cause them, in ordinary eq ...

. In this instance, the false relation is less pronounced: the contradicting E (soprano voice) and E (bass voice) (

diminished octave In music from Western culture, a diminished octave () is an Interval (music), interval produced by Diminution, narrowing a Octave, perfect octave by a chromatic semitone.Benward & Saker (2003). ''Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I'', p.54. . ...

) do not sound simultaneously. Here the false relation occurs because the top voice is descending in a minor key, and therefore takes the notes of the

natural minor In Classical_music, Western classical music theory, the minor scale refers to three Scale (music), scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending). ...

scale descending (the diatonic sixth degree). The bass voice ascends and therefore makes use of the ascending melodic minor scale (the raised sixth degree). False relation is in this case desirable since this chromatic alteration follows a melodic idea, the rising 'melodic minor'. In such cases false relations must occur between different voices, as it follows that they cannot be produced by the semitones that occur diatonically in a mode or scale of any kind. This horizontal approach to polyphonic writing reflects the practices of composers in the

and Tudor periods, particularly in vocal composition, but it is also seen, for example, in the

hexachord In music, a hexachord (also hexachordon) is a six- note series, as exhibited in a scale ( hexatonic or hexad) or tone row. The term was adopted in this sense during the Middle Ages and adapted in the 20th century in Milton Babbitt's serial t ...

fantasies of

William Byrd William Byrd (; 4 July 1623) was an English Renaissance composer. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native country and on the Continental Europe, Continent. He i ...

(for keyboard). Indeed, vocal music from this era does not often have these accidentals notated in the manuscript (see Musica ficta); experienced singers would have decided whether or not they were appropriate in a given musical context. Many composers from the late 16th century onwards however began using the effect deliberately as an expressive device in their word setting. This practice continued well into the Romantic era, and can be heard in the music of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

and Chopin, for example.

References

External links

*Luís Henriques (Saturday, July 21, 2007)
"William Byrd - ''Ave Verum Corpus''"
''Atrium Musicologicum''. Another description of the use of false relation in Byrd's ''Ave Verum Corpus''. his blog is open to invited readers only* Early Music Sources ( Elam Rotem): {{Counterpoint & polyphony Chromaticism Counterpoint Harmony Musical terminology

See also

References

External links