Polytonalities
Relatively unexplored by theorists, perhaps for lack of the necessary hindsight, polytonality is the subject of two books recently published by Editions L'Harmattan.
Apart from a few rare earlier examples, polytonality gradually emerged in the latter half of the 19th century, coming into its own between 1910 and 1930. It is not a unified writing system, as each composer approaches it differently. The concept of polytonality was given a broader meaning than it was originally intended to define, coming to characterize any process of harmonic, modal or tonal superposition. Edited by Philippe Malhaire, the first of the two books includes a number of theoretical and analytical contributions, and describes the use of polytonality by Liszt, Ives, Stravinsky, John Williams and the little-known Emile Goué, among others.
The second book, written entirely by Malhaire, deepens the reflection and synthesis effort, offering new theoretical perspectives and removing ambiguities in terminology and traditional approximations - enabling a more precise analysis and a less nebulous delineation of the history of different forms of polytonality. The author revisits and redefines terms for each possible situation, whether closely or distantly related to polytonality: polymusic, polysystemic (simultaneity of different writing systems), polymodality, polydiatonia, polymelody, polyharmony, polyfunctionality, polyscalarity, polypolarity and finally true polytonality, in the strict or broad sense.
Following this terminological overhaul, a no less important chapter looks at the perception of polytonality, which can easily be assimilated, to the ear, to atonality or to an extended unitonality, depending on the context and parameters of the musical writing. Various theoretical approaches are then presented, before some significant works by Bruneau, Koechlin, Milhaud, Ravel, Satie and Stravinsky are analyzed. Having clearly defined the subject, Philippe Malhaire finally turns to the history of polytonality.
Polytonalités, edited by Philippe Malhaire, 266 p., € 22.80, L'Harmattan, Paris 2011, ISBN 978-2-296-56156-4
Philippe Malhaire, Polytonalité des origines au début du XXIe siècle, exégèse d'une démarche compositionnelle, 422 p., € 38.00, 2013, ISBN 978-2-343-01704-4
