Search

Esteban Daza

Fantasía [05] por el quinto tono

 

El Parnaso (1576), fol. 7

da005

Previous Next
Source title Fantasia por el quinto tono, señalase la claue de fefaut en la quarta en vacio. D[ificil]
Title in contents   Fantasia por el quinto tono
Text incipit


Music

Category abstract

Genre fantasia

Fantasia type Imp

Mode 5

Voices 4

Length (compases) 87

Vihuela

Tuning G

Courses 6

Final IV/0

Highest I/10

Lowest VI/3

Difficulty difficult

Tempo not specified

Song Text

Language

Vocal notation puntillos

Commentary

Polythematic, episodic fantasia in mode 5. The work fits less into the general scheme of Daza’s fantasía style because:
1) First section is of 2 paired themes that is theme and counter theme
2) Sixth section is 9 bars of free coda with free glosas.
Otherwise, the work is quite regular imitative polyphony. All but first theme are weak beat entries. Interval of falling 3rd is prominent and a pattern “and a rising and falling semitone motive [b–c–b]”

• Sections (Bar nos. from Griffiths1982)
I. 1-6
II. 6-15
III. 15-22
IV. 22-30
V 29-35
VI. 35-44.

• F major tonality is strong typical of 5th and 6th mode. 1st and 6th sections begin and end in Tonic area. The intermediary themes alternate F >> C; C >> F etc.
• There is a certain symmetry to the piece hinging around theme 4. Theme 3 ascends while theme 5 descends. The symmetry is in terms of the dramatic structure and is therefore perhaps not real symmetry because of the necessity to view such a structure within time. The voice leading is the key. Themes 3 & 5, although radically different exhibit the falling voice entry pattern A-T-S B with equidistant entries of T S but with B not entering until the concluding tail of S. Theme 4 establishes at exactly bar 22 (piece has 44) a dramatic low with entries T B A S. Theme 4 has also the narrowest range. The outer sections I, II and VI all are S oriented. Section six (already mentioned glosas) has a greater number of suspensions than usual for Daza, all of which are used in a prolonged cadential function. He uses 9-8, 4-3, 7-6 (=9-8 in 6 chord). There is no apparent link between this section and the others, which all have intervallic relations. Exception may be in the Tenor cf 35-36 and 42-43. (nb. Theme 5 could be seen as an expansion of the head of I).