Neo-Riemannian Analysis in the System of Theoretical Views of Richard Cohn

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to highlight the main principles of the Neo-Riemannian method of analysis in the system of Richard Cohn’s theoretical views. The methodological basis of the work is a structural analysis and a special Neo-Riemannian method of pitch structure analysis, which consists of a set of analytical procedures aimed at identifying and graphically highlighting triadic transformations and projecting harmonic objects onto the hexatonic system of co-cycles with a description of the relationships between them. The scientific novelty of the article consists in bringing into Ukrainian musicology the methods of analysis of pitch structures proposed by the North American theorist R. Cohn, the presentation of the main works and theoretical innovations of the researcher. Conclusions. The Neo-Riemannian theory of the analysis of triadic pitch structures is one of the leading contemporary concepts developed by North American musicology on the basis of a neo-positivist approach. The theory is based on the idea of transforming a sound object (triad), which was laid down in the works of the German theorist Hugo Riemann. This idea was continued in the researches of the first Neo-Riemannian theorists – D. Lewin and B. Hyer – primarily in the form of three triadic transformations, designated as Neo-Riemannian Operations. The Neo-Riemannian approach offers an understanding of the triad as a structural unit, demonstrating the expediency of its use both in works with late romantic harmony and outside the context of tonal music, where the triad exhausts its potential as an element of functional harmony. The consideration of individual provisions of the Neo-Riemannian method in the works by R. Cohn (among them voice-leading parsimony, the hexatonic system, combined transformations) made it possible to see the technological possibilities of the method, which contribute to the understanding of the interrelationship of triads without focusing on the tonal-functional connection of chords and the central element of pitches systems.

Keywords: Neo-Riemannian theory of analysis of triadic pitch structures, triadic transformations, voice-leading parsimony, hexatonic system, combined transformations, Richard Cohn’s theoretical system.