ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses quartal and quintal harmonies, polychords, polytonality, bimodality, dual modality, ostinato, and implied polymeter. The musical examples create a musical language through techniques identical or similar to Claude Debussy’s. In Hindemith’s music, triadic harmonies surface mainly at cadences, with more complex harmonies residing in phrase interiors. Quartal harmonies owe their unique sound largely to their lack of tritones and minor seconds. The effect is mildly dissonant, and a “rootless” quality from the stacking of equidistant intervals. Polychords are harmonies that can be heard as two discrete chords. To be heard this way requires some spatial separation and/or timbral distinction. Polychords are perhaps more interesting in theory than they are common in practice. The technique has been used to a limited extent, possibly because it’s difficult to project multiple tonal centers effectively without keeping the harmonic structure extremely elementary.
