ABSTRACT
The concept of tonal pairing refers to the coexistence of two tonal centers in a piece or movement, as opposed to monotonality (the dominance of a single tonal center). The present chapter explores tonal pairing in two of Rachmaninoff’s songs for solo voice and piano. The purpose is dual: (1) to increase interest in Rachmaninoff’s solo vocal output, barely touched by analysts, although regularly performed by singers, and (2) to explore Rachmaninoff’s treatment of tonal pairing, a technique important both for Russian music and for the Romantic/post-Romantic tradition in general. The conception of tonal duality in both cases relies on the idea of harmonic and formal closure as a key-confirming factor. The specifics, however, are very different in each case. In “Water Lily” (1893), ambiguity between G major and E minor results from an absence of full cadential confirmation in either key. “The Migrant Wind” (1912) features a seemingly simpler case, a motion from a firmly established A minor to C major, representing a motion from darkness to light in the poem.
