Songs That Don’t Resolve
Sep 21st, 2008 by Micah Tillman | 3 Comments |
We sang some cool hymns in church today, one of which totally didn’t resolve. It seemed like a chant (which often don’t resolve, depending on their mode) mixed with an Elizabethan ballad.
The lack of resolution was annoying as all get out, but simultaneously awesome. Like stickin’ it to the Man. Or whatever.
Actually, it’s was especially awesome because the song was resolving. It was ending up just where the melody writer wanted it to.
It just wasn’t resolving the way my ears (are trained to [?]) hear resolution.
So it was like a window into the mind of an ancient composer.
Made me want to study it and find out what the writer was doing with the melody’s ending (and how accomplishing whatever he was accomplishing in so doing made the song sound like it ended up in exactly the right spot to him).
Huh, I’m curious which one you’re referring to. All of them end on a proper I chord (tonic), however one was in an odd mode (phrygian) and another couple (if I remember right) omit the third from the chord, leaving sort of an empty sound. That was a typical feature of some Appalachian shape-note tunes; it leaves an ambiguity as to whether the tune is major or minor.
Could you name the hymn–especially the hynm tune? You’ve sparked my curiosity.
Yes, the natural bod’ abhors non-resolution but the spirit of freedom adores it.
Stick.it.to.the.man, indeed.