Sublimating Sharp 4
Frank Samarotto · Music Theory Online · 2004
The raised fourth scale degree can represent a powerful, even visceral impulse towards the dominant; once introduced, its course of harmonic resolution appears inevitable. Nonetheless, there are instances when a piece seems to rethink this impulse, and to restrain it by reverting sharp four to its natural state, resulting in what can be characterized as a kind of “sublimation.” This paper will explore this idea from within a nexus of energeticist and Schenkerian approaches, demonstrating their basic affinity as well their utility in teasing out nuances of musical meaning.