Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov · section 35 of 96

Harmonizing Chorales (in One Key)

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Theory of HarmonyArnold Schoenberg · harmonizing a melodyGuide to the Practical Study of HarmonyPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky · harmonizing a melody

§ 34. — 1) The music sung in church during the liturgical service is called a chorale.

2) Most of these melodies move in even half notes, broken by fermatas that divide the chorale into several phrases or strophes.

3) The application to the chorale of all the rules learned so far will be called harmony in the strict style.

4) Avoid, as far as possible, uniformity in the use of cadences.

5) In the middle of the chorale perfect cadences should be avoided; the cadence of the 2nd kind (with the six-four chord) is used rarely, and only at the end of the chorale.

6) If the fermata falls on the second beat of the bar, the same chord is ordinarily used for both beats, sometimes in different melodic positions.

7) Many chorales begin on a weak beat, on the dominant triad or its first inversion, more rarely on the chord of the fourth degree.