Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov · section 72 of 96

Descending Suspensions

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§ 70.— 1) The note on which the descending suspension resolves must not be present in another part at the moment of the suspension:

BAD: in the first fragment the soprano C is held over the G chord while the tenor already sounds B, its note of resolution; in the second, the tenor E is held o — Fig. 289 · See it in the reader

To obtain fully correct suspensions, the part that would stand in the way may be made to descend or ascend:

Instead of (left): the tenor sounds C, the note of resolution, at the moment the soprano's D is suspended over it; one must write (right): the tenor descends B– — Fig. 290 · See it in the reader

2) As an exception to the preceding rule, the note of resolution of a suspension in one of the three upper parts may be present in the bass at the distance of a ninth, when these notes are the roots of triads or of seventh chords:

Good: the suspended D (and, in the second fragment, A) sounds a ninth (compound) above its note of resolution, C (and G), which is the root in the bass. — Fig. 291 · See it in the reader

In incomplete triads this exception may likewise be applied with respect to the tenor:

Example: the soprano's suspended D sounds a ninth above the tenor's C, the note of resolution, in an incomplete C major triad (C–C–E). — Fig. 292 · See it in the reader

3) The seventh and sometimes the ninth are the only passing notes that may be suspended.

4) At the moment the descending suspension resolves, the other parts may change position and may even form a new chord, provided that the suspension is correctly resolved onto a consonance:

Example: the soprano's suspension D–C resolves while the other parts move (to C major in first inversion in the first pair of bars, to A minor in the second); f — Fig. 293 · See it in the reader

5) At the moment of preparation of the suspension, passing notes may be inserted in the other parts, as well as between the suspension and its resolution:

Example: passing notes in the tenor and bass during the preparation, and in the alto and bass between the suspension (D) and its resolution (C). — Fig. 294 · See it in the reader

6) At the moment the descending suspension resolves, one of the parts may form a passing seventh; the fifths and fourths that arise in this way, of which only the first is perfect, are tolerated:

Example: in bar 2 the soprano's passing seventh A over B forms fifths with the alto (B–E perfect, then A–D♯ diminished); in bar 3 the bass's passing seventh D u — Fig. 295 · See it in the reader

EXAMPLES OF DESCENDING SUSPENSIONS — Fig. 296 · See it in the reader