The beginnings and development of a New Zealand music: The life ...

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parts, as evidenced in the first of the Allegro extracts (Ex. 10) , with
the melody line sounding a note of the new chord independently of either
the bass-line or the inner harmony.
Despite the obvious modal flavour to be found in the music at
points where an important theme is first announced, it is at cadence
points and in cadential progressions that Lilburn's use of a diatonic
modal expression is most clearly heard.
An examination of his cadential progressions reveals a remarkably
low incidence of use of the perfect cadence. Many of his cadences are
modally orientated with a preponderance of flattened leading note to
tonic progressions, as well as supertonic to tonic progressions. The
plagal cadence is quite frequently employed, but often when a bass-line
ascribes a IV~I plagal movement, the harmonic outline above the
subdominant bass note is that of a supertonic chord. The typically modal
mediant to tonic and submediant to tonic cadential progressions are also
used with some frequency.
Consider the following extracts:
Ex.J2a: Aotearoa Overture, string bars 133-4, piano reduction.
Ex.12b: Aotearoa Overture, bars 50-2, piano reduction.
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.
~ \1,,,,,, L,....J I
t::::- 0
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