"History, Analysis and Performance Considerations of Gerald Finzi's ...

34The colorful and prominent usage of nonharmonic pitches identified in measures 50-51,together with an interesting succession of key shifts woven throughout Section B, present anopportunity to examine another important aspect of Finzi’s compositional method, his basis forharmonic construction. As seen in these examples, Finzi’s language consists of a unique mix oflate 19 th and early 20 th century idioms, mixed modality, and traditional triadic structures withadded seconds, sevenths, ninths and so forth. For the sake of clarity, the nonharmonic tonespreviously discussed have been identified using their traditional nomenclature, however thestatements of those who worked closely with Finzi provide the revealing insight that hisharmonic constructions, large and small, resulted not from planned vertical formalities, but fromlinear inevitabilities. Ferguson observed:His original ideas with vocal music always started with a melodic line followingthe words. He worked so much from a melodic standpoint that he never realizedthe harmonic implications. They were absolutely secondary to him. He had nohesitation of starting a very short song in one key and ending it in another. Theharmony didn’t occur to him in connection to the structure. 54Recollecting the unique experience of being Finzi’s private pupil (perhaps his only one),Tony Scott indicated that while “bogged down in composing harmonic progressions,” Finziprovided a clever pedagogical solution to “introduce a linear character to the music”:He gave me a series of the two-part Bach inventions for clavier and set me anexercise which consisted of adding a third part to each invention. I liked doingthese exercises, and I found that the effect was startling; I began to think in linesand threaded them though the harmonic progressions which appealed to me. Thiswas a very different approach indeed to the arid exercises in sterile 'paper work',so called harmony and counterpoint. My efforts with the 3-part inventions wouldbe rewarded with a visit to the fruit cage, where we would gorge on black andwhite currants, gooseberries or raspberries, whichever was ripe. 5554 Crutchfield, 165.55 Scott, “Gerald Finzi as a Tutor.”