The ''Elektra'' chord is a "complexly dissonant signature- chord"Lawrence Kramer. "Fin-de-siècle Fantasies: ''Elektra'', Degeneration and Sexual Science", ''Cambridge Opera Journal'', Vol. 5, No. 2. (Jul., 1993), pp. 141-165. and motivic elaboration used by

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

to represent the title character of his opera '' Elektra'' that is a " bitonal synthesis of E major and C-sharp major" and may be regarded as a

polychord In music and music theory, a polychord consists of two or more chords, one on top of the other. In shorthand they are written with the top chord above a line and the bottom chord below,Policastro, Michael A. (1999). ''Understanding How to Build ...

related to conventional chords with added thirds,H. H. Stuckenschmidt; Piero Weiss. "Debussy or Berg? The Mystery of a Chord Progression", ''The Musical Quarterly'', Vol. 51, No. 3. (Jul., 1965), pp. 453-459. in this case an

eleventh chord In music theory, an eleventh chord is a chord that contains the tertian extension of the eleventh. Typically found in jazz, an eleventh chord also usually includes the seventh and ninth, and elements of the basic triad structure. Variants ...

. It is enharmonically equivalent to a 79 chord : D-F-A-C-E and a 69 chord : E-G-B-C-F. In ''Elektra'' the chord, Elektra's "

harmonic In physics, acoustics, and telecommunications, a harmonic is a sinusoidal wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'' of a periodic signal. The fundamental frequency is also called the ''1st har ...

signature" is treated various ways betraying "both tonal and bitonal leanings...a dominant over a nonharmonic

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

." It is associated as well with its seven note

complement Complement may refer to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-class collections into complementary sets * Complementary color, in the visu ...

which may be arranged as a dominant

thirteenth In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The thirteenth is most commonly major or minor . A thirteenth chord is th ...

while other characters are represented by other motives or chords, such as Klytämnestra's contrasting harmony. The Elektra chord's complement appears at important points and the two chords form a 10-note pitch collection, lacking D and A, which forms one of Elektra's "distinctive 'voices'"Carolyn Abbate, 'Music and Language in Elektra', in ''Richard Strauss: Elektra'', ed. Derrick Puffett, Cambridge Opera Guides (Cambridge, 1989), 107-27. Cited in Kramer (1993), p.156.

Use in other works

The chord is also found in

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

's '' Feuilles mortes'', where it may be analyzed as an

appoggiatura An appoggiatura ( , ; or ; ) is a musical ornament that consists of an added non-chord note in a melody that is resolved to the regular note of the chord. By putting the non-chord tone on a strong beat, (typically the first or third beats of ...

to a minor

ninth chord In music theory, a ninth chord is a chord (music), chord that encompasses the interval (music), interval of a ninth when arranged in close and open harmony, close position with the root (chord), root in the bass (sound), bass. Heinrich Schenker ...

, and

Franz Schreker Franz Schreker (originally ''Schrecker''; 23 March 1878 – 21 March 1934) was an Austrian composer, conductor, librettist, teacher and administrator. Primarily a composer of operas, Schreker developed a style characterized by aesthetic pluralit ...

's '' Der ferne Klang'', and

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin, scientific transliteration: ''Aleksandr Nikolaevič Skrjabin''; also transliterated variously as Skriabin, Skryabin, and (in French) Scriabine. The composer himselused the French spelling "Scriabine" which was a ...

's Sixth Piano Sonata.

References

External links

Some occurrences of the Elektra chord in the scores of Petrucci Music Library
{{Richard Strauss, state=collapsed Extended chords Modernism (music) Richard Strauss

Use in other works

See also

References

External links