the Tristan chord
E483262
The Tristan chord is a famously ambiguous and harmonically innovative chord in Richard Wagner’s opera *Tristan und Isolde* that is often cited as a pivotal moment in the development of modern Western music.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Tristan chord | 0 |
Statements (51)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
harmonic sonority
ⓘ
musical chord ⓘ |
| associatedConcept |
Leitmotif technique
ⓘ
Wagnerian chromaticism ⓘ endless melody ⓘ post-tonal harmony ⓘ |
| characteristicFeature |
chromatic voice-leading
ⓘ
delayed resolution ⓘ suspension of tonal center ⓘ tonal ambiguity ⓘ |
| commonInterpretation |
F half-diminished seventh chord
ⓘ
French augmented sixth chord ⓘ altered subdominant chord ⓘ appoggiatura chord ⓘ |
| commonSpellingRelativeToA | F–B–D♯–G♯ ⓘ |
| composer | Richard Wagner NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| firstAppearanceAct | Act I NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| firstAppearanceIn | Tristan und Isolde NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| firstAppearanceScene | Prelude NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| firstAppearanceYear | 1865 ⓘ |
| harmonicFunction |
dominant preparation
ⓘ
pre-dominant ⓘ |
| historicalSignificance |
milestone in late Romantic chromaticism
ⓘ
pivotal moment in development of modern Western harmony ⓘ symbol of the breakdown of traditional tonality ⓘ |
| influenced |
Alban Berg
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Arnold Schoenberg NERFINISHED ⓘ Claude Debussy NERFINISHED ⓘ Gustav Mahler NERFINISHED ⓘ Richard Strauss NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| intervalFromBass |
augmented fourth
ⓘ
augmented ninth ⓘ augmented sixth ⓘ doubly augmented eleventh ⓘ |
| keyOfFirstAppearance | A minor ⓘ |
| musicTheoryDebate |
multiple competing analyses of harmonic function
ⓘ
question of whether it implies a key center ⓘ status as beginning of musical modernism ⓘ |
| namedAfter | opera Tristan und Isolde NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| notableAnalyst |
Allen Forte
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Carl Dahlhaus NERFINISHED ⓘ Heinrich Schenker NERFINISHED ⓘ Hugo Riemann NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| pitchContentInOriginalScore |
B
ⓘ
D♯ ⓘ F ⓘ G♯ ⓘ |
| resolutionBassNote | E ⓘ |
| resolutionInOpeningPhrase | E dominant seventh chord ⓘ |
| resolutionTendency | deceptive resolution ⓘ |
| scaleDegreeOfFirstAppearance | leading tone ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.