Phrygian mode
Encyclopedia
Musical mode
In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...
s: the ancient Greek tonos or harmonia sometimes called Phrygian, formed on a particular set octave species
Octave species
In early Greek music theory, an octave species is a sequence of incomposite intervals making up a complete octave...
or scales; the Medieval Phrygian mode, and the modern conception of the Phrygian mode as a diatonic scale
Diatonic scale
In music theory, a diatonic scale is a seven note, octave-repeating musical scale comprising five whole steps and two half steps for each octave, in which the two half steps are separated from each other by either two or three whole steps...
, based on the latter. It is also known in Arabic and in the Middle East as the Kurd mode.
Ancient Greek Phrygian mode
The Phrygian tonos or harmonia is named after the ancient kingdom of PhrygiaPhrygia
In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
. The octave species (scale) underlying the ancient-Greek Phrygian tonos (in its diatonic genus) corresponds to the medieval and modern Dorian mode
Dorian mode
Due to historical confusion, Dorian mode or Doric mode can refer to three very different musical modes or diatonic scales, the Greek, the medieval, and the modern.- Greek Dorian mode :...
.
In Greek music theory, the harmonia given this name was based on a tonos, in turn based on a scale or octave species
Octave species
In early Greek music theory, an octave species is a sequence of incomposite intervals making up a complete octave...
built from a tetrachord
Tetrachord
Traditionally, a tetrachord is a series of three intervals filling in the interval of a perfect fourth, a 4:3 frequency proportion. In modern usage a tetrachord is any four-note segment of a scale or tone row. The term tetrachord derives from ancient Greek music theory...
which, in its diatonic genus, consisted of a series of rising intervals of a whole tone
Major second
In Western music theory, a major second is a musical interval spanning two semitones, and encompassing two adjacent staff positions . For example, the interval from C to D is a major second, as the note D lies two semitones above C, and the two notes are notated on adjacent staff postions...
, followed by a semitone
Semitone
A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically....
, followed by a whole tone (in the chromatic genus, this was a minor third followed by two semitones, and in the enharmonic, a major third and two quarter tones). An octave species
Octave species
In early Greek music theory, an octave species is a sequence of incomposite intervals making up a complete octave...
was then built upon two of these tetrachords separated by a whole tone. This is equivalent to playing all the white notes on a piano keyboard from D to D:
D E F G | A B C D
This scale, combined with a set of characteristic melodic behaviours and associated ethoi
Ethos
Ethos is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology. The Greeks also used this word to refer to the power of music to influence its hearer's emotions, behaviors, and even morals. Early Greek stories of...
, constituted the harmonia which was given the ethnic name "Phrygian", after the "unbounded, ecstatic peoples of the wild, mountainous regions of the Anatolian highlands" (Solomon 1984, 249). This ethnic name was also confusingly applied by theorists such as Cleonides to one of thirteen chromatic transposition
Transposition
Transposition may refer to:Mathematics* Transposition , a permutation which exchanges two elements and keeps all others fixed* Transposition, producing the transpose of a matrix AT, which is computed by swapping columns for rows in the matrix AGames* Transposition , different moves or a different...
levels, regardless of the intervallic makup of the scale (Solomon 1984, 244–46).
Medieval Phrygian mode
The early Catholic church developed a system of eight musical modes that medieval music scholars gave names drawn from the ones used to describe the ancient Greek harmoniai. The name "Phrygian" was applied to the third of these eight church modes, the authentic mode on E, described as the diatonic octave extending from E to the E an octave higher and divided at B, therefore beginning with a semitone-tone-tone-tone pentachord, followed by a semitone-tone-tone tetrachord (Powers 2001):E F G A B + B C D E
The ambitus
Ambitus (music)
Ambitus is a Latin term literally meaning "the going round", and in Medieval Latin means the "course" of a melodic line, most usually referring to the range of scale degrees attributed to a given mode, particularly in Gregorian chant. It may also refer to the range of a voice, instrument, or piece...
of this mode extended one tone lower, to D. The sixth degree, C, which is the tenor of the corresponding third psalm tone, was regarded by most theorists as the most important note after the final, though the fifteenth-century theorist Johannes Tinctoris implied that the fourth degree, A, could be so regarded instead (Powers 2001).
Placing the two tetrachords together, and the single tone at bottom of the scale produces the Hypophrygian mode
Hypophrygian mode
The Hypophrygian mode, literally meaning 'below Phrygian', is a musical mode or diatonic scale in medieval chant theory, the fourth mode of church music. This mode is the plagal counterpart of the authentic third mode, which was called Phrygian...
(below Phrygian):
G | A B C D | (D) E F G
Modern Phrygian mode
In modern music (from the 18th century onward), the Phrygian mode is related to the modern natural minor musical modeMusical mode
In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...
, also known as the Aeolian mode
Aeolian mode
The Aeolian mode is a musical mode or, in modern usage, a diatonic scale called the natural minor scale.The word "Aeolian" in the music theory of ancient Greece was an alternative name for what Aristoxenus called the Low Lydian tonos , nine semitones...
: the Phrygian scale differs in its second scale degree, which is a semitone lower than that of the Aeolian.
The following is the Phrygian mode starting on E, or E Phrygian, with corresponding tonal
Tonality
Tonality is a system of music in which specific hierarchical pitch relationships are based on a key "center", or tonic. The term tonalité originated with Alexandre-Étienne Choron and was borrowed by François-Joseph Fétis in 1840...
scale degrees illustrating how the modern major mode and natural minor mode can be altered to produce the Phrygian mode:
E Phrygian
Mode: E F G A B C D E
Major: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
Minor: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
Phrygian dominant
A Phrygian dominant scalePhrygian dominant scale
In music, the altered Phrygian scale or Freygish scale , featuring an unusual key signature and a distinctive augmented second interval, is the fifth mode of the harmonic minor scale, the fifth being the dominant...
is produced by raising the third scale degree of the mode:
E Phrygian dominant
Mode: E F G A B C D E
Major: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
Minor: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
The Phrygian dominant is also known as the Spanish gypsy scale
Gypsy scale
The term Gypsy scale, refers to one of several musical scales named after their association with Gypsy music.-Hungarian Gypsy scale:...
, because it resembles the scales found in flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
music (see Flamenco mode
Flamenco mode
In music theory, the flamenco mode is a harmonized mode or scale abstracted from its use in flamenco music. In other words the collection of pitches in ascending order accompanied by chords represents the pitches and chords used together in flamenco songs and pieces...
). Flamenco music uses the Phrygian scale, together with a modified scale resembling the Arab maqām Ḥijāzī
Arabic maqam
Arabic maqām is the system of melodic modes used in traditional Arabic music, which is mainly melodic. The word maqam in Arabic means place, location or rank. The Arabic maqam is a melody type...
(like the Phrygian dominant but with a major sixth scale degree), and a bimodal configuration using both major and minor second and third scale degrees (Katz 2001).
The Phrygian Mode in Jazz
In contemporary jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
the Phrygian mode is used over chords and sonorities built on the mode, such as the sus4(9) chord (see Suspended chord
Suspended chord
A suspended chord is a chord in which the third is omitted, replaced usually with either a perfect fourth or a major second , although the fourth is far more common...
), which is sometimes called a phrygian suspended chord. For example a soloist might play an E Phrygian over an Esus4(9) chord (E-A-B-D-F).
Examples of Jazz compositions using the Phrygian mode include "Ole" by John Coltrane, "Bemsha Swing," by Thelonious Monk and Denzil Best, "La Fiesta" by Chick Corea, "Masqualero" by Wayne Shorter, "Little One" by Herbie Hancock and "Solea" by Gil Evans (Pelletier-Bacquaert [n.d.]).
Medieval and Renaissance
- The Roman chant variant of the RequiemRequiemA Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
introitIntroitThe Introit is part of the opening of the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist for many Christian denominations. In its most complete version, it consists of an antiphon, psalm verse and Gloria Patri that is spoken or sung at the beginning of the celebration...
"Rogamus te" is in the (authentic) Phrygian mode, or 3rd tone (Karp, Fitch, and Smallman 2001, §1). - The following compositions of Josquin are written in the Phrygian mode:
- 4-part setting of Mille RegretzMille RegretzMille Regretz is a French chanson which in its 4 part setting is usually credited to Josquin des Prez. Josquin's version is in the Phrygian mode...
- Missa Pange linguaMissa Pange linguaThe Missa Pange lingua is a musical setting of the Ordinary of the Mass by Franco-Flemish composer Josquin des Prez, probably dating from around 1515, near the end of his life...
- 6-part motet Praeter Rerum Seriem
- Orlando di Lasso's motet In me transierunt (Pesic 2005, passim).
- Giovanni Pierluigi da PalestrinaGiovanni Pierluigi da PalestrinaGiovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition...
's motet Congratulamini mihi (Carver 2005, 77). - Cipriano de RoreCipriano de RoreCipriano de Rore was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active in Italy...
's 7-part Missa Praeter Rerum Seriem
Baroque
- Johann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's keeps in his cantataBach cantataBach cantata became a term for a cantata of the German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach who was a prolific writer of the genre. Although many of his works are lost, around 200 cantatas survived....
s the Phrygian mode of some original choraleChoraleA chorale was originally a hymn sung by a Christian congregation. In certain modern usage, this term may also include classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character....
melodies, such as LutherMartin LutherMartin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
's Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dirAus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dirAus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir , BWV 38, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig in 1724 in his second annual cycle for the twenty-first Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 19 October 1724...
in Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir, BWV 38, and Es woll uns Gott genädig sein on a melody by Matthaeus Greiter (c. 1490-1552), twice in Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, BWV 76Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, BWV 76Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes , BWV 76, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was composed in Leipzig for the second Sunday after Trinity and first performed by the composer on 6 June 1723...
(Braatz 2006). - Heinrich SchützHeinrich SchützHeinrich Schütz was a German composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach and often considered to be one of the most important composers of the 17th century along with Claudio Monteverdi...
's St John Passion (1666) is in the Phrygian mode (Rifkin, Linfield, McCulloch, and Baron 2001, §10) - Dieterich BuxtehudeDieterich BuxtehudeDieterich Buxtehude was a German-Danish organist and composer of the Baroque period. His organ works represent a central part of the standard organ repertoire and are frequently performed at recitals and in church services...
's PreludePrelude (music)A prelude is a short piece of music, the form of which may vary from piece to piece. The prelude can be thought of as a preface. It may stand on its own or introduce another work...
in A minor, BuxWV 152 (Snyder 2001), (labeled Phrygisch in the BuxWV catalog) (Karstädt 1985)
Romantic
- Anton BrucknerAnton BrucknerAnton Bruckner was an Austrian composer known for his symphonies, masses, and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, complex polyphony, and considerable length...
:- Ave Regina coelorum (1885–88) (Carver 2005, 76–77).
- Pange lingua (second setting, 1868), WAB 33 (Carver 2005, 79; Partsch 2007, 227).
- Symphony no. 3Symphony No. 3 (Bruckner)Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 3 in D minor was dedicated to Richard Wagner and is sometimes known as his "Wagner Symphony". It was written in 1873, revised in 1877 and again in 1891....
, passages in the third (scherzo) and fourth movements (Carver 2005, 89–90). - Symphony no. 4Symphony No. 4 (Bruckner)Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major is one of the composer's most popular works. It was written in 1874 and revised several times through 1888. It was dedicated to Prince Konstantin of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst. It was premiered in 1881 by Hans Richter in Vienna with great success...
(third version, 1880), Finale (Carver 2005, 90–92). - Symphony no. 6Symphony No. 6 (Bruckner)Symphony No. 6 in A major by Austrian composer Anton Bruckner is a work in four movements composed between September 24, 1879 and September 3, 1881 and dedicated to his landlord, Dr. Anton van Ölzelt-Newin. Though it possesses many characteristic features of a Bruckner symphony, it differs the...
, first, third (scherzo), and fourth movements (Carver 2005, 91–98). - Symphony no. 7Symphony No. 7 (Bruckner)Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 in E major is one of his best-known symphonies. It was written between 1881 and 1883 and was revised in 1885. It is dedicated to Ludwig II of Bavaria. The premiere, given under Arthur Nikisch and the Gewandhaus Orchestra in the opera house at Leipzig on 30...
, first movement (Carver 2005, 96–97). - Symphony no. 8Symphony No. 8 (Bruckner)Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 in C minor is the last Symphony the composer completed. It exists in two major versions of 1887 and 1890. It was premiered under conductor Hans Richter in 1892 in Vienna...
, first and fourth movements (Carver 2005, 98). - Tota pulchra es Maria (1878) (Carver 2005, 79, 81–88).
- Vexilla regis (1892) (Carver 2005, 79–80).
- Ralph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
' Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas TallisFantasia on a Theme of Thomas TallisFantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, also known as the Tallis Fantasia, is a work for string orchestra by the British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. It was composed in 1910, and performed for the first time in September of that year at Gloucester Cathedral for the Three Choirs Festival...
(Ottaway and Frogley 2001), based on Thomas TallisThomas TallisThomas Tallis was an English composer. Tallis flourished as a church musician in 16th century Tudor England. He occupies a primary place in anthologies of English church music, and is considered among the best of England's early composers. He is honoured for his original voice in English...
's 1567 setting of Psalm 2Psalm 2Psalm 2 is the second Psalm of the Bible. It tells us that we can either defy God and perish, or submit to him and be blessed. Psalm 2 itself does not identify its author, but Acts 4:25-26 clearly attributes it to David.-In the original Hebrew:...
, "Why fum'th in fight".
Modern
- John Coolidge AdamsJohn Coolidge AdamsJohn Coolidge Adams is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer with strong roots in minimalism. His best-known works include Short Ride in a Fast Machine , On the Transmigration of Souls , a choral piece commemorating the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks , and Shaker...
, Phrygian GatesPhrygian GatesPhrygian Gates is a piano piece written by minimalist composer John Coolidge Adams in 1977-1978.The piece, together with its smaller companion China Gates is what is considered Adams' "opus one". They are, according to his own claims, his first compositions consisting of a coherent personal style...
(J. Adams 2010) - Samuel BarberSamuel BarberSamuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...
:- Adagio for StringsAdagio for StringsAdagio for Strings is a work by Samuel Barber, arranged for string orchestra from the second movement of his String Quartet, Op. 11. Barber finished the arrangement in 1936, the same year as he wrote the quartet...
, op. 11 (Pollock 2000, 191) - "I Hear an Army", from Three Songs, op. 10 (Pollock 2000, 191)
- Adagio for Strings
- Philip GlassPhilip GlassPhilip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
, the final aria from SatyagrahaSatyagraha (opera)Satyagraha is a 1979 opera in three acts for orchestra, chorus and soloists, composed by Philip Glass, with a libretto by Glass and Constance DeJong.Loosely based on the life of Mohandas K...
(Strickland 2001). - Howard ShoreHoward ShoreHoward Leslie Shore is a Canadian composer, notable for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he won three Academy Awards. He is also a consistent collaborator with director David Cronenberg,...
, "Prologue" accompanying the opening sequence of LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring film (D. Adams 2010).
Further reading
- Tilton, Mary C. 1989. "The Influence of Psalm Tone and Mode on the Structure of the Phrygian Toccatas of Claudio Merulo". Theoria 4:106–22.