The Theory and Practice of Chromatic Wedge Progressions in Romantic Music

Abstract

While theorists in the past decade have increasingly directed their attention to various voice-leading practices in nineteenth-century harmony, with few notable exceptions they have generally neglected the topic of contrary chromatic progressions. This article investigates and categorizes divergent chromatic wedge progressions that exploit recurring patterns of either even or odd intervals between outer voices. Segments of varying length may be extracted from these models and successively transposed to form a complete descending chromatic octave in the bass. Numerous analyses of extended wedge progressions are drawn primarily from the mature works of Wagner and Tchaikovsky, two composers particularly fond of this device.

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