> Debussy (in pieces like "Maid with the Flaxon Hair") uses a cadence
> that would be F/G (F major in the right hand, G in the bass) to the
> tonic in C Major. Is that plagal or authentic? Is the F/G chord a
> V11? How would Schenkerian scholars view it?
>
> Hal
Hey, Hal, I'm not a Schenkerian, but I think, yes, it is a V11. To
me, the reason that the IV/V - I cadence is so strong, and so ever-present
in pop music of all varieties, is that it is BOTH. The bass (V - I) sounds
authentic, which gives a feeling of "naturalness" and strength to the
progression, and the harmony (IV - I) sounds plagal, giving that "Amen" of
finality with a strong emotional appeal. The sound is lush, with a sort of
neo-Romantic quality about it.
The earliest instance of that sound (not precisely, but the same basic
idea) in classical music that I can remember (other than mere passing tones)
is in the Greig "Nocturne", where he goes about four entire measures on a G
(bass) - D - F - A - C - E chord, in C major (V13). In fact, in that piece,
it is the climactic moment of the whole piece.
Eddy Wilson
Landmark Church of God
Statesville, NC
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