I’d Give My Life for You (1)Who: Kim
Where: An impoverish area in Saigon (now renamed Ho Chi Minh City)
When: 1978 (3 years after the fall of Saigon)
What: Kim is still madly in love with Chris and believes that he will come and rescue her. After 3 years of painful and hopeful waiting, he has still not come. Kim and her son Tam, who is fathered by American soldier Chris, together with Engineer, set off out to Bangkok on a ship, seeking a better life there. Kim swears to her son that she would sacrifice anything to give him a better life.
The Sections:
Slowly with expression
A (Bb maj – G min)
A (Bb maj – G min)
B (Going through various keys)
A (Fmaj – D min)
C (Going through various keys)
Maestoso
A (G maj – E min)
4 comments:
hi Jeanette,
Would you like to provide a Roman numeral analysis of this passage and comment on the harmony?
Hi all!
Here's the Roman Numeral analysis of this passage.
In the key of Bb major:
I9 ii7/vi V7/vi vi
ii7/IV V7/IV IV
V6/vi vi V6 I
This is the Roman Numeral analysis from bars 1-6, the introduction. Thereafter, the harmony remains basically the same as the first 6 bars.
In a short span of 6 bars, tonicisation has taken place 3 times. What's different about these instances now from what we're more familiar with is that the tonicisation takes place over a longer stretch in time now.
Let me try to explain. We're familiar that a sec dominant chord is required in tonicisation. However, there seems to also be a "sec predominat chord" (Am7 @ bar 2 and Fm7 @ bar 3), if I can call it that, preceeding it. What is the purpose of this? In my opinion, I feel that with the introduction of the "sec predominant" chord as well as the quicker harmonic rhythm at that point, the music has a stronger tendency to move forward.
I tried playing this passage without the "sec predominant" chord, but keeping the sec dominant chord. It works just as well. However, I guess you don't get that sort of "warm" feeling without the "sec predominant" chord.
I also noticed that harmony has an outline playing on the tonic, submedient, subdominant and back to submedient and tonic degree of the scale, in that order. But I can't figure out what's so special or interesting about it. Anyone got any idea?
Good job identifying correctly the tonicizations and reflecting on what you have found. You are right about the secondary predominants: they ARE sometimes used to expand tonicizing progressions. Notice how ii7/vi and ii7/Eb bring in the beautiful E natural and Ab respectively.
The underlying I-vi-IV is an example of descending 3rd principle at work, whereas its reversal IV-vi is less expected, and it seems that the composer underscores this with the Eb-F# aug 2nd bass movement.
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