Answer to Question #294337 in English for Mohsin Ali

Question

I want an interpretive essay on "Time Remembered" by Susan dale. 2000 words. plz, help me with this.it must be done. plz. otherwise, it will be a great loss.

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http://desiwriterslounge.net/articles/papercuts-time-remembered/

Answer 1

Time Remembered is a modal jazz standard piece by jazz pianist Bill Evans. Jack Reilly says that the work is influenced by the sixteenth-century modal works of the polyphonic masters, among them Palestrina, Byrd, and Frescobaldi, and the oeuvre of the impressionist composers among them Debussy and Ravel. It was recorded for the first time in 1962 for the album Loose Blues and released for the first time in 1966 in Bill Evans Trio with Symphony Orchestra. The work is built over four modes: Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, and Aeolian; and is notable for lacking dominant-like seventh chords, thus only using major and minor chords and their extensions (thus employing many added 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths). Reilly believes these two factors give the work a modal and impressionistic flavour.

In my opinion, it would be an unnecessary and procrustean way of analysing a tune like time remember in terms of critical centres. There is no dominant-tonic relationship among any of the chords in question, and so (to my ear at any rate), you have to miss a very fundamental aspect of key-related functional harmony. There doesn't seem to be much stress on any particular pitch melodically or harmonically, although I guess the case could be made that whenever you have a chord that lasts for more than a bar, your ear is more inclined to hear that as a key centre. Otherwise, with all of the constant structure, my ear picks up on that as the underlying relationship in the chord progression is far more than any key-related harmony. It’s hard to assign an essential function (functional balance) to a series of constant structure chords moving in an intervallic pattern. I personally very much doubt that Bill Evans was thinking that way. "

"Playing the melody divorced from the harmony does suggest some modal sorts of pitch centres. I’m pretty amazed that bill came up with this melody after writing the song first - it can sometimes tell harmony entirely different than what he uses. Still, at the same time, it hits all sorts of juicy upper extensions to the written song.

The piece feels very modal because of the lack of dominant tension and the constant emphasis on very "modal" notes in the melody, like the natural 13 on the minor 7th chord and the #11 on the major 7th chord. To my ear, though, modal key centres are harder to set up and establish because of the lack of tension/release created by dominant/tonic progression. when you have potential modal centres flying by quickly in tune like this, I don't get the sense of settling on a pitch centre.