FirminArchambault wrote: ↑Fri Feb 16, 2018 12:41 pm
Thank you for your comment Powderedtoastman.
I will definitely re-listen to Mozart's operas and listen to Rossini's Operas.
What aspects of this Carcassi's piece you associate with Opera? I am a bit curious to hear your answer.
Good question! It's the harmonic content, there are a lot of little chord sequences that are super common in some of the few operas I've listened to so far.
The one that tipped me off the most is I believe measure 21 (not counting the pickups in the beginning as measure 1), you have:
C major (1st inversion, E in bass)
G 7 (2nd inversion I think because it's D in bass)
C major again
D minor 7 (1st inversion with F in bass)... or do we call this F6? I might lean toward F6 because it's I-IV-V, but perhaps somebody can come along to clear it up.
Next, the notes are a little thin but I believe a G 6-4 chord is implied (this is technically also 1st inversion of C)
Then G 7 (dominant to C),
Then resolve back to C, because this little segment is actually a temporary key change to C, notice the F natural accidentals.
Rossini's Barber of Seville, this exact sequence is beaten to death with a hammer and then still repeated a few more times throughout the various songs, and don't ask me why but it still makes me smile every time I hear it!
String quartets and other types of pure classical music on the other hand, are often just a little more sophisticated than that, and you will get that 6-4 chord to dominant back to root thing quite a bit (and sometimes along with a well placed temporary key change, to wonderful effect) but usually not in exactly that way that pops out in the opera.
Unfortunately that's about the best I can explain it and I might be a little wrong in some places, but hopefully I'm onto something here!