Linear Implications and Semantic Context in Chopin's Prelude No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 28: A Mod7 Analysis
Jessica Fulkerson, Texas Christian University
In this paper, a new system of notation for ordered and unordered modulo 7 step-class sets will be presented and applied to Chopin's Prelude No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 28. This analysis will show how linear progression can be easily expressed through unordered mod7 sets. The proposed system for unordered sets works much like figured bass, but is more flexible because it reflects voicing and exact intervals, and because it does not imply Common Practice Era functionality.
Chopin's Prelude No. 4 has been a subject of debate among Schenkerian analysts as there seems to be a lack of idiomatic support of the Urlinie pitches, along with supposed semantic discrepancy within the final measures. An ordered mod7 set analysis, applied to Schenkerian graphs, will mark the engagement of each prolonged pitch within the background descent, and will lend semantic cohesiveness to the work in its entirety.