Grieg's Sonic Afterimages

Abstract

As Neo-Riemannian transformations find their firm place in the analytical tool-kit, their function changes from a heuristic to describe harmonic progressions to a full-fledged analytical methodology. In this phase, the question of meaning looms large. Richard Cohn's (2004) associations between hexatonic poles and the uncanny have done much to pave the way toward a hermeneutics of Neo-Riemannian theory. This analytical vignette focuses on an intriguing SLIDE progression in Grieg's final Lyric Piece, "Efterklang," and offers a contextual analysis in which this harmonic transformation becomes meaningful. While the interpretation offered here remains specific to the piece at hand, the hermeneutic analysis may be used as a model for further such endeavours.