What is homophonic texture?
A texture is how the different harmonies and melodies of different parts work together. A homophonic texture is where there is a primary melodic line with an accompaniment. Typically, the accompaniment is in the bass voice, and acts as a supporting foundation for the melody. The bass can come in different forms: homorhythmic, block chord, broken chord, arpeggiated, and alberti bass. Both Un Sospiro and Liu Yang River use a broken chord accompaniment.
What is broken chord accompaniment?
A broken chord is when a chord is played one note at a time from lowest pitch to highest pitch, or highest pitch to lowest pitch.
A broken chord accompaniment is an accompaniment part, typically the bass voice, that provides harmonic support for the melody by playing broken chords. This technique is commonly used to allow the performer to demonstrate virtuosic skill and is used in both Un Sospiro and Liu Yang River.
Homophonic Texture with Broken Chord Accompaniment in Un Sospiro
Un Sospiro begins with a Db major arpeggio. This helps establish the key, while providing a strong foundation for the melody to "float" on top of. When the melody enters in measure three, the Db arpeggio becomes the accompaniment. This makes the piece more emotional, as the accompaniment does not take away from the simple and expressive melody, it simply supports it.
Un Sospiro was composed as an etude, or exercise, so the broken chord accompaniment allows the pianist to work on refining his/her arpeggios. Additionally, the accompaniment is presented as septuplets, which creates a polyrhythm with the melodic line, which is presented as eighth notes. The polyrhythm lacks structure, as the notes are being played on different parts of the beat. The lack of structure makes the piece more emotional, and gives the piece a calm and carefree feeling.
Homophonic Texture with Broken Chord Accompaniment in Liu Yang River
Liu Yang River opens with a homophonic texture with broken chord accompaniment, with the left hand alternating between vii◦ and ii chords of the diatonic key. The switching between the two types of chords and their inversions gives the piece more direction, as it gives the feeling of change while still flowing smoothly.
Similarly to Un Sospiro, the bass allows the pianist to show of his/her virtuosic skill, as the bass is presented as sextuplets, a group of six notes evenly spaced in the space of four beats or
subdivisions. The sextuplets help move the piece along while the melodic line is more expressive. This helps give the piece the feeling of water, as it is flowing, yet gentle, like a river.
