5.2 Synthesis

The so-called axis system should be mentioned here. The term was introduced by Ernö Lendvai96 There are no statements known by Bartók himself about using an axis system in his music. Lendvai’s ordering principle comes down to structuring the chromatic tone row on the basis of the three main functions of the cadence: Tonic, Subdominant, and Dominant. If we take the key of C as an example, they are C (Tonic) - F (Subdominant) - G (Dominant). These three functions carriers have a number of secondary carriers, all in mediant relation: D as a substitute for F, E as a substitute for G, and A for C. Up to this point the axis system is no different from traditional functional harmony, albeit that in the latter A can also be the substitute for F, B the substitute for G, and E for C, depending on the cadential movement. (For example, the bass line c-a-f-d-gg-c as a functional movement sounds like Tonic c-a, Subdominant f-d, Dominant g-g). The axis system then continues with applying more mediants, which for some mysterious reason all inherit the same function of the tone at a third distance. So, F-D-B-A are all Subdominant, G-E-C -B are all Dominant, and C-A-F -E are all Tonic. This is of course highly speculative, as, for example, a B is never Subdominant in C. Some absurd results are: - Analysis of Bartók’s music for strings, percussion, and celesta makes it clear that he orders the entries of the themes in a row of fifths upwards from A until he reaches the farthest point: the tritone E , and simultaneously via a row of fifths downwards, which ends at the same point in bar 44. After that, the whole process is reversed which brings us back to A. The entries on A, F , C, and E therefore should all have a Tonic meaning which makes no sense at all. - The V – VI relation, one of the most important ones in German music since 1850 and known as the ‘Trugschluss’ is a Dominant – Tonic movement. In major, G-A, this is also Dominant – Tonic in the axis system, but in minor it suddenly is

Dominant – Subdominant (G-A ). The axis system probably is an attempt to order atonality by function and thereby deny its existence. It is of no practical value, since it denies the most basic listening experience.

5.2 SYNTHESIS Bartók’s main goal was to arrive at a synthesis of: - the structural elements of Eastern European folk music; - the tradition: Bach’s counterpoint and Beethoven’s form development; - the harmonic language of Debussy, including his use of modes; - and, later, the use of total chromatics.

96 Ernö Lendvai, Béla Bartók, an Analysis of His Music, 1971.