Bergamo
By Ken Hatfield
My composition "Bergamo" was inspired by a wonderful afternoon I spent
in a small Italian town of the same name. Music's ability to evoke a
feeling is the fundamental component of its communicative power. I feel
this composition successfully recalls my feeling for this beautiful
town which is, in fact, two towns built on top of one another.
Like the town of Bergamo, my composition has a two-tiered design.
The basic structure is a standard A-A-B-A song form which has been employed
by many composers ranging from Franz Schubert to Duke Ellington to Antonio
Carlos Jobim, but with a twist; the first A section is in the key of
C major, while the second A section is in the key of E major. This is
followed by the bridge (B), which begins in the key of A flat major.
By using a series of cadences which reinterpret various subdominant
minor chords to give them dual functions, the bridge passes through
three keys (A flat major, B major and D major) on its way back to the
key of C major, where we began, for the last A section of the initial
statement of the song.
The improvisations then follow and are based on the harmonic structure
of the A-A-B-A song form. There is another structure within the basic
design of the A-A-B-A song form. This structure is based on the relationships
between the various tonalities (or keys) of the sections within the
compositions form.
Some of you may have noticed that the three basic tonalities which
correspond to the sections of the song form outline an augmented triad:
A=C major; A2=E major, B=A flat major and A3=C major again. In addition,
the bridge (B) passes through three tonalities which outline a diminished
triad (A flat major, B major and D major). The intentional use of this
dual structure was employed to mirror the dual level design of the town
of Bergamo.
The song itself is preceded by an introductory vamp based on the relationship
between the tonic chord of the piece (C major) and its subdominant minor
(in this case both Fm6 and Bb 13 are used). The tonic major and subdominant
minor relationship occurs throughout the composition and also mirrors
the dual level structure of the town of Bergamo. This vamp is echoed
and expanded upon in the coda which concluded the piece.
As is the case with the beautiful town for which it was named, I hope
you can enjoy my composition with or without taking notice of its structure,
and I hope that playing "Bergamo" facilitates as much of the joy of
discovery as I experienced while composing the song and visiting the
town.
Bergamo is from the CD "Music for Guitar and Bass" with Ken Hatfield
and Hans Glawisching.
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