Analyzing Tschaikowsky's "Wintermorgen" 3

Question

Starts at 00:29

• At the second line's first measure.

I can't figure out what chord it is..

• and at after two measures there is a G7/F going to Bm

I can't understand how does this work. In my previous questions I was told that G7 is augmented six chord. (Analyzing Tschaikowsky's "Wintermorgen 2")

But that one was on the same root position Bm and G7/B.

so I kind of understand it as just expending the tonic going back and forth.

But in this case they have a quite interval between them..

How does G7 go to Bm ??

Answer 1

• 1. G#-B-D-F# (fi-la-do-mi = (vii7)/A (dominant of D relative key of b- minor)

but resolving to

• 2. G#-B-D-E# = fi-la-do-ri (1. inversion of E#-G#-B-D (ri-fi-la-do (VII dim7) to F#

(whereby the F# of the 1. tetrad can be considered as a sustained note of the following dim7 chord.)

The next chord in question is as you say again a augmented German sixth (inversion!) resolving into the tonic.

(In German this is called übermassiger Quint-Sext-Akkord that means augmented Sixth - with a natural fifth)

I’ll post here the important content of the link in my answer to your earlier question:

Tchaikovsky considered the augmented sixth chords to be altered dominant chords.[15] He described the augmented sixth chords to be inversions of the diminished triad and of dominant and diminished seventh chords with a lowered second degree (♭scale degree 2), and accordingly resolving into the tonic. He notes that, "some theorists insist upon [augmented sixth chord's] resolution not into the tonic but into the dominant triad, and regard them as being erected not on the altered 2nd degree, but on the altered 6th degree in major and on the natural 6th degree in minor", yet calls this view, "fallacious", insisting that a, "chord of the augmented sixth on the 6th degree is nothing else than a modulatory degression into the key of the dominant".

You should really read what's said about inversions of the augmented sixth chord then you will probably see that my answer was fully applicable:

Augmented sixth chords are occasionally used with a different chord member in the bass. Since there is no consensus among theorists that they are in root position in their normal form, the word "inversion" isn't necessarily accurate, but is found in some textbooks, nonetheless. Sometimes, "inverted" augmented sixth chords occur as a product of voice leading.

Answer 2

Throughout the piece, the dotted-eighth–sixteenth figure is used as a rhythmic motive. And often, the first note of that figure is a non-chord tone that resolves to a chord tone on the sixteenth note.

The same is happening here; the F♯ is a non-chord tone, and the true chord tone is the E♯. This makes that downbeat an E♯ fully diminished seventh chord in first inversion. Notice that this E♯ returns in the bass on the downbeat of the third measure of the second system (i.e., the second line of your example). But this time, it's creating what we call a German diminished-seventh chord (also sometimes called a German diminished-third). In short, this is a German augmented-sixth chord but with ♯4 in the bass instead of ♭6.

In the entirety of these two measures, B and D are just held as pedal tones. As such, I believe that we just have common-tone chords being prolonged for these two measures.

And they're being prolonged by what we call a voice exchange. In a voice exchange, two voices simply trade which pitches they play. Often the exchange is a result of stepwise motion between the two voices. In this example, notice that the bass moves from G♯ down to E♯. Meanwhile, the alto moves from E♯ up to G♮. Since the alto and bass have exchanged pitches, this is a voice exchange. (Technically it's a chromatic voice exchange since the G♯ ultimately becomes a G♮.)

Two other comments:

• These chords aren't really G7 chords. G7 chords are spelled G B D F, but these are spelled with an E♯, which makes a huge difference, because now it's actually a German augmented-sixth chord. Be aware of enharmonic spellings!
• In this repertoire, it's not always important to label every single chord. Sometimes a composer just moves some pitches around by step and the "chord" that it creates is just an accident. I really think that's what's happening here. I don't personally think it's important to label "G7/F" in the second measure of the second system; I think it's much better to see the larger pattern of the voice exchange between the alto and bass.