Notes Concerning Bartók's Solo Vocal Music (III): The Twenty Hungarian Folksongs (1929)

Extract

The contrapuntal inspiration of the Folksongs does not preclude harmonic inventiveness; in fact, contrapuntally controlled harmony gives wide scope to very advanced tonal excursions. Valid bi- and/or polytonality depends a great deal on a satisfactory combination of individual melodic lines with independent tonal allegiances. The most aggressive tonal clashes are, as a rule, convincingly explained by melodic, contrapuntal progressions: it is an interesting fact that the most daring dissonances usually conceal a stereotyped melodic formula of age-long usage. To mention but one example, which is said to be an English peculiarity too, here is a passage from Taverner's Lamentations: