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Ziyad Abdelfattah
Music Humanities
Fifths of Fury: Intervals in Don Giovanni
Mozarts Don Giovanni evokes countless moods and colors throughout its
winding plot, ranging from lighthearted and mirthful to vividly dramatic and agonizing.
All this is achieved musically, and can of course be supplemented by a good staging. The
Metropolitan Operas production of Don Giovanni was not such a staging; the set
fulfilled the necessary roles but was largely bare. And the statue of the Commendatore
was comically chubby, especially for someone who does not feed on mortal food. Theres
nothing wrong with conservative, but this was cripplingly conservative. On the other
hand, it could be said that the almost skeletal set design allowed the audience to draw
their own conclusions regarding the story and characters based solely on the vocal and
instrumental performances. In this regard the performance was a success; the orchestra
blended smartly with the vocal cast, seamlessly integrating aria and recitative into one
flowing narrative. Despite the lackluster staging, all the nuance of Don Giovanni was
communicated, which begs the question of what techniques Mozart employs to portray
multi-dimensional characters. After all, its four-hour length would be unbearable if not
for nuanced emotional content. There is of course no single answer, but Mozarts varied
color palette stems largely from the varied way in which he uses intervals and melodies.
Take for example the penultimate scene, the inevitable conclusion the audience
has been waiting to see. Don Giovannis mock invitation to the statue comes to pass, he is
given one last chance to repent, and is subsequently dragged into eternal hellfire. What
precedes the statues entrance is lighthearted dinner fare, exemplified by many V-I
progressions where the melody sits on the major third of the V chord and resolves to the
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tonic of the I chord. Of course its not so lighthearted for the audience who knows exactly
what is coming. The suspense, therefore, comes from the uncertainty as to exactly when
the scene will turn. When the statue finally makes its introduction, its first utterance,
Don Giovanni, is made using only a perfect fourth up and descending octave down as a
melody. These, the most basic of sonic changes, evoke a sort of essential quality that is
simultaneously celestial and terrestrial. In other words, perfect intervals such as fourths
and octaves sound simple because of the simple math of their relative frequency in hertz,
but they also enable music statements to be the most declarative.
Next, Mozart make the statue even more declarative by making the melody
mostly static in pitch (sometimes gradually moving up chromatically, as in Altra cure
pi gravi di queste/Altra brama quaggi mi guid, but still static within each phrase).
This has a very specific effect; normally, we are accustomed to melodies changing to suit
the harmonies, but here the harmonies revolve around the one-note melody. This reversal
would not befit a mortal, but it makes sense for the Commendatore. The contrast between
grave, unstoppable divine melodies and less determined mortal melodies is highlighted
further when Leporello cuts in with his La terzana d'avere mi sembra/E le membra
fermar pi non so.
Clearly, Don Giovanni features both the natural and supernatural planes of
existence. But within the supernatural sphere, there are different moods. The
aforementioned Commendatore scene is punitive stark. But earlier in the narrative,
Mozart explores a different type of supernaturalism. Leporello and Don Giovanni have
just reconvened at the graveyard where Don Giovanni makes his ill-conceived dinner
invitation. When the statue first cuts into the conversation, we first get a hint of the fixed-
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pitch melodic lines that will come later. Then Leporello and Don Giovanni launch into a
duet; the harmonies are generally pretty straightforward, with one notable exception. At
Leporellos line Padron! Mi treme il core, we hear an interval that is rather uncommon
in classical opera: a minor seventh below a given note. On top of this, the particular
minor seventh (Eb to Db) has seemingly no relation to the key of E Major, which the
song begins in (the whole thing repeats but modulated up to the key of B).
The deviation from key grabs the attention, but not in a harsh way; Mozart usually
employs diminished chords when he wants to startle the listener. Instead, it creates a
feeling of supernatural unease. Perhaps it is not supernatural in the sense of God, but
more in the sense of independent spirits. Meanwhile, the sinister air seems completely
lost on Don Giovanni, at least judging by the frequent I-V-I melodies and accompanying
whimsical string lines. The interesting harmonics are all sung by Leporello, who is the
uncomfortable one. Mariusz Kwieciens acting, on the other hand, suggested that Don
Giovanni always has an idea of his fate, which made Don Giovannis character richer at
this particular performance.
The production at the Met mirrored the uncomfortable, supernatural feeling in the
staging with somber blue lighting and three levels of statues partially obscured by
ominous shadow. However, one wonders if this might have been accomplished by
accident, as blue lighting was the standard for most scenes.
So it would appear that spectrum of the planes of existence, ranging from purely
mortal to purely divine, correlates to increasingly wide intervals in melody. Gods
ultimate judgment is represented by octaves (or nothing), and the more vague,
uncomfortable feeling of foreboding is represented by a minor seventh. Earthly concerns
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are represented by intervals of mainly seconds and thirds with an occasional fourth. Take
for example the scene in which Don Giovanni seduces Zerlina on the day of her wedding
to Masetto. The harmonies are not necessarily different from that of a grand divine trial;
there are many I-IV-V-I progressions. What creates the difference, in addition to the
dynamics and vocal delivery, is the melodic line. Notes are held for shorter durations, and
move in scales rather than resting on the tonic or dominant. Great gulfs in pitch between
notes imply consequence, where shorter jumps imply triviality.
Don Giovannis sexual exploits appear to have a dedicated interval, exemplified
by both the Zerlina seduction aria and Leporellos catalogue aria. In both, the minor third
below a given note is heavily leaned on in melodies, where the top note is the fifth and
the bottom note is the third of a major chord. This interval can often sound cheesily
romantic (its the one Dorothy uses in the bridge of Somewhere Over the Rainbow),
although that interpretation is not universal. Therefore, Mozart primes us with the
catalogue aria to associate the minor third below Don Giovannis sexual adventures.
Then, when the interval returns in the Zerlina seduction scene as Don Giovanni makes his
myriad romantic promises, the audience has the inside view on whats really going on.
If there is one representative example of genuine love and romance in Don
Giovanni, as opposed to promiscuity masquerading as romance, it is found in Don
Ottavios Il mio tesoro aria. Contrasted to Don Giovannis seduction of Zerlina, the
aria is much more technically challenging, as well as more varied in its use of intervals.
Syllables linger longer, and the melody soars higher to lend the aria the passion and
authenticity that Don Giovanni lacks in his amorous advances. Although most of the
melodic passages are primarily scalic, there are definite forays into intervals such as
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fourths, fifths, and octaves. At the Met performance, this aria, as performed by Ramn
Vargas, was a highlight of the show.
Intervals are an integral part of any melody, and careful use of certain intervals to
achieve specific emotional effects is a technique used either consciously or
subconsciously in nearly every musical performance. However, given the neat association
of larger intervals with supernatural or divine subject matter and smaller intervals with
earthly or mortal subject matter, it is hard to imagine that Mozart did not intentionally
incorporate some of these themes into the music. And although there is no explicit
definition of what effect specific intervals have on music, there is always some basic
reaction a composer can inspire with a scalic melody or a deliberate melody based on
fourths and fifths. The composer can further refine that reaction with dialogue and plot
action, and a production of the work that do the same with staging, costumes, lighting,
etc. But without the underlying musical groundwork, the project as a whole cannot
resonate with us as completely as Don Giovanni.