Modal Ethos and Semiotics in Tonal Music: Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms, Massenet, Mahler and Debussy

This work examines a specific technical and expressive means by which the various ecclesiastical modes persisted and were integrated into compositional practices of the tonal period, from the time of Bach through to the early twentieth century. Methods are considered for bringing the concepts of modal ethos forward to post tonal music. An approach is described which can recreate all the significant parameters of modal reference at a structural level without compromising even the most stringent demands of post tonal compositional practices.