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#788: If God My Lord Be for Me
Mar. 31st, 2021 10:54 pmThis is another one of those "I don't really know what key it's in." Ends with a D (minor) chord, written with the key signature of C major. So..."Dorian mode?"
Unlike 492, this one (and 666) does have a harmonization, so we can look at the chords that each line ends on to see if they point us somewhere.
666: C major, D minor, D minor-ish, D minor-ish, C major-ish, D minor. Where the -ish indicates "it starts there and then some of the harmonization moves around to make it less clear." There are no accidentals. I'm pretty comfortable saying "well it's like D minor."
788: A major-ish, A major, C major-ish, D minor. In order to get the A major, we need to have an accidental C sharp, and there are several of these--this would be associated with "D harmonic minor." But then we also have a couple of B-flats showing up in the tenor/bass parts, just for fun, which doesn't really fit with any of the minor scales. Conclusion: "sort of wants to be D harmonic minor, but it's complicated."
Unlike 492, this one (and 666) does have a harmonization, so we can look at the chords that each line ends on to see if they point us somewhere.
666: C major, D minor, D minor-ish, D minor-ish, C major-ish, D minor. Where the -ish indicates "it starts there and then some of the harmonization moves around to make it less clear." There are no accidentals. I'm pretty comfortable saying "well it's like D minor."
788: A major-ish, A major, C major-ish, D minor. In order to get the A major, we need to have an accidental C sharp, and there are several of these--this would be associated with "D harmonic minor." But then we also have a couple of B-flats showing up in the tenor/bass parts, just for fun, which doesn't really fit with any of the minor scales. Conclusion: "sort of wants to be D harmonic minor, but it's complicated."
