Imaginary

Fictional Narratives

Novels:

• Mary Anne Shaffer & Annie Barrows, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: A Novel (The Dial Press, 2008): “Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society's members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.”

From the dark side:

• Andrea Lee, Red Island House: A Novel (Scribner, 2021): a husband and wife struggle to mesh with each other while on a vacation.
• Nancy Johnson, The Kindest Lie: A Novel (Morrow, 2021): the husband wants a child but the wife, who had given up a previous child to adoption, does not.

Poetry

From the dark side:

• Edgar Lee Masters, “Amanda Barker”

Music: Composers, artists, and major works

Many singing groups emphasize tight and distinctive harmonies. They include:

• Afrika Mamas is a female a capella singing group from South Africa, known for its tight harmonies and uplifting songs. Here is a link to its playlists.
• The Bulgarian Voices – Angelite sings music from Bulgaria and the Balkans. Here is a link to its playlists.
• Cosmic Voices from Bulgaria is a female vocal group that displays the distinctive vocal harmonies of Bulgaria. Here is a link to its playlists.
• The Louvin Brothers was a country music duo from Alabama. Their harmonies were distinctive. Here is a link to their playlists.
• The Wailin’ Jennys is a Canadian folk trio known for its poignant harmonic singing. Here is a link to its playlists.
• The Shanghai Restoration Project, from China, blends Chinese and Western elements. Here is a link to its playlists.
• Soweto Gospel Choir is a South African group that emphasizes harmonies in gospel music. Here is a link to its playlists.
• Los Chalcheros was an Argentinian folk music group that emphasized harmonic lines. Here is a link to its playlists.
• Kjarkas is a Bolivian vocal group. Here is a link to its releases.
• Grupo Vocal Desandann is a Cuban vocal group that specialized in close harmonies, and in blending Haitian and Cuban cultures. Here is a link to its playlists.
• The Joy, “Amaqatha Amancane” (2024).

Sparsely used in composition, the string trio consists of three distinctive voices of the string family: violin, viola and cello. In string trios from the Classical and Romantic eras, this combination suggests the intimacy of a tight-knit family or circle of the closest friends.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), string trios:

• String Trio No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op. 3 (1794) (approx. 39-41’)
• String Trio No. 2 in D Major, Op. 8, “Serenade” (1797) (approx. 25-29’)
• String Trio No. 3 in G Major, Op. 9/1 (1798) (approx. 20’)
• String Trio No. 4 in D Major, Op. 9/2 (1798) (approx. 23-24’)
• String Trio No. 5 in C minor, Op. 9/3 (1798) (approx. 25’)

Franz Schubert (1797-1828):

• String Trio No. 1 in B-flat Major, D. 471 (1816) (approx. 11-13’)
• String Trio No. 2 in B-flat Major, D. 581 (1817) (approx. 21-22’)

Sergei Taneyev (1856-1915):

• String Trio in D Major (1880) (approx. 27’)
• String Trio in B minor (1913) (approx. 18’)
• String Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 31 (1911) (approx. 26-28’)

Eduard Franck’s tightly constructed piano trios illustrate that harmony is not merely tonal.

• Piano Trio No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 (1848) (approx. 40’)
• Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat Major, Op. 22 (1860) (approx. )
• Piano Trio No. 3 in D Major, Op. 53 (approx. 26’)
• Piano Trio No. 4 in D Major, Op. 58 (1898) (approx. 37’)

Other compositions:

• Allan Pettersson, Symphony No. 9 (1970) (approx. 70-85’): “Like many of Pettersson’s symphonies, his Ninth can be described as an extended struggle in which harmony is the ultimate winner.”
• Alexander Zemlinsky, Das gläserne Herz, Ein Tanzpoem, a Dance Poem in one act for orchestra (1900, rev. 1904) (approx. 36’): At the ballet’s end, Hope “returns with the Hours bearing in a dove that dies, but rises again into a starry sky.”
• Nils-Eric Fougstedt, Songs for mixed a capella choir (approx. 73’)
• Giovanni Buonaventura Viviani, Capricci Armonici (Harmonic Capriccios) (1678) (approx. 79’)
• Orazio Benevoli, Missa, “In anguistia pestilientia” (1656) (approx. 32’); see also this album.
• Unico Willem van Wassenaer, VI Concerti Armonici (1740) (approx. 57’)

In music, harmony is not limited to melodic harmony. It is about playing together, in unity and cohesion. Examples of this include the following albums and tracks:

• Shivkumar Sharma & Hariprasad Chaurasia, “Harmony” (33’), from “The Valley Recalls” album
• On his “Where Do You Start” album (2012) (78’), pianist Brad Mehldau teams with Larry Grenadier (bass) and Jeff Ballard (drums) to offer jazz tunes in a free-and-easy, straight-ahead jazz style. Throughout the album the three voices interplay tenderly with each other, each player keenly mindful, even solicitous of the others.
• Steven Halpern, “Perfect Alignment” (2002) (74’)
• Mike McGinnis, Elias Bailey & Vinnie Sperrazza, “Time Is Thicker” album (2020) (43’): these artists play like old friends
• Elizabeth & Raymond Chenault, “Organ Music for Two”: Volume 1 (2013) (69’); Volume 2 (2010) (73'); Volume 3; Volume 4 (2014) (65’); Volume 5 (2021) (67’).
• Roy Hargrove & Mulgrew Miller, “In Harmony” (2021) (103’) 
• Northern Resonance, “Vision of Three” (2024) (39’): “Old is new, and new is old; Northern Resonance combines the two on Vision of Three, touching on sounds rarely heard, contextualizing them with instruments made new in the remarkable hands of these musicians.”

From the dark side:

• Kalevi Aho, Symphony No. 5 (1976) (approx. 24-30’) sounds like harmony being challenged by competing forces. “There is no resolution; how could there be one which would not sound either lame or manufactured? Instead there is a sense of resolve, of looking forward to the future without facile hope or artificial elation; the composer’s note says that he was left with 'the liberating feeling that everything was now possible.'” Excellent performances are conducted by Slobodeniouk, Pommer and unknown.
• Matthew Shipp Trio, “Harmonic Disorder” (2009) (55’)

Music: songs and other short pieces

• The Black Eyed Peas, “Where Is the Love?” (lyrics)
• Nawang Khechog, “Harmony in Balance”
• Theobald Böhm, “Duettino in D Major” (No. 66)

Visual Arts

• Salvador Dali, The Harmony of the Spheres (1978)
• Paul Delvaux, Harmony (1927)
• Wassily Kandinsky, Harmonie Tranquille (Quiet Harmony) (1924)
• Mikhail Nesterov, Harmony Concord (1905)

Film and Stage

Films about disharmony:

• Othello, Shakespeare’s tale about jealousy
• Fatal Attraction, illustrating the difference between love and passion
• Prizzi’s Honor: does he love her or “off” her?