Imaginary

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?

Music: Composers, artists, and major works

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)
• String Trio No. 2 in D major, Op. 8, “Serenade” (1797)
• String Trio No. 3 in G major, Op. 9/1 (1798)
• String Trio No. 4 in D major, Op. 9/2 (1798)
• String Trio No. 5 in C minor, Op. 9/3 (1798)

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

• String Trio 1 in B-flat Major, D 471 (1816)
• String Trio 2 in B-flat Major, D 581 (1817)

Sergei Taneyev (1856-1915)

• String Trio in D Major (1880)
• String Trio in B Minor (1913)
• String Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 31

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

• Piano Trio No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11 (1935)
• Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat Major, Op. 22
• Piano Trio No. 3 in D Major, Op. 53
• Piano Trio No. 4 in D Major, Op. 58

Other compositions:

• Pettersson, Symphony No. 9 (1970), is “an extended struggle ending in harmony.”
• Zemlinsky, Das gläserne Herz, Ein Tanzpoem, a Dance Poem in one act for orchestra (1904)
• Fougstedt, Songs for mixed a capella choir
• Viviani, Capricci Armonici
• Benevoli, Missa In anguistia pestilientia (1656); see also this album.

Afrika Mamas is a female a capella singing group from South Africa, known for their tight harmonies and uplifting songs. Its albums include:

• “Ilanga – The Sun” (2019): “The lyrics address themes of love, women’s rights, and respect for the world and its people.”
• “Iphupho – A Capella from South Africa” (2018): “The album’s 12 songs revolve mostly around family, work and daily struggle.”
• “Afrika Mamas” (2016): “Following tradition, the seven Zulu female vocalists who make up the Afrika Mamas present us with an upbeat 12-track album that tells of battles, loss and gratitude, heartache, jealousy and independence.”

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 and Hariprasad Chaurasia, “The Valley Recalls” album: Harmony
• On his “Where Do You Start” album, 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.
• Tight melodic harmonies characterize the singing of female a capella Bulgarian choirs. Here are Cosmic Voices from Bulgaria.
• Steven Halpern, “Perfect Alignment” (2002) (74')
• Mike McGinnis, Elias Bailey and Vinnie Sperrazza, “Time Is Thicker” album: these artists play like old friends
• Elizabeth & Raymond Chenault, “Organ Music for Two”: Volume 1; Volume 2; Volume 4; Volume 5.
• Roy Hargrove & Mulgrew Miller, “In Harmony”

From the dark side:

• Aho, Symphony No. 5 sounds like harmony being challenged by competing forces (performances conducted by Slobodeniouk, Pommer and unknown).
• Matthew Shipp Trio, “Harmonic Disorder”

Poetry

From the dark side:

• Edgar Lee Masters, “Amanda Barker”

Music: songs and other short pieces

• Nawang Khechog, Harmony in Balance
• Theobald Böhm, Duettino in D Major (No. 66)

Fictional Narratives

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.