It is perhaps the most famous chord in history. Composed of the dissonant brew of F, B, D♯ and G# and dubbed the “Tristan” chord after Richard Wagner’s opera “Tristan und Isolde,” this single chord helped begin the modernist breakdown of tonality. It edged 19th century music into the 20th century — a time of tension, insecurity and anxiety. It’s the chord that refuses to resolve.
To the listener, the chord is jarring and harsh. It is dissonant. Syncopated beauty. Perfect error. It is used to express sexual frustration and sorrow. If the world is atonal and frantic, why can’t music be a reflection of that discordance?
Consider the impact of this one chord. It conveyed the confusion and cultural belligerence of the ‘60s when featured in Hendrix’s “Purple Haze.” It provided the molecules for Radiohead’s apocalyptic anthem “Idioteque” in the early 2000s. While not the Tristan chord per se, the raunchy notes that introduce the Beatles’ “Hard Day’s Night” is sometimes called pop’s Tristan chord.
Forgoing the implications of Wagner’s work on German nationalism, the real truth of Tristan is the suggestion that dissonance can be beautiful and even epic. We have lost that sensibility — to be content with not understanding, to feel at peace with an insecure future. We live in a generation of Scantrons and popular elections. The right answer is out there if we stare long enough. Majority rules. We prefer ignoring cultural and theological differences to living in them.
We live in absolutism because the alternative is too daunting. To live with dissonance is to accept fate in all its unfinished cadences. If I understand Wagner’s legacy, it is that dissonance and distortion are epic. Consider John Williams. Consider heavy metal artists like Deep Purple and Metallica. Consider Nirvana, Bob Dylan and Lady Gaga. All took cues from Wagner.
Gustav Mahler, 23, upon hearing Wagner’s “Parsifal,” wrote, “I understood that the greatest and most painful revelation had just been made to me, and that I would carry it unspoiled for the rest of my life.”
How sad it is when we forget how to appreciate dissonance. Millennials signify an exceptionalist, idealistic and intensely narcissistic culture. We are utterly unprepared to act as agents of reconciliation because of our profound fear of uncertainty. We are children of the Recession. We watched the twin shadows disappear into Ground Zero. Life since then has been picking up the pieces.
But existence, by definition, is uncertain. And so long as the dominant art is monochromatic party pop and one-sided Instagram posts, our sensibilities will become more and more disconnected with the realities of the world. Where is the punk? Where is the Blues within the pop lexicon? Social media, partisan news channels, beauty product commercials and democratic idealism all cater to a one-sided reality — a harmonious lie.
The world makes a fool of our categories and lines. ISIS castigated the modern nation-state. Israel and Palestine battle over property rights. Muslims neighbor Christians. Red states border blue. The cognitive dissonance is there, but I fear we lack the sensibilities to address it without creating conflict. Reconciliation requires compromise. Compromise requires pragmatism and liberalism. This millennial idealism is holding us back from the truth — and it may be a crutch. In order to live in the globalized world, we have to learn how to live peaceably with people and ideas that clash. We must learn to live in harmony with dissonance.
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Follow Nate Barton on Twitter: @TheNateBarton
