Allen Forte was the first to apply pc set theory to post-tonal diatonic works
by Stravinsky and Barto k. His applications in The Structure of Atonal Musicwere not intended as comprehensive analyses, but merely as examples of how
his theoretical model might be applied to such music.6 However, in The
Harmonic Organization of `The Rite of Spring', Forte applied set theory to the
analysis of an entire work, an application that was considered appropriate by
some and misguided by others;7 the success of the study was the subject of a
debate in this journal.8 The debate is perfectly understandable, regardless of
which side of the argument one prefers. Because diatonic musical surfaces in
post-tonal works are a breeding-ground for tonal allusions, they are often heard
in relation to tonality. Though the work is only diatonic to a limited degree,
there is enough diatonic material in The Rite to justify a dissatisfaction with
any analysis of it that does not recognise the work's tonal implications.
Conversely, The Rite is foreign enough to tonality to justify a dissatisfaction
with any analysis that attempts to explain its pitch organisation solely in terms
of functional harmony and species counterpoint.