Stravinsky’s “Illegal” Arrangement of “The Star Spangled Banner” (2015)

I want to bring this comment to the articles author and readers attention.

> Terry Vosbein says: July 5, 2015 at 12:40 pm

> I made a comment here yesterday, and its disappearance is disturbing. I wrote that I liked the arrangement by Stravinsky, but that the author had misused the term “dominant seventh chord.” Today I find my comment erased, the article re-written, and the new version just as incorrect.

> The original version of the Star Spangled Banner utilized dominant seventh chords. In fact. most tonal music from Bach on forward utilizes dominant seventh chords. A lot of them.

> It is true that Stravinsky’s “sin” was to muck with the harmonies. But the description as it stands is pretty meaningless. He did not add a dominant seventh chord. He re-hamonized a few chords with tonal, yet not traditional, chords. They may be a bit startling to one used to the original harmonies, but I assure you, the inclusion of a dominant seventh chord is not the reason why. ---

In my ears Stravinsky's version is much clearer and richer than the simplier original version. The original is like a pop song for kids, the improved version does not fulfill all cadences immediately, he leaves them open, as in most better arrangements. E.g. hear the last notes of the trombone.