Omnibus progression
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The omnibus progression is a harmonic sequence that is primarily characterized by chromatic lines moving in opposite directions. The sequence effectively divides the octave into 4 equal parts. Examples in music include Schubert's Piano Sonata in A minor, Op. 42, first movement, mm. 32-39, and Brahms' Opus 116, No. 3.[1]
The progression can feature a fully chromatic descending octave in the bass, and chromatic ascending tetrachords in the soprano, tenor and alto and again finally soprano to complete the structure, although other voicings are quite possible.
Chords
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In the following example, the omnibus expands Dominant harmony (in C minor) by chromatically filling the space from ^1 down to ^5 in the bass. To complete the omnibus' identity, an upper voice would move chromatically in the opposite direction, from ^5 to ^1.[2]
| cm | GMm65 | BbMm7 | dm64 | BbMm42 | GMm7 | cm |
A more complete expression of the omnibus would be as follows:
| cm | GMm65 | BbMm7 | dm64 | BbMm42 | GMm7 | f#m64 | GMm42 | EMm7 | g#m64 | EMm42 | C#Mm7 | fm64 | C#Mm42 | BbMm7 | dm64 | BbMm42 | GMm7 | cm | File:Omnibus 2.png
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- ^ Telesco, Paula. "Enharmonicism and the Omnibus Progression in Classical-Era Music." Music Theory Spectrum, Vol. 20, No. 2. (Autumn, 1998), pp. 242-279.
- ^ In these examples the first letter is the root, which is followed by the quality and the figured bass inversion. For example, DM6 refers to a D major triad in first inversion. Mm refers to the dominant-seventh sonority, which has a major triad and a minor seventh.