Meaning and Expression. The heterogeneity of the crowd is reflected in the diversity of the musical materials, which form three distinct layers: a harmonic oscillation on D-A, an arpeggiated melody on A-E, and a stepwise melody that fills E-B, deployed as a melodic fourth. The harmonic focus is thus diffuse, and if we are far from true “polytonality,” we are also far from the integration and mutual support of melody and harmony that characterizes common-practice tonality.