D-flat minor

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See also: C-sharp minor
D-flat minor
{ \new Staff \with{ \magnifyStaff #3/2 } << \time 2/16 \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f { \clef treble \key des \minor s16 \clef bass \key des \minor s16 } >> }
Relative keyF-flat major (theoretical)
enharmonic: E major
Parallel keyD-flat major
Dominant keyA-flat minor
enharmonic: G-sharp minor
SubdominantG-flat minor (theoretical)
enharmonic: F-sharp minor
EnharmonicC-sharp minor
Component pitches
D♭, E♭, F♭, G♭, A♭, Bdouble flat, C♭

D-flat minor is a theoretical key based on D♭, consisting of the pitches D♭, E♭, F♭, G♭, A♭, B♭♭, and C♭. Its key signature has six flats and one double flat. Its relative major is F-flat major, which is usually replaced by E major. Its parallel major is D-flat major, and its direct enharmonic equivalent, C-sharp minor, is normally used.

The D-flat natural minor scale is:

{ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \key des \minor \time 7/4 des4^\markup { Natural minor scale } es fes ges aes beses ces des ces beses aes ges fes es des2 \clef bass \key des \minor } }

Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The D-flat harmonic minor and melodic minor scales are:

{ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \key des \minor \time 7/4 des4^\markup { Harmonic minor scale } es fes ges aes beses c des c beses aes ges fes es des2 } }
{ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \key des \minor \time 7/4 des4^\markup { Melodic minor scale } es fes ges aes bes c des ces! beses! aes ges fes es des2 } }

D-flat minor is usually notated as the enharmonic key of C-sharp minor, as in the second and third measures of Amy Beach's Canticle of the Sun.[1] However, unusually, two of Verdi's most well-known operas, La traviata and Rigoletto, both end in D-flat minor (although written with the five-flat key signature of the parallel major). Mahler's thematic motif "der kleine Appell" ("call to order") from his Fourth and Fifth Symphonies uses both notations: in his Symphony No. 4 (first movement) it is in D-flat minor, but in his Symphony No. 5 it is in C-sharp minor. In the Adagio of his Symphony No. 9 a solo bassoon interpolation following the main theme appears first in D-flat minor, returning twice more notated in C-sharp minor. Likewise, in the Adagio of Bruckner's Symphony No. 8, phrases that are tonally in D-flat minor are notated as C-sharp minor.[2][3][4][5]

References[]

  1. ^ Amy Beach & Betty Buchanan (2006). The Canticle of the Sun. A-R Editions, Inc. p. xiii. ISBN 0-89579-583-3.
  2. ^ Ernst Levy (1985). A Theory of Harmony. SUNY Press. p. 62. ISBN 0-87395-993-0.
  3. ^ James L. Zychowicz (2005). "Structural Considerations". Mahler's Fourth Symphony. Oxford University Press. p. 28. ISBN 0-19-816206-5.
  4. ^ Eero Tarasti (1996). "Music history revisited". In Eero Tarasti; Paul Forsell; Richard Littlefield (eds.). Musical Semiotics in Growth. Indiana University Press. pp. 14–15. ISBN 0-253-32949-3.
  5. ^ Theodor W. Adorno (1992). Mahler: A Musical Physiognomy. Translated by Edmund Jephcott. University of Chicago Press. pp. 165–166. ISBN 0-226-00769-3.
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