D-flat 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 key	F-flat major (theoretical); enharmonic: E major
Parallel key	D-flat major
Dominant key	A-flat minor
Subdominant	G-flat minor (theoretical); enharmonic: F-sharp minor
Enharmonic	C-sharp minor
Component pitches
	D♭, E♭, F♭, G♭, A♭, B, 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

^ Amy Beach & Betty Buchanan (2006). The Canticle of the Sun. A-R Editions, Inc. p. xiii. ISBN 0-89579-583-3.
^ Ernst Levy (1985). A Theory of Harmony. SUNY Press. p. 62. ISBN 0-87395-993-0.
^ James L. Zychowicz (2005). "Structural Considerations". Mahler's Fourth Symphony. Oxford University Press. p. 28. ISBN 0-19-816206-5.
^ 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.
^ Theodor W. Adorno (1992). Mahler: A Musical Physiognomy. Translated by Edmund Jephcott. University of Chicago Press. pp. 165–166. ISBN 0-226-00769-3.

[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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