1.2 - Description of the analytical model || 1. The generative pair and a related issue: the Neapolitan sixth :: 2. The fundamental structure :: 3.The discrete grouping unit :: 4. The mechanism of substitution :: 5. The mechanism of interpolation :: 6.The mechanism of deviation :: 7. Some rules of the game concerning H.S.U. division :: 8. Application to two texts

Related Issue: The Neapolitan Sixth Chord

What is it?

- A major chord built on the 2nd degree lowered by a chromatic semitone, appearing most commonly in minor keys but also observed on occasion in major keys.

 

Example 1 : J.S. Bach : Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 (mm 109-119 of the fugue)

m.m. refers to the expression mixed mode*

Example 2 : R. Wagner : Tristan und Isolde, Act I, Scene 1, Isolde (mm 113-117)

- It is called a sixth chord because it usually appears built on the third (triads in their first inversion are designated by the Arabic numeral 6, hence the term "sixth chord")

- It is called a Neapolitan sixth chord because it seems to have been popularized by Neapolitan opera composers at the time of Alessandro Scarlatti.

 

Example 3 : A. Scarlatti : La Statira, no 117
N6 in a tonal gesture

 

Example 4 : A. Scarlatti : La Statira, no 51
N6 in a plagal gesture

 

Example 5 : A. Scarlatti : La Statira, no 109
N6 in a parallelism of sixth chords

 

However, it is also found:

- in root position

Example 6 : J. Haydn : Piano Sonata, Hob. XVII: 6, Andante con variazioni (mm 23-29)

 

Example 7 : E. Grieg : op. 5, no 2 (mm 37-41)

Example 8 : R. Schumann : Novelette, op. 21, no 1 (mm 98-101)
N in root position in a major key

- in second inversion

Example 9 : W.A. Mozart : Don Giovanni, Overture (mm 23-31)

Example 10 : F. Chopin : Sonata no 3, op. 58, Largo (mm 109-113)

Example 11 : F. Liszt : Années de pélerinage, Première année, Vallée d'Obermann (mm 110-117)

 

- and sometimes in the form of a major seventh chord when the tonic is already in place (in the bass as a pedal point, or elsewhere in a different manner)

Example 12 : F. Schubert : Winterreise, op. 89, no 11, Frühlingstraum (mm 23-26)

Example 13 : F. Chopin : Nocturne, op. 62, no 2 (mm 76-79)

Example 14 : L.V. Beethoven : Symphony no 3, op. 55, I (mm 260-284)
Here, N in the form of a major seventh chord arrives at the point where the tension culminates in the development of this first movement:

- in the context of a harmonic sequence (as will be seen later) or a parallelism of sixth chords as in the following example:

Example 15 : F. Schubert : Wanderer-Fantasy, D. 760, I (mm 143-152)

To conclude this introduction of the Neapolitan sixth chord, let us emphasize once again the importance of considering first and foremost the position that it occupies in the discourse, as we recall:

At what point in the circle of fifths does the Neapolitan sixth occur? Well! Exactly where we find the function II, of which the Neapolitan sixth is a sort of variant with increased tension.

Figure 9

- either before V in a tonal gesture

for example:
II - V - I replaced by N - V - I
II - V of V - V - I replaced by N - V of V - V - I

- or before I in a plagal gesture

for example:
IV - I being replaced by N - I

From this perspective and in order to distinguish the "true" from the "false", let us compare measures 1-2 and measures 7-8 from Prelude no 20, a non-modulating example, from Opus 28 by Chopin:

 

Example 16 : F. Chopin : Prelude, op. 28, no 20 (mm 1-8)

Example 17 : F. Chopin : Prelude, op. 28, no 20 (mm 1-8)
Comparison of measures 1-2 and 7-8

Here is another similar example, again in a non-modulating context, with the same chord fulfilling the identical IV of VI function as part of a tonicization. In this case, therefore, it is not a Neapolitan chord.

Example 18 : F. Mendelssohn : Songs Without Words, op. 19, no 2 (mm 48-56)

Finally, one last point concerning the Neapolitan sixth chord: where does it appear within a piece? Actually, it appears most frequently at the end of a piece, quite often during a piece, and much more rarely near the beginning of a piece. Here are a few examples of its appearance at the beginning of a piece:

Example 19 : L.V. Beethoven : Bagatelle, op. 119, no 9, Moderato (mm 1-8)

 

Example 20 : J. Brahms : Intermezzo, op. 10, no 3, Allegro (mm 1-9)

... and a few extremely rare instances as the first chord of a piece:

Example 21 : F. Chopin : Ballade no 1, op. 23, Largo (mm 1-9)

 

Example 22 : C. Saint-Saëns : Symphony no 3, op. 78, I, Adagio (mm 1-8)

 

Throughout the site, users may, if they wish, observe the Neapolitan sixth chord (analysed or not, played or not) in the following examples:

Part 1 of the site:

nos. 30 - 48 - 78 - 79 - 80 - 81- 98 - 100 - 106 - 107 - 121 - 123 - 132 - 165 - 166 - 167 - 203 - 234 - 235 - 256 - 257 - 258 - 278 - 307 - 310 - 322 - 330 - 364 - 383 - 401 - 404 - 429 - 430 - 433 - 434 - 435 - 439 - 450 - 452 - 453 - 476 - 494 - 495 - 504.

2. FUNDAMENTAL STRUCTURE