C minor and E major

In his masterly companion to the Bach cello suites, Steven Isserlis mentions composers’ attraction to the sombre key of C minor.

Besides the final movements of Bach’s own Passions, he cites Mozart’s Mass and piano concerto K491, and I think also of the slow movements of the E flat concertos K 271 and K482, as well as the Wind Serenade and the Andante of the Sinfonia concertante (above); and Schubert’s Quartettsatz. Steven goes on to list Brahms 1, and Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto.

* * *

By contrast, composers have been inspired by the incandescent splendour of E major (the basic key of the north Chinese ritual shengguan ensemble!—e.g. here, §2), as in

• Bruckner 7 (here, and here)
• the Adagio of the Schubert string quintet

• Rossini’s William Tell overture
• the slow movement of Brahms 4
• the hushed last verse of the finale of Mahler 4

and (a rare appearance for Wagner on this blog) the Siegfried idyll, conducted here by Celibidache:

as well as

• Beethoven’s Op.109 piano sonata, under Grimaud graces London again!

See also Mahler and Messiaen!!!.

Messiaen goes even further in his devotion to the sensuality of F sharp major, such as in Turangalîla—the intimate sixth movement and the cosmic finale—and the Vingt regards sur l’enfant-Jésus. But perhaps that’s another story.

DO click on the links to listen in awe to all of them!