the CBC and Paolo Pietropaolo for bringing the Signature Series to life and structuring the guided tour through the key of D minor.
“D minor: The Ice Queen
Also known as:
The Femme Fatale.
The Vengeful Vamp.
D minors you might know:
Carmen, from Bizet’s opera Carmen.
The White Witch from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmatians.
The notes: D – E – F – G – A – B♭ – C♯- D.
Number of flats: one.
Relative major: F major.
What they said about D minor in the 19th century:
“This key sounds melancholy and horrible. It proclaims gloomy lament, deep suffering.” – J.A. Schrader, 1827
“A ghost must speak in D minor, though on this point Gluck, Mozart and Rossini differ.” – Anonymous, 1828, in The Spectator”
bleatmop
Mystro
Dead Wild Roses 
6 comments
November 30, 2012 at 8:23 am
anon
Interesting series by Paolo Pietropaolo on CBC. Thanks for highlighting it.
D minor may be an ‘icy queen’, but she is still beautiful….
Looking forward to C sharp major.
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November 30, 2012 at 11:09 am
The Arbourist
Wow, beautiful piece! I wish I could have wrists as supple as hers…and the dexterity…*sigh* Fantastic piano technique.
Me too, I think the Signature Series is a great way for people to put context to and get to know more of what is out there for classical music.
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November 30, 2012 at 6:51 pm
Rob F
Of all the musical numbers I did in school band, the one I liked best was in D Minor (this was before I found out the work it was taken from was quite sexist). And that’s not because the dazzlingly high (for singers) vocal line was given to the flutes.
PP didn’t choose it for this week’s SS.
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December 1, 2012 at 8:02 am
The Arbourist
@Rob
A pox on PP. Do you recall the name of the piece? I’m curious now. :)
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December 1, 2012 at 11:38 am
Rob F
Queen of the Night Aria.
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December 1, 2012 at 1:56 pm
The Arbourist
Oh, beautiful aria round and round. Intransigentia sometimes entertains the notion of singing it. :)
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