The Notturno in E-flat major, Op. 148 ( D. 897), also called ''

Adagio Adagio (Italian for 'slowly', ) may refer to: Music * Adagio, a tempo marking, indicating that music is to be played slowly, or a composition intended to be played in this manner * Adagio (band), a French progressive metal band Albums * ''Adagi ...

'', is a

nocturne A nocturne is a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night. History The term ''nocturne'' (from French '' nocturne'' 'of the night') was first applied to musical pieces in the 18th century, when it indicated an ensembl ...

for

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of m ...

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wo ...

Description

This substantial but relatively neglected piece has affinities with the slow movements of both the String Quintet in C major D. 956, and the Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat, D 898. Completed in the Autumn of 1827, it is possibly a rejected slow movement of the Piano Trio No. 1. It has the sublime slowness of the string quintet movement (in one recording of the Notturno, by the

Beaux Arts Trio The Beaux Arts Trio was a noted piano trio, celebrated for their vivacity, emotional depth and wide-ranging repertoire. They made their debut on 13 July 1955, at the Berkshire Music Festival, Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, known today as the ...

, Schubert takes half a minute to leave the opening tonic harmony), together with a similar use of

pizzicato Pizzicato (, ; translated as "pinched", and sometimes roughly as "plucked") is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of instrument : * On bowe ...

at various points, and with the same paradoxical effect: the pizzicato decorations of the main tune seem to enhance the underlying tragedy of the music, rather than lightening it. The main thematic idea has a characteristic common to a number of Schubert's most celebrated melodic ideas, including the second subjects of both the C major string quintet's first movement and the "Unfinished" Symphony No. 8's first movement: that of "not going anywhere", pitch-wise, but seeming to revolve round a single note (the third note of the scale in this case).

Formal structure

The Notturno is in extended ternary form (ABABA). The first episode is in the 'Neapolitan' key, the flattened

supertonic In music, the supertonic is the second degree () of a diatonic scale, one whole step above the tonic. In the movable do solfège system, the supertonic note is sung as ''re''. The triad built on the supertonic note is called the supertonic ch ...

major (theoretically F flat, but written as E major). The main melodic idea of the episode is a three-note, dotted figure, which has an almost martial, march-like quality, despite the continued slowness of the music's underlying tempo, thus providing a contrast with the opening section while not disturbing the unity of the piece. The second episode repeats the material of the first episode, but in the

submediant In music, the submediant is the sixth degree () of a diatonic scale. The submediant ("lower mediant") is named thus because it is halfway between tonic and subdominant ("lower dominant") or because its position below the tonic is symmetrical to ...

major (C major). The transition back to the opening material at the end of both episodes incorporates a long dominant preparation. The first of these transitions starts in F major, the key in which the first episode has ended, and progresses by a series of modulations to the home key of E flat, anchored by a bass line descending largely by step. The second transition is tonally unnecessary, in the sense that the episode has already landed back on the tonic, E flat, with an emphatic

cadence In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don Michael Randel (199 ...

; but Schubert disguises this fact by carrying out a feint towards F major again, the key in which the first episode had ended. This excursion Schubert uses as an opportunity for further harmonic progressions. In its third and final appearance the opening tune is decorated with trills in the upper register of the piano.

Use in the media

The Notturno was used intermittently in the background during BBC Radio 4's July 2008 serialisation of

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

's '' The Portrait of a Lady''. It is also played during the end scene of the film ''

Shall We Kiss? ''Shall We Kiss?'' (French title: ''Un baiser s'il vous plaît'') is a 2007 French romantic comedy film directed by Emmanuel Mouret that stars Mouret himself with Virginie Ledoyen, Julie Gayet, Michaël Cohen, Frédérique Bel and Stefano Accor ...

'', as well as in some episodes of the third season of the American television series '' Hannibal''.

References

;Sources *

External links

* * {{Authority control Chamber music by Franz Schubert

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

Compositions in E-flat major 1827 compositions