![]() ![]() Bach: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659 2 in C Minor, BWV 847 (George Lepauw, piano) Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, BWV 846-869 – Prelude No. Chopin also uses the Picardy Third, and switches from minor to major, most notably in his minor key Nocturnes.Įxamples of the Picardy Third in piano music:Īfter the relentless seriousness of what has gone before, the final C major triad at the end of this prelude brings a wonderful bloom of sound and an uplifting sense of hope. This switch from minor to major is also used to great expressive effect by Schubert, creating emotional chiaroscuro or ambiguity, sometimes within the space of a single phrase or even just a few bars. 111, where the transition from the fierce darkness of C minor to the “happier” major key and the use of the Picardy Third in the closing cadence creates a calmness in preparation for the serenity in the opening of the second movement. The seriousness, pathos or profound message of the music prior to the cadence is thrown into greater relief by the change of mood suggested by the Picardy Third.Īlthough less common in music from the Classical era, the Picardy Third does still make an appearance for example, at the end of the first movement of Beethoven’s final piano sonata, Op. Bach, and his contemporaries, and many of Bach’s Chorales scored in a minor key end with a Picardy Third, creating powerful nuances in mood and expression in the music. There are many examples in the music of J.S. The Picardy Third originated in Western music in the Renaissance and by the seventeenth century, it was common in both religious and secular music. For example, in a piece in A minor, instead of ending on the minor triad chord of A C natural E, introducing a Picardy Third would raise the C natural by a semitone to C sharp, and turn the chord into an A major triad. It is achieved by raising the third of the expected minor triad by a semitone. That expressive “lift”, an expression of happiness or contentment, is a Picardy Third.Ī Picardy Third, Picardy Cadence, or Tierce de Picardie in French, is a major chord at the end of a piece or section of music in the minor key. ![]() ![]() You’ll recognise it instantly: that happy “lift” at the end of a piece in a minor key, an unexpected lightening of the mood, like a ray of sunshine peeping through the rain clouds. ![]()
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