'As the hero grows in wisdom, so his music develops.' When Parsifal re-appears in the final act, set many years later, half-diminished chords permeate the leitmotif. Wagner, from Parsifal, act 1 Wagner, from Parsifal, act 1 His leitmotif consists almost entirely of diatonic chords: In the first Act, the music portrays Parsifal as vigorous, youthful and naïve. (The chord that opens Tristan und Isolde (1859) is the best known and most-discussed example.) However, in his final opera Parsifal (1882), the composer used the half-diminished seventh to colour a leitmotif that conveys how its hero develops as the story progresses. Wagner frequently used the chord for dramatic and expressive effect. Mendelssohn, Wedding March Mendelssohn, Wedding MarchĪn instance of the power latent in this 'quintessentially dramatic chord' can be found in the 'shriek of despair' that launches the 'torrent of fury' that is Chopin's Scherzo No. In contrast, however, one of the most striking and best known examples of a half diminished seventh can be found in a piece that expresses joyful celebration, namely the chord that follows the fanfare at the start of the Wedding March from Mendelssohn's incidental music to A Midsummer Night's Dream (1842). Similarly in the Et carnatus est section from Michael Haydn's Missa Sancti Nicolai Tolentini (1768):Įt incarnatus est on YouTube from Michael Haydn's Missa Sancti Nicolai Tolentini, MH 109 performed by Le Choeur de Filles de la Maîtrise de BordeauxĮt incarnatus est from Michael Haydn's Missa Sancti Nicolai Tolentini (1768) Bach's St Matthew Passion (1727) features the chord on the seventh beat of its first measure:īach, St Matthew Passion, opening Bach, St Matthew Passion, opening For example, the 'mournful affect' of the sombre opening Chorus of J. The half-diminished seventh chord is frequently used in passages that convey heightened emotion.

It has been described as a 'considerable instability'. Similarly, the chord also occurs on the second degree of any natural minor scale (e.g., D ø 7 in C minor). In diatonic harmony, the half-diminished seventh chord occurs naturally on the seventh scale degree of any major scale (for example, B ø 7 in C major) and is thus a leading-tone seventh chord in the major mode. The first inversion shares identity with a chord on the minor sixth: Half-diminished chord inversions Half-diminished chord inversions The half-diminished seventh chord exists in root position and in three inversions. It can be represented by the integer notation. Audio playback is not supported in your browser.

B minor flat 5