The Neapolitan Chord

For the footnotes and other extra information see the following link:
www.earlymusicsources.com/you...
0:00 Introduction
0:48 First description of the "Neapolitan"
4:20 17th century examples
11:25 Alessandro Scarlatti's cantata
14:24 18th century examples
18:25 19th century developments
Created by Elam Rotem and Sean Curtice, June 2022
The recordings made especially for this episode are by Doron Schleifer (voice) & Elam Rotem (organ), Karel Valter (audio engineer).
Special thanks to Jörg-Andreas Bötticher, Gilad Katznelson, Lisandro Abadie, Alon Schab, Hannah Lane and Anne Smith.
Support us on PATREON: / earlymusicsources
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[@federicoalcaraz2993]

I just love the way you added the Napolitano chord on the intro

[@gon9684]

I was about to comment that ahah

[@JoaquínVillazuela]

YES

[@klimentmilanov]

You beat me to the comment man I noticed it immediately and holy shit I didn't think I could love this channel more than I already do

[@crommo]

Made me laugh with joy

[@brunogripp]

I was about to say this. Very nice Easter egg.

[@johnopalko5223]

This is probably one of the most obscure, arcane, and specialist channels on KZbin and I absolutely adore it! Keep up the good work, Dr. Rotem.

[@toolguy6534]

I don't know, it depends on your point of view. This is all pretty mainstream stuff in the early music community right now. Recently a prodigy appeared on the scene, and it turns out she was trained in the 19th century french school which used the 17th and 18th century italian method of training using Partimenti, and Dr. Rotem is right on the leading edge putting out a (different) video on Partimenti. This is were it's at!

[@calinguga]

it's an almost 100k sub channel

[@DrTWG]

I don't think it's particularly arcane or obscure tbh . Certainly specialist - this is the beauty of the WWW - anything can get published . Great channel.

[@silviomp]

The 🍨 notation was hilarious. I could swear this video was only 10 minutes long. So good! 😂😂😂

[@scruffysean3640]

I've been a musician my entire life. And I never ceased to be amazed by the fact that there is such an abundance of tremendous musical beauty, yet at the same time one only has so much time to enjoy it.

[@whycantiremainanonymous8091]

The ice-cream scoop on the desk in the background... Now, that's attention to detail!

[@jonathandodd732]

The earliest example of the Neapolitan 6th I know of was, to me, unexpected when I encountered it: Dowland 'I saw my lady weep', from the 'second book of songs' published in 1600, and often thought to be intended to be performed with the following piece in the book, the famous 'flow my tears'. Great video, as always! Thank you so much.

[@georgh.3041]

Finally, I understand the meaning of this chord! thank you for this great explanation! Fun fact: in Germany the Neapolitan Ice cream is also known as "Fürst-Pückler-Eis", named after a weird prince.

[@LeonLayer]

maybe a weird one - but also originator of some wonderful and evocative gardens and parks. Insofar a strangely fitting parallel to its musical counterpart.

[@maniak1768]

How about a compilation video with all those variants of your 'jingle' you made over the years? That would be cool.

[@alexanderbayramov2626]

would it be a passacaglia or a chaconne?

[@chrdona1970]

Agreed. You should also publish the snippets in sheet music form. I’d buy it.

[@bitchslappedme]

They just did. Very likely it was thanks to you

[@yuvalne]

there's a good chance your comments was responsible for it happening!

[@facundoboms8955]

I think that the single is very similar to the Ritornello played throughout L` Orfeo (the opera by Monteverdi)

[@TheDescendre]

This channel is a real treasure for all the music lovers.....

[@xaviertudela9152]

And the duolingo's trumpets... amazing ahahahah

[@ginacrusco234]

Fantastic episode. You neither pander to your audience with oversimplification nor present in the dry academic manner. The examples of the Neapolitan chord are very enlightening (love the bowl of ice cream icon) and wonderfully sung. The example from Handel's "He was despised" is especially memorable and heartrending. Scarlatti's Orfeo is just sublime, and Pergolesi's Livietta e Tracollo, which I happen to know well, is a delightful confection.

[@andreamundt]

Whoa, the Scarlatti aria is extremely beautiful! ....goosebumps... Thank you for another fine episode! :D Love the ice cream scoop and the tiny pig (Is it chocolate or ceramics?) - and of course the altered intro!!

[@cmedalie]

Great selection of examples. The 17th Century was rockin' with gorgeous music. It deserves more attention.

[@notfancy2000]

How beautifully Doron sings!

Thanks for this great video. However, my favourite part will always be the intro music on the harpsichord, how it always changes a bit. Now it has Neapolitan chord, of course! I love that little detail so much!

[@soundknight]

YES!!!!! I have always been fascinated by this chord, so glad you have made this video

[@stellario82]

Simply impeccable!

[@ptheorist4670]

I remember when I first learned about the Neapolitan Chord on my last year of harmony lessons, I would look for the opportunity to use it in every single harmony exercise I did XD Since then I was overtaken by its haunting sound. Very interesting to learn about its history! Thank you!

[@jcortese3300]

This was SUPER useful and clear -- thank you!!

[@LawrenceDunn101]

Doron absolutely knocking it out of the park! amazing!

[@rfv618]

Can I commend you on the GORGEOUS choice of HIP recordings, including Doron's divine delivery of music and text. I'm off to find all those recordings to listen to them now.

[@xmvziron]

I think those were made specifically for this video.

[@james_subosits]

@@xmvziron yeah I agree, especially with the one where they changed the Eb to E natural, to see what it would sound like.

[@reedmullican5070]

I love how you show that Neapolitan sixth chords are not so hard if you look at it through counterpoint/thoroughbass; they seem to only be difficult if you are focused on roots! If you see it as a change of "chroma," it's not so bad. The same could be said of augmented sixth chords.

[@carlosandres7006]

I thrashed all my harmony studies and got a grip on counterpoint and never looked back.

[@bismarckluna]

I often hear people say that augmented sixths are "just" tritone subs and that it makes much more sense to see it that way, but man augmented sixths make much more sense to me. You basically just adding chromatic tones to emphasize melodic progressions. The tritone sub explanation that you can substitute a Dominant 7th for another Dominant 7th a tritone away just seems so random to me, though is more understandable in jazz chord symbols context I guess.

[@JazzGuitarScrapbook]

@@bismarckluna the +6 resolves differently in 18th century music at least tho. Tbh I prefer looking at aug 6 chords as being their own thing rather than a tritone sub.

[@johng9393]

@@bismarckluna Sir, I , a long time pro musician- couldn’t agree more. it’s nice to see one’s unpopular opinion , mirrored here. thanks

[@InventorZahran]

@@bismarcklunaIf the melody is emphasizing the root or fifth of that dominant 7th, using a tritone substitution would turn a consonance into two very harsh dissonances. But for jazz and related styles, that might be acceptable in certain situations...

[@metodsironic]

Thank you for the taste of the Neapolitan!

[@rjwusher]

What a glorious episode. This is such a valuable and informative channel. As an (amateur-)organist of Early Music and Baroque it is indispensable. I would love to see an episode dedicated to organ music. Anyways, thank you so very much!

[@emanuel_soundtrack]

Bach is so awesome , you see how even his 🍨 chord sounds diferent and quite in the limits of its expression in that adagio. It is so beautiful

[@cardinalflower6959]

I expected this to be informative, but I didn't expect it to be entertaining as well. Very nicely done! You have a new subscriber 😊

[@Mikronoodle]

The Neapolitan and geographical chords were just introduced in my university music course and it was so confusing... I finally understand it! Thank you!

[@farahmohammed1963]

I feel that we can get a degree just by watching these videos!! 🌺 Thank you for another fabulous video. Gosh, where were you guys when I was learning this 37 years ago? Back then, it was dull, dull, dull!! Thank you for demonstrating how this clever chord brings about such beauty and vibrancy to the music!! Dare I say, you make music theory completely fun, wonderfully engaging & totally exciting!!💕🌺😊🎵💐

[@simonsmatthew]

I agree by the 1980s teaching of music theory and music in general really lost its way. In the end one felt they did not really learn anything. Either you got very boring theory lessons with no context or no theory at all.

[@mobtek]

The best channel :) Hah I was just thinking oh Chopin used this as well and bam! Chopin example! Nice.

[@LidClassic]

This channel is way over my head, but I understand bits and pieces and keep coming back for more.

[@sebastianbrix]

Oh YES! Everytime a new Early Music Sources video drops, I am SO happy! Thanks so much!

[@dvirrozenblat1425]

מר רותם! שלום! הסרטונים שלך מאוד מעניינים ולגלות שאתה ישראלי הביא לי גאווה, תמשיך לעשות את מה שאתה עושה וכל הכבוד!

[@zevelgamer.]

הוא ישראלי?

[@dvirrozenblat1425]

@@zevelgamer. כן כן, הוא מקיבוץ בארץ עכשיו גר איפשהו באירופה, יש עליו אפילו דף ויקיפדיה בעברית

[@zevelgamer.]

@@dvirrozenblat1425 וואלה. איך קוראים לו?

[@jddrew1000]

I love the HIP recordings!!!

[@AndromedaCripps]

You can hardly consider it the same chord due to the completely different origins and functions of it, but, in a way the Neapolitan became a staple of 20th century music as well, in the form of the Tritone Substitution! The Tritone Sub in Jazz music is derived from taking the Tritone of a dominant seventh chord and building a new dominant seventh chord by switching the function of each note in the Tritone (the third of the chord becomes the seventh, and the seventh becomes the third). In other words, every Tritone can be found in two dominant chords, so in jazz music sometimes the musicians substitute in the *other* dominant chord that can be built on that tritone. But the most common tritone sub, the tritone sub of the V7 chord, would be bII7, AKA, the analytical equivalent of the Neapolitan chord (with a dominant 7th)!! But of course, it is resolved directly to the I in most cases, functions as a dominant chord, and is derived completely differently, and therefore has its own distinct sound, despite using many of the same notes. So I see it as a sort of “spiritual successor” to the Neapolitan chord 😊😊😊

[@juankliss]

It's most accurate to relate the Augmente 6th chords to the tritone subs present in jazz.

[@TheAtheistworld]

Well, the tritone subV of V would be a bVI. Kinda aug6.. but Neapolitan is more like subV of I, though it has subdom function. Neapolitan chords naturally appear In Neapolitan maj and min scales??? Pls explain , elaborate ,somebody. Thnx. Cheers

[@TheAtheistworld]

@@juankliss Well, the tritone subV of V would be a bVI. Kinda aug6.. but Neapolitan is more like subV of I, though it has subdom function. Neapolitan chords naturally appear In Neapolitan maj and min scales??? Pls explain , elaborate ,somebody. Thnx. Cheers

[@AndromedaCripps]

@@TheAtheistworld I’m kinda confused by what you’re saying? The tritone substitution of V7 would be bII7. If by “tritone subV of V” you mean the tritone substitution of the V-ofV, then you’d be talking about the tritone substitution of II7, which would actually be bIV7, not bVI. I’m not sure what you’re trying to get at? (No hostility intended! Just confused by what you are trying to say/ask!!😅😊)

[@TheAtheistworld]

@@AndromedaCripps thnx. Overall, it’s just a good old Phrygianish sh!t.. ;) nevermind..

[@LeonTodd]

I've been waiting for this one!

[@BernardGreenberg]

That was truly beautiful and illuminating. My favorite are the countless dramatic uses, as a major motif, no less, in Bach's F major organ toccata, BWV 540. Thank you!

[@alexanderbayramov2626]

omg yes, the way Bach fools you to think what chord should come next at that particular moment (or moments) is truly fascinating

[@toolguy6534]

@@alexanderbayramov2626 Most people don't recognize how dramatic Bach's music is. Sometimes it is super straightforward, like when he drives to a pretty normal cadence, but the final chord is only two notes. Then he goes back and repeats all the measures leading up to that exact same cadence, but throws in a bunch of suspensions and full chords instead. It's all the same melodic and harmonic material, but it really grabs you!

[@NicoIlViolinista]

As a musician who has a strict relationship with Naples this video surprised me a lot, thanks!

[@safarygirl]

My new favorite channel.

[@jakelizzio3063]

Such a helpful video! Thank you!

[@lornapenn-chester6867]

Thanks

[@leosoftCPC]

Finally, Kenan Thompson made it into an Early Music Sources Video. You guys are not only brilliant musicians but also have a outstanding meme repertoire 💙

[@shkeni]

beautiful countertenor voice, loved the examples

[@ProfRonanMC]

Not only do you make the details of harmony and counterpoint extraordinarily clear, but what is more impressive still is that you make them interesting! Where were you when I was studying this stuff?

[@ZephaniahL]

You deserve 100 times more subscribers. But the channel is a delicious secret.

[@alessioparone5722]

Oh finally you helped me to understand the origins of this particular chord. Thanks

[@andrewrichesson8627]

The best Neapolitan chord in all of music is the massive chord and pause before the coda in Bach's Pasacaglia in c minor.

[@ABruckner8]

I was looking for this comment before posting it myself ;)

[@ArthurSieg]

Amazing! I was recently discussing this chord with a particularly bright pianostudent, questioning it's name and origin. I'll be happy to share this new knowledge. I'd love for a comparable episode about the "Mol-Dur" chord, or the Mordor chord as my girlfriend calls it. A minor triad on the fourth scale degree in a major key.

[@InventorZahran]

I always thought the minor iv chord (in a major key) was an invention of 20th century pop music. I'll be interested to learn about its presence in earlier compositions...

[@emanuelezazzero4450]

Many thanks for this passionnant explication. Greetings from...Napoli! :D

[@sleepydrJ]

So fabulous! Love the story of this musical flavor enjoyed by people all over, and through time.

[@tomarmstrong1281]

It is totally possible to appreciate the beauty and subtlety of these harmonies and resolutions without a scrap of knowledge of arcane musical theory. Thank goodness.

[@lorquinomiranda]

Thnaks for this information! beautiful musical selecctions and great sense of humour! fantastic!

[@hucbald37]

Thank you so much again for a wonderful theory video!

[@srothbardt]

Thank you very much. Great music education. I’d like to hear more Grandi.

[@johnrobinsoniii4028]

One of my favorite chords and one of my favorite harmonic progressions.

[@lorenzodicapo6305]

Thank you. Your clear explanation has confirmed what I've suspected for years: I want some ice cream

[@charpnatl]

This was wonderful! Thank You !

[@wanariff5534]

thanks for making this video! It looks like I've got some more music in my 'to listen' playlist now!

[@monsieurgrigny]

Great show compellingly presented

[@leonidasdeguevara7146]

Cuanto amor, pasión y trabajo en cada uno de sus vídeos señor Rotem, estoy muy agradecido con usted por tan valioso material en cada uno de sus videos.... Le agradezco mucho desde México

[@AhmadAliff]

Brilliant!

[@musictheorydoctor]

Thank you for the excellent and well-illustrated overview, Elam! By the way, in his contribution to Playford's Introduction to the Skill of Musick (12th edn., 1694), Purcell writes that this "Flat Sixth before a Close ... is a Favourite Note with the Italians, for they generally make use of it" (p. 132) and gives an example in A minor where it leads into a nice doppia that includes a diminished 7th as well. So more than a century before Crotch, Purcell associates this "Flat Sixth" with "the Italians", if not with Naples specifically.

[@EarlyMusicSources]

Wow great! Thanks

[@CalebePriester]

Yes, I did enjoy it! Thank you very much for sharing the knowledge.

[@brunofigueiredo6697]

Outstanding episode, thank you!

[@bachagain1685]

Another instance of the Neapolitan is in a piece composed in 1584: Palestrina's "Osculetur me" in bar 24.

[@wonder6789]

Excellent. Thank you!

[@Moinsdeuxcat]

All these recordings are so beautiful. Bravo!

[@magisterparsons]

Thank you for this great content!

[@coosoorlog]

Brilliant work, as always.

[@rubenmestremiralles5949]

Amazing job, thanks!

[@Beryllahawk]

Fascinating! This was very enjoyable!

[@violjohn]

Always exceptionally interesting; thank you🙏

[@agogobell28]

Excellent video!!

[@user-kk9nj7ux5i]

Thank you! I'm in love with your channel c:

[@hervedavidh4117]

Thank You Elam !

[@elisaesperante6805]

Very interesting video! Loved it!!

[@stephanvonugron1944]

You are the best! Really enjoy your videos!!!

[@unequally-tempered]

Brillliant - thanks so much

[@diegoguerra8736]

Awesome information

[@Iluminacion32]

You are absolutely extraordinary! Thanks so much!

[@feraste]

Great vidéo ! Keep up this fantastic work !

[@user-lz5gd8xu8k]

I'm almost crying for this amazing lecture. thanks a lotXD!!

[@luuktorn]

Really liked this video, very informative and fun to watch!

[@davidbishop7181]

Outstanding presentation!

[@TobyHonest420]

Please keep doing these videos, yours is definetely one of the best channels on KZbin

[@sofiarodriguez9885]

Beautiful 💗

[@synchro505]

Oh how I love this channel! Each video is a gem that is jam packed with a bounty of fascinating information presented with both style and humor. Much gratitude.

[@matsburman5615]

Very good episode as always! Especially loved Chopins Neapolitan chord in root position. Thank you Elam et consortes!

[@titofaria2404]

wow! really great episode!

[@Barde_Jaune]

No mention of the Neapolitan harmony, where entire passages are build around the lowered 2nd degree as a sort of new key! Wonderful video regardless, thank you for the beautiful musical examples.

[@monscarmeli]

Could you give some examples? Aside from examples like the forceful Neapolitan in the 3rd mvt of the Moonlight Sonata, one that amazed me when I found it is how Chopin (who used Neapolitans and augmented sixths extensively) in his etude Op.10 No. 6, just before the final cadence, briefly uses the closing Neapolitan as an enharmonic dominant to half a bar of a "tonic" a tritone above the main key, fascinating...

[@neilwalsh1213]

Such gorgeous examples : )

[@sibe9613]

It's inspiring to see how entertainingly this theme is realised. And thank you for the many sound examples presented.

[@maxjohn6012]

Fascinating. The performances were very beautiful, and I especially enjoyed the Alessandro Scarlatti - he's one of my absolute favourite composers, especially for the keyboard.

[@suttonelms1]

His toccatas are excellent. I've played three of them on the piano.

[@maxjohn6012]

@@suttonelms1 I do have the music for the toccatas, but boy some of them are super difficult! There are only a couple which I can get under my fingers comfortably. I am in love with and in awe of Alexander Weimann's performances of them on the harpsichord - I think some of them must be virtually impossible on the piano because the keys are just so much heavier and because of the extra control required to keep the tone of piano notes even compared to the harpsichord. Have you heard his performances? His rendition of the "Toccata d'ottava stesa en ré mineur" is jaw dropping - the dexterity required to play it must be super-human (fast sections featuring outer trills in both hands with melodies in the inner voices?!) I've never heard it played on the piano, I'd love to know if anyone's pulled it off. Life goal for my own playing! kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3zJYXabZsmjfdE

[@maxjohn6012]

I also really want to get hold of a complete collection of the sheet music of his fugues - but I can only find one edition and it's >£70! The dangers of loving the music of a not-so-well-known composer, I suppose he's just not in print as much as the big ones and cheaper editions of his keyboard works just aren't in high demand and remain expensive (but weirdly I found the full keyboard works of Froberger - another favourite - nice and cheaply!)

[@gracielaregil]

Thank you for explain 😊

[@roveredam]

Bravi ! Molto interessante grazie .

[@carlosandres7006]

Neapolitan resolving to downwards to the 6/4 was a mind blowing moment

[@HighWideandHandsome]

This channel is not only superbly informative but exceedingly clever. Thanks for another great video.

[@lornapenn-chester6867]

Thank you! I really enjoy your content and gain such a lot from it in my composing studies. 👏👍❤️

[@simondanielssonmusic]

This channel is amazing! Keep it up :)

[@SamyCamps]

Thank you SO much Elam for this video, this is such a great work! My old harmony master actually taught us the flattened 2nd degree with inversion, it felt refreshing to discover another way of thinking this chord :)

[@jameswyre6480]

Brillient and approachable episode. Bravo to the team! Subscribed💥