# Memorable chords



## Earthling

The other day I listened to Sibelius' *Tapiola *and I thought to myself I could just listen to that final chord for hours it was so beautifully scored LOL

This got me to thinking of other really memorable chords in classical music. I don't think those chords would be quite so wonderful without what precedes or follows, but still, there are moments that I can't help but think, "Wow, that is a really remarkable chord."

I was going off the top of my head some other chords that are striking-- mostly either the beginning or end of a piece, but occasionally somewhere in the middle. They may be perfectly ordinary triads, but its the voicing of the chord and/or the orchestration that makes it unique. Or they may be rather strange, dissonant chords:

Sibelius: the opening of *The Swan of Tuonela*, a dark A minor...

Beethoven: The slowly swelling opening chord of the 2nd movement of the *16th quartet *in F (op. 135)

Barber: The first full chord of the *Adagio for Strings* (some sort of minor seventh I think?)

Vaughan Williams: The final blissful chord from *Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis*

Wagner: Close to the end of the *Parsifal Prelude*, there is a series of notes stacking atop one another on what begins as an ordinary V chord, slowly adding one note at a time until the tension is finally resolved!

Beethoven: That brilliant dissonance in the middle of the *3rd Symphony* (1st movement)-- a bunch of dissonant chords growing in tension (but nothing _too _out of the ordinary harmonically), until it lands on some really outlandish chord-- I have no idea what that is exactly, but its my favourite moment in the piece-- it may be just a strangely inverted seventh chord?

Stravinsky: The final chord of *Symphonies of Wind Instruments*

Stravinsky: The final chord of *Persephone* (I seem to recall its a bunch of stacked thirds on E minor)

Stravinsky: The attention getting E minor at the beginnning of the *Symphony of Psalms*

Copland: The opening of *Appalachian Spring*-- the outline of an A and E superimposed.

Anyone else have memorable, unusual, beautiful, or remarkable chords to share?


----------



## Aramis

All those lovely chords are lovely because they come from context. But I can think about couple of special ones, namely:

Organ chord in culmination of Mahler Ressurection; it's in one of last parts singed by choir. It's not very precise description but anyone who ever heard this symphony will surely recall the magnificent lifting organ chord just before coda. 

And final chord in Szymanowski's opera Król Roger. It's "simply" C major chord, but it's very evocative in context of what happens in the opera. You can see Roger standing in the splendour of the day's first sunlight. 

There are also many splendid chords in romantic piano music, especially romantic, but right now I can't think of any that would be any good without another chord that follows it or comes before.


----------



## Petwhac

The 'Tristan' chord of course.
The famous 'Rite of Spring' chord. 

Yes, it's really all about context but two minor 7th chords that always sound magic to me in their context are..
The 'Hallelujah' from the 3rd movement Symphony of Psalms
There's a moment in the Cavatina of Beethoven's late B-flat quartet where the parts seem to open out on to this chord, I'll have to look in the score to remember the bar but if you listen to the movement you won't miss it.


----------



## Weston

Petwhac said:


> The famous 'Rite of Spring' chord.


Exactly my choice. Watch this fun interview to the end and see the mischievous look on the genius's face. It's priceless.





There is a cool moment in Handel's Messiah in the opening recitative:

". . . speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem; and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her *iniquity* is pardoned."

The chord, whatever it is, on the word "iniquity" is slightly askew in context. Man, that's composing!


----------



## Petwhac

Weston said:


> Exactly my choice. Watch this fun interview to the end and see the mischievous look on the genius's face. It's priceless.


Wow what a blast.
If you haven't heard it and ever get a chance to hear the arrangement he made of it for piano-4 hands, don't miss it. When you strip away all the colours and textures of the massive orchestra (wonderful though they are) you are left with the essence of the music and the real genius is revealed. What a man!


----------



## Huilunsoittaja

The brass choir at the beginning of the Largo of Dvorak's 9th Symphony. Wonderful chords, especially the climax chord of D-flat major.


----------



## Falstaft

Oh god, don't get me started, this is like my livelihood.

Some more noteworthy chords that have pushed the boundaries of dissonance further include:
*The "Petrushka Chord" (C-maj + F-maj)
*The "Mystic Chord" (Complicated voicing, but just spaced-out wholetone scale + 1 halfstep)
*The "Elektra Chord" (E-B fifth topped by Db-major), 
*The *other* "Elektra Chord" (B-min + F-min)
*The "Farben Chord" from Schoenberg's Op 16 (in jazz notation, C^#5-13)
*The "Schrecken Fanfaren Chord" from Beethoven's ninth (D-min with add b6, I believe)
*The "Crisis Chord" from Mahler 10 (A 10 note chord, basically C#7 with thirds stacked all the way to G, IMHO)
*The "Amfortas Chord" from Parsifal (B-halfdim with G# underneath)
*The "Wozzeck 6-note Chord" (Bb - C# - D# - E - F - G#)
*The "Neptune Chord" (G#-min + E-min)

Ok I'll stop there... Note that all of those are mere chord constructions, and apart from their novelty, it's how you use 'em that determines whether they "work" or not.



Huilunsoittaja said:


> The brass choir at the beginning of the Largo of Dvorak's 9th Symphony. Wonderful chords, especially the climax chord of D-flat major.


Agree 100%, one of the most powerful and ingenious chord progressions of the 19th century.

As a personal favorite, I'm partial to the Lydian Dominant 13th (C7-#11-13) which begins popping up in Debussy (_Sirenes_ is lavished with them). I think there is nothing better than a cadence of bVII#11 to I.


----------



## Rondo

I've always found the chord progression at the end of the third movement of Beethoven's 15th String Quartet very moving (I can't comment in terms of the notes as I've never seen the actual score). Almost every time I hear it, it sounds like it's the end of the work...then the vivace and allegro come in and I remember it's Beethoven, he never ends without a fight!


----------



## Earthling

Rondo said:


> I've always found the chord progression at the end of the third movement of Beethoven's 15th String Quartet very moving (I can't comment in terms of the notes as I've never seen the actual score). Almost every time I hear it, it sounds like it's the end of the work...then the vivace and allegro come in and I remember it's Beethoven, he never ends without a fight!


Oh, yes, what a lovely moment! -- that really tugs on my heart!


----------



## Guest

Great topic! I totally agree with your choices too, Earthling. Another great Sibelius moment is the very end of the Seventh Symphony, with the high strings holding a B against a Cmaj chord in the rest of the orchestra before rising up to the tonic. Such a simple thing, but so beautiful and original. 

The very beginning of Vaughan Williams' Fourth is quite the shocker, especially for those accustomed to the Tallis Fantasia.

Brahms' Intermezzo in A, op. 118 no. 2, is so full of memorable chords/moments that it's silly to point to particular spots. The climax of the B section (in fsharp minor) has one of my all-time favorite moments, however, where there is a Dmaj chord in the bass with a suspended E and Gsharp above that resolve to D and Fsharp. I play that spot on my piano all the time and just can't get enough of it.


----------



## Nix

Opening 2 chords of Beethoven's 3rd. 

Chords have never had a finer moment.

Also in Shostakovich's Festive overture, about 2/3rds of the way through, the building up tension with the strings, then a snare roll and brass fanfare. Very nice chord, so pristine coming out of the chaos before it. 

And going with Shostakovich, the ending of his 15th symphony.


----------



## JAKE WYB

Nix said:


> Opening 2 chords of Beethoven's 3rd.
> 
> Chords have never had a finer moment.
> .


??

The two horns at the beginning of Sibelius,s *Lemminkainen legends *always convey such an instantly powerful distant atmosphere with so little


----------



## Nix

JAKE WYB said:


> ??
> 
> The two horns at the beginning of Sibelius,s *Lemminkainen legends *always convey such an instantly powerful distant atmosphere with so little


I'm not sure if your example is a response to mine, or just the question marks. I like the Beethoven one because instead of a melody to announce the beginning of a piece (i.e. Mozart 41, Brahms 4) it's just 2 lone chords, played with as much intensity and memorabilia as they could provide- why I believe it to be the finest moment for any chord. The Sibelius ones are nice, but I mean, this is just personal preference. When I state an opinion like it's a fact, know that it really is just an opinion.


----------



## david johnson

not classical, but entertaining chords beginning at 1:08

dj


----------



## Weston

Well, that was awesome! ^


----------



## Earthling

Close to the very end of Copland's *Variations*, there is what sounds like a perfectly ordinary major triad that appears, rather triumphantly at first-- its a terrific moment-- but then is quickly demolished before it can go anywhere-- virtually shouted down by all the other dissonance. Hearing that major chord there is like a brief glint of sunlight on steel-- I have to catch a breath every time hearing that.


----------



## Earthling

Wait, no its not a major triad-- it is an F# and C# chord played at the same time.

HERE, at the 5:36 mark.


----------



## Earthling

The beginning of the finale of Beethoven's Pastorale symphony-- the chord is an F major held by low strings with the horn playing over it in fifths on C & G. I don't know why, but I've always teared up on that one chord as long as I can remember.

Its at 0:08-0:14 in THIS YouTube clip.


----------



## Chi_townPhilly

When this topic has come in the past, I've mentioned Mozart's _Dreimalige Accord_ from *Die Zauberflöte* as worthy of mention among memorable chords in music history.

However, not long ago, I revisted Holst's *The Planets* (having acquired another version of that piece as part of a larger boxed-set) and have again come to terms with what an amazingly significant 20th Century score that work is...

In the closing of "Saturn," 4 measures after rehearsal VII, and 11/10 measures before the end of the movement, there is an arresting chord that has as its most readily identifiable characteristic the addition of organ pedal to the orchestral dissonance before the the final restatement of the ascending 4-note primary line. It's an incredible effect...


----------



## Guest

I'm glad you brought up Holst because it reminded me of one of my favorite passages, which is the second part of Mercury.






The theme starts at about the 1:00 mark, but the part that really gets me is at 1:47. Seriously, I think that's one of the most beautiful passages I've ever heard, as short as it is.


----------



## Earthling

Chi_townPhilly said:


> In the closing of "Saturn," 4 measures after rehearsal VII, and 11/10 measures before the end of the movement, there is an arresting chord that has as its most readily identifiable characteristic the addition of organ pedal to the orchestral dissonance before the the final restatement of the ascending 4-note primary line. It's an incredible effect...


Yes! You are so right!


----------



## Argus

I thought some of the Wagnerites here would have already pointed out his excellent use of an Eb major sustained thoughout the Prelude to Das Rheingold. Pity he ruins it by sticking an opera to the end of it.


----------



## Falstaft

Argus said:


> Pity he ruins it by sticking an opera to the end of it.


lol

I think the way he blends the Rheingold prelude it with the Brunhilde's Awakening music from Siegfried at the beginning of _Gotterdammerung_ is one of the most beautiful touches in the tetralogy. Just pure relishing of harmonies there.


----------



## GraemeG

The shrieked dissonance at the climax of Barber's _Adagio_.
A musical friend once described her favourite piece of music as the *silence* that follows this chord...
cheers,
G


----------



## Guest

GraemeG said:


> The shrieked dissonance at the climax of Barber's Adagio.
> A musical friend once described her favourite piece of music as the silence that follows this chord...


TOTALLY agree! Someone earlier mentioned, I think, the very beginning of the piece being very memorable as well. The Adagio as a whole is just one of those works that stays with you forever, from the first listen.

Another hauntingly beautiful passage is the slow variation from the second movement of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto no. 2. The french horn that plays over the mystical piano playing is gorgeous.


----------



## maestro267

The final, crushing A minor chord at the end of Mahler 6

The five D minor chords at the end of the first movement of Brahms Piano Concerto 1 (more thrilling for me than the actual end of the concerto)


----------



## weinermr

I can think of several, but here are two examples.

At the climax of the development section of the 1st movement of *Mahler 7*, right at the cymbal crash....with singing strings and two harps playing arpeggios. The underlying chord at that moment is just gorgeous.

The next example is not a single chord, but a series of chords in the first movement of *Brahms 3*, right near the end of the recaptitulation. I wish I could pinpoint it better for you, but this passage gets me every time. Every time it brings me to tears.


----------



## Guest

The very end of Brahms 3 is quite memorable, too. And the very end of Brahms 4 is the most amazing coda ever.


----------



## Sebastian

The first chord of Delius's song "La Lune Blanche". Perfect, floating, ethereal beauty.

Also, the first chord of Manuel de Falla's "Fisherman's song". It's sadness and simplicity makes me feel heart-rending nostalgia.


----------



## Air

Jeff N said:


> Another hauntingly beautiful passage is the slow variation from the second movement of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto no. 2. The french horn that plays over the mystical piano playing is gorgeous.


Or those fantastically ugly releases of sound in the third movement. Gotta love those.


----------



## Aramis

Jeff N said:


> Another hauntingly beautiful passage is the slow variation from the second movement of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto no. 2. The french horn that plays over the mystical piano playing is gorgeous.


Slow variation... second movement? Sorry, I can't think of anything slow in this movement


----------



## maestro267

^

That's what I thought. Third movement, possibly?


----------



## Air

maestro267 said:


> ^
> 
> That's what I thought. Third movement, possibly?


He was probably talking about the _Theme and Variations_ from the *Third* Piano Concerto.


----------



## Guest

Oops, you're right Air. My mistake. Definitely the 3rd concerto, not second. And it's the 4th variation of the second movement. Anyways, it's a beautiful passage


----------



## violadamore2

The final chord of Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms 3rd movt. it's also at the end of the first movt.

The very loud climax, not the ending chord, aprox 2/3s of the way into the Mahler 10th first movt.

The "motif" chord of the Stravinsky Violin Cto, recurs several times through the piece.


----------



## emiellucifuge

Climax chord in the latter half of Prokofievs 5th Symphony, Movement 3.
The big crash at the beginning of Movement IV, Mahler 2nd.


----------



## Norse

There's a memorable chord in the 7th "movement" from Rachmaninov's Vespers. (One of the shorter pieces). My quick interpretation after looking at the score is that the chord itself could be seen as a second inversion Ab-major with added 6th and 9th. (the score is on imslp) The chord slowly builds and then just "hangs in the air" for a while followed by silence, and therefore unresolved (although the following coda resolves it). If Rachmaninov is often seen as conservative, this is probably one of his less conservative moments.


----------



## NEF

A lesser-known one - but check it out...

Gorecki's 2nd 'Copernican' Symphony. There is a miraculous, shimmering chord that goes from ppppp to fffff and runs for around three minutes. Just when you can't take any more, it resolves to a major chord. It sounds stupid but it's utterly riveting...

From about 4 minutes onwards...


----------



## Earthling

NEF said:


> A lesser-known one - but check it out...
> 
> Gorecki's 2nd 'Copernican' Symphony. There is a miraculous, shimmering chord that goes from ppppp to fffff and runs for around three minutes. Just when you can't take any more, it resolves to a major chord. It sounds stupid but it's utterly riveting...
> 
> From about 4 minutes onwards...


Wow, that was impressive! I've heard his third before, but not this-- thanks for sharing that (I'll have to check this out). For a moment there it sounded a bit like Ligeti!


----------



## Rondo

In John Williams' Main theme to Star Wars there is a very clever use of what sounds like a harmonic tri-tone performed by woodwinds heard about half-way through right before Leia's theme played by the cellos. Every time I hear that interval, I'm reminded of Star Wars. (And, yes, I've heard "Ma-ri-a".)


----------



## Falstaft

NEF said:


> Gorecki's 2nd 'Copernican' Symphony. There is a miraculous, shimmering chord that goes from ppppp to fffff and runs for around three minutes. Just when you can't take any more, it resolves to a major chord. It sounds stupid but it's utterly riveting...
> [/URL]


I know exactly what you're talking about -- wonderful extended moment in what I think is his best symphony! And the slow chorale that roughly precedes it is also truly magical.



Rondo said:


> In John Williams' Main theme to Star Wars there is a very clever use of what sounds like a harmonic tri-tone performed by woodwinds heard about half-way through right before Leia's theme played by the cellos. Every time I hear that interval, I'm reminded of Star Wars. (And, yes, I've heard "Ma-ri-a".)


I think the transition to Leia's theme is gorgeous (Williams seemed much more concerned with these kinds of smooth linkages than in the prequel trilogy). I'm not sure this is the moment of tritone motion though. The exact progression is C-major (key of Luke) to C-augmented to E-major (key of Leia), no tritones there. But there is a mammoth, repeated harmonic tritone in the extended Throne Room cue however (F-maj against B-maj), which segues into the main theme eventually.

Speaking of concert music drawn from film scores, Vaughan Williams' _Sinfonia Antarctica_ has some strange and wonderful chords. The first movement features a passage with a polychordal combination of C-major(+aug5) and F#-major(+aug5), thus yielding the best of both worlds from the above example. His orchestration, xylophones and expansive string octaves, also goes a long way in producing the alien sound.


----------



## Rondo

Falstaft said:


> I think the transition to Leia's theme is gorgeous (Williams seemed much more concerned with these kinds of smooth linkages than in the prequel trilogy). I'm not sure this is the moment of tritone motion though. The exact progression is C-major (key of Luke) to C-augmented to E-major (key of Leia), no tritones there. But there is a mammoth, repeated harmonic tritone in the extended Throne Room cue however (F-maj against B-maj), which segues into the main theme eventually.


The use of that chord progression in that transition is one of the finest moments in the Opening Titles piece, in my own opinion. It gives an almost dreamy introduction to the Leia theme, in contrast to the sequence immediately preceding it.


----------



## Il Seraglio

The chord that kicks in after the opening flute solo to Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. I have no idea what it is, but I liked it, lol.


----------



## World Violist

Well the most memorable chord that comes to my mind at the moment is the first chord of Boulez's "Pli selon pli"... striking indeed!


----------



## Norse

I like the chords that form the climax of Lutoslawki's Funeral Music. It's a series of very "raw" and dissonant chords that are made more striking by a change in texture since the music up until then has been polyphonic and usually with few voices sounding at once.


----------



## alan sheffield

*Memorable Chords*

Mahler 10th Symphony 1st Movement - near the end there is a chord that sounds like heaven being opened.

Prokofiev 6th Symphony 2nd Movement - opening has some amazingly dissonant chords

Walton 1st Symphony 1st Movement - pretty well every chord in this movement!


----------



## Norse

The opening chords from Jean-Fery Rebel's (1666-1747) Les Élémens are quite shocking for a late baroque piece. But then the movement is called "Chaos".


----------



## Ravellian

Beethoven's Eroica Symphony, the climax of the development on a dissonant chord with that shrieking trumpet playing the same note over and over. One of the greatest moments in music.

Wagner's Liebestod from Tristan, that incredible fff climaxing chord right at the very end. What makes it even more incredible is how he builds up to that same chord in the second act, but doesn't actually resolve to it, forcing us to wait until the very end.

And I'll throw in that terrible shriek at the end of Penderecki's _Threnody._


----------



## Comus

My favorite is probably at the end of Scriabin's _Prometheus_, not the last, but the climax just before the build up to the close.

Another great one is the final chord to Schoenberg's _Ode to Napoleon Bonaparte_. It resolves, half satirically, half as an homage to the 19th century, on a major chord. I love how idiomatically romantic it is.


----------



## Kopachris

This is an old thread to have brought up, but it's just as well because I haven't seen it before. I'm personally quite interested in the D-G#-B-F chord at the beginning of the fourth movement to Tchaikovsky's sixth symphony. No matter how the chord is spelled, it always contains a major 6th and a tritone, except G#-B-D-F, where it contains two tritones. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to analyze it.


----------



## tdc

Kopachris said:


> This is an old thread to have brought up, but it's just as well because I haven't seen it before. I'm personally quite interested in the *D-G#-B-F* chord at the beginning of the fourth movement to Tchaikovsky's sixth symphony. No matter how the chord is spelled, it always contains a major 6th and a tritone, except G#-B-D-F, where it contains two tritones. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to analyze it.


Supposing D was the tonic - do you think that could be referred to as a D dim add 6?


----------



## wingracer

david johnson said:


> not classical, but entertaining chords beginning at 1:08
> 
> dj


Thanks for bumping this thread because THIS is one of the coolest things I have ever heard. Wish I could have been there to hear it live.


----------



## Meaghan

The third chord of Beethoven's Op. 81a piano sonata ("Das Lebewohl"). The chord progression at the very beginning is I - V - vi. The vi chord is also the point where he modulates into the relative minor (Eb -> c), so it's tonic in the new key. This whole business of starting a piece with a deceptive cadence _and_ a modulation on the third chord is just super exciting to me. And then the rest of the adagio intro that follows is really chromatic, with Beethoven refusing to give you a nice Eb Major cadence the whole time, and there's an even more startling deceptive cadence in the middle of it. Awesome.

(And there is so much more I could say about this sonata. And anybody who hasn't listened to it, should. )


----------



## tdc

Meaghan said:


> The third chord of Beethoven's Op. 81a piano sonata ("Das Lebewohl"). The chord progression at the very beginning is I - V - vi. The vi chord is also the point where he modulates into the relative minor (Eb -> c), so it's tonic in the new key. This whole business of starting a piece with a deceptive cadence _and_ a modulation on the third chord is just super exciting to me. And then the rest of the adagio intro that follows is really chromatic, with Beethoven refusing to give you a nice Eb Major cadence the whole time, and there's an even more startling deceptive cadence in the middle of it. Awesome.
> 
> (And there is so much more I could say about this sonata. And anybody who hasn't listened to it, should. )


^I'm listening to it right now. Very nice - it gets quite lively about half way through. I'm so glad I finally have aquired ALL the Beethoven piano sonatas.  I am already wondering how I could have gone so long without...


----------



## Meaghan

tdc said:


> ^I'm listening to it right now. Very nice - it gets quite lively about half way through. I'm so glad I finally have aquired ALL the Beethoven piano sonatas.  I am already wondering how I could have gone so long without...


Yay!  Are you listening to it for the first time? Are you hearing how the "lebewohl" motive (three notes descending by step*) is _everywhere_ in the first movement? It's wonderful, and I'm glad you like it. Also, who's your pianist?

*Beethoven actually wrote out the syllables "Le-be-wohl" over the first three chords.


----------



## tdc

Meaghan said:


> Yay!  Are you listening to it for the first time? Are you hearing how the "lebewohl" motive (three notes descending by step*) is _everywhere_ in the first movement? It's wonderful, and I'm glad you like it. Also, who's your pianist?
> 
> *Beethoven actually wrote out the syllables "Le-be-wohl" over the first three chords.


I was just listening to it for the first time, yes (the 1st mvt) now I'm giving it a second listen. I love those first three chords! The third chord sounds so much like a resolution - yet it isn't apparently, very interesting...My pianist is Ashkenazy.

edited a question out b/c I believe you answered it in your second sentence there - Lebewohl = Three notes descending by step.


----------



## Meaghan

tdc said:


> The third chord sounds so much like a resolution - yet it isn't apparently, very interesting....


It probably sounds like one because it stays in c minor for a while after that third chord, and you only really get a hint of Eb Major before he modulates, making the modulation barely perceptible. You don't even have time to realize you're in Eb before you're... not.



tdc said:


> edited a question out b/c I believe you answered it in your second sentence there - Lebewohl = Three notes descending by step.


Well, that's what the motive is (or one could argue that the motive is those three chords specifically, not just the notes, but whatever), but if you're asking what lebewohl means, it's German for goodbye or farewell. Beethoven wrote the sonata when his friend and patron Archduke Rudolph had to flee Vienna because Napolean was attacking.

Ashkenazy is the pianist on my recording of this sonata as well, and he's the pianist whose Beethoven interpretations I know best, though people tell me there are better. I'll have to listen around.


----------



## tdc

Meaghan said:


> It probably sounds like one because it stays in c minor for a while after that third chord, and you only really get a hint of Eb Major before he modulates, making the modulation barely perceptible. You don't even have time to realize you're in Eb before you're... not.
> 
> Well, that's what the motive is (or one could argue that the motive is those three chords specifically, not just the notes, but whatever), but if you're asking what lebewohl means, it's German for goodbye or farewell. Beethoven wrote the sonata when his friend and patron Archduke Rudolph had to flee Vienna because Napolean was attacking.
> 
> Ashkenazy is the pianist on my recording of this sonata as well, and he's the pianist whose Beethoven interpretations I know best, though people tell me there are better. I'll have to listen around.


Very cool info, thanks! :tiphat:

(I just love these piano sonatas - such inspiring music, I'm going to be listening to these a lot over the next while).


----------



## wingracer

Meaghan said:


> Ashkenazy is the pianist on my recording of this sonata as well, and he's the pianist whose Beethoven interpretations I know best, though people tell me there are better. I'll have to listen around.


I hear the same thing but for me, he still gets the job done.


----------



## kmisho

The "sunrise" music from Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe. It doesn't strike one as "wow, listen tot hat chord" the way the dissonance from Beethoven's 3rd does, but the whole section is basically 1 chord and is certainly memorable.


----------



## Manxfeeder

Bach put a weird tritone chord in his St. Matthew Passion when the both choruses cry "Barabbam." I think it's just a dimished seventh, but the voicing puts a tritone between the soprano and alto and between the tenor and bass in Chorus I and between the soprano and tenor in Chorus II.


----------



## the_emptier

There are some great chords in Martinu's work, especially the 6th symphony. Scriabin has great stuff. There's one chord in one of Prokofiev's piano concertos that I like a lot...I can't recall which one though. Also that huge chord in mars, the bringer of war by holst in the middle is awesome


----------



## studen

Il Seraglio said:


> The chord that kicks in after the opening flute solo to Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. I have no idea what it is, but I liked it, lol.


It's a Tristain chord! As much as Debussy denied this piece was written as a response to the Prelude to Parsifal and the V7 sounding constant at the end of the Prelude it was! hope that can help! Debussy had a big influnce from Wagner and his music and the V13 that is in bar 13 of Afternoon of a Fawn is an awesome chord too!


----------



## studen

The Eroica chord you mentioned is much more thought out than you give it credit for, its the inharmonic Neopolitian of the Neopolitianl. A F Major Major 7 chord the inharmonic NM7/N of Eb major.


----------



## GGluek

The big chord at the climax of the last movement of the reconstructed Mahler 10th (Mazetti II version).


----------



## oogabooha

the VI 4/2 chord (i.e. the first chord) of the 8th movement of Messiaen's _Quartet for the end of time_ has permission to ring in my head forever


----------



## QuietGuy

The Petrouchka chord (C Major and F# Major tremelo)
The C Major 9th at the end of Appalachian Spring [a transposition of the A & E Major triads at the beginning] with the glockenspiel playing its E E G, and letting the whole thing die away. Love it!
The opening pyramid chord in Daphnis et Chloe (a complete A Lydian scale, in 5ths)


----------



## KenOC

Another "Stravinsky" chord "which stretches from D4 to E5 to A6" that opens each movement of his Violin Concerto. It works.


----------



## DeepR

Rachmaninoff - Prelude Op. 32 No. 10 - the entire chord section is very memorable


----------



## randomnese

Shostakovich 11: Flute duet in the 1st movement has a moment where they narrow to within a half-step between them. It bites a lot and instantly wakes up the audience. I remember hearing this in concert: most people were getting bored and this chord woke up a lot of listeners.

Tchaikovsky Manfred: Return to main theme at the coda. The loud chord after a dying bassoon line begins a huge timpani swell and the churning rhythm of the bass instruments. In this aspect, Tchaikovsky used the chord as a pivot chord not just for harmony but for rhythm and structure as well.

Sibelius 5: Modulation to C major in the 3rd movement with the swaying horn call. Unexpected and gradual modulation culminating in a huge orchestral sound that conveys both stability and tension. You've got moving lines in every part that leads to nowhere, it's a genius move on Sibelius' part.

Sibelius 5: Ending of 3rd movement. The hammered chords are tense and relaxing. This entire symphony is an amazing listen.

Brahms 3rd Piano Quartet in C minor: Opening of 3rd movement. Unexpected entrance of a C natural in E major is absolutely gorgeous and melancholy. A cello professor and a violin professor that once coached me assigned this piece to my chamber group--they married 15 years ago and played this exact piece at their wedding.

Brahms 4: Opening of 2nd movement. Always love the Phrygian horn call.

Brahms 4: Opening of 4th movement. The chaconne theme instantly makes an impression, especially with that major 7 chord Brahms throws in at the end.

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1: Ending of the 1st movement. Massive plagal cadence in the entire orchestra.

There are about 500 other chords I could rattle off, but these are some of the ones that instantly come to mind.


----------



## PetrB

david johnson said:


> not classical, but entertaining chords beginning at 1:08
> 
> dj


Lol. The true meaning of "Heavy Metal."


----------



## Matsps

Rachmaninoff - Etude op.39 no.8 - This entire étude is really beautiful, but those chords from 2:23 stand out even in a piece as beautiful as this.






Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto no.2 mov.1 - Who ever forgets these opening chords?






Alkan - Etude op.35 no.11 - At 4:11, somehow these chords are kind of, magical. My favourite would change day by day if you asked me. Today, I think my favourite is the C# 7 9.






Debussy - Clair De Lune - Final chord (4:40):


----------



## violadude

Memorable chords huh? Just to give this thread some perspective, I've found both from listening and composing that a chord is only as memorable as where it is in the piece and how it's orchestrated ect. No matter how beautiful a chord might sound when listening to a piece of music, it's nothing as an isolated entity. That's just my own experience anyway.


----------



## PetrB

violadude said:


> Memorable chords huh? Just to give this thread some perspective, I've found both from listening and composing that a chord is only as memorable as where it is in the piece and how it's orchestrated ect. No matter how beautiful a chord might sound when listening to a piece of music, it's nothing as an isolated entity. That's just my own experience anyway.


aYep! -- this is like the old Cunard cruise lines slogan, "_Getting there is half the fun._"

Without the entire context in which it sits, talking about "memorable chords" is rather like talking about some great novel but only focusing upon the presence in the text of the letter "K."


----------



## Svelte Silhouette

Pop group songs often have memorable chords. I recall Status Quo could remember 3 always.


----------



## Richannes Wrahms

I had almost forgotten. pun intended





Call it an eleventh or an added-tone quartal chord, as you wish it's still the prettiest thing.


----------



## Celloman

hint: Look at my avatar!

The final chord of Berg's _Violin Concerto_ is transcendent.


----------



## Albert7

Any chords in Debussy's La Mer are incredible.


----------



## MoonlightSonata

Richannes Wrahms said:


> I had almost forgotten. pun intended
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Call it an eleventh or an added-tone quartal chord, as you wish it's still the prettiest thing.


Ooh, that's _lovely_!


----------



## KRoad

Dominant 7+9, in any key. Love the unresolved ambiguity...


----------



## DeepR

Nemtin/Scriabin - Preperation for the Final Mystery - Mankind 





That ridiculously but deliciously over the top chord at the end of this fragment


----------



## Celloman

KRoad said:


> Dominant 7+9, in any key. Love the unresolved ambiguity...


Very bluesy! It's the minor + major 3rd that gives it that special flavor.


----------



## millionrainbows

That chord in Mahler's 10th, I call it the "heart attack chord." Then there's Wagner's Tristan chord. Then Schoenberg's chord in Transfigured Night which was so scandalous. Stravinsky's famous "Rite" chord, a C major under a F# major. Scriabin had a "mystic" chord...


----------



## QuietGuy

Kopachris said:


> This is an old thread to have brought up, but it's just as well because I haven't seen it before. I'm personally quite interested in the D-G#-B-F chord at the beginning of the fourth movement to Tchaikovsky's sixth symphony. No matter how the chord is spelled, it always contains a major 6th and a tritone, except G#-B-D-F, where it contains two tritones. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to analyze it.


I had to think about this for awhile. If one spells it B-D-F-G#, it is a German Augmented 6th chord. (+6/5, in first inversion.) In this case the D-G#-B-F chord is a German Augmented 6th 4/3 (second inversion.) I think that it. Where is Walter Piston when you need him?


----------



## isorhythm

The huge chord near the very end of the first movement of Mahler's 6th...sorry I can't be specific but it does stand out. I haven't seen the score so I don't know what it is. It sounds like it may involve a major and minor third on the same root, but that's not all.

^^btw I think that Wagner chord should be understood as a suspension.


----------



## DeepR

Ravellian said:


> Beethoven's Eroica Symphony, the climax of the development on a dissonant chord with that shrieking trumpet playing the same note over and over. One of the greatest moments in music.
> [/I]


I'm going to have to agree.


----------



## DeepR

Rachmaninoff - Prelude Op. 23 No. 2, the final chords. Simple but really majestic.





Rachmaninoff - Prelude Op. 32 No. 12. The chord at 2:15 is a damn nice one.


----------



## Mahlerian

isorhythm said:


> The huge chord near the very end of the first movement of Mahler's 6th...sorry I can't be specific but it does stand out. I haven't seen the score so I don't know what it is. It sounds like it may involve a major and minor third on the same root, but that's not all.


Ah, I know just the one.

It's a subdominant chord, but all of the upper winds and strings are on the leading tone, making it a IV#11.


----------



## Dim7

Mahlerian said:


> Ah, I know just the one.
> 
> It's a subdominant chord, but all of the upper winds and strings are on the leading tone, making it a IV#11.


I knew it! It had that lydian sound. #11 or maj7#11 is in fact my favorite chord, rather than diminished 7th. It's so deliciously bittersweet.


----------



## isorhythm

Mahlerian said:


> Ah, I know just the one.
> 
> It's a subdominant chord, but all of the upper winds and strings are on the leading tone, making it a IV#11.


Wow, I was way off. Good to know.


----------



## Mahlerian

isorhythm said:


> Wow, I was way off. Good to know.


The craziest moment from that movement (and one of the most bizarre in the whole symphony) is right before that, where a trumpet does the head of the second theme and hits E-flat (transposed, so written B-flat), momentarily creating this harmony:









The oddest thing is that the trumpet's dissonance isn't actually resolved at all. It's just left suspended in mid-air.


----------



## Couchie

Love the 9th chord (I looked it up) that Wagner slips into right at 2:03. So understated. Just the smallest stir of tension off the preceding tonic chord before the strings sweep us away.


----------



## Ethereality

An actual link and a timestamp. You are a great man Couchie. Forevermore will this thread be changed.


----------



## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist

Yes, that E9 is lovely. Speaking of Parsifal, here are a couple more:





 ... at 0:53 (F#-E-C-G, the top note is a suspension). Really this whole prelude is filled with beautiful harmonies, voicings, and orchestration.

And I find this moment super memorable (in context): 



 at 7:03-7:05. The A major and D major chords. Simple but so memorable, especially considering how Wagner had sequenced the preceding theme.

There are simply too many candidates for this thread. Too many chords that strike a chord. Maybe if I have time I'll compile a list of some of my choices.


----------



## hammeredklavier

Falstaft said:


> *The "Petrushka Chord" (C-maj + F-maj)


I believe the Petrushka chord is C major triad + F *sharp* major triad, a "triple tritone"
(I'm sure the guy isn't around on the forum anymore, but I just wanted to address this comment of his)


----------



## consuono

The first two measures of Elgar's cello concerto.


----------



## Couchie

BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist said:


> And I find this moment super memorable (in context):
> 
> 
> 
> at 7:03-7:05. The A major and D major chords. Simple but so memorable, especially considering how Wagner had sequenced the preceding theme.


I also love the transition to the minor at 8:00. Intelligent productions will enter the anguished Amfortas at this point.


----------



## DeepR

Scriabin - Sonata No. 7 @ 11:38


----------



## DeepR

DeepR said:


> Rachmaninoff - Prelude Op. 32 No. 10 - the entire chord section is very memorable





DeepR said:


> Rachmaninoff - Prelude Op. 23 No. 2, the final chords. Simple but really majestic.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Rachmaninoff - Prelude Op. 32 No. 12. The chord at 2:15 is a damn nice one.


Another Rachmaninoff: Etude Op. 39 No. 5, climax at 3:21

I always have to "brace for impact" with this one. It's so intense. Horowitz is over the top neurotic, but it works.


----------



## Ethereality

100th post

So many great ones here. 1:53 IV6, 1:55 IVdim, 2:03 extended iii, 2:05 iii dim, the daddy of them all: 2:08 IVdim/V





Sounds like we're due for adventure south of the Mediterranean! 0:59. 1:27!


----------



## Allegro Con Brio

The final whisper-soft, gleaming chords of Liszt’s B Minor Sonata after the epic narrative of turmoil and bombast are absolutely guaranteed to draw tears from me every time. Few things in music have such a strangely poignant effect on me.


----------



## Ethereality

A simple ii - V at 4:47. Not original in of itself, but within this specific form it becomes a pure delicacy as Debussy builds a foundation with other harmonies of the same rhythm first at 4:36, then uses the ii - V as an introductory modulation.


----------



## PierreN

The tonic triad and the dominant seventh mixed together in the very first chord from Bach's cantata: Widerstehe doch der Sünde


----------



## UniversalTuringMachine

Every memorable climax is the result of a sequence of memorable chords.


----------



## Unkadunk

It's a secondary dominant 7th in 2nd inversion.


----------



## Ethereality

PierreN said:


> The tonic triad and the dominant seventh mixed together in the very first chord from Bach's cantata: Widerstehe doch der Sünde


V7/I - I is an interesting trick.

Though I'd say v9/I - IV/I is more interesting and memorable trick, ie. 0:13.


----------

