| Relative key | E major |
|---|---|
| Parallel key | C-sharp major |
| Dominant key | G-sharp minor |
| Subdominant | F-sharp minor |
| Component pitches | |
| C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G♯, A, B | |
C-sharp minor is aminor scale based onC♯, with the pitches C♯,D♯,E,F♯,G♯,A, andB. Itskey signature consists of foursharps.
The C-sharpnatural minor scale is:
Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The C-sharpharmonic minor andmelodic minor scales are:
Itsrelative major isE major. Itsparallel major,C-sharp major, is usually written instead as the enharmonic key ofD-flat major, since C-sharp major’s key signature with seven sharps is not normally used. Its enharmonic equivalent,D-flat minor, having eight flats including the B
, has a similar problem. Therefore, C-sharp minor is often used as the parallel minor for D-flat major. (The same enharmonic situation occurs with the keys ofA-flat major andG-sharp minor, and in some cases, with the keys ofG-flat major andF-sharp minor.)
Thescale degree chords of C-sharp minor are:
There are only two known symphonies in the 18th century written in this key. One of them is byJoseph Martin Kraus, who appears to have found the key difficult since he later rewrote it inC minor. In the following two centuries, C-sharp minor symphonies remained rare. Notable examples are the second movement Adagio ofAnton Bruckner'sSymphony No. 7, the first movement ofGustav Mahler'sSymphony No. 5[1] andProkofiev'sSymphony No. 7.
This key occurs more often in piano literature from the 18th century onwards.Domenico Scarlatti wrote just two keyboard sonatas in C-sharp minor, K. 246 and K. 247. AfterBeethoven'sPiano Sonata No. 14 (Moonlight Sonata), the key became more frequent in the piano repertoire. Beethoven himself used this key again in the outer movements of hisString Quartet No. 14 (Op. 131, 1826). Even so,Johannes Brahms still felt the need to rewrite his C-sharp minor piano quartet in C minor, which was published asPiano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60.[citation needed] The last intermezzo from hisThree Intermezzi for piano, Op. 117 is in C-sharp minor.
Alkan composed the second movement (Adagio) forConcerto for Solo Piano in C-sharp minor.
Frédéric Chopin often wrote in this key: examples include theFantaisie-Impromptu,ÉtudesOp. 10, No. 4 andOp. 25, No. 7,Scherzo No. 3 (Op. 39),Waltz Op. 64, No. 2,Polonaise Op. 26 No. 1, thePrelude opus 45 and NocturnesNo. 7 (Op. 27, No. 1) andNo. 20 (Lento con gran espressione). More examples of works in C-sharp minor includeRachmaninoff'sPrelude in C-sharp minor (Op. 3, No. 2),Scriabin'sÉtude in C-sharp minor, Op. 2, No. 1,Franz Liszt'sHungarian Rhapsody No. 2, andTchaikovsky'sPiano Sonata in C-sharp minor.
Piano concertos written in C-sharp minor includePoulenc'sPiano Concerto in C-sharp minor, FP 146 (1949),Erich Wolfgang Korngold'sPiano Concerto for the Left Hand, Op. 17,Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov'sPiano Concerto, and others byFerdinand Ries,Xaver Scharwenka,Amy Beach,Miriam Hyde andIssay Dobrowen.
Franz Berwald andDimitri Shostakovich wrote violin concertos in C-sharp minor.
Jules Van Nuffel wrote his psalm settingIn convertendo Dominus for choir and organ in C-sharp minor.
Media related toC-sharp minor at Wikimedia Commons
