3.5: The Neapolitan Chord

31.1 Introduction

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Example 31–1. Maria Agata Szymanowska, 18 Danses de Différent Genre, 6. Waltz in A major, mm. 41–48.

With its major quality and lowered second scale degree, the effect of the Neapolitan is striking. As you can hear, the chord brings dramatic weight to the ensuing cadence and intensifies the passage in a way that a diatonic pre-dominant chord cannot.

In this chapter, we will examine the origins and structure of the Neapolitan chord. Depending on the context, the Neapolitan can be derived in several ways—hence the label N6 instead of a Roman numeral. With an understanding of how these derivations work, we will investigate how the Neapolitan functions in various conditions. We will also discuss how the Neapolitan behaves over larger spans when it is tonicized or used in a modulation.

31.2 Origin and structure

The Neapolitan chord may be thought of as a voice-leading sonority derived from an embellished subdominant triad:

Example 31–2.

a. iv chord in C minor

b. iv chord with chromatic upper neighbor tone

c. assimilation of chromatic upper neighbor tone

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This understanding of the Neapolitan accounts for its tendency to appear as what looks like a first-inversion triad, with the chordal third doubled. If the Neapolitan is considered a derivation of iv, it is in fact the root (the bass) that is being doubled—the norm for root-position triads! Consider the following example:

Example 31–3. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Trio in E major (K.542), III. Allegro, mm. 137–144.

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Example 31–4. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Trio in E major (K.542), III. Allegro, mm. 137–144, with diatonic iv instead of N6.

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The following excerpt consists of two phrases, the second of which has a Neapolitan chord:

Example 31–5. Alice Charbonnet, Danse des sorcières, mm. 13–28.

The two phrases in Example 31–5 (mm. 13–20 and mm. 21–28) are nearly identical. The primary difference may be found by comparing m. 17 to m. 25. In m. 17 we find a iv6 chord acting as functional pre-dominant leading to the cadence that ends the phrase. The notes in m. 25 are exactly the same except the fifth of the iv chord (A) has been replaced with its chromatic upper neighbor (Bb). (The bass note has been changed too—from F to D—allowing for smooth passing motion between the i6 in m. 24 and the cadential 6/4 in m. 26.) The parallelism between these two measures shows the strong connection between iv6 and N6.

Activity 31-1

Activity 31–1

The Neapolitan can also be thought of as an embellishment of a minor subdominant triad. Each of the following examples shows an unaltered iv chord. Make the necessary adjustments to create Neapolitan chords.

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Exercise 31–1a:

Question

Adjust the necessary pitch in the following iv chord to create a Neapolitan in B minor:

Hint

In order to make a Neapolitan out of a iv chord, you need to replace the fifth with a chromatic note.

Answer

B must be replaced with C§.

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Exercise 31–1b:

Question

Adjust the necessary pitch in the following iv chord to create a Neapolitan in E minor:

Hint

In order to make a Neapolitan out of a iv chord, you need to replace the fifth with a chromatic note.

Answer

E must be replaced with F§.

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Exercise 31–1c:

Question

Adjust the necessary pitch in the following iv chord to create a Neapolitan in G minor:

Hint

In order to make a Neapolitan out of a iv chord, you need to replace the fifth with a chromatic note.

Answer

G must be replaced with Ab.

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Exercise 31–1d:

Question

Adjust the necessary pitch in the following iv chord to create a Neapolitan in D minor:

Hint

In order to make a Neapolitan out of a iv chord, you need to replace the fifth with a chromatic note.

Answer

D must be replaced with Eb.

The Neapolitan chord can also be thought of as a chromatic alteration of the diatonic ii chord. Example 31–6 shows how Neapolitan chords can be derived this way in both major (a) and minor (b) keys:

Example 31–6.

a. derivation of N6 from ii6 in major

b. derivation of N6 from ii^o6 in minor

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Note: The name of the Neapolitan chord links it to the so-called “Neapolitan school”—a group of composers active in and around Naples, Italy in the 18^th century. However, there is little historical justification for this as the chord was certainly used earlier and by composers as far away as England.

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The following example shows a Neapolitan derived from an altered ii chord (Example 31–7b provides a reduction of Example 31–7a):

Example 31–7. Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 7 (Op. 92), I. Poco sostenuto – Vivace, mm. 364–370.

a.

b. reduction

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Activity 31-2

Activity 31–2

The Neapolitan chord can be derived by altering a ii chord (ii^o in minor) to make a major triad built on the lowered second scale degree. Each of the following examples shows an unaltered supertonic chord. Make the necessary adjustments to create Neapolitan chords.

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Exercise 31–2a:

Question

Adjust the necessary pitch or pitches in the following ii6 chord to create a Neapolitan in G major:

Hint

Remember, in a major key, the root and fifth of the ii6 chord need to be lowered.

Answer

A must be replaced with Ab and E with Eb

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Exercise 31–2b:

Question

Adjust the necessary pitch or pitches in the following ii^o6 chord to create a Neapolitan in C minor:

Hint

Remember, in a minor key, the root and ii^o6 chord needs to be lowered.

Answer

D must be replaced with Db.

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Exercise 31–2c:

Question

Adjust the necessary pitch or pitches in the following ii^o6 chord to create a Neapolitan in F# minor:

Hint

Remember, in a minor key, the root and ii^o6 chord needs to be lowered.

Answer

G# must be replaced with G§.

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Exercise 31–2d:

Question

Adjust the necessary pitch or pitches in the following ii6 chord to create a Neapolitan in F major:

Hint

Remember, in a major key, the root and fifth of the ii6 chord need to be lowered.

Answer

G must be replaced with Gb and D with Db.

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Of the two, the latter is more common today since the usual notation of the Neapolitan more readily resembles a bII6 chord than a iv chord with an altered fifth. Nonetheless, it is important for analysis that you be able to conceive of the Neapolitan in both ways. Consider the following example:

Example 31–8. Frédéric Chopin, Nocturnes (Op. 55), 1. Andante in F minor, mm. 5–8.

In this excerpt from a Chopin Nocturne, we find a Neapolitan following a root position III chord. In this case, the Neapolitan must be considered an embellished iv. To view this Neapolitan as bII6 would be counterintuitive and would contradict the norms of harmonic root movement. The Neapolitan is a passing chord from III to V. In other words, the progression III–ivb6–V6/4 makes much more sense than III–bII6–V6/4.

Now consider the following example (Example 31–9b provides a reduction):

Example 31–9. Franz Schubert, String Quartet No. 12 (D.703), mm. 7–19.

a.

b. reduction

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Activity 31-3

Activity 31–3

Write Neapolitan chords as indicated.

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Exercise 31–3a:

Question

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Hint

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Answer

(Answers may vary as long as F is the lowest pitch and the upper voices consist of Db, F and Ab.)

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Exercise 31–3b:

Question

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Hint

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Answer

(Answers may vary as long as Bb is the lowest pitch and the upper voices consist of Gb,Bb and Db.)

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Exercise 31–3c:

Question

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Hint

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Answer

(Answers may vary as long as D is the lowest pitch and the upper voices consist of Bb, D and F§.)

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Exercise 31–3d:

Question

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Hint

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Answer

(Answers may vary as long as F# is the lowest pitch and the upper voices consist of D§,F# and A.)

31.3 Other positions of the Neapolitan

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Example 31–10. Frédéric Chopin, Prelude No. 20 in C minor (Op. 28), mm. 11–13.

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31.4 Function, voice-leading, and context

Regardless of how you think of the Neapolitan chord— as a neighbor-note embellishment of iv (IV in major) or as a chromatic root-alteration of ii^o (ii in major)—it retains the pre-dominant function of its origin. In other words, the Neapolitan chord routinely signals and leads to some form of dominant. It frequently moves directly to the dominant (V or V7), as in the following excerpt:

Example 31–11. Franz Schubert, Die Schöne Müllerin (D.795), 19. “Der Müller und der Bach,” mm. 1–10.

Here the Neapolitan chord appears in m. 8 after two full measures of tonic harmony. It then moves directly to a V chord in the following measure which in turn resolves to i at the end of the phrase.

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Activity 31-4

Activity 31–4

When analyzing Neapolitan chords, it is essential that you be able to recognize the altered pitch or pitches and trace the voice-leading from one chord to the next.

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Exercise 31–4:

Question

Identify the Neapolitan chord in the following excerpt:

Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 14 in C# minor [“Moonlight”] (Op. 27, No. 2), I. Adagio sostenuto, mm. 1–5.

Answer

The Neapolitan is in the second half of m. 3.

Follow-up question

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Answer

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Example 31–12.

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Example 31–13.

Problems arise when the notes of the Neapolitan do not move in contrary motion to the bass:

Example 31–14.

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Activity 31-5

Activity 31–5

Complete the following progressions from N6 to V.

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Exercise 31–5a:

Question

Complete the progression by adding a note in each voice part.

Hint

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Answer

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Exercise 31–5b:

Question

Complete the progression by adding a note in each voice part.

Hint

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Answer

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Exercise 31–5c:

Question

Complete the progression by adding a note in each voice part.

Hint

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Answer

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Exercise 31–5d:

Question

Complete the progression by adding a note in each voice part.

Hint

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Answer

In other cases, the Neapolitan does not move directly to V. Instead, an intervening chord may delay the dominant. Consider the following examples:

Example 31–15. Franz Schubert, “Erlkönig” (D.328), mm. 140–148.

Example 31–16. Johann Sebastian Bach, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein (BWV 2), 6. “Das wollst du, Gott, bewahren rein,” mm. 1–4.

The Neapolitan chord in Example 31–15—itself embellished with an auxiliary sonority in m. 144—leads to an applied vii^o7/V in m. 147 before moving to the cadential V chord. The same technique appears in Example 31–16. Here, an unprepared Neapolitan is used to begin a phrase following a half cadence. A vii^o7/V delays the dominant, which arrives one beat later.

Note: Despite the key signature with just one flat, Example 31–16 is in G minor. In Johann Sebastian Bach’s time, it was common for minor key signatures to be written with one less accidental, owing to remnants of earlier notational conventions.

Example 31–17 shows a similar situation in which the Neapolitan leads to a cadential 6/4 chord:

Example 31–17. Felix Mendelssohn, Lieder ohne Worte (Op. 102), 4. Un poco agitato, ma andante, mm. 3–7.

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Activity 31-6

Activity 31–6

As a pre-dominant chord, the Neapolitan leads to dominant harmony. Sometimes, however, another pre-dominant chord intervenes. Recognizing this delay in the arrival of the dominant is an important part of analysis.

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Exercise 31–6:

Question

Identify the first appearance of the Neapolitan chord in the following excerpt. (Note that despite the key signature, this passage is in the key of A major.):

Joseph Haydn, Keyboard Sonata in D major (Hob.XVI:37), I. Allegro con brio, mm. 28–35.

Hint

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Answer

The Neapolitan chord first appears on the downbeat of m. 30.

Follow-up question

In this case, the Neapolitan does not move directly to the dominant. In what measure does the root-position dominant seventh arrive?

Hint

Look for a chord that measure whose pitches are that of a dominant seventh chord.

Answer

The true dominant harmony arrives in m. 34.

Follow-up question

What two other pre-dominant chords intervene between the Neapolitan and the true dominant harmony?

Answer

The Neapolitan leads to a vii^o7/V in m. 32 and then a cadential 6/4 in m. 33 before getting to the dominant in m. 34.

The same chords that are typically used to approach ii(^o)6 are also used to approach the Neapolitan. Example 31–10 and Example 31–17 show Neapolitan chords following VI. Example 31–15 has a Neapolitan following iv—the Abs beginning in m. 143 act initially as chromatic upper neighbors to the fifth of the iv chord. Example 31–7 has a Neapolitan following ii6/5 and Example 31–1 and Example 31–3 approach the Neapolitan with tonic triads.

31.5 Tonicizing the Neapolitan

Composers frequently tonicize the Neapolitan. The structure of the minor scale makes this particularly convenient since the diatonic VI chord is equivalent to the dominant of the Neapolitan. In other words, the progression VI–N6 can sound like V/N–N6(a tonicization of the Neapolitan) since the root motion is the same as V–I.

Consider the following example:

Example 31–18. Maria Agata Szymanowska, 6 Minuets, No. 1 in A minor, mm. 1–16.

In Example 31-18, after a pair of authentic cadences in (m. 4 and m. 9), we hear a deceptive cadence in m. 12. This F-major chord is heard initially as VI in A minor. On the other hand, the root of this chord (F) lies a perfect fifth above—or a perfect fourth below—the root of the Neapolitan that follows. The F-major chord may, in other words, also be heard as V/N setting up the chromatic Bb in m. 13.

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A similar scenario appears in the following example:

Example 31–19. Frédéric Chopin, Mazurkas (Op. 7), 2. Vivo, ma non troppo in A minor, mm. 9–16.

The Neapolitan is tonicized here with an applied dominant seventh chord in m. 13. This applied chord is derived by adding a minor seventh above the root of the preceding VI chord (Eb).

The following excerpt provides another example of a tonicized Neapolitan

Example 31–20. Johann Sebastian Bach, Organ Sonata No.4 in E minor (BWV 528), II. Andante, mm. 1–3.

This passage includes a Neapolitan chord in the opening phrase. On the second beat of m. 2, we see an E in the bass with G and C§ in the upper voice—a typical example of a Neapolitan chord. Preceding this, we find a VI chord consisting of G in the bass with B and D in the upper voice. This chord can also be interpreted as an applied dominant to the Neapolitan. (It is labeled V/N in Example 31–20.) As an applied dominant, this tonicization of the Neapolitan continues a falling fifth progression begun in the previous measure. By moving to the Neapolitan, Bach avoids the tritone root motion that would have resulted from VI to a diatonic ii^o chord. (For more information on applied chords, see Chapter 27.)

No matter what the length—single chords, tonicizations, modulations—appearances of the Neapolitan soon lead to the dominant. Emphasizing the Neapolitan by making it sound temporarily like a tonic dramatizes the arrival of the dominant.

Activity 31-7

Activity 31–7

For each of the following exercises, identify the pitches of an applied dominant seventh chord on the Neapolitan of the specified key.

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Exercise 31–7a:

Question

In the key of D minor, what would be the root of V7/N?

Hint

The root of V7/N is the fifth of the Neapolitan chord.

Answer

Bb

Follow-up question

What are the three remaining pitches of the dominant seventh chord that has this pitch as its root?

Answer

D, F, and Ab

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Exercise 31–7b:

Question

In the key of A minor, what would be the root of V7/N?

Hint

The root of V7/N is the fifth of the Neapolitan chord.

Answer

F

Follow-up question

What are the three remaining pitches of the dominant seventh chord that has this pitch as its root?

Answer

A, C, and Eb

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Exercise 31–7c:

Question

In the key of D major, what would be the root of V7/N?

Hint

The root of V7/N is the fifth of the Neapolitan chord.

Answer

Bb

Follow-up question

What are the three remaining pitches of the dominant seventh chord that has this pitch as its root?

Answer

D, F, and Ab.

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Exercise 31–7d:

Question

In the key of F# minor, what would be the root of V7/N?

Hint

The root of V7/N is the fifth of the Neapolitan chord.

Answer

D§

Follow-up question

What are the three remaining pitches of the dominant seventh chord that has this pitch as its root?

Answer

F#, A, and C§

31.6 Summary

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As a pre-dominant chord, the Neapolitan’s typical function is to lead to the dominant. It often does this directly—moving to V or V7 without delay—though frequently an applied chord or cadential 6/4 intervenes. Any chord used to approach ii^(o)6 can also precede a Neapolitan: i, i6, VI, or iv among others. Composers also tonicize it or modulate to that key. In any case, the Neapolitan eventually leads to some form of dominant harmony.

All in all, the Neapolitan is generally used as an expressive device. The chromatic alteration is striking in any context and is often used to heighten the dramatic tension of important passages.