"Let us turn to something more cheerful," resumed Dr. Dubbe; and seating
himself at the piano he played the Schubert C minor impromptu. "On the
second page," he said, "where the key becomes A flat major, occurs a
harmony which looks and sounds like a foreign chord. Treated
harmonically it is a second dominant formation, and should read C flat,
D natural, A flat, diminished seventh of the key of the dominant.
Schubert does not, however, use it harmonically, otherwise the B natural
would read C flat. These notes are enharmonic because, though different,
they sound the same."
"How clear!" exclaimed Miss Gay Votte.
"But Schubert, instead of progressing harmonically, goes directly back
into the tonic of A flat major."
"How careless of him!" said Mrs. Givu A. Payne.
"Schubert uses it in its natural position. If the enharmonic C flat were
used the chord would then be in its third inversion. Each diminished
seventh harmony may resolve in sixteen different ways."
"Mercy!" murmured Mrs. Fuller-Prunes. "How much there is to know."
Dr. Dubbe passed his hand across his brow as if wearied. "I shall never
cease to regret," he said, "that Schubert did not write C flat. It would
have been so much clearer."
After the lecture Miss Ellenborough gave us another surprise--doughnuts
made in the shape of flats. Dr. Dubbe ate five, saying that D flat major
was his favorite key.
I rode down in the elevator with him and he repeated his remark that
Schubert had unnecessarily bemuddled the chord.
"I am sure you made it very plain," I said. "We all understand it now."
"Do you, indeed?" he replied. "That's more than I do."
Of course he was jesting. He understands everything.