Mixture – bII, Neapolitan – Example 2

Definition: The bII, Neapolitan, or Phrygian II chord is a major triad built on the lowered 2nd (b2) scale degree. It is called Phrygian II since it is occurs naturally in the Phrygian mode.

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)- Der Erlkonig, D. 328 (1815)

A copy of the lyrics can be found at this site (Oxford Lieder). The audio for the whole piece is embedded below:

Example 2: Der Erlkonig mm. 131-148 (end)

A second example of the Neapolitan chord can be found near the end of the Der Erlkonig, from m. 131 to the end of the song. The narrator is talking at this point, relating the ending to the story.

The father shudders, he rides swiftly,
he holds the moaning child in his arms;
with one last effort he reaches home;
the child lay dead in his arms.

Translation by Richard Wigmore
First published by Gollancz and reprinted in the Hyperion Schubert Song Edition
Oxford International Song Festival: Songs – Erlkonig by Franz Schubert

Audio for the above section can be found at this link, starting at 3:34.

Analysis

At this point in the piece, we are back in the main key, G minor. With the exception of m. 141-142 where there is chromatic motion in the bass, most of the chords are diatonic chords or secondary dominants of diatonic chords (see example below). Only the chords in the shaded sections are not diatonic in the key of G minor.

The chord in mm. 143, 145-146 are all the same; this chord is an Ab-C-Eb chord, an Ab major triad. This chord is the bII or Neapolitan in the key of G minor.

The chord in m. 144 is G-Bb-Db-Fb (over a pedal Ab); this chord is a G half-diminished 7th chord and functions as a viiø7 of Ab or viiø7/N.

A full analysis of this section can is given below.

The use of the N in this excerpt

The use of the Neapolitan at this point in the piece is striking. The overall progression is a fairly normal one: i-iv-V-I. The iv chord is embellished by its secondary dominant (m. 139) as is the V7 at the final cadence (i.e., a viio7/V precedes the V7).

The Neapolitan is used to prolong the iv chord, being another pre-dominant chord. The Neapolitan, however, is used immediately before the recitative, creating a hold and a stop in the motion (which is the first such stop in the piece). The Neapolitan is used to emphasize the tension in the story which finally resolved in the final cadence.