Mixture – bII or Neapolitan

In the piece Sicilienne, there was one chord which we did not analyze. Below is the analysis with the one chord in m. 9 not analyzed.

The chord in measure 9 is a first inversion Db major triad; it is a Db-F-Ab with F, the third of the chord, in the bass.

By this time in the piece, the key has changed and it is now in C. Even in C major or C minor, this chord is not diatonic. In the key of C, a Db major chord can be analyzed as bII. Calling this chord a bII is perfectly fine, but there are other names for it – one that describes where it comes from.

This chord is actually a result of mixture but not mixture between parallel major and minor keys. It is a result of mixture between major keys and mode of major – specifically the Phrygian mode.

The Phrygian II chord

The Phrygian mode on C is as seen below:

The chords built from this scale are shown below:

The distinctive note of the Phrygian mode is the lowered second scale degree – the b2. The chord built on this scale degree in Phrygian mode is a major triad – the bII.

In Sicilienne, this bII chord is in m. 9. This chord is borrowed from the Phrygian mode and put in the minor key. Thus, this chord is sometimes called the Phrygian II chord.

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.

The Neapolitan chord

In classical music, this chord is called the Neapolitan chord. The name comes from the association with the Neapolitan school of music.

When called the Neapolitan, it is marked in music with a capital N.

This designation is used in the analysis below:

Neapolitan sixth chord

Note in the above that the chord is marked as a N6. The 6 refers to the fact that the chord is in first inversion. This inversion occurs so often that many times we hear the chord referred to as the Neapolitan Sixth chord.