Editing Augmented triad (section)

==In classical music==
The augmented triad differs from the other kinds of triad (the [[Major chord|major triad]], the [[Minor chord|minor triad]], and the [[diminished triad]]) in that it does not naturally arise in a [[diatonic scale]]. Although it could be conceptualized as a triad built on the third degree of a [[harmonic minor scale]] or [[melodic minor scale]], it virtually never occurs in this way due to the harsh [[consonance and dissonance|dissonance]] of the chord.

Striking examples of its use may be found in [[Mozart]]’s keyboard minuet K355. It first occurs as a [[passing chord]] on the third beat of bar 1 (D{{music|sharp}}–G–B).  However it comes into more striking prominence in the 6-bar [[Sequence (music)|sequential]] passage starting on the first beat of bar 5 (D-F{{music|sharp}}–A{{music|sharp}}):

[[File:Mozart, Minuet, K355.wav|thumb|Mozart, Minuet, K355]][[File:Mozart, Minuet, K355.png|thumb|center|500px|Mozart, Minuet, K355]]

According to Aubyn Raymar, in this minuet “flowing counterpoints woven among closely crowded chromaticisms and richly variegated harmony, sequential progressions in either direction coupled with unexpected dissonance… - such resources used with a mastery of concentration intensify the emotion which stirs within the brooding phrases of a perfectly balanced poem.” <ref>Raymar, A. (1931, p.3) introduction to Mozart: Miscellaneous Pieces for Pianoforte.  London, Associated Board of the Royal schools of Music.</ref>

Its rarity makes the augmented triad a special chord that touches on the [[atonal]]. Its uses to 'suspend' tonality are famous; for example, in [[Arnold Schoenberg]]'s "Walzer" (''Fünf Klavierstücke'' Op. 23 No. 5). An earlier example may be found at the opening of [[Franz Liszt]]'s ''[[Faust Symphony]]'', where a sequence of augmented triads unfolds as [[arpeggio]]s: [[File:Liszt 'Faust' Symphony, opening 01.wav|thumb|Liszt 'Faust' Symphony, opening]] [[File:Liszt 'Faust' Symphony, opening 02.png|thumb|center|500px|Liszt 'Faust' Symphony, opening]]

However, the augmented triad occurs in tonal music, with a perfectly tonal meaning, since at least [[J. S. Bach|J.S. Bach]]. See the "surprising" <ref>Whittaker, W.G. (1924, p.34), ''Bach's Cantatas'', Oxford University Press</ref> first chord  (D–F{{music|sharp}}–B{{music|flat}}) in the opening chorus to his cantata ''[[Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, BWV 2]]'': [[File:Bach Cantata BWV 2 opening chorus 01.wav|thumb|Bach Cantata BWV 2 opening chorus]][[File:Bach Cantata BWV 2 opening chorus 02.png|thumb|center|500px|Bach Cantata BWV 2 opening chorus]]. Other examples may be found in the work of [[Joseph Haydn]]. See, for example, bars 5-8 of the Trio from Haydn's String Quartet Op. 54 No. 2:<ref>For further discussion, see {{cite journal|first=Mark|last=Ellis|title=A Chord in Time: The Evolution of the Augmented Sixth from Monteverdi to Mahler|location=Farnham|publisher=Ashgate|date=2010|pages=23, 30–31}}</ref>  [[File:Haydn Quartet, Op. 54 No. 2, minuet, Trio section 01.wav|thumb|Haydn Quartet, Op. 54 No. 2, minuet, Trio section]][[File:Haydn Quartet, Op. 54 No. 2, minuet, Trio section.png|thumb|center|500px|Haydn Quartet, Op. 54 No. 2, minuet, Trio section]] -also in [[Richard Wagner]]'s ''[[Siegfried Idyll]]'': [[File:Wagner Siegfried Idyll bars 148-153.wav|thumb|Wagner Siegfried Idyll bars 148-153]][[File:Wagner Siegfried Idyll bars 148-153.png|thumb|center|500px|Wagner Siegfried Idyll bars 148-153]]-and in [[Chopin]]’s stormy [[Preludes (Chopin)|Prelude]] No. 24.  The left hand piano arpeggios outline an augmented triad (D{{music|flat}}–F-A) in bars 47-50.  The sudden change in [[dynamics (music)|dynamics]] from ''forte'' to a hushed ''piano'' in these bars highlights the emotional intensity of this passage: [[File:Chopin Prelude No. 24, bars 43-51.wav|thumb|Chopin Prelude No. 24, bars 43-51]] [[File:Chopin Prelude No. 24, bars 43-52.png|thumb|center|500px|Chopin Prelude No. 24, bars 43-51]]An augmented triad results diatonically in minor mode from a [[dominant chord]] where the fifth (the second degree) is replaced by the third degree, as an anticipation of the resolution chord. [[Johannes Brahms]]'s ''[[Tragic Overture]]'' also features the chord prominently (A–C{{music|sharp}}–E{{music|sharp}}), in alternation with the regular dominant (A–C{{music|sharp}}–E). In this example one can also see other aspect of the appeal of the chord to composers: it is a 'conflation' of the fifth degree and the third degree, the usual contrasting keys of a piece in the minor mode.

The "whirl of the final bars" of [[Symphony No. 7 (Mahler)|Mahler’s Symphony No. 7]]<ref>De La Grange, H. (1999, p.880) ''Gustav Mahler, Volume 3'' Oxford University Press.</ref> features an abrupt interpolation of an augmented chord (E–G{{music|sharp}}–C) in the [[penultimate]] bar, before the final chord of C major:[[File:Mahler Symphony No. 7 concluding bars 01.wav|thumb|Mahler Symphony No. 7 concluding bars]][[File:Mahler Symphony No. 7 concluding bars.png|thumb|center|500px|Mahler Symphony No. 7 concluding bars]]

With the lead of [[Franz Schubert]] (in his ''[[Wanderer Fantasy]]''), [[romantic music|Romantic]] composers started organizing many pieces by descending major thirds, which can be seen as a large-scale application of the augmented triad (although it probably arose from other lines of development not necessarily connected to the augmented triad). This kind of organization is common; in addition to Schubert, it is found in music of Franz Liszt, [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]], [[Louis Vierne]] and Richard Wagner, among others.