C-sharp Major is a key to bring out unusual characters and feelings. It has been called a "grimacing" and "leering" key. The color is brown to me.
C-sharp major consists of the pitches C♯, D♯, E♯, F♯, G♯, A♯, and B♯. It is
enharmonically equivalent to D-flat major. Its key signature has seven
sharps, making it difficult to read. People recognize this key more as D-flat Major, if you discount the fact
that before keys were well tempered C-sharp and D-flat were two different keys.
They still are in modern times, not on the piano but on string
instruments like the violin. Most composers prefer to use the enharmonic equivalent D-flat major
since it only contains five flats as opposed to C-sharp major's seven
sharps. However, Johann Sebastian Bach chose C-sharp major for Prelude
and Fugue No. 3 in both books of The Well-Tempered Clavier.
C-sharp Major is scarcely ever used in orchestral music - the only exception I know of is the Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in C-Sharp Major by Korngold, written as a commission by the one-handed concert pianist Paul
Wittgenstein in 1923. It is a remarkable work, but unfortunately there is no live performance available on YouTube.
For the rest, C-sharp Major is used in a handful of piano works. We will, of course, find the key of C sharp major in collections
organized by key such as Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, where the lyrical potential of the key is demonstrated, and we also find
it as one of Brahms’ 16 Waltzes, Op. 39. In Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6, Franz Liszt takes the unusual step of
changing the key from D-flat major to C-sharp major near the start of
the piece, and then back again to B-flat minor. Maurice Ravel selected C-sharp major as the tonic key of "Ondine" from
his piano suite Gaspard de la nuit. The Allegro de concierto by Spanish composer Enrique Granados is also written in C-sharp major.
The above is a selection of the most well-known works in C-sharp Major for the piano. A larger list with works by Alkan, Scriabin, and others can be found here.
Characteristic works in C-sharp Major
Johann Sebastian Bach, Prelude and Fugue in C sharp Major, BWV 848
The third prelude and fugue in the first book of The Well-Tempered Clavier, a series of 48 preludes and fugues by the composer. The prelude is a lively 2 part texture, using a series of broken chords which swap between the hands. It is in a fast 3/8 time signature and is made up largely of semiquavers. Later on in the piece, the semiquaver line splits between the hands before ending with a short Coda in an improvisatory manner. The three-voice fugue is unusually void of the commonly used fugal devices, such as augmentation, diminution, inversion, pedal point or stretti. The cheerful subject is characterized by descending broken 6ths in light quavers. One of the counter-subjects is constructed with running legato semiquavers, whilst the other consists of longer note values. The fugue has an extensive sequential episode which develops through related keys before the reappearance of the three voices.
Listen to: Patrick Ayrton | Netherlands Bach Society
Johannes Brahms, Waltz Op.39 No. 6 in C# Major (for piano four hands)
A set of 16 short waltzes composed in 1865. These waltzes were written for piano four hands, and were also arranged for piano solo by the composer, in two different versions – difficult and simplified. The three versions were published at the same time, and sold well, contrary to the composer's expectations. The waltzes were written while the composer lived in Vienna, a city where he would permanently settle in 1872. They were intended as a tribute to the waltz dance form which had become especially fashionable in his adopted city.
The Alonso Brothers
Maurice Ravel, "Ondine" from Gaspard de la Nuit
Written in C-sharp major and based on the poem "Ondine", an oneiric tale of the water nymph Undine singing to seduce the observer into visiting her kingdom deep at the bottom of a lake. It is reminiscent of Ravel's early piano piece, the Jeux d'eau (1901), with the sounds of water falling and flowing, woven with cascades.
There are five main melodies. The opening melody at bar 2 evokes a line of song and is similar in form and subject to the main theme in Sirènes from Claude Debussy's Nocturnes. This is interrupted by the second theme at bar 10 before opening up a longer melodic passage formed from the latter part of theme 1. Then a short simple melody first heard at bar 23 introduces shimmering harmonic side-shifting. The final distinct melody is a menacing short rising figure first heard at bar 45, which prefaces the menace of Le Gibet and which later provides a bridge to the main climax at bar 66. Ravel prioritizes melodic development to express the poetic themes, keeping subordinate the simmering coloration of the right hand. By contrast, Claude Debussy's works such as Reflets dans l'eau tend to treat melody more equally with harmonic and figurative impulsivity, and often position virtuosity more in the foreground.
Played by Alice Sara Ott.
Allegro de Concierto in C-sharp Major, Op. 46, Enrique Granados
The Allegro de concierto was submitted to a competition organized by Tomás Bretón of the Madrid Royal Conservatory in 1903, which awarded a considerable sum of 500 pesetas for the best "concert allegro" for solo piano. Twenty-four composers participated, among them the young Manuel de Falla, who received an honorable mention. The jury declared Granados the winner with an almost unanimous vote. The composition brought Granados to national attention.
The structure of the work is somewhat unusual for Granados, as it is in the traditional sonata form. It is reminiscent of Franz Liszt in its virtuosic piano writing, featuring rapid octaves and arpeggios that span the entire keyboard, and in its use of chordal melodies and forceful accompaniments. The work begins with a brilliant two-bar flourish, leading to the exposition that opens with the main theme in C-sharp major. Its added sixth introduces a sense of pentatonicism, though it is not distinctly Spanish. The lyrical second theme, in G-sharp minor (the dominant minor), is followed by a brief reprise of the first theme in G major, leading to a third theme. The development section begins with a new melody, marked "Andante spianato", over the arpeggiated main theme. A cadenza-like transition leads to the recapitulation in C-sharp major, though the second theme is held in C-sharp minor (the parallel minor). It is followed by a brilliant coda, based on the main theme.
Played by Fernanda Damiano.
Franz Liszt, Hungarian Rhapsody No.6 in C-sharp Major
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 in D-flat major is the sixth work of the 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies composed by Franz Liszt. This work was dedicated to Count Antoine of Appony and uses the form of a lassan (a slow dance) and friska (the fast section of the scardas) like many other of his rhapsodies. This piece was later arranged for orchestra.
The rhapsody is divided into three main sections: an Introduction (Tempo giusto – Presto), Lassan (Andante) and Friska (Allegro). In the introduction the left hand of the player plays a steady bassline made up of the chords in the D-flat major scale. Due to the overlapping of the melody over the bars, the piece does not sound as though it is in a 2/4 rhythm. This is because Liszt did not start the first chord of the piece as an upbeat. The melody of the first part is repetitive, ending with a long cadenza mainly using the black keys. The second part (presto) is in C-sharp major (which is simply an enharmonic version of the previous D-flat, not a modulation) and has a lively rhythm, leading to the lassan in B-flat minor. The lassan is played slowly, with a rhythm in improvisational style, again finishing with a large cadenza at the end, leading sequentially to the friska (Allegro) in B-flat major. The melody is played in semiquavers requiring the player to move fast in octaves. The bass line repeats the same strong quaver rhythms. The final part of the piece ends with chromatic scales in octaves moving in contrary motion, leading to B-flat major chords. The piece makes use of the gypsy scale.
Played by Martha Argerich (1966)
[Incorporates parts of the relevant articles in the Japanese, German and English Wikipedia]