The final cadence of John Rutter's setting of Robert Herrick's poem 'What Sweeter Music' is in F-flat major. The climax that occurs in the middle of Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings resolves to F-flat major. 8), where the entirety of the third movement is notated in this key. Īn example of F-flat major being used directly is in Victor Ewald's Quintet No. 4 employs enharmonic E for F-flat, but its coda employs F-flat directly, with a Phrygian cadence through F-flat onto the tonic. 8 (Pathétique) contains six measures of what would theoretically be F-flat major, but notated as E major (keeping the 4-flat key signature of the movement, so every note in the passage has an accidental).Īnother example of F-flat major being notated as E major can be found in the Adagio of Haydn's Trio No. Likewise, the second movement (in A-flat major) of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No.

In the recapitulation, the key for this passage is changed to bring the second subject back in A-flat major: the transitional passage appears in a key that would theoretically be F-flat major, but which is notated in E major, presumably because Beethoven judged this easier to read – this key being a major third below the key of the earlier appearance of this passage. In the first movement's exposition, the transitional passage between the first and second subjects consists of arpeggiated figuration beginning in A-flat major and modulating to the dominant key of E-flat major. īeethoven also used F-flat major in his Piano Sonata No. Part of Richard Strauss' Metamorphosen uses F-flat major, which one commentator has called 'a bitter enharmonic parody' of the earlier manifestations of E major in the piece. Because of that, it is usually enharmonic to E major with 4 sharps.Īlthough F-flat major is usually notated as its enharmonic equivalent of E major, because E major has four sharps only as opposed to F-flat major's eight flats (including the B ), F-flat major appears as a secondary key area in several works in flat keys. Its relative minor is D-flat minor, usually replaced by C-sharp minor (see reason below) and its parallel minor is F-flat minor, which is normally replaced by E minor, since F-flat minor's four double-flats make it generally impractical to use. Audio playback is not supported in your browser.

G flat major key