D-flat major, the key of heaven

When I was in college, I had a classmate in the music department who had perfect pitch and who absolutely adored the key of D-flat major. I know this, because a mutual friend of ours (who also had perfect pitch) had asked me to write a piece for the three of us to play. My D-flat-loving friend was a saxophonist, and our mutual friend was a soprano, and had a range that could take her up into the stratosphere. Think Mozart's "queen aria of the night". So, I wrote a piece for soprano, alto saxophone, and piano, for that is the instrument I play. And, per my D-flat-loving friend's request, the piece was in -- what else? -- the key of D-flat major. Needless to say, we never got around to practicing it, let alone performing it. But it is written to completion; it's in a binder somewhere at my home.

Now, I too have perfect pitch. So I can verify that my two friends weren't lying when they said they had perfect pitch. But for some reason, I just didn't get the allure of D-flat major at the time. To me, it was just another key, like all the other 11 major keys, not to mention the minor keys, let alone the scales in the five other modes.

[Fun fact: in a rock band setting, guitarists for some reason always use the "sharp" system when processing all notes that need an accidental or some sort. In the context of this particular blog post, they would see D-flat major and call it C-sharp major. In fact, for an F major scale, they would see it as F, G, A, A-sharp, C, D, E, F. Knowing how the guitar fundamentally works, I get it; it's just still so weird to me, as it should be B-flat and not A-sharp. The point of this diversion: for anyone who is rock-trained but not Classically trained, know that for your sake, I'm talking about C-sharp major, even though I'm calling it by a different name.]

Growing up in an Episcopal choir setting, one of my favorite pieces of all time was William Harris's "Faire is the Heaven," along with "Bring us, O Lord God." Both of these pieces are about heaven and the eternal life. Both pieces are a cappella, for double choir. And, both pieces are in D-flat major.

I'm currently working on transcribing a piece I improvised for the piano a few years back, a waltz (mostly) in D-flat major. I've only ever composed one other piece in that key, another piano piece, many years ago. I don't know. I wouldn't necessarily say that I have a favorite key above all others; my answer is it changes daily. But, certain keys certainly evoke different senses on the gut level that I can't explain. 

Perhaps it's a privilege that only people with perfect pitch can understand. Then again, one time I tested a couple friends who I knew didn't have perfect pitch by playing Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" (the first movement) in a bunch of different keys. When I finally got to the correct key, one of my friends (who's a drummer, no less), shared with me that even though his ear doesn't know what the correct key is to anything, he was somehow able to sense when it was "just right."

With D-flat major, there's something about not just where the first note is on the scale, but really where all 7 tones on the scale sit that feels "just right." It's hard to explain. But immensely satisfying to listen to.