Page:A Dictionary of Music and Musicians vol 3.djvu/489

SEVENTH. the rest of the chord moves simultaneously with the motion of the discordant note, as at (b)

Of these major sevenths there are several forms, but as they all have the same general principles of formation and treatment they do not require detailed consideration.

2. The minor sevenths are more individually characteristic. Of these the most important is the Dominant seventh, as at (c), for the key of C. The discordance of this combination is very slight.

By itself it is but little more harsh than some combinations which are universally accepted as concords, such as the minor sixth; but its harshness is increased by the addition of the other notes which fill up the harmony, as at (d), since the indispensable major third in the chord makes a diminished fifth with the seventh. Nevertheless its mildness has long been recognised, and it was used as early as the beginning of the 17th century with greater freedom than any other discord, by being relieved of the condition of being prepared. [See, vol. i. p. 674.] But the laws of its resolution continued, and still continue, more or less restricted. It naturally resolves into the Tonic chord; because its third is the leading note of the key and tends to the Tonic; its seventh naturally tends to the third of the Tonic chord, which is in the major divided from it only by the small interval of a semitone; and its root or bass note already supplies the fifth of that chord, which naturally acts as the connecting link between the two harmonies of dominant and tonic; so that all the vital notes of the Tonic chord are as it were predicted by its sounding, and consequently it is the most natural and forcible penultimate in cadences, in which it occurs with extreme frequency. [See .] It is hardly necessary to point out that it can be resolved otherwise, since it so often plays a part in interrupted cadences; as for instance where the Tonic chord is supplanted by the chord of the Submediant (e); but it is in consequence of the very predisposition which it creates to expect the Tonic chord that interrupted cadences have such marked effect. [See .] There is no other minor seventh in the key which can be accompanied by a diatonic major third; but there are two at least that can be obtained with one chromatic note in them, and these are so frequently used as if they belonged to the key that some theorists have agreed to affiliate them. These are the minor seventh on the supertonic with a chromatic major third, and the minor seventh on the tonic, in which the seventh itself is chromatic, as (f) and (g), in relation to the key of C. These are respectively the dominant sevenths of the Dominant and Subdominant keys, so that in any sense they lie very close to the principal key, and can resolve into it with the greatest ease; and they are often taken without preparation as distinct ingredients of its harmonic material without other reference to the keys to which they diatonically belong.

The minor seventh on the supertonic, with a diatonic minor third, is a chord which has much exercised theorists. It comprises the same notes as the chord which has been generally known formerly and even partially now as the Added sixth; and it is more often met with in the form from which that name was derived. But in whatever position, it has long been peculiar among discords for the variability of its resolution, since the note which would be the seventh if the supertonic were at the bottom of the chord, stands still in resolution almost as often as it moves downwards to the conveniently contiguous leading note of the key. For the various views entertained concerning this chord, see and.

3. The chord of the Diminished seventh ia a familiar combination both to theorists and musicians. It is in its complete form composed of a set of minor thirds, and this as much as anything gives it its notoriously ambiguous character, since any of its elements can be treated as the discordant note, with the result of leading to a different key in each several case. It is now commonly held to be the inversion of a minor ninth with the root note omitted. [See, vol. i. p. 448.] [ C. H. H. P. ]

SEVERN, —brother of Joseph Severn the painter, the intimate friend of Keats, Leigh Hunt, etc.—was born in London, Nov. 5, 1801, and after many difficulties became manager of Farn's music business at 72 Lombard Street. He was the first conductor of the, started in 1831. [See vol. i. 352 a.] He was virtually self-taught, and his knowledge of music was derived from study of the scores of the great masters, and from practice. He died at Wandsworth, April 15, 1881. Severn was the author of an opera, and of various songs which were very popular in their time. Amongst these were two sets to words by Haynes Bayley, 'Songs of the Boudoir,' containing the well-known 'We met, 'twas in a crowd'; and 'Songs of the days of Chivalry'; also three songs by Herrick; a Cantata, 'The Spirit of the Shell'; two Te Deums (Novello & Co.), etc., etc. [ G. ]

SEXT (Lat. Officium (vel Oratio) ad Horam Sextam; Ad Sextam). The last but one of the 'Lesser Hours' in the Roman Breviary.

The Office begins, as usual, with the Versicle, and Response, 'Deus in adjutorium.' These are followed by a Hymn—Rector potens, verax Deus—which never changes; Verses 81–129 of the Psalm, 'Beati immaculati,' sung in three divisions, but under a single Antiphon; the 'Capitulum' and 'Responsorium breve' for the Season; and the Prayer (or Collect) for the Day.

In Collegiate Churches, the Offices of Terce