<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div>Fiona McAlpine wrote:</div><div><br></div><blockquote type="cite"> <div style="direction: ltr;font-family: Times New Roman;color: #000000;font-size: 12pt;"> Keyboards, fingers & organists: why might Messiaen have found F# major a congenial key signature – or an accustomed place to put his hands – at a time when he was developing his <i>modes de transposition limitée</i>? </div></blockquote><br></div><div>The "accustomed place to put his hands" is also a good point concerning Messiaen's compatriot predecessor, Debussy (some of whose pieces have already been mentioned in this thread). For example, in several preludes of the first book, Debussy focused on the set D#–F#–A#–C# or Eb–Gb–Bb–Db, whose privileged position on the keyboard is easy to understand. The suggested tonality varies, however, from Eb minor (<i>Le vent dans la plaine</i>) to B major (<i>Les collines d'Anacapri</i>) and to Gb major (<i>La fille aux cheveux de lin</i>). (Stephen, apologies for making a false start with Gb major.)</div><div><br></div><div>A propos <i>La fille</i>, the different expressive connotations of sharps and flats can hardly be more clearly illustrated than by comparing the F# added-sixth chord at end of <i>Ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest</i> to the new notation of the same set in the next piece.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Olli Väisälä</div><div>Sibelius Academy</div><div>University of the Arts, Helsinki</div><div><a href="mailto:ovaisala@siba.fi">ovaisala@siba.fi</a></div></body></html>