D Major - Research on Harmony - Variation 12

The only étude that does not come back down. From D1 the melody climbs — F#4, D5, F#5, F#6 — and stays there. No descent, no arch that folds. Played Animé at 88, the fastest tempo in the series, in triple time: the phrase ascends with purpose and hangs at F#6, the pale yellow-green of the third in the highest register, suspended.

Five notes, mp. Three F#'s in the upper register — F#4, F#5, F#6 — give the canvas consecutive bands of seagreen through the middle and upper range, the third's color repeating as the line climbs. D1 anchors the dark bass alone, a single root before the leap upward. The waltz rhythm carries the ascent naturally, the three-beat pulse feeling like a gathering phrase that never resolves.

Animé and ascending: the one variation in this series that ends at its peak.