D Minor - Research on Harmony - Variations 9

F7 — the highest F, translating to near-silver — opens the series for the first time at this extreme. Variation 9 descends from F7 (silver) to D2 (near-black) in waltz time: D2, A4, D5, F5, A5, F7. Six notes, Lent, the phrase opening at the silver apex and falling through orange-yellow and yellow-orange to the dark root.

The F7 entry is distinctive — the minor third at its most bleached, barely still recognizable as F's red-violet. Fifty-six percent highlights, the high-register opening carrying much of the brightness before the descent into midtones and shadow.

The waltz descends from this near-white point methodically: F7 (silver), then A5 and F5 (yellow-orange and red-violet at lighter registers), then D5 and A4 in the midrange, arriving at D2 in the bass. The series' first descent from the extreme-high register.