A key of joyous celebration and human devotion. While easily played on the piano, it is more difficult for stringed instruments, and therefore is rarely if ever selected as the principal key for a large orchestral work. A♭ major describes a festive mood in ROBERT SCHUMANN'S Carnaval, and it is used for a romantic theme in FRANZ LISZT'S Liebestraum.
During the BAROQUE period (1600-1750), some musical philosophers actually drew comparative tables between states of mind and corresponding intervals, chords, tempos, and the like. One famous 18th-century music critic stated that "it is possible to give a perfect representation of the nobility of soul, love, and jealousy with simple chords and their progressions."
At the beginning of Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night, the lovesick Duke of Illyria states, "If music be the food of love, play on." The idea that love could be inspired by a musical theme draws directly from the doctrine of musical affect.
