The raised third degree of the tonic chord, when it is used for the ending of a movement or composition in a minor mode in order to give the ending a greater sense of finality. The term was introduced by Rousseau in his Dictionnaire de musique (1767); its etymology is unknown. It was commonly used in the 16th century and throughout the Baroque era and was regarded by some writers as standard. In the Classical period it was used much less frequently, though an analogy may be drawn with the practice of ending a minor-key work with a short section in the parallel major, found for example in the string quartets of Haydn (op.64 no.2, op.74 no.3 and op.76 no.2) and Beethoven (opp.95 and 132).
JULIAN RUSHTON