minor-key

In fact, Cesaria Evora's specialty was morna, an intensely melancholy, minor-key music, sung mostly in Portuguese.

Jesse Kornbluth: Cesaria Evora (1941-2011): One of the Great Divas, Too Little Known Jesse Kornbluth 2011

But it is characteristic of these melancholy, minor-key novellas that such contentment is short-lived.

Rapt in Translation; Zombie Zoology Sam Sacks 2011

I used to sing from the hymn book and make up the tunes on a little acoustic guitar, then later I'd sing rambling, mournful poems over minor-key chords.

My first song Graeme Thomson 2010

It's particularly satisfying when the band comes up with a number that's simultaneously a pop tune and an butt-kicker, like the hard-swinging, minor-key stomp on "One More Time."

Vince Giordano and the Underground Nighthawk Boogie Will Friedwald 2011

Among its tracks are a slow blues shuffle, a boogie, a '50s-style soul ballad and a gorgeous minor-key instrumental.

The Next Big Name to Come Out of Austin? Jim Fusilli 2011

By the same token, the vivid portrayal of the Last Judgment that Verdi incorporated into the "Dies irae" movement of his Requiem, with its minor-key trumpet calls and bomblike thwacks on the bass drum, is as exciting as any of his operas—and as "pictorial" as "Jesus Mocked by the Soldiers."

How Can Skeptics Make Convincing Religious Art? Terry Teachout 2012

In ordinary life, we recall sequences of events by re-experiencing in a mindful, minor-key way the emotions connecting them.

Daniel Goldin: Addiction's Secret Ingredient 'X' Daniel Goldin 2011

In ordinary life, we recall sequences of events by re-experiencing in a mindful, minor-key way the emotions connecting them.

Daniel Goldin: Addiction's Secret Ingredient 'X' Daniel Goldin 2011

The extended reading of James's "Devil Got My Woman," a tricky minor-key blues, haunted him too.

Allman's Latest Blues Were a Source of Hope Jim Fusilli 2011

Lindsay-Abaire explored minor-key emotions more fully in "Rabbit Hole," which won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and formed the basis for the recent movie.

1st Stage's 'Fuddy Meers': Long on laughs, short on meaning 2011