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Prelude 15, page 1 (autograph)

Frédéric Chopin's Preludes Opus 28 are his most famous preludes, though he did write others (see below). They are a set of twenty-four short pieces for the piano, one in each key, originally published in 1839. Although the term prelude is generally used to describe an introductory piece, Chopin's stand as self-contained units, each conveying a specific idea or emotion.

Chopin's Op. 28 preludes have been compared to Johann Sebastian Bach's preludes in the Well-Tempered Clavier. However, each of Bach's preludes leads to a fugue in the same key, and Bach's pieces are arranged, in each of the work's two volumes, in ascending chromatic order (with major preceding parallel minor), while Chopin's are arranged in a circle of fifths (with major preceding relative minor). Harold Schonberg, in The Great Pianists, writes: "It also is hard to escape the notion that Chopin was very familiar with Hummel's now-forgotten Op. 67, composed in 1815 – a set of twenty-four preludes in all major and minor keys, starting with C major." Chopin was strongly influenced by Hummel. As Schonberg says: "the openings of the Hummel A minor and Chopin E minor concertos are too close to be coincidental."^[1]

Chopin wrote his Preludes between 1835 and 1839, partly at Valldemossa, Majorca, where the composer spent the winter of 1838/9 and where he had fled with George Sand and her children to escape the damp Paris weather.^[2]

Due to apparent lack of formal structure and brevity, the Op. 28 preludes caused some consternation among critics at the time of their publication.^[3] No prelude is longer than 90 measures (No. 17), and the shortest is a mere 13 measures (No. 20). Robert Schumann said: "They are sketches, beginnings of Ă©tudes, or, so to speak, ruins, individual eagle pinions, all disorder and wild confusions."^[4] Franz Liszt's opinion, however, may have been positive: "Chopin's Preludes are compositions of an order entirely apart."^[4] Since that time, the Op. 28 preludes have become standard fare for the average pianist. Many major performers have recorded the set, beginning with Alfred Cortot in 1926.

Details of Op. 28

Like Chopin's other works, the Op.28 preludes are not named or further described, in contrast to many of Schumann's and Liszt's pieces. Prelude No. 15 in D-flat major is universally known as the "Raindrop" Prelude, but names for the others are rarely used today.^[4]

List of preludes

1. Agitato - C major
2. Lento - A minor
3. Vivace - G major
4. Largo - E minor
5. Molto allegro - D major
6. Lento assai - B minor
7. Andantino - A major
8. Molto agitato - F-sharp minor
9. Largo - E major
10. Molto allegro - C-sharp minor
11. Vivace - B major
12. Presto - G-sharp minor
13. Lento - F-sharp major
14. Allegro - E-flat minor
15. Sostenuto - D-flat major "Raindrop Prelude"
16. Presto con fuoco - B-flat minor
17. Allegretto - A-flat major
18. Molto allegro - F minor
19. Vivace - E-flat major
20. Largo - C minor
21. Cantabile - B-flat major
22. Molto agitato - G minor
23. Moderato - F major
24. Allegro appasionato - D minor

Description and analysis

Prelude No. 1 is versatile, short, and may last 30 seconds if played quickly. Prelude No. 4^[5] is one of the most famous pieces Chopin wrote (it was played at his funeral); it is relatively easy, with a melody in the right hand and harmonic chords in the left hand. Following the exuberant ostinati of Prelude No. 5, the melancholy No. 6 (also played at Chopin's funeral) features the melody primarily in the left hand. The form of Prelude No. 7 is written in the style of a mazurka, in 3/4 time. The eighth is considered a more difficult prelude in the set, featuring numerous grace notes. Prelude No. 9 is a harmonically dense work, using 48 different chords. After the eleventh Prelude, the twelfth, which resembles the sixth, features a constant switching of the left and right hands. The right hand holds the main melody, but the left hand occasionally takes it. In the end, the right hand has a solo and the left hand fades away. Technically, this piece is rather hard to play due to the rapid hold-and-release of quarter and eighth notes.

Prelude No. 15 in D-flat, nicknamed the "Raindrop" Prelude, is the longest and most famous of the 24, while the main melody, which is repeated three times, is similar to that of No. 13; it is in a major key, but melancholy in nature. The middle is much darker; the melody moves to the left hand in the bass and the right hand mostly repeats G sharp (enharmonically equivalent to the repeated A flat of the opening section), first alone and then in octaves. However, this does not last long as the piece becomes more agitated. The melody returns to the right hand and the piece grows louder, featuring many large chords. A powerful climax takes place before the piece returns to the main melody and from there progresses to the ending. This prelude gained significant recognition in popular culture in Fall 2007 when excerpts from this prelude were used in the "Diorama" advertisement for the videogame Halo 3 (see Halo 3 marketing).

Following the "Raindrop", the angry No. 16 starts with six heavily accented chords before progressing to an impromptu-like passage in the right hand. The left hand mainly supports the right hand and repeats the same melody repeatedly. The sixteenth Prelude is considered the most difficult of the set. The seventeenth is one of the longest preludes. This was the favorite of many musicians, including Clara Schumann. Mendelssohn wrote of it, "I love it! I cannot tell you how much or why; except perhaps that it is something which I could never at all have written." ^[6]

The irregular Prelude No. 18 is suggestive of a mortal struggle. The technical challenges lie chiefly in the irregular timing of the three runs, each faster than its predecessor, played simultaneously by each hand one octave apart. A fortissimo five-octave arpeggio echoes downward into the depths of the bass registers, where the final struggle takes place and culminates with the double-fortissimo chord finale. Two small preludes follow: No. 20 being more famous. It was originally written in two sections of 4 measures, although Chopin later added a repeat of the last 4 measures at a softer level. No. 20 was the inspiration for (and used as an introduction to) Barry Manilow's Could It Be Magic. The last prelude, No. 24 opens with a thundering five-note pattern in the left hand. Throughout the piece, the left hand continues this pattern as the right hand plays a powerful melody punctuated by trills, scales, and arpeggios. The piece closes with three booming notes (the lowest D on the piano).

Chopin's other preludes

Chopin wrote three further preludes.

The prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 45 (sometimes listed as Prelude No. 25), was composed in 1841^[7]. It was dedicated to Princess E. Czernicheff, and contains widely extending basses and highly expressive and effective chromatic modulations over a rather uniform thematic basis.

The untitled Presto con leggerezza, was composed in 1834^[8] as a gift for Pierre Wolff, and published in Geneva in 1918. Known as Prelude No. 26, the piece is very short and generally bright in tone.

A further prelude exists. It is in E-flat minor and has been subtitled "Devil's Trill" by Jeffrey Kallberg, a professor of music history at the University of Pennsylvania. Kallberg gave it this nickname for its similarities to Giuseppe Tartini's violin sonata known as The Devils Trill, Tartini being a likely influence on Chopin. The original signature was hastily scrawled (more so than usual of Chopin's original manuscripts). Chopin left this piece uncompleted and seems to have discarded it; while he worked on it during his stay on Majorca, the E-flat minor prelude that ultimately formed part of the Op. 28 set is a completely unrelated piece. Kallberg's realisation of the prelude from Chopin's almost illegible sketches goes no further than where Chopin left off. The piece was scheduled for its first public performance in July 2002 at the Newport Music Festival in Newport, Rhode Island with the pianist Alain Jacquon.^[9]

References in other media

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (September 2008)

• The short Op. 28 No. 7 (A major) is sometimes included in the music for the ballet Les Sylphides.

• In Ingmar Bergman's film Autumn Sonata, Op. 28 No. 2 (A minor) is an important motif in the story. The subject of technical performance and interpretation of the prelude opens a film-long disagreement between the two major characters, Charlotte (Ingrid Bergman) and Eva (Liv Ullmann).

• Op. 28, No. 15 (the "Raindrop" prelude) is played in the Halo 3 "Believe" ad.

• Two of Chopin's Op. 28 preludes – No. 4 and No. 15 (the "Raindrop") – are used as background music in the 2008 Tokusatsu series Kamen Rider Kiva.

• The turbulent Op. 28 No. 22 prelude is played near the beginning of the 2007 comedy film Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.

Citations

Sources

• Leontsky, Jan: Interpreting Chopin. 24 preludes op.28. Analysis, comments and interpretive choices. Tarnhelm editions.

External links

• Study Guide, Recordings and Sheet Music from Chopin Music
• Preludes Op.28: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
• 24 PrĂ©ludes Op. 28 sheet music available at Musopen.com
• BBC Discovering Music Audio Program covering Chopin's Opus 28 Preludes
• Prelude No. 4 in E Minor and No. 9 in E Major (Shockwave required) in hypermedia presentation at the BinAural Collaborative Hypertext

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