Preludes Op. 28 (Chopin)

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The Preludes Op. 28 by Frédéric Chopin are a series of 24 short pieces written for the piano, one in each key. Although the term prelude generally means an introductory piece, Chopin's Preludes stand alone: they have no association with any other piece, nor is there seemingly any association between the Preludes.

Chopin's Preludes have been compared to Johann Sebastian Bach's Preludes in the Well-Tempered Clavier. However, each of Bach's preludes had led to a fugue in the same key and Bach's pieces were arranged chromatically while Chopin's were arranged in a circle of fifths.

Chopin's Preludes were partially written at Majorca in the winter of 1838/1839, where the composer had fled with George Sand and her children to escape the damp Paris weather.

The first line of Autograph of Chopin's Prelude 15

The Preludes were published in 1839. They caused, at that time, no small measure of consternation in the music world due to their apparent lack of formal structure and their brevity -- no prelude is longer than 89 measures and the shortest a mere 13 measures. Robert Schumann said of them: "They are sketches, beginnings of etudes, or, so to speak, ruins, individual eagle pinions, all disorder and wild confusions."^[1] Franz Liszt was less direct: "Chopin's Preludes are compositions of an order entirely apart."^[1]

Since that time, the Preludes have become standard fare for the pianist: nearly every major pianist has recorded his or her version of the works, beginning with Alfred Cortot's recording in 1926. The simplest of them can be played by the intermediate student, while the most difficult require a piano virtuoso.

1 The Preludes
2 Other Preludes
3 Preludes In Chopin's Funeral
4 Notes
5 External links
6 See also

[edit] The Preludes

Like Chopin's other works, the Preludes were not named or further described, in contrast to many of Schumann's and Lizst's pieces. Chopin himself was vehemently opposed to program music. Despite Chopin's wishes, several lists of names have been proposed by Hans von Bulow, Cortot, and others, some quite fanciful. These names are little used today.^[1]

No. 1 (C major, Agitato)

This prelude is a short piece, only about 30 seconds if played quickly. It is also one of the more versatile preludes, and can be played slowly as well as fast.
No. 2 (A minor, Lento)

A longer piece, with mostly minor chords. It is quite slow, but left hand chords make it rather difficult to play. There is a right hand solo near the end.
No. 3 (G major, Vivace)

A quick piece, with sixteenth notes in the left hand all the way through. The right hand plays mainly a "backup" melody, but can be heard quite clearly. It is much faster than the previous two preludes, and requires dexterity of the left hand. The right hand is not particularly difficult.
No. 4 (E minor, Largo)

The right hand plays a slow and simple melody. There are chords in the left hand, but they are in no way grand. Instead, they are quite sad. Near the end the right hand plays a stronger, more downcast melody.
No. 5 (D major, Allegro Molto)

This piece has a lot of ostinatoes, and is quick, which makes it hard to play properly. The pedaling techniques are tricky, and the right hand needs to be nimble to cover the rather strange melody sound. This piece is one of Chopin's happier Preludes.
No. 6 (B minor, Lento Assai)

One of the sadder of the preludes, most of the melody is in the left hand, with the exception of measures 6-8, where the right hand is brought out. This piece is joyful sometimes, but more often it is quite saddening and disheartening. This Prelude is said to be a sketch of Prelude 15, with its repeating notes.
No. 7 (A major, Andantino)

A piece that is meant to be played extremely slowly. Has tricky chords and a 5-note roll in the right hand, which makes this seemingly simple piece harder to play. The form of this piece is written in the style of a mazurka. This is one of the shorter preludes in terms of the number of notes.
No. 8 (F-sharp minor, Molto Agitato)

Almost impossible to play for the right hand. The right hand has an unmeasurable number of grace notes, and it is very difficult to play even for a virtuoso pianist making it one of the harder Preludes. Because of its structure, the piece sounds frenzied. It is short if played at the correct tempo.
No. 9 (E major, Largo)

Very royal piece, with grand major chords. This piece uses 48 different chords. It is certainly one of the more uplifting preludes. The chords are tricky and require good finger dexterity.
No. 10 (C-sharp minor, Allegro Molto)

This one needs the lightest of touches for the right hand to play the trills properly. Is extremely fast, and is also very short. The left and right hands need to be flexible and quick, as the left hand provides a rhythm backup for the right.
No. 11 (B major, Vivace)

This is a happier piece, which jumps around. It gives the visual image of a dragonfly to many. It is not particularly sad, but has a moment that gives the listener a strong feeling of yearning toward the end. However, it is still unmistakably one of the happier of the preludes.
No. 12 (G-sharp minor, Presto)

A despairing piece that is a constant struggle between left and right hand. The right hand holds the main melody, but the left hand tries to steal it. In the end, the right hand emerges victorious as there is a right hand solo and the left hand backs off a bit. Technically, this piece is rather hard to play due to the rapid hold-and-release of quarter and eighth notes. It resembles the sixth prelude, except with the right hand being a lot faster with a totally different mood.
No. 13 (F-sharp major, Lento)

A medium-paced sad piece. It is not as sad as Prelude 4 nor 6, but still carries a mourning feeling. The left hand is in a prolonged ostinato. The right hand carries most of the sad melody.
No. 14 (E-flat minor, Allegro)

An odd, fast, eccentric piece with jumps and accents at odd places. It is very short if played at the proper tempo, which is very difficult due to the nature and content of this piece.
No. 15 (D-flat major, Sostenuto)

This prelude is the longest of the preludes (both in time and measures) and has mixed feelings. The main melody, which is repeated three times, is like the thirteenth prelude, in a major scale yet sad. The middle is an exciting clash of chords with the right hand mostly repeating G sharp in two octaves. However, this does not last for long as the piece becomes more feverish and excited. The climax is very bold and yet unhappy, with something feeling very much like anger. After this part it returns to the main melody and from there progresses to the ending. This one is even more popular than the highly acclaimed Preludes 4 and 6. It is versatile, and can be played fast or slow without a great deal of change to expression.
No. 16 (B-flat minor, Presto, con fuoco)

This is definitely one of the louder and more angry preludes. It starts with six heavily accented chords before progressing to something like a scale in the right hand. The left hand mainly supports the right hand and repeats the same melody over and over again.
No. 17 (A-flat major, Allegretto)

In the beginning, this is a rather calm, happy, and peaceful piece that has nice (but difficult) chords. The upper notes make up most of the melody. Sometime later in the piece (this is one of the longest preludes) it becomes less calm, but equally happy, and it remains happy throughout. There is much dynamic contrast in this piece, and while the notes are not hard, the piece is due to the rapid change of chords. The pedal is also confusing. This is one of the most beautiful preludes, being the favorite of many musical figures such as 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."
No. 18 (F minor, Allegro Molto)

A very eccentric and irregular prelude.
No. 19 (E-flat major, Allegro Molto)

A very light piece. Its touch can be compared to Prelude 10. It is fast and full of triplets, like Prelude 23. Even though it is fast, it is longer than a lot of the others, at around 1:30.
No. 20 (C minor, Largo)

This is one of the more famous of the preludes. 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. 21 (B-flat major, Cantablie)

A strange little piece, but still happy nevertheless. Some of the melody is in the left hand, as the notes go up after the right hand plays a note. It is at a fair tempo, and is very constant.
No. 22 (G minor, Molto Agitato)

This piece gives the feeling of being impatient by the extremely fast detached chords and the small accelerando all the way through the piece.
No. 23 (F major, Moderato)

This piece uses a lot of triplets. It is somewhat short and gets very soft. Unlike a lot of the other preludes, the sound goes mainly from loud to soft rather than the reverse.
No. 24 (D minor, Allegro Apassionato)

This prelude 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 prelude closes with three booming notes (the lowest D on the piano). This prelude could have been composed by Chopin as trying to link this with the first prelude, despite all the differences ^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Other Preludes

There are also 3 other Preludes that Chopin wrote.

Op. 45 is the 25th Prelude with widely extending basses and shifting harmonic hues. It is a bit dark and elegaic but pinpricked with more hopeful excerpts, though still ultimately sorrowful.
The 26th Prelude was released posthumously. It was dedicated to Pierre Wolff. The piece is generally bright in tone.
The 27th Prelude was also released posthumously. It is subtitled the "Devil's Trill". The myth about it is that Chopin, falling into delusions due to his sickness, hallucinated specters from his piano. The original signiture was hastily scrawled (more so than usual of Chopin's original manuscripts). Chopin discarded this piece, however. There have yet to be recordings of this Prelude.