Prelude in G minor (Rachmaninoff)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Prelude in G minor, Op. 23 No. 5 was composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff in 1901. It was included in his Opus 23 set of ten preludes despite having been written two years earlier than the other nine , which were composed in 1903. It displays characteristic Russian musical nationalism, evoking sounds reminiscent of war and winter, and is noted -- as many of Rachmaninoff's works -- for its technical difficulty.
Contents |
[edit] General Structure
- Alla Marcia
- Poco Meno Mosso
- Tempo I (Alla Marcia)
The piece begins with a march like tempo, indicated by Alla Marcia. It evolves into a heroic chain of chords of same rhythm, and falls back to the main theme. At the Poco Meno Mosso (with a little less movement), it develops a beautiful singing line produced by large right hand chords and octaves, and arpeggio like movements of the left hand. There is a transition, of gradually augmenting tempo and back to the original tempo. There is a recaputilation of the heroic chain of chords. The piece displays a coda section of marked FF chords, a figuration of the beginning. It finishes in a unique toccata like ending, at pianissimo dynamics.
[edit] Technical Difficulties
It is overall a difficult piece, especially for performers or students with small hands, because of its content of large chords, large spans of arpeggios, and very fast octaves. However, the base octaves aren't really one-hand octaves. Originally, according to Rachmaninoff himself, these base octaves are to be played with both hands with single fingers. This may be difficult for some, due to the large jumps, but are easier in terms of speed. Playing single hand octaves are by many considered as "cheating". Achieving the desired dynamics can be a problem also.
This piece can be very tiring for inexperienced pianists. It is important to not use hands only while playing repeated chords but the whole arm. The chords are to be "shaked" through the arm. Another point is that even though this arm motion is used, one needs to find resting places in the piece.
[edit] Recordings
The composer recorded this piece, but because of the piece's musical "flexibility", it can be found performed in a variety of different styles, much contrary to the composer's recordings.
There is a famous video in which Emil Gilels plays this Prelude at a front in World War II, in support for the Soviet military forces fighting the war. The narrator says (in Russian): "Gilels is playing at the front, to remind us what the war is worth fighting for: Immortal music!"
This Prelude is one of the most performed and recorded pieces of the set, displaying the virtuosity and musical genius of Rachmaninoff.
[edit] External links
- Free sheet music for Prelude in G minor, Op. 23
