Chopin- Prelude No. 15 in Db Major
Background and Style
Style - Romantic Features
Raindrop Prelude
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Instruments
- The piano and playing techniques
- Developed in the Romantic era so it became a much more popular and important instrument
- PEDALS – both the sustain pedal (that holds notes on) and the soft pedal became more effective
- SIZE – it got bigger which meant it had a bigger dynamic range.
- HAMMERS – given a felt covering instead of leather, so the tone was made a lot softer and more rounded.
- STRINGS – were made thicker, longer and more tense – creating a fuller tone.
- Sustain pedal symbol. The first symbol means ‘press the pedal’ and the second star looking symbol means ’release the pedal’.
- The middle range of the piano us used in section A and the more sonorous bass register is exploited in the middle section.
Structure and Tonality
Enharmonic Equivalents Db and C# are enharmonic equivalents Look at the image to the right C# and Db are the same key This means when the B section moves to C# minor it is modulating to the "enharmonic equivalent" (same key), tonic minor (minor with the same tonic, e.g. C major C minor). Db major --> C# minor Db major --> Db minor |
Melody and Pitch
Opening melody starts with notes from the tonic triad (Db chord)
Melody is in right hand in Section A, swaps to left hand in Section B |
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Texture
- Entirely homophonic, except for two monophonic bars at the start of the coda.
- In the A sections the texture consists of melody and accompaniment and is often quite thin. The melody is in the right hand with broken chords and pedal note in the left hand.
- B section texture is more chordal and generally lower in pitch. Also repeated pedal note is now in the right hand (=inverted pedal) and the melody is in the left hand.
- In the loud sections the texture in thickened by octave doubling in both hands.
Dynamics
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Tempo & Rhythm
- Slow 4/4
- Rubato is used – expressive shortening of some notes and lengthening of others. Accents used in section B
- Notes lengths augmented (made longer – e.g. crotchet become minims) making it feel slow and heavy
- Sostenuto = sustained, Rit.(ritentuo) = getting slower