Prelude No. 15 in D flat

Question 0

What collection does it come from?

Answer 0

From a collection of preludes by Chopin known as Op. 28 (work number 28). There are 24 preludes in total: one for each of the 12 major and 12 minor keys

Question 1

What is it’s nickname? Why is it called that?

Answer 1

It’s nicknamed the ‘raindrop’ prelude possibly because of its repeated quavers that can be heard throughout (which sound like raindrops falling steadily)

Question 2

When was it composed?

Answer 2

1839

Question 3

Where are you most likely to hear this piece performed?

Answer 3

In a small space such as the home, a recital room or a small concert hall

Question 4

Extended answer:

Structure:

Answer 4

Ternary form (ABA)
A- D flat major- a lyrical melody accompanied by quavers in the bass. This section also has it's own ABA structure.
B- C# minor- in contrast to te first section, the melody, which is new, is now in the bass and the quavers are heard above it. The music has moved to the enharmonic minor and builds up to a couple of ff climaxes
A- D flat major- a return to the opening melody. This repeat of section A is shorter and finishes with a brief coda

Question 5

Phrase mark

Answer 5

Curved line above the music. Indicates phrases that should be played legato

Question 6

Ped.

Answer 6

Press down the sustaining pedal

Question 7

*

Answer 7

Release the sustaining pedal

Question 8

Crescendo

Answer 8

Gradually get louder. Marked by a hairpin opening left

Question 9

Diminuendo

Answer 9

Gradually get quieter. Marked by a hairpin opening right

Question 10

Sotto voce

Answer 10

Play quietly (like a musical whisper)

Question 11

Smorzando

Answer 11

Dying away

Question 12

Slentando/ ritenuto

Answer 12

Slow down

Question 13

What does a little cross sign mean?

Answer 13

Double sharp- raise the note by 2 semitones

Question 14

Extended answer:

Rhythm, metre and tempo

Answer 14

• The time signature C means 4/4
• there are septuplets in bars 4 and 23
• there’s a dectuplet in bar 79
• ‘Sostenuto’ is written at the start if the score- means ‘sustained’- legato and unhurried
• rubato is used in the recorded performance- creates a flexible tempo for expressive effect
• repeated quavers- unifying rhythmic feature throughout the piece
• melody begins with a dotted rhythm- repeated a number of times to give section A a lighter feel

Question 15

Extended answer:

Melody

Answer 15

• prelude begins with a lyrical melody in the right hand. It’s decorated with ornaments, such as an acciacatura (bar 4) and a turn (bar 11)
• in section But the melody is in the bass. It has a narrower range and is mostly made up of longer notes
• mostly made of four and eight bar phrases

Question 16

Extended answer:

Tonality and harmony

Answer 16

• the prelude is in D flat major. It uses mostly diatonic harmony with occasional chromaticism
• the peice modulates from the tonic major in section A to the enharmonic tonic minor (C# minor) in section B. It returns to D flat major for the repeat of the A section
• sections A and B both end with imperfect cadences. The prelude ends with a perfect cadence
• there is a dominant pedal that can be heard throughout most of the piece (the repeated A flats in section A and the repeated G#s (enharmonic) in section B)

Question 17

Extended answer:

Texture

Answer 17

Apart from 2 bars at the end of the piece the texture is HOMOPHONIC
•section A: melody in right hand, supported by broken chords in the left
• section B: melody passes to left hand, with repeated quavers (dominant pedal) in the right hand. The pedal is inverted (in the top part rather than the bass) for much of this section, and it is doubled in octaves each time the music builds to a climax. The texture of this section is much more chordal than section A
• section A: back to the opening texture. There is a short MONOPHONIC passage in the coda

Question 18

Extended answer:

Dynamics

Answer 18

• Chopin uses a lot of crescendos and diminuendos
• there is a wide range of dynamics (from pp to ff) but no sudden contrasts
• section A is quieter than section B, which climaxes to ff twice.

Question 19

Extended answer:

Use of the piano

Answer 19

• most of the prelude uses the middle and lower ranges of the piano
• unlike some of chopins other work, the piano writing ois my virtuoso in character. Instead Chopin concentrates on the pianos ability to produce a legato, singing tone
• Chopin exploits the pianos wide dynamic range, with much use of crescendos and diminuendos
• the sustaining pedal is used for resonance to help create legato melodies