Chopin: Prelude No.15 in Db

Question 1

Structure

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Performance Markings

Answer 2

Phrase Marks- Indicates phrases that should be played legato.
Ped. - Press down the sustaining pedal.
* - Release the sustaining pedal.
< - Crescendo- Gradually gets louder.
> - Diminuendo- Gradually gets quieter.
Sotto voce- Play quietly(like a musical whisper).
Smorzando- Dying away.
Sletando/ritenuto- Slow down.
x- Double sharp- raise the note by two semitones (in bar 42, Fx is the same as G).

Question 3

Rhythm, Metre and Tempo

Answer 3

• The time signature C is the same as 4/4 time- four crotchet beats per bar.
• One unusual rhythmic feature is a septuplet in bars 4 and 23: seven notes of equal length are played in a single crotchet beat.
• In bar 79 there is a dectuplet, ten notes of equal length fit into a single beat.
• ‘Sostenuto’ is written at the start of the score and this means sustained- the piece should be played in a legato, unhurried manner.
• Rubato is used in the recorded performance. The pianist plays some notes longer than written and others shorter than written, creating a flexible tempo for expressive effect.
• Repeated quavers are a unifying rhythmic feature throughout the piece.
• The melody begins with a dotted rhythm. This is repeated a number of times in Section A, giving a lighter feel than the melody of Section B.

Question 4

Melody

Answer 4

• The prelude begins with a lyrical melody in the right hand. It is decorated with ornaments, such as an acciaccatura in bar 4 and a turn in bar 11.
• The melody features dotted rhythms and some chromaticism.
• In section B the melody moves to the bass. It has a narrower range and mostly made up of longer notes (crotchets and minims).
• The prelude is mostly made up of four- and eight-bar phrases.

Question 5

Tonality and Harmony

Answer 5

• The prelude is in Db major and it uses mainly diatonic harmony with occasional chromaticism.
• The piece modulates from the tonic major (Db major) in Section A to the enharmonic tonic minor (C# minor) in Section B. It returns to Db major for the repeat of Section A.
• 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 Abs in Section A and the repeated G#s in Section B.

Question 6

Texture

Answer 6

• Apart from two bars towards the end of the piece, the texture is homophonic.
• Section A: Melody in the right hand, supported by broken chords in the left hand.
• Section B: Melody passes on the left hand, with repeated quavers(the dominant pedal) in the right hand. The pedal is inverted( in the top part rather than the bass) for much of this section and is doubled in octaves each time the music builds to a climax. The texture of this section is more chordal than Section A.
• Section A: Back to the opening texture, there is a short monophonic passage in the coda.

Question 7

Dynamics

Answer 7

• 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 8

Use of the Piano

Answer 8

• Most of the prelude uses the middle and lower ranges of the the piano.
• The piano writing is not virtuoso in character, instead Chopin concentrates on the piano’s ability to produce a legato, singing tone.
• Chopin uses the piano’s wide dynamic range, with much use of crescendos and diminuendos.
• The sustaining pedal is used for resonance to help create legato melodies.

Question 9

History

Answer 9

• Nicknamed the raindrop prelude because of the repeated quavers.
• Comes from a collection of preludes by Chopin known as Op.28 composed in 1839. There are 24 preludes in total; one in each of the 12 major and 12 minor keys.