Prelude No.15 Flashcards
How many Preludes are there?
24 (12 major, 12 minor)
3 other Romantic composers
Liszt, Mendelssohn and Schumann
Describe 3 differences between music in the Classical and Romantic periods
- Romantic music is more expressive and emotional
- Romantic music has longer structures and forms
- Technological advances in instruments are exploited in Romantic period leading to larger orchestras
Name the term for the ‘flexible tempo’ used in Romantic music
Rubato
What year was the Raindrop Prelude composed?
1839
What is the structure of the Raindrop Prelude?
Ternary form (ABA)
What is the time signature of the Raindrop Prelude?
C (common time, also known as 4/4)
Tonality of Raindrop Prelude
- D flat major
- Modulates to enharmonic tonic minor, C sharp minor in section B
Harmony of Raindrop Prelude
- Mainly diatonic, some chromaticism
- Sections A and B end with imperfect cadences
- Prelude ends with a perfect cadence
- Dominant Pedal throughout most of the piece
Where was Chopin born?
Poland
Detailed structure of Raindrop Prelude
A: D flat major, lyrical melody in right, repeated quavers in left
B: C sharp minor, left plays chordal melody, right plays repeated quavers
A: D flat major, shorter, right plays melody, short coda
Rhythmic features of Raindrop Prelude
- Septuplets
- Dectuplets
- Repeated quavers throughout
- Dotted rhythm used in section A
What does Sostenuto mean?
Play legato and in an unhurried manner
Melody of Raindrop Prelude
- At beginning, lyrical right hand melody decorated with ornaments (e.g. acciaccatura, turn), some dotted rhythms and chromaticism
- Melody moves to bass in section B, narrower range, longer notes
- Made up of mostly four- and eight-bar phrases
Texture of Raindrop Prelude
- Homophonic (except for the last two bars)
- A: RH melody, broken chords in LH
- B: LH melody, RH dominant pedal which is mostly inverted and is doubled in octaves in some sections, texture is more chordal than section A
- A: back to original texture, short monophonic passage in the coda
