Chopin Analysis

1. Chopin Analysis

2. Background to the Preludes • ‘Raindrop’ belongs to a set of 24 preludes (1835-1838) • Prelude: Opening piece that sets a particular mood. We expect it to be followed by something else. • Works were criticized for a lack of recognizable structure and their shortness • Shortest: 13 bars long • Longest: 90 • The Raindrop prelude was written during Chopin’s period of recuperation in a deserted monastery in Majorca. It was written during a storm and was inspired by the raindrops dripping from the roof

3. Form and Structure • ABA (loosely) • 3 unbalanced sections • Piece is dominated by the middle section • Mood is dark, stormy with melody in left hand • And yet the piece is remembered for the beautiful melody in section A!

4. Keyboard Techniques used • Moderate playing standard • Not a very large range • Straight forward rhythms • Cantiable legato playing • Careful expressive use of pedals • Use of rubato playing

5. Section A: Key points • Marked sostenuto (sustained) • Whole section is marked piano (p) • Right hand has melody throughout in regular 4 bar phrases (except 16-17 and 18-19 which are 2 bar phrases) • Simple left hand quaver accompaniment with repeated ‘raindrop’ Ab’s • Texture: Melody dominated homophony • Detailed pedal markings help keep cantiable melody line

6. Section A: Bars 1-8 • Falling raindrops theme: F-Db-Ab characterize the melody • Inner part provides harmonic support to the melody • Simple diatonic harmony using mainly chords I and V • Phrase ends with a perfect cadence at bar 4 • Ornamentation: Turn, acciaccatura (bar 4, semiquaver run) • Bars 5-8: Repeat of bars 1-4

7. Section A: Bars 8-12 • Second part of the theme is heard • Simple stepwise melody • Notice the odd Cb chromatic note in bar 9 that adds colour to the harmony • G in bar 11 modulates the music to Ab major • Perfect cadence in Ab at bars 11-12

8. Section A: Bars 12-16 • Slight variation on the previous 4 bar phrase • Lots of different key changes in this section, using pivot chords • Ab minor, Bb minor • Music is chromatic and modulates, unlike bars 1-8

9. Section A: Bars 16-23 • Two sets of 2 bar phrases based on the second part of the theme • Links to the 3rd hearing of the main melody • Inner part of left hand provides chordal support to the melody, filling out the musical texture • Second 3 bar phrase takes us back to Db major • 20-23: Opening melody heard again, ending with a chromatic sextuplet figure

10. Section A: Bars 24-27 • Sextuplet figure leads to another statement of the opening idea • It’s Left hanging on a V7 chord at bar 27 • Repeated Ab’s taken over by right hand • Right hand becomes the accompaniment and the left now has the melody line in the bass • Ab now changes character and becomes G# • This is the dominant note of C# minor, leading to section B

11. Key Questions • Section A is marked Sostenuto. What does this mean? • How are the raindrops depicted? • What is the texture of this section? • What does cantiable mean? • What’s the main difference between bars 12-16 different from bars 1-8? • What does chromatic sextuplet mean? • What happens to the repeated Ab’s at the end of section A?

12. Section B (28-75) • Lengthy and dramatic section • Melodic interest is mainly in the left hand, with the right hand playing lots of G#s (raindrops) • The raindrops in this section are stormier and feel more regular and repeating • Raindrops stand out as the G# is played in octaves at the top of the musical texture (Right hand) [eg 35-39] • 60-75: Right hand takes melody part • Musical texture is homophonic but with much fuller chords and the use of octaves in both hands

13. Section B (28-75) • Section starts quietly (sotto voce- undertone or whisper) but builds to ff and a bright sounding E major at bar 40 • Builds again at bar 51-56 • Rest of section at a lower dynamic level

14. Section B 28-35 • Two 4-bar phrases with a chorale like crotchet melody in left hand part • Both phrases end on chord 5, but middle note is left out (what is this called?) • Octave G#s added at bar 35

15. Section B 35-39 • Repetition of 28-31 • Right hand doubles the top notes of the left hand in octaves • This produces a thicker texture and reinforces the melody as the music crescendos to ff at bar 40

16. Section B 40-43 • Sad mood is broken by dramatic chord of E major • These 4 bars are in the key of G# minor, so E major is chord 6 in this key • Perfect cadence at bars 42-43 • Strong and powerful 4 bars of music with octaves in both hands and accents over the chords • Minim notes provide a strong chordal outline to the melody • Texture then reduces dramatically to single, piano G#’s

17. Section B 44-59 • Repeat of bars 28-43 • With slight dynamic changes • Bar 59: Repeat G#s are an octave higher

18. Section B 60-63 • Back in C# minor • Melody moves to the top of the texture and is chorale like again • Melody is similar to ideas from bars 30-31, but with longer note values (minims instead of crotchets) [augmentation] • Repeated G#’s are now in the middle of the texture

19. Section B 64-70 • Static chords of V-I forming a series of perfect cadences • Repeated minims and crotchets on G# form a pedal effect • As G# is chord 5 in C# major, its called a dominant pedal • Because the pedal is in the top part of the music, its called an inverted dominant pedal • If the pedal was in the middle of the texture, it would be called an inner pedal • 68-70: Repeat of bars 60-62

20. Section B 71-75 • Forte passage • Bar 71:F# minor, then back to C# minor in bar 72 • Above the V-I bass there are 3 repetitions of the notes A# A# G#. This creates an added 6th chord (C# E G# A#) • Feeling of anticipation as the repeated G#s want to lead back to section A • Bar 75: link into a repeat of the opening melody • G# E# F# D# in the bass can be read harmonically as Ab F Gb Eb in the key of D major

21. Key Questions on Section B • Where is the melody mostly heard in this section? • How are the repeated raindrop notes different in this section? • How do the raindrop notes stand out? • What is the texture of this section? • How are dynamics used in this section? • What is an inverted dominant pedal? • Bars 23-43 are repeated, but with what changes? • What is augmentation? • How does section B link back to section A?

22. Section A1: 76-81 • Bars 1-4 heard piano • Ornament at bar 79 is extended into a 10 note figure • Smorzando (dying away) bar 79 • 80-81: broken off repeat off the opening figure. Has a dream like effect of fading away into the coda section

23. Codetta: 81(last beat)-89 • 81-83: Listener is made to jump with the forte top Bb • This is the highest note in the piece • 2 bar phrase then descends in dynamics and pitch • 84-89: Six bar phrase based on chords I and V • Repeated Ab’s heard in middle of the texture (left hand) • Melodic line also in the middle (right hand) and is similar to that heard in bars 60-62 • Piece ends pianissimo with a perfect cadence

24. Key questions on Section A1 and codetta • What does smorzando mean? • What effect does the broken off figure have in bar 81? • What makes the listener jump in bar 81? • How does the piece end?

25. Listening and Appraising questions • Why is the prelude nicknamed the raindrop? • Name 4 different subjects favored for musical expression by romantic composers • What type of piece is a prelude? • Describe the basic outline and structure of this piece • How are contrasting moods achieved in sections A and B? • Name 2 keyboard technique used in the music • Name the 2 main keys used in this piece • Which note is used throughout the piece as a representation of falling raindrops? • Name 2 different ornaments used in the music • What name is given to the main texture of this piece?