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Sheet music from www.pianostreet.com
PRELUDE Opus 28, No 4 One of the main challenges c hallenges of this this piec e is to find find the right right ba lanc e b etwee n the the ha nds. nds. Right hand : The The dotted d otted mini minims ms of the right right hand need to be b e played playe d with with a c ertain ertain ge ntle ntle empha sis, to ma ke the sound last llong ong enough. eno ugh. Play them with a "heavy" "hea vy" touc h, then let the the a rm float floa t up while the finge fingerr rests on the key. Left ha nd : The The left left hand shoul should d be played very softly oftly to enable the the melod melody y to sin sing g out on top. top. Keep the fin fingers gers fir firm and c lose lose to the keys. Take a litt little le time time on the upb ea t; lis listen to the octave leap and make it really expressive.
Frédéric Chopin Piano Street Instructive Edition
Largo 1
5
3
espressivo
1 Strict tempo when the left hand comes in. 3 minim b ea ts in every mea sure. 5 Feel two slow minim
Note the continuous chromatic downward motion in all three "voices", and listen to how every chord gives new color and direction to the right hand notes.
Finge Finge rings rings in italic italic s are Chopin's
4
13 31
3
7
10
3
Take a litt little le time time
Let the melody breathe for the first time!
Bring out the synco pa tion with with a gentle gentle acc ent
Focus on a smooth right hand legato 1
3
5
4
Play the the grac enote calmly and on the beat 31
1 2
3
5
Shap e this this ca de nza-like nza-like me asure asure express expressively
You may continue continue to to use use a litt little le peda l here here to g ive ive the melod y more co lour. lour.
Copyright © 2013 Op 111 Productions
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Sheet music from www.pianostreet.com You may want to start the crescendo here.
13
Begin again with new energy
Note the c hang e in ha rmonic rhythm (quic ker chord progression than in the first half)
stretto Keep the forward momentum and play this passage with a real sense of life and death urgency. Aim for a full and even sound througho ut the stretto, using arm we ight on eve ry note. 4 1 2
16
4
dim.
Top A may be omitted by small hands.
You may take a little time for the big leap s, but even so, this passag e will require some isolated practice for the left hand.
19
Ca lm down again
Check the 3 ag ainst 2 rhythm here. Take a little time, and note the small crescendo to the unexpected C major chord. Last ray of hope?
smorzando =dying a way
22
You may want to move the top voice o f the bass clef (a-g#-g) to the right hand here for improved c ontrol.
Make the silence very intense. Prepare calmly for the last cho rds.
Farewell music?
Perhaps the most well-known of C hop in's preludes is this prelude in E minor. Chopin requested that it should be played at his funeral, and even a casual listener ca n see why. It's a very sad , mournful piec e tha t sound s not unlike a funeral d irge. With its minor key, descending c hords and the fact that it's intended to "die a way" as per Chop in's notation, it co nveys an a lmost overwhelming sense of despair. It's a short, depressing yet beautiful piece that sounds like it was all but meant for a funeral. C hop in's set of 24 preludes were first pub lished in 1839 and dedic ated to the compo ser J oseph C hristoph Kessler. They received quite some c riticism for their brief length and lack of any traditional structure; they were seen as more like sketc hes or brief notes as op po sed to fully-formed id ea s. However, there were also some, more forward-loo king c ontempo raries, among them Robe rt Sc humann, who ad mired them intensely.
Suggestion fo r small ha nds:
Copyright © 2013 Op 111 Productions
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