Description
Neither singing nor dancing, this piece declaims from beginning to end. It is often described as operatic recitative — the manner in which a singer speaks through song — transferred to the keyboard, and that gives the eighteenth of the 24 Preludes, Op. 28, a singular place in the collection.
The hands hurl a single line in unison, in F minor and common time, with silences set between the fragments. Phrases rise like questions and break off, widening in range and growing more violent until a hammered chord cuts them short. The writing spans more than six octaves.
Knowing where to be free and where to stay strict is what makes it advanced. The tempo is not constant, and each fragment needs its own pause: divide the phrases as you would reading aloud. Because the hands move in unison, any discrepancy is exposed, and the faster passages test that precision hardest.
A set of 24 short pieces Chopin composed in 1838-39, covering all 24 keys, each with its own distinct character — a poetic cycle for piano.
Browse all songs in 24 Preludes Op.28 →Sheet Music
Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
About the Composer
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Frederic Chopin was born in Poland and made his career in Paris, remaining unusual among great composers for writing almost exclusively for piano. He poured his longing for his homeland into mazurkas and polonaises, while his ballades and etudes combine poetic melody with harmonic innovation. This site includes the "Revolutionary" and other etudes, Ballades No. 1 and No. 4, nocturnes, and the Preludes, Op. 28.
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