Frédéric Chopin
Prelude (Raindrop)
in D-flat Major, Op. 28 No. 15

This Prelude has been likened to a beautiful dream that turns into an oppressive nightmare. Both moods are accompanied by the same obsessively repeated note, like stubborn raindrops indifferent to human emotion.

ID: 274
Frédéric Chopin - Preludes:

Prelude (Raindrop)
Op. 28 No. 15

Key: D-flat Major
Year: 1834
Level: 7
Period: Early Romantic
piano sheet music Piano score: PS Urtext Download
piano sheet music Piano score: Autograph manuscript Download
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piano music mp3 recording Prelude (Raindrop) Op. 28 No. 15 - FREE SAMPLE (mp3 file)

A beautiful dream

Here is a miraculous example of Chopin’s amazing virtuosity in translating human emotions to piano music. Within the rather short piece - even if it is the longest of the preludes - Chopin manages to build up two entirely different atmospheres, using the same obsessively repeated note. The C-sharp minor section begins rather suddenly in measure 28, and with it the piece changes from something peaceful and serene into something much darker. Listeners and music historians have likened it to a beautiful dream that turns into an oppressive nightmare. The feeling of uneasiness present in the middle part is made even stronger by the serene calm and beauty of the first 27 measures. The first theme is reintroduced towards the end of the prelude, giving it a peaceful ending. The repeating A-flat (written as G-sharp in the middle, ominous section) never stops throughout the piece. Interpreters of this piece need to be able to sustain the long melodic lines, balance the different levels of sound, and convey the two contrasting moods convincingly.

Background

In her memoirs, George Sand related how one evening she and her son Maurice, returning home in a terrible rainstorm, found a distraught Chopin who told them about a dream he had while sitting at the piano: "He saw himself drowned in a lake. Heavy drops of icy water fell in a regular rhythm on his breast, and when I made him listen to the sound of the drops of water indeed falling in rhythm on the roof, he denied having heard it. He was even angry that I should interpret this in terms of imitative sounds. He protested with all his might – and he was right to – against the childishness of such aural imitations. His genius was filled with the mysterious sounds of nature, but transformed into sublime equivalents in musical thought, and not through slavish imitation of the actual external sounds." Sand did not specify which piece Chopin had played on that occasion, but it has been assumed to be the D-flat major prelude.


Forum posts about this piece:

classical piano pieces for a beginner? by larrys
I'm not sure what grade I would be classed as because I've never had lessons but I am making my way through Carol Barratt book one ...

Chopin - Prelude op.28 no.15 “Raindrop” / In-depth tutorial by antune
Hi guys, here is my new tutorial on Chopin’s prelude op.28 no.15. In this video, I show and tell about how to approach the piece with sepa...

Need help picking repertoire by saba1374
So I am new on piano street and firstly wanted to say hello! I used to play the piano for 7/8 years as a kid and made my way up to grade 8. ...

would raindrop prelude be good in a hospital? by sumpianodude
would the louder parts be unpleasant for patients? thoughts? edit: will be playing in a lobby with people coming and leaving on a very nice...

What piece should I learn next? by johnnypresto
I started playing a year ago and I'm not seeing a teacher (though I plan to start soon), but so far I've managed to learn pieces l...

Sore arm playing octaves by pianocat3
OK I have a lesson wed, but supposed to be working on raindrop prelude, a Chopin piece. The c sharp minor part, lots of that is octaves in t...

Chopin's raindrop septuplet by ferron123
Hi, I can play Chopin's Op. 28 No. 15 fairly easily (technically). However, I'm having trouble with the pedaling and the rubato i...

Frustrated with new key c sharp minor by pianocat3
So I will bug my teacher about this too, but right now I'm frustrated.  Are these key signatures supposed to become automatic at s...

Repetoire - grade 5ish by potentialpianist
Hi, I've been playing piano for the last 9 years  but only started reading sheet music last year - which was a little stupid of ...

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Some piano pieces which appeared in "The Pianist" of Roman Polanski doesn't appear in the soundtrack of the movie. Do you kn...

Analyzing Raindrop Prelude by allthumbspiano
I'm learning Chopin's Raindrop Prelude and am trying to learn some theory at the same time.  I have three questions so far ab...

A problematic chord in Chopin's Prelude 15 by klik11
Hello, how am I supposed to play the highlighted chord in here [img]i54.tinypic.com/adi912.png[/img] It's huge!...

Chopin - "raindrop" by rmbarbosa
In Chopin prelude op.28 no 15 (Raindrop), sheet music from pianostreet puts 1 - 2 over the A at the first bar and, at the second bar 5 - 3 o...

Chopin Prelude op.28-15 (raindrop) by japie
Hello everyone! I have a short question about de playing of this piece. (or accually about the playing of chopins music at all) Can the Sos...


Member's recordings of piece:

[video] F. Chopin - Prelude op.28 no.15 “Raindrop” by antune
Hi everyone, Here is my playing of Chopin’s Prelude op.28 no.15. Hope you enjoy it! youtu.be/ZmzUcTgewwE...

Raindrops Say Goodbye (2019) - New Interpretation of Chopin's Raindrop Prelude by aclaussen
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEwRYnkCyMk&feature=youtu.be Let me know what you think! This is basically taking the melody of Chopin's...

Cannot attach files by mass
Hi, I was hoping to upload a recording of Chopin Raindrop Prelude that I am working on but when I click the Attachments and other options I ...

Chopin Raindrop Prelude: VIDEO by josh93248
So, it has come, me recording something that is not considered utterly insignificant in the piano repertoire. Like all my Chopin, I fully ex...

Chopin - Prelude, op. 28, no. 15 (Raindrop) by pjjslp
This is my first audition room posting, so please be gentle! Although I used to love performing in any capacity, it turns out that even reco...

Chopin- Op. 28 No. 15 (Raindrops) Video by timothyvanwing
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua8WwZKlXjc Let me know what you think!...

Chopin: "Raindrop" Prelude Op 28 no 15 by lelle
So I'm playing a couple of technically "less challenging" works to work on interpretation. I have to say this is one of the m...

Chopin Prelude "Raindrop" VIDEO and this time on a real piano. :P by solstyce
Ok, I played it on my 1908 Blasius and Sons. I LOVE IT SO MUCH. It sounds way better than my previous video. Keyboards stink. Anyway, heres ...

Chopin Prelude #15 in D Flat Op. 28 "Raindrop" by solstyce
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq3h9qDkyUY Ok, I know, real pianos are prefered, so I will probly upload this song again from my old Blasius. Afte...

Chopin - Prelude #15 in Db Major (Raindrop) by tetmin
This is my first post here, would appreciate your opinion... Recorded yesterday and it's not perfect, the bit where the ff left hand c...

Raindrop Comments please by highcrappile
I have made a recording of the Chopin "Raindrop", and I'd really appreciate your input. I recorded it on my digital Yamaha,...

Chopin - Prelude #15 in Db Major by feddera
Recorded this last week. With the exception of a couple of mistakes and some slight hesitation towards the end, I was pretty happy with this...

Chopin prelude 28/15, Raindrop by philippa
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoPnqjyWpSU This recording was made in November, my exam was in March- so as you can imagine it's early stages...

Chopin Prelude No. 15 by gfz87
Hi, this is me playing Chopin Prelude No. 15 at my house. I started playing about one year ago. The playing isn't perfect, it has mista...

Prelude Op. 28 no. 15 (Raindrop) - Chopin by ail
Hi, I recorded this yesterday. It is still not perfect, but I never could play this without any slip, I guess. Still, it ended up quite nea...

prelude in D-flat major (raindrop) by pianistimo
this one is for henrah tonight.  the middle section is somewhat blech.  but, the beginning and ending part is for him....

Chopin, Prelude, Op. 28, No. 15 in D flat by RachFan
This is the so-called "Raindrop Prelude".  Chopin gave no tempo indicator for this piece.  I tend to play it more slowly...


Members who like this piece have also downloaded:

DOWNLOAD: Frédéric Chopin - Prelude (Raindrop) Op. 28 No. 15 in D-flat Major ( from Preludes by Chopin). Piano sheet music to print immediately or to view in mobile devices.
Frédéric Chopin, who was one of the prominent composers active in the Early Romantic era, wrote this piece titled "Prelude (Raindrop)"Op. 28 No. 15 in D-flat Major from Preludes. The composition is categorized as "Piece" in the sheet music library and the level of difficulty in the piano music database is 7.