Chopin, Prelude, Op. 28, No. 1 in C

[rachfan]

This prelude serves as the curtain raiser for the set.

[piano121]

Thatīs beautifull. Love this one. thanks for sharing!
 hey, you could also post the hole set in the same topic! 

[xavierm]

You're ending was great. Not much else to say except very good!

[pianiststrongbad]

This is definately my favourite prelude that he wrote.  The rhythm sounds a bit different than I am use to playing it.  I also think the melody is a bit too accented which gives a feeling of one bar phrases. 

[rachfan]

Hi Piano121,

Well... I'd love to post the whole set, but there are a few more for me to learn, which I hope to get to someday.   At a couple of recitals, I heard the entire set performed, and it was a real treat.  These pieces are so good, that they work as a set.  Also, selecting three contrasting ones for part of a program can also work well too in my opinion.  It's hard for me to post multiple pieces in the same topic, as it would take forever, since I'm on dialup rather than DSL.  I agree with you, No. 1 is a great piece though.

David

[rachfan]

Hi xavierm,

Thanks for the compliment!  On the ending, what I elected to do was to play it alargando, but very quietly too as marked.  I seems to work well.

David

[rachfan]

Hi pianiststrongbad,

Yeah, to be honest, the rhythmic flow seemed different to me as I recorded it than the way I had learned and practiced it.  It just seemed to happen spontaneously.  It's interesting you noticed that.  It was a hot summer day, and when recording, I'd turn off the A/C to eliminate noise.  Somehow listening to the out take, I just didn't feel like re-recording it, plus the execution sounded a bit novel.  So I left it alone. 

On the accents, I agree.  This is one of those pieces where you really have to strive for evenness, and in practicing, accenting the downbeats can be very helpful--as long as you remember to remove the accents when performing!  One also has to realize that this piece is written in 2/8, not in 3/8.  Notice in the score that the upper notes of the RH double notes that occur on the second beats are 8ths, not 16ths.  The best way to differentiate those 8ths is to play them tenuto, and whenever one does that, it does tend to produce a mild accent.  Finally, those same top notes of the dyads must be voiced as well, as the lower notes of the dyads have harmonic function only. 

You know, as I write this it proves what all pianists have found out in playing these preludes since day one.  They are actually mini-etudes!!

Thanks very much for your observations and suggestions! 

David