Franck's Prelude, Chorale and Fugue

[tucque]

Hi all,

Does anyone have ideas on how to practice the swirling figurations in the Prelude, and at the end of the Fugue?  Very difficult to
1)  Get the melody notes out, and
2)  Get the running notes even, and
3)  Connecting the RH and the LH, and
4)  Play the thirds in the RH at the top of the arpeggio arc without breaking them.

Thanks.

[presto agitato]

Hi all,

Does anyone have ideas on how to practice the swirling figurations in the Prelude, and at the end of the Fugue?  Very difficult to
1)  Get the melody notes out, and
2)  Get the running notes even, and
3)  Connecting the RH and the LH, and
4)  Play the thirds in the RH at the top of the arpeggio arc without breaking them.

Thanks.

This piece really requires a lot of practice. Its very diffuclut both technically and musically.

Good Luck

[rhapsody in orange]

Hi all,

Does anyone have ideas on how to practice the swirling figurations in the Prelude, and at the end of the Fugue?  Very difficult to
1)  Get the melody notes out, and

For the prelude, I put the thumb where possible (so the melody notes would be slightly emphasized)  and my index crosses over the thumb on the last note. I'm still workin on this piece now but that's working for me right now. Keep the accompaniment soft, although that's really easier said than done.

2)  Get the running notes even, and

Slow practice to make sure each finger is independent of the other.

3)  Connecting the RH and the LH, and

Think of the RH and LH not as separate entities but as one line altogether. For me I sing the melody in my head while playing and the rest of the notes kinda 'fill' the space in between 2 melody notes. When I first started out I had the tendency to emphasize on each main beat, but learnt to get rid of that (since the melody's off the beat).

4)  Play the thirds in the RH at the top of the arpeggio arc without breaking them.

Use a slight wrist rotary motion rather than fingers to play the 3rds. This would allow the 3rds to sound more together.

Thanks.

You're welcome! Looking forward to more replies too 

[tucque]

To address the problem of the melody note not being on the first beat, I think of the bass note more as a grace note, thus making the second note, i.e. the melody note the stronger note.  A bit of a cheat, but psychologically it works.