Left Hand/Right Hand issue Scriabin Prelude op.11 no 1

[kalander]

I've been playing this Prelude for a couple of Days and I don't understands why you have to cross the hands at the last notes of every phrase (I've marked them with red dots). What rules are you breaking by taking the left hand notes with the right hand and vice versa? Maybe the Composers intentions but I don't understand the intentions of having the hands cross because you can get the same tone by switching hands and it's definitly more comfortable. Anybody have any ideas or Points to my question and remarks?

[rachmaninoff_forever]

There's no specific marking that says you have to switch hands, so don't switch hands if you don't want to.

Anyways, Scriabin was crazy, so you'll run into all sorts of weird stuff in his music.  Although the thing you showed us isn't that weird.

But that's early Scriabin, so his writing is pretty normal for his time.  But wait until you get into his opus 60's and 70's!  Now that's when you'll see some pretty weird stuff.



The reason why the some of the bass clef notes are higher on the keyboard than some of the the treble clef notes is probably because composition reasons.  Nothing to do with the actual technique.

[cabbynum]

There's no specific marking that says you have to switch hands, so don't switch hands if you don't want to.

Anyways, Scriabin was crazy, so you'll run into all sorts of weird stuff in his music.  Although the thing you showed us isn't that weird.

But that's early Scriabin, so his writing is pretty normal for his time.  But wait until you get into his opus 60's and 70's!  Now that's when you'll see some pretty weird stuff.



The reason why the some of the bass clef notes are higher on the keyboard than some of the the treble clef notes is probably because composition reasons.  Nothing to do with the actual technique.

I agree and disagree there, sometimes composers write in such a way that makes the melody come out easier with crossings. I'd try it Botha ways and go based on the sound you produce not what's the esiast, whichever you pick will become comfortable.

In the alkan op.39 no.11 I found a particularly challenging leaping section with a run in the right hand down to a c# then up 2 octaves to an f# at a blazing speed. I couldn't get it with how it was written. So I switched it into two hands. Much easier.

My point is, try it the original first then do whatever the hell you want.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

I agree and disagree there, sometimes composers write in such a way that makes the melody come out easier with crossings

You mean the last thing I said?

Well DUH!!!   It just depends on the piece.  

I guess I just said it wrong. 

[scriabinophile]

You've asked a good question.  

I've played the Op 11 Preludes for decades and, when playing Scriabin, I often will catch LH notes with the RH, and vice versa, but only when a line is not adversely affected.  For instance, one of my favorite places in this set for catching a few RH notes with the LH is in measures 12 & 13 of the D major Prelude (#5 of this set). It works wonderfully with the 2nd and 3rd of the four RH arpeggiated chords.

But in the C Major Prelude, I've never even considered what you've suggested, and I think it would be a bad idea.  

First, the writing is not chordal.  Scriabin has written two distinct lines, and one would likely hear a difference.

Also, I don't find anything particularly awkward about the way Scriabin has notated the lines, so I can't see any advantage at all to doing what you've proposed. Actually, the writing makes wonderful sense as notated: you have sevenths resolving to octaves in both hands.

In addition, I don't think it's a good policy to go about "simplifying" every little thing that one finds slightly difficult on first reading, especially when it really isn't particularly difficult after a tiny bit of practice or musical analysis.

Also, what will you do later in the piece when the opening material comes back? In measure 19 the LH is now different, with chords, so there is no option now but to play the RH as written -- DACGD, with a D as the fifth note -- and not DACGF, as you've proposed.

This set of preludes contains some marvelous material. Wait until you get to #11.

[cabbynum]

You mean the last thing I said?

Well DUH!!!   It just depends on the piece.  

I guess I just said it wrong. 

After re reading what you wrote with what you intended it made sense, but the first time I read it I didn't get it.