Prelude in Op. 28, No. 2

History

PTNA's account places the beginnings of some Op. 28 preludes around 1836 and reports completion of the collection in Mallorca in 1838. The autograph collection was sent to Paris in January 1839, and publication followed in 1839. This is a history of the set, not evidence that every prelude began on the island.

Sources

• enc.piano.or.jp
• repozytorium.nifc.pl

What to listen for

1. 1

   A rocking lower pattern begins alone

   The lower accompaniment establishes its movement before the upper phrase enters. Hear the changing inner notes within that rocking sound.

2. 2

   Long tones receive dotted replies

   The first upper phrase uses held notes, dotted responses and grace notes. Hear its longer direction above the continuous lower pattern.

3. 3

   A tied entry leads to a falling response

   After the upper rest, the tied entry continues into another slow descent. Listen across the sustained sound to the changing reply.

How to practise it

Delayed melody with long durations; repeated alternating pairs.

1. Let the accompaniment establish the pulse, then count the long melody duration before its short continuation.
2. Practise the repeating support quietly and notice the pair that changes rather than assuming all repeats are identical.

How hard is it

About this piece

Collection

The prelude gallery

Licence

Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0

Source

mutopiaproject.org

Credit

“Prelude: Op. 28, No. 2” by F. F. Chopin (1810 to 1849). Mutopia edition maintained by Donald Axel. Source: https://www.mutopiaproject.org/cgibin/piece-info.cgi?id=494. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/. Changes to the supplied file: none; any later conversion or edit must be disclosed separately.

More by Frédéric Chopin

1. 1Prelude in A major, Op. 28 No. 7Level 5, estimatedWith Maestro
2. 2Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9 No. 2Level 7, estimatedWith Maestro
3. 3Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52Level 10, estimatedWith Maestro