close
Home > Chopin, Frederic > 24 préludes

Chopin, Frederic : 24 préludes Op.28

Work Overview

Music ID : 917
Composition Year：1836　
Publication Year：1839
First Publisher：Breitkopf und Härtel
Dedicated to：Camille Pleyer, Joseph Christoph Kessler
Instrumentation：Piano Solo　
Genre：prelude
Total Playing Time：35 min 00 sec
Copyright：Public Domain
prelude
Piano Solo
piano solo

Commentary (1)

Author : Asayama, Natsuko

Last Updated: July 1, 2008
[Open]
Note: This article is automatically translated from the original Japanese text. The author of the original work did not supervise this translation.

The 24 Preludes encompass all major and minor keys. They were completed in 1838 on the island of Mallorca. This was shortly after the beginning of Chopin's romantic relationship with the novelist George Sand, and it was his first opportunity to accompany the Sand family on their change of air. To make this trip possible, Chopin declined numerous lessons in Paris and, at the same time, incurred considerable debt from acquaintances. Pleyel, a Parisian publisher, also paid an advance for the Preludes to help fund the travel expenses.

The actual composition period is older than that, with some pieces seemingly having been started around 1836. It is unclear how many pieces were completed when he departed for Mallorca, but considering that Chopin, who left Paris at the end of October, sent the autograph manuscript of this collection to Paris in January of the following year (1839), and that he was bedridden for a long time due to illness during this period, it is probable that Chopin himself already had a complete vision of the collection by the time he arrived in Mallorca. For Chopin, leaving behind a work that continued the tradition of Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier had long been a wish and a mission as a musician.

In his Études, Chopin inherited the tradition of The Well-Tempered Clavier in terms of musical content and function, but in the 24 Preludes, he primarily inherited the external form of the collection from the same source. Letters describing Chopin's state in Mallorca reveal that he constantly kept Bach's scores at hand, yet the only commonality between The Well-Tempered Clavier and Chopin's Preludes is almost solely that they are written in 24 major and minor keys. Schumann commented on the work as follows:

To tell the truth, I had imagined something quite different, thinking they would be written in the magnificent style of his Études. In reality, it is quite the opposite: these are sound sketches, the opening sections of études, or, so to speak, ruins, eagle feathers, a jumble of everything.

In other words, one gets the impression that they are remnants or mere fragments of some magnificent grand structure. Indeed, the pieces contained herein have virtually no discernible form; their lengths vary from two or three staves to two or three pages, and their difficulty levels are disparate. Furthermore, no ambition to set a standard for all techniques is projected, nor are they, of course, given the function of serving as a 'prelude' to any music.

However, the title 'Prelude' is apt in that it collects various opening sections of pieces. In this collection, Chopin can be said to have reinterpreted the already antiquated convention of the prelude, treating it as a type of character piece.

It should be noted that the arrangement of the 24 pieces differs from The Well-Tempered Clavier, being based on the circle of fifths. Major and minor keys form a pair of relative keys, and at the turning point, F-sharp major (with six sharps) is placed as No. 13, and E-flat minor (with six flats) as No. 14. Although each piece is completely independent, this arrangement creates a more cohesive connection when the 24 pieces are played consecutively.

Writer: Asayama, Natsuko

Movements (24)

Prelude No.1 Op.28-1

Key: C-Dur  Total Performance Time: 0 min 30 sec 

Videos 8

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 5

Arrangement 0

Prelude No.2 Op.28-2

Key: a-moll  Total Performance Time: 2 min 00 sec 

Videos 8

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 6

Arrangement 0

Prelude No.3 Op.28-3

Key: G-Dur  Total Performance Time: 1 min 00 sec 

Videos 8

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 6

Arrangement 0

Prelude No.4 Op.28-4

Key: e-moll  Total Performance Time: 2 min 00 sec 

Videos 11

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 28

Arrangement 0

Prelude No.5 Op.28-5

Key: D-Dur  Total Performance Time: 0 min 40 sec 

Videos 8

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 5

Arrangement 0

Prelude No.6 Op.28-6

Key: h-moll  Total Performance Time: 1 min 50 sec 

Videos 9

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 14

Arrangement 0

Prelude No.7 Op.28-7

Key: A-Dur  Total Performance Time: 0 min 50 sec 

Videos 14

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 55

Arrangement 3

Prelude No.8 Op.28-8

Key: fis-moll  Total Performance Time: 1 min 40 sec 

Videos 9

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 6

Arrangement 0

Prelude No.9 Op.28-9

Key: E-Dur  Total Performance Time: 1 min 10 sec 

Videos 8

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 6

Arrangement 0

Prelude No.10 Op.28-10

Key: cis-moll  Total Performance Time: 0 min 30 sec 

Videos 8

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 5

Arrangement 0

Prelude No.11 Op.28-11

Key: H-Dur  Total Performance Time: 0 min 30 sec 

Videos 9

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 5

Arrangement 0

Prelude No.12 Op.28-12

Key: gis-moll  Total Performance Time: 1 min 10 sec 

Videos 7

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 5

Arrangement 0

Prelude No.13 Op.28-13

Key: Fis-Dur  Total Performance Time: 2 min 30 sec 

Videos 11

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 4

Arrangement 0

Prelude No.14 Op.28-14

Key: es-moll  Total Performance Time: 0 min 30 sec 

Videos 9

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 4

Arrangement 0

Prelude No.15 "Raindrop" Op.28-15

Key: Des-Dur  Total Performance Time: 5 min 00 sec 

Videos 21

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 92

Arrangement 3

Prelude No.16 Op.28-16

Key: b-moll  Total Performance Time: 1 min 10 sec 

Videos 8

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 4

Arrangement 0

Prelude No.17 Op.28-17

Key: As-Dur  Total Performance Time: 2 min 30 sec 

Videos 7

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 4

Arrangement 0

Prelude No.18 Op.28-18

Key: f-moll  Total Performance Time: 1 min 00 sec 

Videos 7

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 4

Arrangement 0

Prelude No.19 Op.28-19

Key: Es-Dur  Total Performance Time: 1 min 20 sec 

Videos 5

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 4

Arrangement 0

Prelude No.20 Op.28-20

Key: c-moll  Total Performance Time: 1 min 40 sec 

Videos 13

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 7

Arrangement 1

Prelude No.21 Op.28-21

Key: B-Dur  Total Performance Time: 1 min 40 sec 

Videos 5

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 4

Arrangement 0

Prelude No.22 Op.28-22

Key: g-moll  Total Performance Time: 0 min 50 sec 

Videos 9

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 7

Arrangement 0

Prelude No.23 Op.28-23

Key: F-Dur  Total Performance Time: 0 min 50 sec 

Videos 8

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 4

Arrangement 0

Prelude No.24 Op.28-24

Key: d-moll  Total Performance Time: 2 min 30 sec 

Videos 9

Explanation 0

Sheet Music 5

Arrangement 0

Reference Videos & Audition Selections(12items)

宮沢　幸子(入選)
グリャズノフ, ヴァチェスラフ
林川崇さんのお勧め, ティーガーマン
林川崇さんのお勧め, ゴリデンヴェイゼル, アレクサンドル
瀬田　敦子
萬谷　衣里
林川崇さんのお勧め, ゴリデンヴェイゼル, アレクサンドル
林川崇さんのお勧め, コチャルスキ, ラオル（1-14)
林川崇さんのお勧め, コチャルスキ, ラオル(15-22)
林川崇さんのお勧め, コチャルスキ, ラオル(23-24)
演奏：中川京子
演奏：中川京子

Sheet MusicView More

Scores List (223)

View on IMSLP
Japanese