Preludio in do diesis minore
Prelude in C sharp minor (in russo Прелюдия?), Op. 3, No. 2, is one of Sergei Rachmaninoff's most famous compositions. It is a ternary (ABA) prelude in C sharp minor, 62 measures long, and part of a set of five pieces entitled Morceaux de Fantaisie.[1]
Its first performance was by the composer on September 20th, 1892[2], at a festival called the Moscow Electrical Exhibition[3], which Rachmaninoff considered his debut as a pianist.[2] After this première, a review of the concert singled out the Prelude, noting that it had “aroused enthusiasm”.[4] From this point on, its popularity would grow.
Background
This work was one of the first the 19‑year‑old Rachmaninoff composed as a "Free Artist", after he graduated from the Moscow Conservatory on 29 May 1892. He performed this new work for the first time at one of the concerts of the Moscow Electrical Exhibition on 8/20 October 1892. It was printed the following year as the second of five Morceaux de Fantaisie (Op. 3), all dedicated to Anton Arensky, his harmony teacher at the Conservatory. Because at the time Russia was not party to the 1886 Berne Convention, Russian publishers did not pay royalties, so the only financial return he ever received for this piece was a 40 ruble (about two months' wage of a factory worker) publishing fee.[3]
Composition
The prelude is organized into three main parts and a coda:
- Three opening chords at fortissimo introduce the grim C sharp minor tonality that dominates the piece. The cadential motif repeats throughout. In the third measure, the volume changes to a pianissimissimo for the exposition of the theme.
- The second part is propulsive and marked Agitato (agitated), beginning with highly chromatic triplets. This passionately builds to interlocking chordal triplets that descend into a climactic recapitulation of the main theme, this time in four staves to accommodate the volume of notes. Certain chords in the section are marked with quadruple sforzando.
- The piece closes with a brief seven-measure coda which ends quietly.
Reception
The prelude became one of Rachmaninoff's most famous compositions. His cousin Alexander Siloti was instrumental in securing the Prelude's success throughout the Western world. In the autumn of 1898, he made a tour of Western Europe and the United States, with a program that contained the Prelude. Soon after, London publishers brought out several editions with titles such as The Burning of Moscow, The Day of Judgement, andThe Moscow Waltz. America followed suit with other titles, such as The Bells of Moscow.[3] It was so popular that it was referred to as "The Prelude" and audiences would demand it as an encore at his performances, shouting "C sharp!" SomeTemplate:Who say Rachmaninoff came to hate the work for this reason. Most, however, agree he would simply shrug in resignation and play it.
Rachmaninoff recorded the piece both electrically and on Ampico piano rolls.
Popular culture
- The prelude formed the basis for George L. Cobb's Russian Rag.
- In 1970 the Dutch rock/jazz band Ekseption recorded a song called "On Sunday They Will Kill The World" which is based on the C sharp minor Prelude. The song was then covered by gothic/doom metal band Draconian.
- The French black metal band, Anorexia Nervosa, included a recording of the C sharp Prelude (which they entitled 'Hail Tyranny') on their 2001 album, New Obscurantis Order.
- The movie Weekend at Bernie's used a (broken) playback of it, via stereo system for the incidental, soundtrack music.
- Shown in season 4 of Lost, when Ben is playing his piano in "The Shape Of Things To Come".
- The prelude is an important element of the plot of Ngaio Marsh's Roderick Alleyn novel Overture to Death, written in 1939
- In the movie The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Emily plays the opening of the Prelude.
- The Blackalicious song "The Rise and Fall of Elliot Brown" incorporates this prelude throughout the song.
- In the Marx Brothers film A Day at the Races, Harpo plays the prelude and in doing so, destroys a piano. He retrieves from the wreckage the piano strings, which he then uses as a harp.
- Mao Asada skated to this piece during her long program at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
- On Mingus at the Bohemia, Charles Mingus recorded "All The Things You C#", a blend of All The Things You Are and the Prelude.
- In the kid's television show Arthur, the main character Arthur bluffed to his music teacher that he could play the Rachmaninoff Prelude in C Sharp Minor blindfolded. When asked to perform the Prelude, he told the teacher he couldn't without a blindfold.
Recording
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References
- ^ Score. Available for download at any of the External Links (see below).
- ^ a b Talk Classical
- ^ a b c Max Harrison, Rachmaninoff: Life, Works, Recordings, London, Continuum, 2006, pp. 72–73, ISBN 0-8264-9312-2.
- ^ Sergei Bertensson, Jay Leyda, Sophia Satina, Sergei Rachmaninoff: A Lifetime in Music, Indiana, Indiana University Press, 2001, ISBN 0253214211.
External links
- (EN) Spartiti liberi di Prelude in C sharp minor, in International Music Score Library Project, Project Petrucci LLC.
- Free sheet music download