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Sorrow of a Nation: Chopin's Prelude in C Minor

Chopin's Prelude in C Minor, Opus 28, Number 20, is the most famous of Chopin's Opus 28 preludes. It is part of the repertoire of every moderately advanced youthful piano student and is played frequently at public gatherings, especially funerals and memorial services. It has even become part of a popular rock song in the 1980s. It is in the form of a funeral march, starting out loud and then going soft before building up at the end. It features huge chords which descend the depths of the piano and a melody which practically sings. To me, this mournful sorrow expresses the sorrow of one of Chopin's home countries, Poland. So I follow Joseffy's commentary and call it "Sorrow of a Nation".

Poland has not had a happy history. It was a kingdom at one time in the middle of the second millennium, but Germans, Austrians, and Russians subsequently invaded it and caused it to cease to exist for hundreds of years. It finally gained independence in 1918, only to be divided up again between Russia (Soviet Union) and Germany in World War II, followed by two generations of Communist rule. It is now a democracy, but for most of its history it has not been a good place to live, including Chopin's time, when it was occupied mainly by Russia. I believe that Chopin had Poland in mind when he wrote this song, and he aspired desperately for the day when his country could be its own nation again. In playing it, feel the sorrow of Poland and this will give you a good idea of the dynamics that should be used. In the first stanza, a stanza that runs G7, C7, F-minor feels like it should resolve to the C major again, especially since G major follows it. But it goes instead to C minor - make sure to play E flat instead of E. A magnificent tragic prelude.