Blogtrek

Tricks: Chopin's Prelude in C-sharp Minor

This is one of those pieces that float around, not doing much of anything. It sounds like improvising, which has taken the greatest strides in jazz, producing what I call "deedle-deedle" jazz. Chopin's Prelude in C-sharp Minor, Opus 28, Number 10, is not so much deedle-deedle as it is a bunch of conjurer tricks. Imagine a magician appealing to the sky, causing a magic effect to drop down and achieve some paradoxical result. This is what this piece reminds me of. So I call this prelude "Tricks". It happens four times, and then suddenly it's gone, like the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland. It is not too hard to play; the fingerings in the downward "tricks" are what have to be learned. Altogether, a little frill of magic.

Incidentally, the key of C-sharp minor seems to be a favorite with classical composers, so much so that I call this the "classical key". Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and Chopin's Waltz in C-sharp Minor are other pieces written in this key. It is said to be Chopin's favorite key, and it is interesting to note that the longest C-sharp minor passage in Opus 28 is not in this prelude but in Number 15 in D-flat (C-sharp's alter ego), the Storm, which I will review in a few days.