Prelude, Op. 28, No. 15 (Chopin)

The Raindrop Prelude is one of Frédéric Chopin composed in the years 1838/39 Piece from the cycle of 24 Preludes, Op 28, written during Chopin's illness stay on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca. The Prelude is in the cycle of compositions in 15th place and is in the key of D flat major stock exchanges.

The nickname of the piece refers to one of Chopin's partner George Sand surviving episode, after Chopin in the absence of his family great distress to have endured because of a looming storm. Because of its timbres and atmospheric fluctuations ( D flat major, C sharp minor, D flat major ), the 15 Prelude was often associated with this tradition Sands in connection, in particular due to the ostinatos that pervade the work and the listener can easily give the impression, if it were falling raindrops. Chopin himself has never confirmed this interpretation of the preludes on current perception. George Sand says this:

"He came in front of him as if he were drowned in a lake; heavy, icy drops of water fell off the beat on his chest. When I told him to listen up, because you could actually hear the steady beat of drops that fell on the roof, he insisted to have not heard. He was even angry when I spoke of tone painting, and protested vehemently and rightly against such simple-minded musical imitations of acoustic impressions. "

From the upbeat to bar 62 is a quote from the Bach chorale O Ever is full of blood and wounds from Bach's St. Matthew Passion: Chopin takes over melody and harmonization of the second line of text " full of pain and scorn ," but does not end on the minor tonic cis minor, but on the tonic Gegenklang A Major, slightly obscured by the "drop " on the major seventh gis on A major. The fallacy here is overstated by the copywriting " mockery " in a figurative sense.