sergei rachmaninoff prelude in g-flat major

In fact, he was just ten years old, when his sister died. Whether or not the story about the dream is true, it is true that he experienced loss of family members at a young age. As Rachminoff approaches to look inside the coffin, he sees himself there inside, where he immediately feels terror and anxiety (the B section “agitato”). The dream was set at a funeral (the A section “bells”), and there “center stage” was a coffin. No, maybe he wasn’t conveying an anxiety attack, but the story goes that the inspiration behind the prelude was from a dream he had. The piece is a clear cut ABA form, where the A consists of a thick, chordal texture that sounds like bells with a hauntingly beautiful melody atop and the B section that creates a sense of an anxiety attack fromthe composer. He actually performed this in his first public concert as a “Free Artist” after graduation from the Moscow Conservatory. Now you’ll find it most often compiled with his other preludes.

The prelude in C sharp minor was originally one of a five-piece set called Morceaux de fantaisie.

Buy The Music: Urtext Edition Piece Structure

Sergei rachmaninoff prelude in g-flat major