Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on Chopin/Prelude in C Minor, Op. 28 No. 20. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 3 page musical analysis of Chopin's Prelude in C Minor. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: KL9_khchoprecm.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
somber tone, referred to this prelude as Chopins Funeral March ("Preludes"). As this suggests, the melody is "somber and grave" and its purpose, which is obvious to convey severe sorrow,
is underscored by the masterful use of chords, which are like the "tolling of a large bell," as they strike "their tones directly into the listeners heart" (Yu). This
prelude is brief, dramatic and melodically simple; however, it is also harmonically rich, "an emotional giant and carved out of solid rock" (Herder 182). The structure that Chopin employs in
this piece is rather plain, as all 12 bars use the same rhythm, consisting of two somber quarter-note chords followed by a dotted quarter tied to a sixteenth note and
followed by another quarter note. The structure can be divided into three 4-bar sections, with the 13th measure closing providing a "one-chord tag" (Herder 182). The main appeal of
this work is the rich harmony provided by Chopins use of chords, which Ronald Herder opinions is a "sound that is as close to an organ as the piano is
likely to get: big, broad, resonant, full-throated" (Herder 182). The prelude opens with the full C-minor chord played in root position (I), moves to the sub-dominant of Fm7 (IV), then
the dominant, using G augmented (V), modulates to G7 on the sixteenth note transition, which returns the melody to Cm (I). Throughout the first four measures the chords are
voiced in the root position, and, throughout the work, the bass consists of low voiced octaves. It is this feature of the bass that is similar in tone to the
resonance provided by an organ (Herder 183). Bar 2 modulates to A-flat major, bar 3 provides a "passing modulation to F minor, while bar 4 moves to the G triad,
...