Who Is Chopin's Raindrop Prelude?

Firstly, for some background information, the Prelude In D Flat Major was completed in 1839. It is taken from a set of 24 preludes, 12 of them in the major keys and the other 12 in the minor keys. A musical prelude is often an introductory piece but not in this case. The short pieces are complete and independent. The Prelude in D flat is nicknamed the Raindrop Prelude because of the persistent repeated notes, which will be covered later, which sounds like rain falling. However, Chopin disliked descriptive titles and he did not give it this nickname. The idea came from George Sand, his lover and his best friend in art, who told of the sound of dripping water falling on the roof where they were staying in Majorca. In the year 1839, Chopin was starting to get sick. He once wrote a letter complaining about the doctors he had seen: one said that he is already dead, the second said that he is dying, the third said that he was about to die. Seeing the bad weather and its effect on Chopin, he moved to many different places, Barcelona then to Marseilles, where Chopin stayed for a couple of months to convalesce. In the years 1839-43, Chopin found peaceful and productive days when he could compose many works, and Raindrops was one. …show more content…
It is also perhaps the perfect example of contrast in the set of preludes. The other twenty-three do not have many contrasts in the piece itself, rather, they contrast with other preludes of the set to create interesting musical effects. However, this prelude exhibits an enormous contrast, internally. The main theme in D-flat major is soft, gentle, and lasts for a short time. However, the middle section in C-sharp minor has a dark, dense, and dramatic theme that climaxes twice with many dramatic harmonies. This big contrast makes it different from the other