Cui

Cui –

Op. 64 Preludes

Prelude No. 1 in C major: Allegro maestoso
This prelude is all about chords, of course. Cui uses them to evoke a majestic quality, similar to Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (Promenade).

Prelude No. 2 in E minor: Moderato assai
Compositionally this prelude is all about craftsmanship of the melodic placement. It is most interesting to establish the first section of the melody and then follow his treatment of it. For instance a melodic idea is stated, which is repeated but overshoots its high note by one before settling back down, followed by the same idea as the first but beginning a third higher, before settling back to the final note.

Prelude No. 3 in G major: Allegro
This playfully exciting prelude is largely based on exaggerated elements. With melodies in octaves and sweeping crescendos, giving it a feeling of uncontrolled jubilation.

Prelude No. 4 in B minor: Allegro
This prelude diverges from the Chopin style of one prelude with one idea. This prelude is more like a precursor to the preludes of Scriabin and Rachmaninoff, which often consist of powerful outside sections which enclose a soft and lyrical section at the core.

Prelude No. 5 in D major: Allegretto
This prelude contains many wonderful and lovely sounds. The style is highly song like, never moving outside of the singers ranges.

Prelude No. 6 in F sharp minor: Andante
This prelude is very similar to Chopin’s prelude in E minor, relying on slowly evolving chords to carry the melody without decay over the length of the phrase.

Prelude No. 7 in A major: Allegro non troppo
This prelude uses the canon to a highly effective degree. Had I not been looking at the score I would not have realized that the melody and accompaniment revolved around the same pitches.

Prelude No. 8 in C sharp minor: Allegro
This prelude is centered on the ideas of chords, octaves, and thrilling gestures. Most similar to Scriabin’s etude in D-sharp minor.

Prelude No. 9 in E major: Andantino
In this prelude the melody and the accompaniment, though drastically different in contour and voice, are equally as important. These attributes make this like a duet in which two singers represent two sides to one idea.

Prelude No. 10 in G sharp minor: Allegro non troppo
Cui uses arpeggios as the basis for the melody and the overall connecting idea.

Prelude No. 11 in B major: Allegretto
The most interesting aspect of this prelude is the existence of musical elements which share the same space on the keyboard at the same time, but thanks to the layout do not inhibit each other, but rather lend to one grand orchestral idea.

Prelude No. 12 in E flat major: Allegretto
A rising three-note scale ties this entire prelude together. The B section makes use of the scale, though the direction is changed for contrasting purposes.

Prelude No. 13 in F sharp major: Andante
This prelude reminds me of a slow Schumann song. The patterns are simple, but highly effective for the communication of a deserving melody.

Prelude No. 14 in B flat major: Moderato
This prelude is all about accents and slurs.

Prelude No. 15 in D flat major: Andantino
The use of odd rhythms here does not in any way stand out. This gives proof to the argument that sometimes contemporary ideas work as terrific devices in communicating romantic sounding music.

For time purposes I will proceed to the end…. Sorry.

Prelude No. 25 in C major: Allegro non troppo

This prelude is pretty simple for the final prelude in a 25-prelude set. The basic idea here is dotted rhythms and pentatonic scales.