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As long as I\u2019m on this Chopin prelude kick\u2026.

\n\n\n\n\n\nFr\xe9d\xe9ric Chopin\n\n\n\n\u25b6\ufe0f\nPrelude Op 28 No 20 (in C minor)\n\n\nPaul Cantrell, piano\n\n\n\n\n\n\u2b07\ufe0f\nDownload\n\n\n(2:19 / 3.2 M)\n\n\n\n

This piece is easy to sink one\u2019s teeth into, I think, very dramatic and engaging on the first listen. But subsequent digging reveals a lot of subtlety in the way the different voices move, the modulation and chromaticism, the emotional shape. It has a fascinatingly unusual structure: many piece start softly and work to a crescendo, but this one starts loud and fades to a whisper. Many pieces in binary form have an initial section that\u2019s repeated twice (AAB) \u2014 like this or this or both the first and second larger sections of this taken individually \u2014 but this prelude repeats only the second part (ABB). What fascinating fellow Chopin was.

But enough with the analytical rambling. What a fine piece.

After next Tuesday\u2019s recording, I\u2019ll be switching to a once-a-week-Tuesday schedule, at least for a while. I want to focus on composition for a while, and I\u2019m behind on some of my other projects. Fear not! Updates will keep coming; \u201cPaul gets a job\u201d armageddon is not yet upon us.