Rachmaninoff’s Preludes as a Cyclic Work

Abstract

For over 18 years during the period 1892 to 1910, Sergei Rachmaninoff composed the Prelude, Op. 3, No. 2; 10 Preludes, Op. 23; and 13 Preludes, Op. 32. The key organization of Rachmaninoff’s 24 Preludes seems random at first glance, not based on any systematic order, as are the sets of Johann Sebastian Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier and Frédéric Chopin’s 24 Preludes, Op. 28. However, they consist of all the different major and minor keys and are uniquely integrated by cyclic manipulation of tonal relationships and thematic ideas. While they share numerous features, such as the use of common tones/chords, stepwise motion, chromatic lines, intervallic motives, and a certain rhythmic pattern, they also present divergent elements, such as bold key changes, irregular inclusion of relative-and parallel-key relationship, and effective contrasts in various aspects in many of consecutive preludes. The set of Rachmaninoff’s 24 Preludes is organized in his own unique, original, and meaningful system and conceptual design, which the author believes is highly successful as an integral, cyclic composition.