Vitamin C(hopin); The G Major Prelude

The Prelude in G major, from op 28, is a joining of worlds. The first is a foundation made from figuration that is agile and athletic; precise as an escapement wheel. In opposition, the world above is lyrical music that floats and lingers:



Pops and crackles charm in this 1926 recording by Alfred Cortot, etched below them is lyrical playing that floats and lingers.

Cortot brings the first pitch (D) of the right hand from almost nothing. The phrase emerges shaped in a long arc with a strangely quieted but still playful close. The restatement [0:17] opens with the same shape but remains full-throated at the cadence to connect to the final phrase, which begins in the subdominant at [0:29]. Both hands sweep in waves derived from foundational figuration as the prelude ends. "It requires," wrote James Huneker, "a light hand and nimble fingers."

Franz Liszt imagined specific programs for each of the op. 28 preludes. He heard the joining of worlds in this prelude as a visitation; "a guardian angel hovers unsteadily through the open window over a sleeping infant, whispering in its ears the words of Heine’s immortal poem, "Du Bist Wie Eine Blume" (You are like a flower). At the conclusion, the angel vanishes."

Du bist wie eine Blume (You are like a flower)
So hold und schön und rein; (So pleasing, fair and pure)
Ich schau' dich an, (I gaze upon you)
Und Wehmut schleicht mir ins Herz hinein. (and sorrow fills my heart)
Mir ist, als ob ich die Hände (it seems as if my hands)
Aufs Haupt dir legen sollt', (upon your head in a blessing)
Betend, daß Gott dich erhalte (are a prayer that God preserves you)
So rein und schön und hold, (So fair and pure, and pleasing).

Set by hundreds of composers, we know this poem most readily from the setting by Schumann in Myrthen, Op. 25, No. 24.

Pops and crackles, nimble fingers, a poem as whispered background, a guardian angel, and Cortot playing in 1926--a joining of worlds in G major.

Jeffrey Biegel plays Chopin Andante Spinato

Yesterday pianist Jeffrey Biegel posted his work on Chopin's Andante Spinato in a recording made in his home "reviewing this lovely work for the weekend's performance with orchestra:"



Biegel is one of the more enterprising and technologically flexible pianists on the scene. I had the opportunity to work with him a few times in the late 90s at The Music Festival of the Hamptons and have reviewed his playing in the Hartford Courant. He has a unique pianistic voice and a professional presence that is refreshing and often unexpected. Who knows where, or through what medium, he will next appear?

This video was a welcome surprise this morning.

Until recently domestic music making was largely undocumented. A great deal of what is out on the net could perhaps have remained undocumented even for its occasional sweetness. But this video is a great example of a digital invitation to hear a professional pianist think through a familiar work.

The Andante Spinato is an essay in prolonged ecstasy. The opening section of this song without words is set in three verses: in G major [0:11], an embellished restatement [0:30], and an excursion through e minor [0:52]. Biegel spins effortless lyricism.

[1:30] brings back the opening verses in G major with a continued sense of notated improvisation. One of my favorite parts of this recording is the restatement at [1:51] where Biegel voices up the unexpected companion that joins the melody. Gorgeous playing.

This larger section dissolves in winding figuration [2:15]. Biegel finds musical humor in the fragments appended like an after-thought [2:38] that allow this section to land.

The wonderful central chorale in C major, marked "semplice" begins at [2:45]. Biegel is paying attention to details in the notated phrase groupings that differ in the right and left hands. He also makes the triplets sound as unexpected and odd as they actually are [3:11], often pianists attempt to make them sound "normal."

The winding figuration of the codetta that closed the first section returns [3:40]. This section makes the semplice sound like a daydream. And were it not for the reappearance at [4:11] one could be convinced that it was imaginary.

All pianos on the east coast are stressed from the heat and humidity we have felt all month. "The hammers have been filed and re-shaped and need some voicing" said Biegel. The upper register tuning is not perfect. But this video is not about perfection, it is about sharing. Sharing is its own perfection.

"Just me, at home," says Biegel in the uploader's comments. Biegel is more than "just."