Symphony Atlas

Form

Prelude

A prelude is short and does not argue. It states an idea, works its surface for a minute or two, and stops. That is the opposite of sonata form, where material is taken apart and put back together, and it is why a prelude can be over before a sonata movement has finished its first subject.

How to hear prelude

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1 work

Chopin24 Preludes, Op. 281839