I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about music, classical music in particular, but there’s this one piece I can’t id and I feel it’s something I ought to know. I seem to hear it most often playing in bookstores alongside famous pieces of classical piano music. I’m pretty sure that when I find out what it is, I’m going to slap my forehead, but here goes:
[ul]
[li]The style is romantic.[/li][li]It’s in a minor key, I’m tempted to say D minor.[/li][li]The single most obvious feature of this piece is an ostinato which consists of nothing but the tonic repeated as eight-notes in the right hand. (D above middle C?) About halfway through it changes to the dominant, and then goes back to the tonic.[/li][li]Whilst the right hand obstinates, the left hand plays a simple and ominous tune, an octave below. If we are to assume it’s really in D minor, it goes something like Bb A Bb A F D… [/li][/ul]
I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about music, classical music in particular, but there’s this one piece I can’t id and I feel it’s something I ought to know. I seem to hear it most often playing in bookstores alongside famous pieces of classical piano music. I’m pretty sure that when I find out what it is, I’m going to slap my forehead, but here goes:
[ul]
[li]The style is romantic.[/li][li]It’s in a minor key, I’m tempted to say D minor.[/li][li]The single most obvious feature of this piece is an ostinato which consists of nothing but the tonic repeated as eight-notes in the right hand. (D above middle C?) About halfway through it changes to the dominant, and then goes back to the tonic.[/li][li]Whilst the right hand obstinates, the left hand plays a simple and ominous tune, an octave below. If we are to assume it’s really in D minor, it goes something like Bb A Bb A F D… [/li][/ul]
Does that ring a bell for anyone?
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How long are the notes you listed for the left hand?
Also, by “halfway through” do you mean halfway through the piece, or halfway through a phrase? If the second, how long’s the phrase?
Alright – what I was thinking of was a Chopin Prelude (Op. 28 No. 6), which may or may not be right. Give that a shot. It could also be the middle section of the Raindrop Prelude.
[QUOTE=Elenfair]
Alright – what I was thinking of was a Chopin Prelude (Op. 28 No. 6), which may or may not be right. Give that a shot. It could also be the middle section of the Raindrop Prelude.
[/QUOTE]
It’s not the Raindrop, but that sound is reminiscent.
Is it Mozart’s Fantasy in d minor? The repeating note section certainly sounds close to what you recorded.
There is a sample of the sheet music on this page, click “See larger image”. The repeating note section starts at the bottom of the page. Later on it repeats in d minor (I think).
I’m going with one of the Chopin preludes still. I suppose it COULD be the Mozart Fantasy, but that would be a really odd part of it to have stick in one’s memory.
A good place to go dig is the Classical Music Archives (http://www.classicalarchives.com/), online, where you can find thousands of midi and live recordings of the classics. A non-member can dig through 5 a day, while a member has unlimited access to the files. Nifty place for music lovers and educators alike (says the person who falls into both categories.)
[QUOTE=scotandrsn]
It’s not the Raindrop, but that sound is reminiscent.
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Actually, it is. Thanks to all. As is turns out, I need to work on my ear training. It’s not in D minor, but in C# minor, and the repeated note is not the tonic, but the dominant: G#.
However, the version I heard yesterday is somewhat different from the original: the opening and closing sections in D-flat major were removed, which lead me to believe the structure of the piece was different from what it actually is.
I was right about one thing, though, it’s really, really, something I should have known: I have it on CD somewhere.
For anyone who wants to hear the actual thing, here’s a pretty decent version:
It could also be the middle section of the Raindrop Prelude.
It could also be the middle section of the Raindrop Prelude.
