Op. 28 No. 6. Here the left hand sings the melody, deep in the bass, under soft repeated chords in the right hand.
The story
Like the E minor prelude, this one was written on Majorca and played on the organ at Chopin’s funeral.
George Sand later described a stormy night when she came home to find Chopin at the piano, convinced he had drowned; many listeners have heard that night in the steady, dripping chords of this prelude.
Two things to know
- The marking is Assai lento: very slow.
- It is one of the few Chopin pieces where the melody belongs to the left hand.
How to play it
Let the left hand lead, like a cello. The right-hand chords answer quietly, never louder than the melody.