May 5, 20214 yr I consider the E minor and B minor preludes to be like Chopin's Yin and Yang within his Preludes, kind of like how Beethoven's Fifth and Sixth symphonies also form a Yin and Yang. They are opposite in almost every way I can think of, and yet they are based around the same thing, pedal points. It's like one is the mirror of the other, literally. Yin: E minor Prelude This is what I notice in it: Bass is in the Left Hand and Melody is in the Right Hand Left Hand is Chromatic and Right Hand is mostly Diatonic Tempo is on the slower side Chromatic progression(which all of Chopin's Preludes have that chromatic vs diatonic contrast in them) always wants to go down, like a bottomless pit, when Chopin makes it rise, it's like a person hitting a ledge, it breaks the fall, but doesn't really bring it back up Melody is very Minimalistic Melody wants to go down Pedal point in the Left Hand Chords start in first inversion All of these things are opposite in the B minor Prelude except the last one. Yang: B minor Prelude This is what I notice in the B minor Prelude: Bass is in the Right Hand and Melody is in the Left Hand Right Hand is Chromatic and Left Hand is mostly Diatonic Tempo is on the faster side Chromatic progression always wants to go up, like a balloon rising in the sky Melody is not Minimalistic at all Melody wants to go up Pedal point in the Right Hand Chords start in first inversion It's like Chopin mirrored the E minor Prelude in almost every way and got the B minor Prelude. I'm sure that's not what Chopin was thinking, the mirroring, but it is what resulted.
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