''Morceaux de fantaisie'' (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

for ''Fantasy Pieces''; russian: Пьесы Фантазии, ''Pyesy Fantazii''), Op. 3, is a set of five

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

solo pieces composed by

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

in 1892. The title reflects the pieces' imagery rather than their musical form, as none are actual

fantasies Fantasy is a genre of fiction. Fantasy, Fantasie, or Fantasies may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Fantasia (music), a free-form musical composition * ''Fantasie'' (Widmann), a 1993 composition for solo clarinet by Jörg Widmann * ...

. The set was dedicated to

Anton Arensky Anton Stepanovich Arensky (russian: Анто́н Степа́нович Аре́нский; – ) was a Russian composer of Romantic classical music, a pianist and a professor of music. Biography Arensky was born into an affluent, music-loving ...

, his harmony teacher at the Conservatory.

Composition

Elegie in E minor

Elegie (Элегия, ''Elegiya'') is a musical

elegy An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...

at ''

moderato Moderato may refer to: * ''Moderato'', an Italian musical term; see Glossary of music terminology#M * Moderato Wisintainer (1902-1986), Brazilian footballer generally known as Moderato See also * ''Moderato Cantabile ''Moderato Cantabile'' is ...

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

Prelude in C minor

The second piece, Prelude (Прелюдия, ''Prelyudiya'') is undoubtedly the most famous of the set.

Melody in E major

Melody (Мелодия, ''Melodiya'') is a short piece played ''Adagio

sostenuto Piano pedals are foot-operated levers at the base of a piano that change the instrument's sound in various ways. Modern pianos usually have three pedals, from left to right, the soft pedal (or una corda), the #Sostenuto pedal, sostenuto pedal, a ...

''. It was rewritten by Rachmaninoff in 1940, along with the Serenade.

Polichinelle in F minor

The fourth piece, called ''Polichinelle'' (Полишинель, ''Polishinyelʹ''), is in an ambiguous key although often referred to as "in F minor" (the F minor triad has never been established throughout), and played ''Allegro vivace''. It is a character piece, based on the

Commedia dell'arte (; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...

character

Pulcinella Pulcinella (; nap, Pulecenella) is a classical character that originated in of the 17th century and became a stock character in Neapolitan puppetry. Pulcinella's versatility in status and attitude has captivated audiences worldwide and kept t ...

(Polichinelle is the French translation of this word) from which Punch (from

Punch and Judy Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr. Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically Mr. Punch and one other character w ...

) derives. It is in

ternary form Ternary form, sometimes called song form, is a three-part musical form consisting of an opening section (A), a following section (B) and then a repetition of the first section (A). It is usually schematized as A–B–A. Prominent examples includ ...

(ABA), beginning and ending with a fast section that gives way to a slower, lyrical melodious passage in the middle.

Serenade in B minor

The set ends with Serenade (Серенада, ''Serenada''). It was rewritten by Rachmaninoff in 1940, along with the Melodie in E major. In several places, the key is in B Dorian mode instead of B minor.

External links

*
Sheet music available
at the

International Music Score Library Project The International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP), also known as the Petrucci Music Library after publisher Ottaviano Petrucci, is a subscription-based digital library of public-domain music scores. The project, which uses MediaWiki software ...

Piano.ru - Sheet music download
Compositions for solo piano Piano music by Sergei Rachmaninoff 1892 compositions

Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

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