For those keeping score at home, this is the third Prelude in E Minor I’ve featured here, and none of them have been Chopin’s original.
There’s been the experimental electronic Chopin chop-up, we’ve had the indie piano re-imagination, and now we’ve arrived at the mid-century bossa jazz extravaganza.
One day, I hope to find an actual Prelude in E Minor recording that fits my personal and strangely stubborn preference for tempo and dynamics. But for now, this one more than holds down the fort.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. Of all the Prelude versions I’ve posted, this is the only one that doesn’t feature a piano, and yet it’s also melodically the closest to the original.
2. The sax is the perfect instrument to capture Chopin’s melancholy.
3. The snare rim is the perfect syncopated replacement for the eight-note chords in the original.
Recommended listening activity:
Drawing a picture of a photo of a painting.