Chopin's Preludes

Chopin’s set of 24 Preludes are some of the most well known works for the piano. Yet, they are quite odd in how they were constructed. They were inspired by Bach’s Preludes and Fugues. Usually a prelude is meant to introduce something (like a Fugue in Bach’s case), yet Chopin wrote them each as solo pieces. He also never specifies how they were meant to be performed. Whether they are to be played as a set as one large work, or are each an individual piece with no relation to one another. They have been performed both ways are the topic is up for debate. Personally I think it is worth playing them as a set because Chopin has connected them so that they flow well into the next piece. In some cases he would begin a prelude with the same note, or chord tones, from the previous prelude. The range of emotion that Chopin uses in his preludes is also one of the most striking elements to them. I think that he constructed them in a way that was supposed to lead you from one emotion into another and that you lose this emotional path Chopin has created when you perform them alone.