Suite 2 in D minor I Prélude (3/4/ moderate, played here on the slow side)

I'm getting a handle on the the préludes. They are introductory and repetitive, based on arpeggiated patterns and rhythmico-melodic patterns. The central pattern here is that the longest and highest note of the measure falls on beat 2 in 3/4 time. (Sycopation again: this is the most marked place in the pattern, but it falls on a weak beat.) The melody rises to this point, then fall again. This doesn't occur in each measure, but in measure 1, 2, 3; 5,6,7, for example. The ascending and descending lines can be eigths or sixteenths. Their are some spectacular arpeggios to conclude the movement, and some nice harmonic and rhythmic variations throughout. Preludes don't have repeat signs (so far). They are about incremental variation, the interplay between the horizontal line and the vertical harmonic structure.

The same rhythmico-melodic figure can accomodate any chord, logically. You just change the pitch values. Brilliant! Think of Monk's "Misterioso" if you are minded to. That's a piece based on a similar principle.

And emotionally that up and down movement is quite primal. You're kind of rooting to the note to get up to a certain pitch...