1 Joshua Nichols

The Compositional Tools of David Rakowski: A Brief Look and Analysis

The compositional process that existed right up until the first part of the 20th century was

named “common practice.” “Common practice” was that of traditional triadic harmony, with an

emphasis on a tonic to dominant relationship in music. This dominated Western music culture

for hundreds of years. Students of composition were often taught in this vein, with very few

who innovated and pursued the limits. This of course changed during the World Wars, a period

of time generally understood to break the bonds of tonality and common practice in exchange

for a radically different set of tools. These tools were primitively known as serialism and free

tonality, concepts which are employed today. At this point, the canvas of the composition

student was completely free. In the 21st century there is an eclecticism of ideas, a melding pot

of ideas which correspond with our day and age: many composers are free to compose as they

please with very little criticism either way.

But, there are many questions which are still asked: How does the modern composer

accomplish the unique task of writing music which has never been heard before without

sounding lifeless? How can the modern composer reflect on the past without sounding

pedantic and trite? In addition, what are the tools that can be learned to create new music that

can be listened to and enjoyable?

There is also a particular interest in these questions in piano music and the prelude. This

historical form of music based heavily on improvisation is a staple of the modern keyboard

repertoire and thus could be a useful way of studying these tools. David Rakowski, a composer

and recipient of numerous awards and accolades, has accomplished a great many preludes and

a lot of piano music in general, and his approach is worth studying in answering these

questions.
2 Joshua Nichols

This paper seeks to uncover the tools that previous composers have used to create preludes,

while also looking at the contemporary piano preludes of David Rakowski to discover how he

uses these same tools to accomplish a musical goal.

Preludes in History

Preludes have been a staple of keyboard repertoire since the organ became mainstream in

music culture (Organ, Owen). The earliest surviving notation for preludes were in a set of

preludes compiled by Adam Ileborgh in 1448. Their musical structures were free, with simple

accompaniment textures in the left hand and ornate quasi-toccata runs and improvisatory
The Five Preludes Cleverly Collected by Adam Ileborgh
material: from the Ileborgh Tablature

Preambulum in C et potest variari in d f g a

Prelude No. 1
" " !" # ! !
12 ! ! ! ! ! !# ! ! ! !
!# !
!
% 8
Organ 8 $ $ $
' 12 && &
&
8
" !
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! (! ! ! (! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
3
! ! !
! ! ! (!# ! ! ! ! ! ! ! )#
!
% $
8

' ( && && &

&
Figure 1: 5 Preludes, No. 1 by Adam Ileborgh
Praeambulum bonum super C manualiter et variatur ad omnes
Prelude No. 2
The compositional tools " were scalar runs, trills and articulations, and changing
3 fit for use 3

% 43 + ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
chords. This! material was designed
! (! ! ! ! ! (!
! tuning of the organ, and!
Organ !
to test the temperament and
! *) ! !
' 3 ,
4 instruments such as the harpsichord or clavichord (Prelude, Ledbetter). The
invariably of other
3 3 " two words, those " ludus
" being "
% !!!!! ! ! ! !
term “prelude” is derived from 3 and Spiel, and they took on certain
! ! ! ! )
" 3 connotation is!that
!! ! !
! ! a prelude is ‘played’ ! .
!rather than ‘sung’ ! ! ! !
connotations. The first and was!
' )# ! ! *! - !
! ) )#

Praeambulum bonum pedale seu manuale in d

Prelude No. 3
"
3 Joshua Nichols

Figure 3: Prelude in C Major, BWV 531, mm. 13-16, J. S. Bach

improvised. Préluder (French), präludieren (German), and praeambulum (meaning ‘preamble’)

all highlight the fact that a prelude was improvised to both test the temperament of the

instrument and to foreshadow a certain musical purpose later to come (e.g. a fugue). In

addition to this, a prelude became a way for an instrumentalist to relax and limber up the

fingers before an extensive performance (Prelude, Ledbetter and Ferguson).

Figure 2: Prelude in C Major, mm. 26-28, F. Buxtehude

Some of the most prominent composers of preludes were in northern Germany. Jan

Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Matthias Weckmann, Dietrich Buxtehude, Nicolaus Bruhns, and Johann

Sebastian Bach composed music and improvised in a free style usually preceding a church

service (this is particularly so in the case of Buxtehude and Bach), in order to introduce hymn

tunes to be sung in a church service. Buxtehude interacted significantly with Bach and

influenced him greatly with his free style of counterpoint and improvisatory approach:
4 Joshua Nichols

This music was highly contrapuntal, reflecting the influence of the French (Organ, Owen).

Scales, runs, echoes and canons were effective tools of composition in the prelude of

Buxtehude’s time. In a similar way, the music of Bach reflected a similar pattern of

composition:

The influence of this style of composition (through active improvisation) became

foundational as music history progressed through to the Romantic era (Prelude, Ferguson).

“The 19th century’s awakening interest in music of earlier times encouraged a revival of

forms that had fallen into disuse” (Ferguson). When Mendelssohn rediscovered Bach’s music, it

spurred on other contemporaries and onward to write new music in a style like the Prelude.

Liszt wrote an organ work Prelude and Fugue on B-A-C-H, Brahms wrote two preludes and

fugues for organ, and Schumann’s fugues for pedal piano (on B-A-C-H). The greatest of these

contemporaries was Frédérick Chopin, who wrote a set of 24 Preludes, Op. 28. These were

written in all of the major and minor keys. Though they were not the first set ever to be

composed, they cemented by popularity the overall expected form of a prelude: a non-

programmatic character piece that explores a mood, key, texture, or a simple harmonic or

melodic device. Those that followed (e.g. Scriabin, Szymanowski, Rachmaninoff, Debussy,

Gershwin, Messian, Ginastera, etc.) “capitalized” on the nature of the prelude as a piece which

could be played without a particular purpose (Prelude, Ferguson).

The Tools of Composition

In all of the examples of the composers mentioned here, they all employed similar tools to

compose preludes. Unlike more traditional forms like Binary, Sonata-Allegro, dances like the
5 Joshua Nichols

Allemande, Gigue, or even harmonic devices like the Ciaconne or Passacaglia, the prelude has

very little formal design to give it purpose. As a result, there are simpler tools that must be

used to accomplish its means. They can be observed simply from history, and they are: 1)

repetition; 2) Melodic development; 3) dynamics and articulations; and 4) idiomatic devices

(e.g. chord progressions, Jazz and Blues, and Rock n’ Roll rhythms).

Repetition could easily be the literal repeating of a note or chord, but it is more often

repeated chords, rhythmic gestures, voicing, and melodic patterns. A prime example of this is

the first prelude by Chopin:

Figure 4: 24 Preludes, Op. 28, No. 1, mm. 1-4

This entire prelude is constructed by the rhythmic scheme of these first few bars. The

voicings, rhythms, and patterns present here makeup the entire prelude. Its repetitions through

the cascading tuplets create a compact and succinct presentation of the musical material.

Melodic development is perhaps a unique feature of preludes because they generally do not

fall into categories similar to Binary or Ternary. They are often unique unto themselves.

Drawing from Chopin again, his 6th prelude in B Minor:

In this prelude, the melody which begins in the left hand develops extensively as it trades

places with the right hand. It develops as the accompaniment texture in the right hand does

not change or develop.

6 Joshua Nichols

Dynamics and articulations are extremely important in shaping prelude music, especially

since the form is fluid within any given piece. Dynamics and articulations are also a key tool to

improvisatory music which often relies on performer to provide spurious, capricious, or

Figure 5: mm. 1-2

extemporaneous help for listener to follow. The final prelude by Chopin is an intense marker of

this kind of compositional tool:

Figure 6: mm. 1-4

In it, accents (marked uniquely by stem down quarter notes) create a metric displacement

with the exposition of a theme in the right hand, creating compositional interest and texture.

Also coupled with it is the right hand’s ferocious melody which is heavily annotated with

crescendos, decrescendos, accents, and sforzandos.

Figure 7: mm. 62-66

7 Joshua Nichols

There are also idiomatic expressions, but they seem to be far less common than the other

tools already mentioned. There is one given by Chopin in his Preludes, No. 7:

In it, there is a slow Waltz, or possible Minuet, and the impetus of this work is the

expression of a balanced  time signature with heavy accent on the downbeat. The result of

this idiomatic texture is that it creates the conditions necessary to develop this prelude

musically.

It can be seen here in the Chopin preludes as well as previous preludes that the element of

improvisation is a necessary component of the prelude as a form. Structurally speaking, the

prelude has always exemplified what a good improvisor could do in the spur of the moment.

David Rakowski’s Compositional Technique

Figure 8: Prelude in A Major, all

The marketplace of musical thought is considerably wider today, as common practice

tonality has long since be left behind for a post-modernist approach to eclecticism.
8 Joshua Nichols

As the political overtones of pre-1945 and 20th-century Modernism receded

from memory and rock and commercial folk music took an oppositional,
political significance in both west and east Europe, the moral edge of
Modernism weakened, leaving composers free to become more eclectic
(Modernism, Botstein).

In this sense, the inherent tools of composition have become vague and displaced by a new

independent and tonally-free compositional technique. The traditional boundaries of meter and

harmony are far more subservient or even displaced by expressionism (Botstein). Thus, when

we arrive at David Rakowski’s music, a receiver of accolades including the Rome Prize, the

Elise L. Stoeger Prize form the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and a two-time

Pulitzer Prize nominee, his music nonetheless is as eclectic as the time period in the present

day. His music has garnered distinction among 20th- and 21st-century critics and has a

substantial amount of written music. So, even though he does not write within the bounds of

common-practice tonality, his music nevertheless follows basic principles of composition that

were outlined previous.

To date, he has written 80 preludes with 60 published. Published in volumes of 10 per book,

there seems to be an indication that he will write about 100, following his already written

piano etudes (of which there are 100) (Rakowski). Each book takes it’s own naming “theme”

even though there is not necessarily a reason for it (For example, the title of all the preludes in

book 2 are the same title, because “Why not?”) (3, Preludes, vol. 2, Rakowski). In reality, the

compositional techniques that were shown in earlier examples of keyboard preludes have been

stripped down to their most fundamental components and have been utilized in a non-

traditional manner.
9 Joshua Nichols

Rakowski upon observation heavily uses repetition as a key feature of his piano preludes.

There are many facets to this; repetition could be literal, harmonic, or rhythmic (via ostinato).

In prelude no. 21, titled “Sizzle,” all of these facets of extensive repetition are commonplace.

There are the literal repetition of notes (in a rhythmically imperceptible pattern), a repetition of

minor thirds and major thirds, repetitions of rhythmic ideas (ostinatos), and the repetition of

the intervals displaced far apart or right next to each other.

10 Joshua Nichols

For example, “Sizzle” begins with a simple two note gesture that unfolds gradually,

highlighting the minor third:

Figure 9: mm. 1-4

The presence of rhythmic ambiguity greatly assists the unfolding of the compositional form

without something as simple as a minor third to become mundane and used too much. There is

a relatively strict tempo indication, but the beginning of the work is impeccably specific in the

rhythms developed in the left and right hands. There are two sets of minor thirds, one being in

the left hand between B♭ and D♭, and the other in the right hand between B♮ and D♮. There

seems to be a programatic element to this work already, as the closeness of these intervals

mimics what might “sizzle” and pop. As the work progresses, the intensity of repetition also

increases:

Figure 10: mm. 5-6;  beginning second half of m. 6 in the R.H.

11 Joshua Nichols

The first major change occurs in measure six, where a  marks a C♮. Though no subito is

given, the dynamics are articulated in such a fashion, with immediate dynamic changes that

are independent throughout the left and right hands.

The first tutti moment is at measure 10, after silence:

Figure 11: mm. 9-10

In this moment, the first major third is given fo the work, and an expansion of this idea

continues to follow with the introduction of parallel thirds displaced by a fourth (particularly

in measure 14, beat 2):

Figure 12: mm. 13-14

Though the rhythmic texture here is still vague and difficult to predict, the presence of

repeating thirds germinate into other textures and registers, expanding and creating musical

interest in an otherwise non-tonal work. It is important to say at this point that there is no

central tonality indeed, but there is a ‘center of gravity,’ so to speak, and micro-centers of pitch
12 Joshua Nichols

given at a particular moment. The centrality of the 3rd in all of its forms and permutations

provides a canvas of color and musicality accessible to the listener. Rakowski does not stray far

from this, as he continues to develop the work as the introduction of octaves and more disjunct

rhythms populate the page:

Figure 13: mm. 25-37

Here, even the left hand continues to use the third as a central idea, including

enharmonically. The A♭ is a minor third away from F♮, but is also a major 3rd away from E♮,

enharmonically written for G♯.

Overall, “Sizzle” bears no resemblance to common practice tonality, but it’s concise use of

language and pitch class (whether is it [0 3] or [0 4]) is unmistakably “tonal,” insomuch that the

listener is not bombarded with complex information. The simplicity of design is unmistakeable

here. It is argued that this work, though thoroughly modern, shares a lot in common with

Chopin, much like his first prelude in C Major (Figure 4). There is a concise exposition of

material, of repetition, and of harmonic gesture which can be predicted by the listener. It is also

fair to say that, given the rhythmic ingenuity of the work, there is a certain improvisational

quality in the music which is a clear marker of prelude music.

13 Joshua Nichols

Rakowski uses the rest of the tools (melodic development, dynamics and articulations, and

idiomatic devices) throughout his preludes, but there are particularly succinct examples of

them in his prelude No. 29 called “Bump.” There is a rhythmic ostinato developed over a pedal

point, using subtle dynamic changes (through tenutos):

Figure 14: mm. 1-3

The B♮ used and accented by the tenuto creates a bed of tonality for all following material

to build upon. The melody is then first displayed at measure 3 in the right hand, starting with

G♯, and recapitulated in measure five:

Figure 15: mm. 4-6

The melodic development that occurs from this point onward continues to explore the

falling melodic set of half steps. In every instance of the melody, the descent of minor seconds

is present, as well as the rhythmic iteration of tuplets. This feature creates rhythmic drive and

keeps interest in an otherwise very static and slowly building work. In addition, the falling

minor seconds are broken up by other intervals, to create a memorability within the work. In
14 Joshua Nichols

measure five, there is a skip of a minor third followed by a whole step up. Looking at the

outermost contour of this melodic gesture, one can see that G♯-G♮-F♯-F♮ is the arrival of this

melody. The fact that the rhythm is displaced in the tuplet creates the sense that the D♯ is

merely a pickup to the F♮, the most important note in that particular melodic device. In

addition, in case it was not clear, there is a lack of tenuto below the D♯, allowing it to be

hidden.

The melody is consistently throughout, either in retrograde or hidden within another voice.

A prime example of this is at measure 13, where the lowest note in the right hand carries the

ascending minor seconds, then is repeated from G♮ in a mutation of the same set first going

down a half-step then rising by a half-step:

Figure 16: mm. 13-16

A key feature of the memorability and development of this melody is the presence of skips,

found in minor thirds, within the gesture. This is especially clear at measure 16, where there is

a leap of a minor third, followed by falling minor seconds:

Figure 17: mm. 16-17

15 Joshua Nichols

This melodic gesture has also been hiding in long form in the bass ostinato, beginning on

B♮, rising to D♮, then falling to C♯, then the piece ending on C♮.

Another key compositional technique employed by Rakowski is the use of shaping through

dynamic changes. There is a consistent shape provided in this prelude. Dynamics begin soft, as

soft as , and crescendo as loud as :

Figure 18: mm. 10-12

The high point of this prelude begins at measure 18 and crescendos to  by measure 22,

where the melody (given by skips of minor thirds) actually contains all of the half-steps in the

chords (in the right hand):


Figure 19: mm. 18-22

16 Joshua Nichols

Afterwards, there is great dynamic release as a general decrescendo pulls the music back

down to  and eventually ending on . The tool is consistent dynamics providing interest for

both the slow moving ostinato and the melody.

The final tool that Rakowski employs is the subtle idiomatic devices he conceives in the

construction of the tonality of this work. In it, to avoid traditional triadic harmony, Rakowski

uses the augmented and diminished triad as a center piece of harmonic arrival. This, coupled

with the ostinato (or pedal line) in the left hand gives this work a 20th-century French feel. It is

very much in the same vein as Maurice Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit, a difficult work for piano

with “Scarbo” titling one of it’s movements. The use of disjunct harmonies, whether it is

diminished, augmented, or combined with other qualities of chords, is very much present in

“Scarbo”:

Figure 20: Gaspard de la nuit, “Scarbo”, pg. 29, line 1

This idiomatic treatment of Rakowski’s music gives it much familiarity and similarly has

the same effect with an audience. This imitation is a simple use of chromatic harmony that

allows some (but not a lot) of a stability for the listener, such as in measures 23-24 in the right

hand:
17 Joshua Nichols

Figure 21: Preludes, “Bump”, mm. 23-24

In this case, stacked minor or major thirds as well as chromatic harmony and gentle

resolutions on traditional major or minor triads gives a great sense of stability for something

that has no key center and no semblance of traditional diatonic harmony.

It is through these very simple and seemly tools that Rakowski so brilliantly accomplishes

this prelude and many of his compositions. These tools are very effective and easy to translate

to other works.

Conclusion

The prelude is a staple of keyboard repertoire and has been encouraging composers to

improvise, meditate, or explore new musical ideas. Beginning with the very earliest records

found in 1440, what originally began as an extremely practical way of testing temperament and

tuning became well known as miniature form of musical expression, compact and expressing a

few things within the music, allowing composers and performers to improvise, write, or

imitate freely-designed works. With no formal design, the prelude has evolved into the 21st

century in no less of a profound way than in David Rakowski’s music. He takes a uniquely

modern approach to writing the prelude that uses traditional design (such as non-complex
18 Joshua Nichols

rhythms, i.e. using traditional rhythm such as tuplets, dotted values, and simple rhythmic

relationships, pitch class tools, simple rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic motifs). He approaches

rhythm, melodic development, dynamic interest, and idiomatic devices in a very similar way to

that of Chopin, Bach, and Buxtehude. The result is a unique blend of old and new realizations

of what the prelude can be: improvisatory yet structural, traditional harmonic relationships yet

exploited in a very post-tonal way, the use of dynamics and articulation to subtly influence the

listener’s ear yet fresh and never heard before, idiomatic and familiar yet completely unique to

Rakowski and his individual expression. What results is a very mature composition that is very

expressive.

But, exploring Rakowski’s music was merely discovering how a mature composer explores

the format of a prelude in new and fresh ways. It is easy to listen to music in a foreign

harmonic language and gather that it is too complex to be parsed or ‘figured out.’ The truth is,

however, that not only is Rakowski’s music inviting on the surface, but the relationships

between notes and rhythms discussed throughout this paper are waiting to be discovered with

an initial listen. His control of rhythmic motifs, harmonic language, and counterpoint is

profoundly mature, yet transparent and easily understood. In much the same way that

common practice music is so easily understood today, Rakowski’s music proves that it is

possible to speak in a fresh and exciting way that does not ‘re-invent the wheel.’ Though

Rakowski is distinctly in the present day of art music, he is nevertheless borrowing the same

tools that generations of composers before have used. Through the proving ground of music

history, Rakowski has shown and helped show that using simple tools to compose music does

not result in trite and contrived music; indeed, Rakowski transcends his own life by abiding in
19 Joshua Nichols

the tools of composition which have existed for centuries and refreshing a form of music

which is over 500 years old.


Works Cited
Bach, J. S. Complete Organ Works, Vol. 1. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 2013.

Botstein, Leon. "Modernism." Grove Music Online. 2 May. 2018. http://

www.oxfordmusiconline.com.ezproxy.fau.edu/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/
9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000040625.

Buxtehude, Dietrich. Präludien und Fugen. Copenhagen: Wilhelm Hansen Musik Forlag, 1952.

Chopin, Frédéric. 24 Preludes. Berlin: Bote & Bock, 1880.

——. Preludi. Milan: Edizioni Curci, 1947.

Ileborgh, Adam. The Organ Preludes of Adam Ileborgh Transcribed. Shane Brandes, 2015.

Ledbetter, David, and Howard Ferguson. "Prelude." Grove Music Online. 2 May. 2018. http://
www.oxfordmusiconline.com.ezproxy.fau.edu/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/
9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000043302.

Owen, Barbara. "Organ." Grove Music Online. 2 May. 2018. http://

www.oxfordmusiconline.com.ezproxy.fau.edu/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/
9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002252098.

Rakowski, David. Preludes, Book III. Leipzig: C.F. Peters Corporation, 2014.

Rakowski, David. “Preludes Book 3.” Zio Davino Music. http://ziodavinomusic.blogspot.com/

2013/09/preludes-book-3.html (retrieved 2 May 2018).

Rakowski, David. “Resumé Items.” Zio Davino. http://ziodavino.blogspot.com/p/resume-

items.html (retrieved 2 May, 2018).

Ravel, Maurice. Gaspard de la nuit. Moscow: Sovetsky kompozitor, 1970.