Sergei Rachmaninov - Moment musicaux No. 5, Adagio sostenuto in D-flat major

Adagio sostenuto in D-flat major from “Six moments musicaux“. Author: Sergei Rachmaninov (1873 - 1943). Following the torrential gauntlets of number four is the fifth piece, likened in a Ph.D thesis to a passage in the Bible, which says, “And after the fire came a gentle whisper.“ This is in direct reference to the position of the work between two pieces with “incredible pyrotechnics,“ as the figurative calm before and after the storm. The piece is similar to the form of a barcarolle, a folk song with a rhythmic tuplet accompaniment. Playing it takes approximately five minutes, the shortest in terms of measures. It is an adagio sostenuto with a simple melody presented in ternary form. Lacking any prodigious figures or difficult runs, the piece displays Rachmaninoff’s capability for musical lyricism. Although the piece seems simple, the mood must be sustained by playing simultaneously restrained but dynamic triplet figures in the left hand. The melody, a chordal texture