Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: Variation X

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Musical Terms (3)

• bell texture English
  The characteristic Rachmaninoff evocation of Russian Orthodox church bells — deep bass resonances with high overtones shimmering above.
  A defining sound world. The bass notes must be played with full, round weight; the upper resonances are present but veiled. The pedal sustains the bell-like decay throughout.
• cantabile Italian
  Singing — in Rachmaninoff, indicating the wide-arching, deeply sustained melodic line that is the hallmark of his style.
  Rachmaninoff's melodies demand an especially sustained, warm tone and long-breathed phrasing. The right-hand melody often lies deep in the texture; it must be consistently voiced above the left-hand harmonies.
• misterioso Italian
  Mysterious — in Rachmaninoff, a specific hushed quality often associated with bell-like harmonics and veiled inner voices.
  Rachmaninoff's mysterious passages often involve bell textures (as in the Prelude Op. 23 No. 5 or the Isle of the Dead). The tone should have a distant resonance, as if heard across water.