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articles / Chopin

A Closer Look at Music Inspired by Rain

ChopinDebussyThe Great OutdoorsNatureWater MusicPop Culture

With all the rain we’re currently enjoying, I thought it’d be fun to take a closer look at music inspired by liquid precipitation. One thinks immediately of Chopin’s Raindrop Prelude, composed on a stormy afternoon in Mallorca, and Debussy’s impressionistic Jardins sous la pluie (Gardens in the Rain).

The piano is often called upon to evoke the sound of rain. Makes sense, but there are also pieces about rain for cello (Gretchen Yanover), for clarinet (Helen Habershon).

And there’s the Oscar-winning soundtrack music from The Last Emperor: Rain by Ryuichi Sakamoto.

What other “Rain” pieces can you think of? Make a request here!

ChopinDebussyThe Great OutdoorsNatureWater MusicPop Culture
Written by:
Dianne Nicolini
Dianne Nicolini
Published on 10.21.2021
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