Prelude, Op. 23 No. 5

1. 0:02
   Opening march, bars 1–⁠4

   Rachmaninoff marks the opening Alla marcia, in the manner of a march. The piano begins in G minor at a quiet dynamic, with short chords and rests over a bass line that moves between them.

2. 1:13
   Un poco meno mosso, left-hand arpeggios

   At Un poco meno mosso, the left hand plays broad arpeggios from a low D. Above them, the right hand joins its chords into a long, sustained melody.

3. 1:44
   Victor recording sessions, Camden, 1920

   Rachmaninoff made four takes of this Prelude for Victor in Camden, New Jersey. The two takes of 3 May 1920 were destroyed, and a third, on 4 May, was put on hold. The fourth, on 17 May, was approved and issued on Victor 74628, a twelve-inch record.

4. 2:14
   Return of the march rhythm

   The march rhythm returns ppp, with D major chords above low octaves. The score marks a gradual accelerando and crescendo back to the first tempo.

5. 2:35
   Return of Tempo I

   Tempo I restores the original pace. C minor chords sound forte over the leaping bass, and the short repeated notes of the march now fill both hands.

6. 3:25
   Closing bars

   The march grows softer. A G minor arpeggio rises, marked pp leggiero (very quiet and light), and a short high G ends the piece.

Joins

1. 1:13
   Low D opens the singing passage

   The march diminishes to bare D octaves. At Un poco meno mosso, a low D begins a broad left-hand arpeggio through D–F♯–A–C, the dominant seventh of G minor. Above it, the right-hand chords join into a melody. The piano is marked pp.

2. 2:14
   Low D octaves; the march in D major

   The running accompaniment slows and falls away, marked dim. e rit. Low D octaves introduce a fragment of the march in D major, marked ppp. The same short rhythm continues through shifting chords under the marking poco a poco accelerando e cresc. al Tempo I, and the piano accelerates and grows louder towards Tempo I (bars 49–⁠57 in the Gutheil first edition).

3. 2:35
   Return to Tempo I in C minor

   The march accelerates and leads directly into Tempo I. In bars 57–⁠59 low C octaves sound beneath C minor chords, now marked forte, and a further crescendo follows. The piano keeps the same clipped rhythm across the join.

4. 3:20
   Rising arpeggios in the closing bars

   The march chords descend with a diminuendo. At pp leggiero, G minor arpeggios rise across the keyboard above the last low bass notes. The piece ends on a detached high G.