“Plainte!” is a character piece in c# minor, appropriately subtitled “Elegie.” It starts with a five-measure, homophonic introduction that sounds like it is tonicizing G# major, giving it a brighter, happier sound. It then goes on to establish its tonic key of c# minor by using a IV-V-I chord progression. In this piece, Carreño rarely uses the minor iv chord and instead borrows the IV chord from the major mode. The use of the major IV chord, and especially the major I chord, used occasionally throughout and emphasized at the end, implies hope despite it being written in a minor mode. This piece is mostly diatonic, save for A# and B#, as is in the harmonic minor scale. There are, however, some chromatic moments, such as in measures 18 and 19, where Carreño uses a Neopolitan chord to create a sense of longing. Even with these “chromatic” moments, however, the piece as a whole sounds very consonant. Melodically, this piece always has a distinguishable melodic line with harmonic support in the other voices. This line trades voices, sometimes being in the right hand and other times in the left, but always distinguishable from the harmonic supporting voices.
The form of this piece appears to be through-composed, but there are at least four distinguishable motifs which, as mentioned previously, are traded throughout the different voices. The introduction is self-contained, with the melodic line beginning in the right hand and switching to the left hand in the third measure. The next most distinguishable motif begins in the left hand in the sixth measure. This line ascends until measure 8, where the right hand joins and continues the ascension. This motif continues trading between the left and right hands until measure 28. Then in measure 29, an eighth-note texture accompanies the new melody introduced in measure 30. Here, a dotted rhythm is contained primarily in the right hand until measure 37. The following melodic material is a simple four eighth notes followed by two quarter notes beginning in the left hand. As before, the motif is traded between the left and right hands. A transitional section consisting entirely of blocked chords in eighth notes follows, leading the listener to the closing section that uses all of the motifs from the piece until the last measure that concludes by arpeggiating the tonic chord, but in major.
