Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp minor "Le déluge ravageur".

In memory of the victims deceased in the February 6th earthquake, which has thus far claimed over 22,000 lives across southeastern Turkey and northwestern Syria. May their souls be welcomed safely into Heaven (or, given the fact that they are islamic-majority countries, into Jannah).

It might be worth noting that this piece's title in French technically references a flood, which I preferred due to the overall chromatic feeling evoked by the key both the prelude and the fugue were rendered into. The prelude's marked rhythm, however, was meant to induce in the listeners a sense of shaking despair that often comes with natural disasters in general, both literally and metaphorically.

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SoundCloud link:

Edited February 14, 20233 yr by Fugax Contrapunctus

Hi @Fugax Contrapunctus,

Apart from b. 15 of the fugue which maybe unplayable for harpsichord, I enjoy both the prelude and fugue. I do think it's more chromatic than your previous works even though they are already quite chromatic. Thanks for sharing and hope victims' family can recover well after their loss.

Henry

Your technique and inspiration are amazing.

However, I find the prelude too "heavy" for two main reasons: 1) the texture is always dense (five voices) with chords in percussive blocks. 2) those chords have tone that are too close in the bottom.

The fugue, although doesn't relieve the texture, is lighter because it runs in three voices.

In my opinion, in this complex contrapuntal style, putting a voice to rest now and then helps to keep the interest. Well, we only have to take a look at the great masters.