Ten Preludes for Piano

This is a project I have slowly worked on for about a year. Thoughts/comments/criticisms welcome. Edit: I have cleaned the scores up a lot.

Prelude No. 1.pdf Prelude No. 2.pdf Prelude No. 3.pdf Prelude No. 4.pdf Prelude No. 5.pdf Prelude No. 6.pdf Prelude No. 7.pdf Prelude No. 8.pdf Prelude No. 9.pdf Prelude No. 10.pdf

Hey, these seem very nice! I will check them out. Already "liked" them, I can just tell from glancing at a few of them...Yes, I'm worried about my best friend Jackie, wheezing/breathing problems, but she is probably ok; needs her Albuterol/Ventolin inhaler. I'll probably get some beer to help calm my nerves and listen; after all, my own music sounds better to me after a couple beers!😆(I sure don't want to hear my sonata again unless I know she's OK, it's about her! I had to listen so many times to edit, anyway, seeing that I can't even play piano.)

Edited June 12Jun 12 by Churchcantor

Thank you for taking the time to listen and comment 🙂

Wow!! These are great! I only wished that you posted these separately, as I hope these pieces get the attention they deserve being all together.

1. I love this one, the drama in it is set up nicely with the climax, and the chord colors are wonderful.

2. Great too, I maybe would have made bar 46 twice as long to really set up the cadence.

3. Beautiful in it's simplicity, I like that you spread out the difficulty in the set, letting some be much easier to play than others. It gives a better flow to the pieces as a whole as well.

4. Part of the arpeggios are in the right hand, correct? I would have notated that in the score. I really like the drama in this, and even though it wasn't my favorite theme, you developed this really well. I like the texture change in the middle.

5. Lol mock serious swagger :D This was super fun! The jazziness was a welcome change after the first 4 pieces. What about marking "freely" at bar 27? Do you want the RH rhythms right on the dot? Or is there an improvisatory aspect you're going for? It might be cool to let the player syncopate the rhythms to go with the steady walking bass.

6. I like that this one broke away from the ABA style, I like the evolving part of the form.

7. like an ABAB, textures markings the sections. I really like those ethereal RH figures with the low bass.

8. Awesome fun! Kind of reminded me a bit of Baba Yaga, Mussorgsky piece. The ffffff is kind of excessive, but I'm guessing it's for playback purposes. Loved this one!

9. Much needed after number 8, as overall these preludes are on the heavier side. It sounds sweeter to my ears after the last one.

10. Ended with a bang, the drama is great here!

I must say, that overall I really loved the order of this set. Not sure how intentional it is, but it really made listening to this as a set more fun and enjoyable. Your talent is massive, I wish we heard more from you! Life is busy, but I'm glad you find the time to stop by and share what you've been working on.

There's some small editing errors, nothing major that jumped out at me (copyright 2025, stuff like that).

Your style is right up my alley, and I immensely enjoyed these. Thanks for sharing, friend.

@Thatguy v2.0 Thank you for taking the time to listen and comment on my preludes, especially with such thoughtful feedback! I really appreciate it. (And an award?!)

On piece 4, you are correct, the scales and arpeggios are meant to be in both hands, actually all the way from the 1st bar up to the 20th bar, and mss. 17-20, the L.H. crosses over to hit the chords on the 3rd beats. I should have been clearer in my notation.

On piece 5, that's a really great thought to add a "freely" direction at bar 27. This piece is meant to have a pseudo buttoned-up, but actually silly, free-form feel to it, and that kind of marking would fit well.

I really appreciate your concern about uploading these separately, but it's ok! Even if they do get less attention as a result. It was very much my intention for this set to be listened to in its entirety, with one piece moving on to the next one, and I'm pleased that it made the set more fun and enjoyable for you to listen to. Your preludes were actually an inspiration for writing them, as well as Felix Blumenfeld's incredible set of 24 preludes. (I don't have it in me right now to write as many as the both of you have! Maybe in time that will change.)

Again, thanks for taking time to listen and comment, it's much appreciated!

Hello @SergeOfArniVillage,

That is an exciting post and really a „project“ with a bunch of pieces worth to be reviewed!

So, first, to get an overview, I have taken a first look at the scores to see how the preludes are organized.

1. Prelude No. 1 (I) – C major (but ends in C sharp!)

2. Prelude No. 2 (II) – A minor

3. Prelude No. 3 (III) – G major or E minor

4. Prelude No. 4 (V) – D major (but ends in E?)

5. Prelude No. 5 (VI) – B minor

6. Prelude No. 6 (VII) – A major

7. Prelude No. 7 (VIII) – F sharp minor (but ends?)

8. Prelude No. 8 (IX) – E major (but ends with five flats?)

9. Prelude No. 9 (XI) – B major

10. Prelude No. 10 (X) – C sharp minor

Very interesting, the tonality of the pieces is not as obvious in every case, but I suspect, that the preludes are intended to be all in a different key and organized around the circle of fifth (the same way as Chopin’s 24 preludes or Shostakovich’s 24 preludes and fugues - the roman numbers I inserted above were the numbering according to that scheme) and therefore my first question, do you plan to complete the cycle to all 24 pieces/keys?

Now, I’m going to listen the single pieces.

Prelude No. 1

Yes, it starts slowly with a C major chord, but immediately asks three consecutive harmonic „questions“. They are developed further until a climax in fortissimo but retain unanswered with a finishing C#m(add9) chord.

A great overture which makes curious what will happen next, after the curtain rises.

Prelude No. 2

The overture continues! But now there is more movement, as the heavy chords are accompanied by driving sixteenth notes.

Prelude No. 3

Although it begins in G major, I am now certain that this is the E minor prelude. And that makes sense, because it provides the first moment of calm in the cycle.

With that in mind, I’m certain you should insert another piece (between No. 2 and No. 3) in G major—as a “heroic opening to the opera”—following the first two “introductory” pieces, which have built up tension that now needs to be resolved.

Prelude No. 4

Now it gets louder again. The prelude reminds me somewhat at Shostakovich’s prelude No. 6 in B minor from its op. 87. However, you interestingly achieved the feeling of a „French overture“ not by double dotted notes but only by accentuating and phrasing your semiquavers!

Just now – after 100 bars - I had the impression that it could become somewhat too repetitive, but you’ve presented the right answer to that feeling with your surprisingly ending of the piece with „staccatissimo strikes“ in mm. 101-103 and unexpected resolving to Em7.

Prelude No. 5

As surprising the former prelude ends, the new one starts in its opening six measures. But now starts the fun! (More than) an entire bar in rest, and than we have a ragtime which continues to change into a „free jazz“! I really enjoyed your „walking bass“ whereas I really could imagine a Jazz trio on the stage (with piano, double bass and drums).

A fantastic piece, perhaps my favorite from the ten ones.

Prelude No. 6

Calming down with the A major prelude with the opening F doublesharp diminished 7th chords. And even more in the Adagio section with its „ethereal mood“. But the calm is deceptive as the drama begins in bar 33 (or even earlier with the first fortissimo in bar 28).

Interesting contrasts throughout the entire piece as well as another surprising ending, as the finally reached A major chord is „disturbed“ or „spiced“ by an A sharp!

Prelude No. 7

A good companion with the previous one, both share the contrast between „drama“ and „ethereal feeling“, but this one in a somewhat more „pleasant“ way.

The combination of bass-heavy chords and pearl-like runs in the higher register lends the piece a certain beauty despite its dissonances.

The deceptive „endings“ (in mm. 41) and the rests (in mm. 18-19) arise a sense of tension and curiosity about what will happen next.

Prelude No. 8

Now we are back in a realm which I would describe as „Jazz“ (in a wider sense). Thriving rhythms and syncopation paired with complex chords.

It somewhat reminds me at the brilliant preludes (and fugues) or concert etudes of Nikolai Kapustin, the famous Jazz-pianist-composer.

Haha, and in mm. 53-53 the chords repeated eight times (from ff to fff) remind me at the famous eightfold repeated ninth in the left hand of measure 35 of Bach’s B major Prelude from WTC2 (BWV 892), so that we have even a reference there.

Prelude No. 10

I changed the listening order, since in my imagination to follow the circle of fifth as arrangement scheme, we should now come to C sharp minor:

Although the prelude features various, contrasting textural means, such as heavy chords, arpeggio runs and triplets, the „harmonic kaleidoscope“ of the previous preludes is now calmed down to a more tonal approach (as I see no accidentals at the ultimate chord, while being towered by a ninth).

Prelude No. 9

The cycle (so far) ends with a gentle or tranquil piece with pleasant – and sometimes dissonant – chords, thus finishing the arch to the Prelude No. 1.

But the curiosity for more prevails: After the expected ending in B major (over a pedal tone), you could not hesitate to create suspense or tension with the ultimate chord which leads us to the (possibly) next piece in G sharp (minor) ...

Final words.

It was a fun to take a closer look and to listen at your preludes and I’m very curious if that cycle would be continued – especially as my „project“ (it is somewhat a „life-time project“) is to compose 24 preludes and fugues (fortunately more than the half is already accomplished).

My thoughts or „review“ is merely subjective, and I did not analyze the scores thoroughly to „find nitpicks“. The only thing I discovered is that there were some notes I am not able (or willing) to read due to the amount of ledger lines …

Great work!

Wieland

Edited August 22Aug 22 by Wieland Handke
Typos

Hello,

Sometimes the problem with writing so much music is that it takes so long to listen to it all. I have been listening to the your pieces gradually in the last few weeks while at work to try to take it all in.

I think others have made more specific comments, I'll just say a few things about overall impressions. Maybe there are more thoughts after...but I think when you've created something like this - it sort of takes on a life of it's own.

I mean from the most fundamental level, I find your music interesting to listen to and I enjoyed listening to it multiple times. So in that regard, from a subjective perspective, I am a fan. I dig your style. The opening notes from your first prelude sort of says: This is Classical music, but the chords are gonna be a little spicy at times. Which is great. Listening to your music feels familiar enough for me, but also exciting enough through the nice harmonies and ideas you got going on.

It's clear that you have put a lot of thought into it all. The pacing works great. I'm thinking that the 10 pieces need to be played in this order.

So the second thought is...can you actually play these compositions yourself? It gets very virtuosic at points. I would absolutely love to hear a recorded version of yourself playing it. I think there is only so much that comes through in these simulated recordings.

The third thought is that you clear have a style that shows through. Prelude 5 goes a bit off on a tangent stylistically from my ears, but I mean I think I hear a distinct "SergeOfArniVillage" style if that makes sense.

My favorite is probably Prelude 7. The right hand accompaniment that you do throughout is so nice. Really tickles the right places in my brain, if that makes sense. While you have the "loud" songs and the "soft" songs. I think I prefer the more quite and contemplative ones.

I also enjoyed Prelude 9 very much. Probably my second favorite.

I'm a big fan of adding descriptive titles to your pieces. I totally get if that's not your thing, but it would be so amazing to hear your own thoughts on what inspired you and what you were sort of going for when writing these pieces.

@Wieland Handke Thank you for taking time to listen and provide such thoughtful feedback! I liked the idea of making preludes in the style of rotating circle of fifths, but with my own twist. For example, the 3rd prelude being both the G Major and E Minor prelude (like two mini-preludes combined into a small "whole" prelude), and playing around with ending pieces on 9ths, (so B Major in 9th prelude ends on B#, leading to the C# minor ending, which was planned from the 1st prelude).

A lot of this was written with a "let's see where this goes" mentality. I like the feeling of writing music as though it's part of the creation process. A lot of times when I write music, it feels like I take the first step or two, and then the music (which is starting to form it's own "person") makes its own suggestions of where it wants to go, and back and forth, until it's finished.

(And you're right, I really need to add a few clefs to certain ledger lines so it's easier to read!)

@Grant Weep Thank you as well, for giving your thoughts and feedback! I like adding different levels of "spice" to my music. One day, I want to write some over-the-top spicy music, but I find it really hard to do so, because I want to write music that's both accessible and deep, and the more spice that's added, the more difficult it is for it to be accessible as well. That's a challenge that's on my to-do list to attempt.

I actually can play these pieces! If I practiced, anyway. I haven't bothered to perform any of my own pieces -- it takes a great deal of work and repetition. But these are in my technical ability, yes.

I occasionally do give descriptive names to my pieces, but these days, usually they are just given generic names. But sometimes I do have certain specific inspirations, ideas, or stories as to why a piece got created, or it's written the way it is. For example, I was having terrible writer's block as early as the 4th prelude. So, here I was, trying to get literally anything going -- making a series of preludes, and I'm already stumped at the 4th one, with nothing rattling around in my noggin. After a while, I thought, "what about musically portraying "beating head against wall?" So, super loud, brick wall octaves buffeted by crashing wave arpeggio figure? It felt weirdly right, and honest, and I just went with it. I mean, that isn't what the music's "about", but it's what inspired its existence.

5th prelude, I saw a cat on Instagram named Merv who could summon the demon "Bagagwa", and it amused me so much that it was the inspiration for the 5th prelude. Ms 8, lyrics are, "Who will sum-mon Ba-gag-wa?!" Cracks me up every time I hear it.

8th prelude, I started thinking of key words that I wanted to portray and bring to life. So, the 8th one was "fury". The 9th prelude, the key words were "space" and "void".

Hi @SergeOfArniVillage !

I really liked these pieces too! But what really drew my attention is what you said here:

23 minutes ago, SergeOfArniVillage said:

5th prelude, I saw a cat on Instagram named Merv who could summon the demon "Bagagwa", and it amused me so much that it was the inspiration for the 5th prelude. Ms 8, lyrics are, "Who will sum-mon Ba-gag-wa?!" Cracks me up every time I hear it.

I re-listened to the 5th Prelude with this "Who will sum-mon Ba-gag-wa?!" lyric in mind and it brought so much more meaning to the music! LoL .. I think this qualifies under a special technique of melody generation called "melodic mining". It can be used to produce lyrics for music as well, especially with the natural rhythms of the words. But in this case "melodic mining" can be used to turn common everyday phrases into melodies by "mining" their pitch and rhythmic content and transcribing them into melodies. So from that perspective, I especially found this prelude interesting!

The 8th Prelude certainly sounded furious! Also quite a notable use of the Locrian mode if I am not mistaken! It's hard to write in that mode without implying a different tonality/modality but you managed to pull it off! Possibly due to the strong featuring of the bass riff that strongly emphasizes the repeating E's. Now, looking at the score I realize that you have a G# mixed into the riff which means it's not exactly Locrian, but close!

Prelude 9 certainly sounds "spacey". I could totally see this as an accompaniment to an astronaut in their space suit serenely floating through the emptiness of space.

Thanks for sharing these and for giving us some backstory about how they were created!