Prelude XXI in B flat major

Today I present the next prelude from my 24 preludes and fugues project. I composed it during the last few weeks as the „sketch“ for the current YCF Summer Competition „From Nothing, to Something“.

For those who are not familiar with that competition (yet), the task is „to take the text from Paul Verlaine’s summer poem “Donc, ce sera par un clair jour d'été,” (So, on a bright summer day it shall be) and turn it into a piece!“.

So the major challenge of this competition was not only to move from “nothing” to “something,” but I also tried to find a musical form that could capture this process of “searching”:

When a composer has trouble coming up with a brilliant idea for a new piece, it sometimes takes several attempts, each of which yields different individual ideas.

And there are some pieces that consist of several ideas that have been “glued” together, ultimately resulting in something like a “collage song.” I’m thinking, for example, of “A Day in the Life” by the Beatles or “Band on the Run” by Paul McCartney and Wings.

However, there also exists such a kind of piece in Bach’s Welltempered Clavier, the Prelude VII in E-flat major, BWV 852. That particular prelude starts with a short section with runs of 32th notes, followed by a „more serious“ part in slow motion, that reminds me at a „chorale“. The third and longest part is a fugato with two subjects that further develops the ideas from the first two sections.

With this particular Bach prelude in mind, I had thus found the model for the form and structure of my own prelude:

00:00 (mm. 1-14)

The first section is an „improvisation“ which introduces the warm key of B-flat major.

00:34 (mm. 15-29)

The second Adagio section could be a „chorale“ and is used to set the first stanza of the poem to music.

Since I don’t speak a word of French and have no idea how the syllables are rhythmicized, I looked at Gabriel Fauré’s setting of the poem in his Op. 61, No. 7 to find out which words are pronounced or sung briefly and which are longer. As an interesting fact, I discovered that Fauré had actually chosen the same key, B-flat major, that I had chosen before.

01:31 (mm. 30-90)

The third and longest section is a fugato based on two subjects, interspersed by further stanzas of the poem.

The first subject quotes the first four-note motif of the „improvisation“ section and develops it further, paired with the second subject, thus creating a joyful and dance-like mood.

04:22 (mm. 91-114)

The prelude finishes with a coda – or better to say – with a recapitulation of the „improvisation“ from the first section. Now in a more melancholic way, meandering between minor and major.

I hope, you’ll enjoy it. Wieland

Praeludium-XIII-F-sharp-major-with-coversheet.pdf

Praeludium-XXI-B-flat-major-with-coversheet.pdf

Edited September 16Sep 16 by Wieland Handke
corrected uploaded files

Hi @Wieland Handke!
That sounds great to me.
It captures that feeling of the end of summer—sitting under a tree and reminiscing.
The section around 1:34 is really enjoyable, and I especially like the final part at 4:40.
The melody line is nice, too.
Did you create the thumbnail yourself?
It looks good.
Thank you for sharing!

Best,

Lithl.

Hey @Wieland Handke that was really excellent. I found the music intellectually challenging, so I gave it a couple listens. This music has a great flow, but is also mentally stimulating, just like Bach. I didn’t read your introduction first, and while listening I kept thinking “this sounds like a modern Bach chorale”. Glad to find out I heard what you heard!

You speak the language of modern harmony, but here you speak it with a baroque accent. It works well. There’s just something about jazzy chords that gels so well with baroque rhythm/voicing. Makes me want to hear more of your work.

One idea: it would be fun to hear this with four instruments rather than one. For example, I think this piece could actually be turned into a chorale! Have you ever considered setting this to a poem? I bet a choral rendition of this would slay. There is tons of fun material for 4 singers to play with. Or a string quartet could be nice. Assigning each voice to a separate instrument could really free up those voices, and allow them to shine in a way entirely different than what can be achieved on keyboard.

Nothing wrong with a baroque style keyboard work! Even if you decide not to try it with a quartet, it’s still delightful. Nice work!