24 Character Preludes

SKU: BT.CM168

Twelve Astrological Preludes were written over a period of roughly two years and several were broadcast on BBC Radio 2's Friday Night is Music Night as well as in other concerts. Aquarius was written in 1994 as a filler to apopular BBC solo piano series of the time called At the Piano. It was named Aquarius for programming purposes and as Elms left the studio the producer called after him 'Only eleven to go' and so Twelve Astrological Preludes cameinto being.

The preludes, which run in the usual cycle, are based upon two melodic strands and there is one piece in each of the twelve major keys. The character and style of each
prelude alludes to certaincharactertraits of its particular birth sign and each piece bears the initials of a friend born under that particular sign.
Each prelude is prefaced by a printed description of some of the general characteristics deemed to beassociated with that sign. These are, of course, generalisations! Some preludes show a little deference to some of my favourite 'masters'.

Elms has recorded Twelve Astrological Preludes for the Herald label and they areavailable on the CD Moody Moves together with other pieces of his chamber music including the piano sextet from which the CD takes its name. More information is available at masterkeyboards.co.uk.

SKU: HL.50605345

ISBN 9781705180235. UPC: 196288106135.

Simil arly to Bach's cycle The Well-Tempered Clavier or to Chopin's 24 Preludes, and similarly to his own collection published in 2019, the Wolf-temperiertes Klavier, Péter Wolf penned 24 piano pieces again. His Jazz Preludes set examples for improvisation and make use of the entire stylistic spectrum of jazz, ranging from the gospel (“Anthem, No. 7”) to blues (“Windlass, No. 1”), bebop (“Crime, No. 11”), Latin jazz (“Tropical Night, No. 6”), and, of course, the world of ballads (“Nostalgia, No. 4” and “Question Without Answer, No. 16”). The individual movements are no mere style exercises or piano technique exercises but, like Debussy's preludes, they are expressive character pieces: musical images of a phenomenon, an emotion, a behavior pattern, a personal experience reflected by their titles.

SKU: OU.9780193401914

ISBN 9780193401914. 12 x 8 inches.

Preludes Inegales, is named after an improvisatory group of which Butler is a member. It explores ways in which improvised material can be worked on in more formal compositional ways. Butler then improvises again on the composed material, 'composing' again - and so on, resulting in this characterful set of preludes for solo piano.

SKU: FV.FUE-10215

ISBN 979-0-50182-215-7.

The work has been composed during a stay on Mauritius island in February 2017. The seven preludes have a very various writing, of oneiric character, and reveal a strong musical intensity. They are a tribute to the preludes of Alexandre Scriabin.

SKU: A7.ALEA1073

ABOUT THE COMPOSER: Jan Vicar, born on May 5, 1949 in Olomouc, studied accordion at the Conservatory in Ostrava, music and Czech at the Philosophical Faculty of Palacky University in Olomouc, and composition at the Janacek Academy of Performing Arts in Brno and Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. He specializes in musicology and composition. He served as editor-in-chief of the leading Czech music journal Hudebni rozhledy (Music Review, 1986-1989). His fifth book, Imprints: Essays on Czech Music and Aesthetics (2005), was published in English. He is a professor at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, and head of the Musicology Department of Palacky University in Olomouc. As a Fulbright/CIES scholar-in-residence, he lectured at eight universities in the United States (1998-1999). As a visiting professor, he taught composition and music theory at Birmingham-Southern College in Alabama (2005). He is the author of circa sixty diverse compositions - from orchestral pieces to cyclic works for children's choirs. ABOUT THE WORK: The Phantasms/Preludes, composed in 2001 with revisions by the composer in 2006, are a stunning set of twelve short character pieces for solo piano, with a total duration of approximately 34 minutes. The titles of the individual Preludes are shown below. The set has been recorded by pianist Daniel Wiesner (with the composer at the piano for No. 9: Bad Day), and is available from the Czech label Radioservis.

SKU: MN.25-600

UPC: 688670256004.

Ten hymn preludes for piano and treble instrument in C or B-flat. Creative writing for both the instrument and piano means each setting has a unique character and mood, with strong interplay between soloist and accompanist. Hymn melodies are recognizable, but not set in a predictable fashion—be ready for changes in key, meter, and texture—all of which breathe new life into the tunes.

SKU: LO.70-2313L

ISBN 9780787772987.

A unique concept is behind this collection from beloved composer and arranger Robert Lau. For each of the chosen hymns of praise, there are two entirely different organ settings: one of quiet prelude (or offertory) character and one of extroverted postlude character. They can be used as individual pieces or played at the beginning and end of worship to provide coherent service bookends.

SKU: HL.49045427

ISBN 9790001201674. UPC: 841886030848. 9.25x12.0x0.184 inches.

The 48 Preludi of the Venetian composer Renato de Grandis (1927-2008) were created, in large part, in the years 1998-2002. It was only subsequently that he arranged them in 4 cycles of 12 preludes each, while also drawing back on older compositions. Written in a traditional pianistic style, they are short sketches which are sometimes characterized by musical thoughts, sometimes by moods or natural phenomena. The fourth volume presented here is once again divided into two cycles of 6 preludes each, with the first cycle paying tribute to the landscapes and towns of Friuli north of Venice.

SKU: BR.EB-6773

ISBN 9790004169728. 9 x 12 inches.

The pieces contained in the present volume provide a link between the easy, dance-like movements contained in the Anna Magdalena Bach Book and the two-part inventions. The text corresponds very largely to that of the original source; missing dynamic and tempo markings must be supplied by the player himself in accordance with the character of each piece. The training of the student's feeling for style must begin here, his technical capabilities being taken into account. The occasionally simplified ornaments can also be treated in this manner. The fingerings are intended as suggestions for small hands; they must, of course, be adapted to the particular player's hands, taking tempo and phrasing into consideration. The editor has attempted to solve the problems of phrasing and articulation by means of his own suggestions, but without cluttering the text too much. Various alternative solutions (as indicated in no. 3) are possible, and should - insofar as they make musical sense- be realized in practice. By independently choosing a phrasing and writing it into the music himself, the student improves his unterstanding of the polyphonic structure and the form. Heinz Walter, Salzburg, Spring 1977.

SKU: BR.EB-6774

ISBN 9790004169735. 9 x 12 inches.

The pieces contained in this volume prepare the student for the playing in three and four parts that is required for the perfomance of the three-part inventions and the French suites. They are most appropriately incorporated into the teaching material after the two-part inventions have been studied. New technical problems, such as the passing under and over of fingers without using the thumb and the rapid substitution of fingers on one key, must here be solved. In order to make the fonn clear, the notation has been simplified as much as possible; the indications of fingering remain quite complicated enough, even though they cannot by far show all the possibilities. lt is necessary to adapt the fingerings to the mobility and span of the particular player's hands, whilst retaining the chosen phrasings to the best of his ability. Isolated notes which require a span exceeding the octave have been placed in brackets; the performance of the ornaments is shown in footnotes. As in the first volume, the missing dynamic and tempo indications must be supplied by the performer himself in accordance with the character of each piece. Especial attention must be paid in polyphonic music to the problem of phrasing and articulation. The editor's suggestions can be replaced by other solutions that make musical sense; these should then be written into the parts. An intensive preoccupation with polyphone structures can even at an early age increase the understanding and love of the musical work of art. Heinz Walter, Salzburg, Summer 1977.

SKU: SU.80101385

These five organ preludes of contrasting characters can be played as separate works, as a cycle, or in any subset combinations. (Preludio maestoso; Preludio con ostinato; Preludio staccato; Preludio quasi eco; Preludio festivo) Instrumentation: Organ Duration: 16'30 Composed: 2016 Published by: Zimbel Press.

SKU: SU.80101207

This extensive and incredibly useful collection contains twenty short, original organ pieces that require only manuals to perform. These highly melodic and energetic compositions are well suited for service playing or teaching. Pieces of varying characters -- preludes, offertories, and postludes -- have been included. Published by: Zimbel Press.

SKU: GI.G-10445

  Using several versions of the original work as inspiration, Zack Stachowski has arranged The Seven Last Words of Christ for solo instrument and piano, making Haydn’s music accessible to music ministers who may not have access to larger instrumental ensembles.    These prayerful meditations can be used as preludes, as music for reflection, or in ritual when singing is not permitted. Though the pieces are inspired by the Seven Last Words from the Cross and find their most obvious fit in the season of Lent and Holy Week, the diversity of color and character makes them suitable on other occasions throughout the entire year.   (Since these arrangements were envisioned as liturgy preludes or as instrumental pieces during ritual, Haydn’s original prelude and earthquake movements have been excluded due to their overtly dramatic and performative nature.)    .

SKU: HL.50605472

ISBN 9781705189467. UPC: 196288125211.

In his Sonata, Peter Wolf puts his style well-known from the character pieces of his previous piano series (Wolf-temperiertes Klavier, Jazz preludes) in the service of a demanding form. We can recognize the style that can be traced back to jazz and Bartok, the characters that tap like a toccata or swirl like perpetual motion, the singing lyrical melodies or even such playful turns as the baroque musette-like episode of the slow movement. Like Wolf's previous piano works, this multi-faceted composition, which sets high standards in terms of instrumental technique, was inspired by the outstanding pianist Jozsef Balog and gives the impression of his individuality as a performer.