Update Title: 3143BDBD-42FC-45BB-B9CE-85F2B1F30A96

Titlecode

Title Name

Marketing Copy

Instrumentation

Commission

Dedication

Program Notes

I hold Bach's "Goldberg Variations" in a position of awe. I consciously employed structural mechanisms modeled after the "Goldberg Variations." I have based the overall architecture of my piece on a series of block chords which travel through the twenty-four major and minor keys in an irregular order. This sequence of chords, with its varied rhythmic weightings and melodic design, comprise the opening prelude of my set, and hence the additional (the twenty-fifth) prelude. Similar to the "Goldberg Variations," the remaining twenty-four preludes are divided into a cyclical structure, in my case: two sets of five, two sets of three, another set of five, and a final set of three. In each of the three sets of five, the individual preludes each share a particular character. For example, the third prelude of each five is in a jazz idiom, and the fifth of each set relates back to and further develops elements of the opening prelude's chordal progression. This parallels Bach's repetitions of two types of pieces and then a canon in each of his groupings of three variations. Furthermore, the relative importance of the individual preludes follows the rhythmic weighting and phrase structure of the first prelude, roughly analogous to the variations in the Bach following the ground of the Aria. For example, the final three (the most substantial) preludes relate back to the longer note values of the first prelude's last three chords.

Two other particularly important preludes--both of which also occur in prominent positions of the structure--are the fourteenth prelude, a fugue, and the seventeenth, a funeral march. I have dedicated "25 Preludes" to my father, who died suddenly during the year I was writing this work. Rather surprisingly (I did not consciously realize this till later), the trio section of the march features a motif that recalls "Reveille." This section was intended to portray the frightening, yet ecstatic experience that I had when leaving my father's apartment at about 5:00 am following the night he died. All was still and there was no sound except for a few birds; I had the sensation of my father's soul rising. It is this mood that I returned to, and amplified on, for the final prelude. In the key of F-sharp major, the most remote key around the circle of fifths from the opening key of C major, my intent is to close the work with an otherworldly quality (a mood perhaps reminiscent of the closing of the "Goldberg Variations"). --Haskell Small

Title Brand

Year Composed

Duration

Ensemble Size

Date Created

Date Updated

Inhouse Note

Bsc Code

Text Author

Premier Performance Memo

Recording Credits

Review

Awards

Title Category

Title Movements

Title Grade

Set Series ID

Title Instrument Category Text

Title Sub Category Text

Title Sub Category

Title Instrument Header

Title Grade Text

Clean Url