Prelude and Fugue (and Riffs, too)

Prelude and Fugue (and Riffs, too) is a direct transcription of the famous Bach work from the Well Tempered Klavier. Only three minutes or so in length, I began to think about what a deconstructed expansion in my own voice might sound like while keeping the excitement of the original throughout. Since the piece begins with a series of running 16th notes, my first task was to actualize the implied harmonization which became the source for the Bach-like chorale that appears about three-quarters into the work. Before that, the fugue becomes a jazz-inspired triple-metered permutation of the original.

I was also interested in the sounds one hears when the piece is played on solo piano at a rather quick clip, how different interpretations of phrasing can alter one’s perception of the music — the magic that happens between the short notes on top that help shape those phrases, for example, along with the continuous sequences in the prelude were source material that were developed throughout this new iteration. Counterpoint is heavily prevalent.

Since this was a collaboration between myself and Bach, I decided to implement a couple of musical monograms;  Bach’s last name (B-flat–A–C–B nat.) along with my own initials, DLG (the L played as A, or La) which is clearly heard at the end as if signing a letter, placing my own mark on a composer whose work continues to inspire us after many centuries.