What is foreplay?

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The question "what are preludes" is sooner or later asked by connoisseurs of classical music. Translated from the Latin "preludo" means "introduction". This ancient genre of music allows the use of various interpretations and original author's solutions.

A bit of history

Answering the question "what are preludes", I would like to highlight all the curious facts associated with this term. This musical genre originated in the fifteenth century. Initially, the word prelude meant a small instrumental introduction to some larger work. Often it was improvisational in nature. Not limited by strict canons and rules, the introduction allowed the performer to fully demonstrate his virtuoso skills. It introduced the listener into the world of ideas, images and moods of the future work. A little later, preludes began to be written for operas and suites. At the same time, they retain the features of improvisation and a characteristic figurative texture. These features can be traced in the preludes of the eighteenth century, which at that time already stand out as an independent genre.

From that time to this day, these musical works are embodied in the work of many composers.

I. S. Bach

Covering the question “what are preludes”, one cannot fail to mention the work of J. S. Bach. It was in his compositions that a stable cycle was formed, consisting of two plays. As a rule, in it the freely developed musical idea of the prelude contrasts sharply with the strict, clear organization of the material in the fugue. A collection of Bach's works called The Well-Tempered Clavier can be considered a true encyclopedia of the genre. It included forty-eight fugues and preludes, different in content and character: mournful, scherzo, concentrated, solemn, dance, etc. Subsequently, some composers begin to introduce new features into this genre (Shchedrin, Chopin, Shostakovich). The prelude in their work acts as an independent work.

F. Chopin

Revealing the multifaceted expressive possibilities of this instrumental miniature, Chopin, one might say, gave this genre a "second birth". That is why, understanding the question “what are preludes”, you should definitely consecrate the work of this composer. His instrumental works, written in this genre, are distinguished by unexpected emotional contrasts, originality and richness of experiences. Chopin wrote twenty-four preludes.

S. V. Rachmaninoff

The works of this composer reflect a wide variety of images, ranging fromfrom intimate-lyrical and ending with monumental-epic and tragic. Rachmaninov's preludes are no longer miniatures with their characteristic intimacy, but rather large-scale concert works in which the artist uses the symphonic principle of development. Another characteristic feature is polymelody, when the accompanying and solo are presented as independent melodic lines.