A prelude is a short piece of music, usually in no particular internal form, which may serve as an introduction to succeeding movements of a work that are usually longer and more complex. Many preludes have a continuous ostinato throughout, usually of the rhythmic and melodic variety. They are also somewhat improvisatory in style. The prelude can also refer to an overture, particularly to those seen in an opera or an oratorio. A musical piece is a musical work that has been created. ... Music is a form of art and entertainment or other human activity that involves organized and audible sounds and silence. ... In music, an ostinato (derived from Italian: stubborn, compare English: obstinate) is a motif or phrase which is repeated over and over again at the same pitch [1]. Both ostinatos and ostinati are accepted English plural forms, albeit by different groups. ... Overture (French ouverture, meaning opening) in music is the instrumental introduction to a dramatic, choral or, occasionally, instrumental composition. ... The Teatro alla Scala in Milan. ... An oratorio is a large musical composition for orchestra, vocal soloists and chorus. ...

History

The very first preludes were lute compositions of the Renaissance era. They were free improvisations and served as brief introductions to a larger piece of music; lutenists also used them to test the instrument or the acoustics of the room before the performance. Keyboard preludes started appearing in the 17th century in France: unmeasured preludes, in which the duration of each note is left to the performer, were used as introductory movements in harpsichord suites. Louis Couperin (c.1626-1661) was the first composer to embrace the genre, and harpsichord preludes were used until the first half of the 18th century by numerous composers including Jean-Henri d'Anglebert (1629-1691), Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre (1665-1729), François Couperin (1668-1733) and Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764), whose very first printed piece (1706) was in this form. The last unmeasured preludes for harpsichord date from 1710s. The lute is a plucked string instrument with a fretted neck and a deep round back. ... Raphael was famous for depicting illustrious figures of the Classical past with the features of his Renaissance contemporaries. ... Piano, a well-known instance of keyboard instruments A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... Unmeasured or non-measured prelude is a prelude in which the duration of each note is left to the performer. ... Parts of a note In music notation, a note value indicates the relative duration of a note, using the color or shape of the note head, the presence or absence of a stem, and the presence or absence of flags. ... Harpsichord in Flemish style; for more info, click the image. ... It has been suggested that Suite_de_Danses be merged into this article or section. ... Louis Couperin was a French musician of the Baroque period. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Jean-Henri DAnglebert (died, 1691) was a composer and harpsichord player in the court of Louis XIV. He composed and published four suites for the harpischord as well as other music. ... Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre (née Élisabeth Jacquet, March 17, 1665, Paris – June 27, 1729, Paris) was a French musician, harpsichordist and composer. ... François Couperin (born Paris November 10, 1668 – September 12, 1733 in Paris) was an esteemed French composer in the Baroque style. ... Jean-Philippe Rameau, by Jacques André Joseph Aved, 1728 Jean-Philippe Rameau (September 25, 1683 - September 12, 1764) was one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the Baroque era. ... Events and Trends World Leaders King Louis XIV of France (1643 - 1715) Philippe II of Orléans, Regent of France (1715 - 1723). ...

The development of prelude in the 17th century Germany led to a sectional form similar to keyboard toccatas by Johann Jakob Froberger or Girolamo Frescobaldi. Preludes by northern German composers such as Dieterich Buxtehude (c.1637–1707) and Nikolaus Bruhns (c.1665-1697) combined sections of free improvised passages with parts in strict contrapuntal writing (usually brief fugues). Outside Germany, Abraham van den Kerckhoven (c.1618-c.1701), one of the most important Dutch composers of the period, used this model for some of his preludes. Southern and central German composers did not follow the sectional model and their preludes remained improvisational in character with little or no strict counterpoint. Toccata (Italian for touched) is a piece of classical music for a keyboard instrument, generally emphasizing the dexterity of the performer. ... Johann Jakob Froberger (May 18, 1616 – May 7, 1667) was a German Baroque composer, keyboard virtuoso, and organist. ... Girolamo Frescobaldi (September, 1583 – March 1, 1643) was an Italian musician, one of the most important composers of keyboard music in the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. ... Buxtehude Dieterich Buxtehude (Dietrich, Diderich) (ca. ... Nicholas Bruhns (1665-1697) was one of the greatest organists and composers of his time, and an important influence on Johann Sebastian Bach. ... In music, counterpoint is a texture involving the simultaneous sounding of separate melodies or lines against each other, as in polyphony. ... In music, a fugue (IPA: ) is a type of contrapuntal composition. ... Abraham van den Kerckhoven (c. ...

During the second half of the 17th century, German composers started pairing preludes (sometimes toccatas) with fugues in the same key; Johann Pachelbel (c.1653-1706) was one of the first to do so (his preludes being more or less similar to his toccatas), although Johann Sebastian Bach's (1683-1750) "prelude and fugue" pieces are much more numerous and well-known today. Bach's organ preludes are quite diverse, drawing on both southern and northern German influences. In music theory, the key identifies the tonic triad, the chord, major or minor, which represents the final point of rest for a piece, or the focal point of a section. ... Johann Pachelbel (IPA: []) (baptized September 1, 1653 – March 3, 1706) was an acclaimed Baroque composer, organist and teacher who brought the south German organ tradition to its peak. ... Bach redirects here. ...

Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer (died 1746) was one of the first German composers to bring the late 17th century French style to German harpsichord music, replacing the standard French ouverture with an unmeasured prelude. Fischer's Ariadne musica is cycle of keyboard music which consists of pairs of preludes and fugues; the preludes are quite varied and do not conform to any particular model. Ariadne musica served as a precursor to Johann Sebastian Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, two books of 24 "prelude and fugue" pairs each. Bach's preludes were also varied, some akin to Baroque dances, others being two- and three-part contrapuntal works not unlike his inventions and sinfonias. Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer (c. ... Ariadne musica is a collection of organ music by Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer, first published in 1702. ... Title-page of Das wohltemperirte Clavier A flat major (As-dur) fugue from the second part of Das wohltemperirte Clavier (manuscript) The Well-Tempered Clavier (in the original German: Das wohltemperierte Clavier[1]) is a collection of solo keyboard music composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. ... Johann Sebastian Bachs Inventions and Sinfonias (BWV 772-786) is a collection of thirty short keyboard compositions, consisting of fifteen inventions and fifteen sinfonias. ...

Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier influenced almost all major composers of the next centuries, and many often wrote preludes in sets of 12 or 24, sometimes with the intention of utilizing all 24 major and minor keys as Bach has done. Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) wrote a set of 24 preludes, Op. 28, which liberated the prelude from its original introductory purpose. Numerous composers after him have written preludes that serve as independent works: particularly important of these are Claude Debussy's (1862-1918) two books of impressionistic piano preludes, which influenced many later composers. In music theory, the major scale (or major mode) is one of the diatonic scales. ... A minor scale in musical theory is a diatonic scale whose third scale degree is an interval of a minor third above the tonic. ... The only known photograph of Frédéric Chopin (commonly mistaken for a daguerrotype), believed to have been taken by Louis-Auguste Bisson in 1849. ... The Preludes Op. ... Claude Debussy, ca. ... The Impressionist movement in music is a movement in music loosely set between the late nineteenth century, up to the middle of the twentieth century. ...

Preludes were also used by some 20th century composers when writing Baroque-inspired "suites". Such works include Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin (1914/17) and Schoenberg's Suite for piano, Op. 25 (1921/23), both of which begin with an introductory prelude. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Joseph-Maurice Ravel (March 7, 1875 – December 28, 1937) was a French composer and pianist, known especially for the subtlety, richness, and poignancy of his music and generally considered to be one of the major composers of the 20th century. ... Le Tombeau de Couperin is a suite for solo piano by Maurice Ravel, composed between 1914 and 1917. ... Arnold Schoenberg, Los Angeles, 1948 Schoenberg redirects here. ...

Notable collections of preludes

• J.C.F. Fischer's Ariadne musica (1702), contained 20 preludes and fugues in 19 different keys.
• Johann Sebastian Bach wrote the two volumes of the Well-Tempered Clavier (1722, 1744). Each volume contains 24 preludes, one in each of the major and minor keys, with each prelude followed by a fugue in the same key. The odd numbered preludes are in major keys, starting with C major and each is followed by a prelude in the corresponding minor key. The odd numbered preludes proceed up the chromatic scale (i.e No. 1 C major, No. 2 C minor, No. 3 C-sharp major, etc.).
• Ludwig van Beethoven wrote two preludes, Op. 39; each one cycles through all of the major keys of the piano.
• Frédéric Chopin wrote 24 Preludes, Op. 28, which cycle through all of the major and minor keys. The odd numbered preludes are in major keys, starting with C major, and each is followed by a prelude in the relative minor key. The preludes proceed through the circle of fifths (i.e. No.1 C major, No. 2 A minor, No. 3 G major, etc.).
• Claude Debussy wrote two books of 12 Preludes, Book 1 (1910) and Book 2 (1913), for a total of 24 preludes. The title of the prelude is given at the end of the piece, while a Roman numeral serves as the heading.
• Sergei Rachmaninoff, wrote a prelude, Opus 3 No. 2, Ten Preludes, Opus 23 and 13 Preludes, Opus 32, for a total of 24 Preludes.
• Alexander Scriabin wrote 24 Preludes, Op. 11, and numerous shorter sets of preludes. He followed the same pattern as the Chopin preludes (C Major, A Minor, G Major, E Minor, D Major, etc.)
• Paul Hindemith wrote Ludus Tonalis, (1940) a prelude, 11 interludes, and a postlude, all separated by 12 fugues.
• Alberto Ginastera wrote a cycle of 12 American Preludes (Doce Preludios Americanos) (1946).
• Dmitri Shostakovich wrote a cycle of 24 Preludes and Fugues in 1951, as well as an earlier set of 24 Preludes for piano.
• Lera Auerbach wrote three full sets of 24 Preludes, which cycle through all of the major and minor keys, for piano solo, violin and piano, and cello and piano respectively.

Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer (c. ... Ariadne musica is a collection of organ music by Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer, first published in 1702. ... Events March 8 - William III died; Princess Anne Stuart becomes Queen Anne of England, Scotland and Ireland. ... Bach redirects here. ... Title-page of Das wohltemperirte Clavier A flat major (As-dur) fugue from the second part of Das wohltemperirte Clavier (manuscript) The Well-Tempered Clavier (in the original German: Das wohltemperierte Clavier[1]) is a collection of solo keyboard music composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. ... // Events Abraham De Moivre states De Moivres theorem connecting trigonometric functions and complex numbers Publication of the first book of Bachs Well-Tempered Clavier Fall of Persias Safavid dynasty during a bloody revolt of the Afghani people. ... // Events The third French and Indian War, known as King Georges War, breaks out at Port Royal, Nova Scotia The First Saudi State founded by Mohammed Ibn Saud Prague occupied by Prussian armies Ongoing events War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) Births January 10 - Thomas Mifflin, fifth President... The chromatic scale is the scale that contains all twelve pitches of the Western tempered scale. ... 1820 portrait by Karl Stieler Ludwig van Beethoven (pronounced ) (baptised December 17, 1770[1] – March 26, 1827) was a German composer and pianist. ... The only known photograph of Frédéric Chopin (commonly mistaken for a daguerrotype), believed to have been taken by Louis-Auguste Bisson in 1849. ... The Preludes Op. ... In music theory, the circle of fifths (or cycle of fifths) is a geometrical space that depicts relationships among the 12 equal-tempered pitch classes comprising the familiar chromatic scale. ... Claude Debussy, ca. ... Claude Debussys Préludes are two sets of pieces for solo piano. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (Russian: , Sergej Vasil’evič Rachmaninov, 1 April 1873 (N.S.) or 20 March 1873 (O.S.) – 28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. ... Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (Russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин; sometimes transliterated as Skryabin) (6 January 1872 – 27 April 1915) was a Russian composer and pianist. ... Paul Hindemith (November 16, 1895 – December 28, 1963) was a German composer, violist, teacher, theorist and conductor. ... Ludus Tonalis (Game of the Notes or The Tonal Game) is a collection of piano works by Paul Hindemith. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (April 11, 1916 – June 25, 1983) was an Argentinian composer of classical music. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich (Russian: , Dmitrij Dmitrievič Å ostakovič) (September 25 [O.S. September 12] 1906–August 9, 1975) was a Russian composer of the Soviet period. ... The 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Lera Auerbach Lera Auerbach (Russian: ; b. ...

See also

• Chorale prelude