Prelude (music)

A prelude is a short piece of music, usually in no particular internal form, which may serve as an introduction. Since Chopin, the term often connotated a short piano piece, not necessarily an introduction - one might play 24 successive preludes.

Related Topics:
Piece - Music

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Originally, an instrumental prelude was a short extemporised piece of music played before the main piece to be performed properly. It developed out of the natural tendency to play a few notes before commencing. The term is also used to refer to an overture, particularly to an opera or oratorio.

Related Topics:
Instrumental - Overture - Opera - Oratorio

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The French harpsichordists, following Louis Couperin, developed a form of unmeasured prelude, in which the duration of each note is left to the performer. It was used until the first decade of the 18th century; Rameau's first printed piece (1706) is in this form.

Related Topics:
Louis Couperin - Unmeasured prelude - 18th century - Rameau

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In Baroque music, the prelude was often paired with the fugue. Beginning with Bach, composers often wrote preludes in sets of 12 or 24, sometimes with the intention of utilizing all 24 major and minor keys.

Related Topics:
Baroque music - Fugue - Bach - Major - Minor - Keys

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