Bach-Shards
Prelude to Contrapunctus X from the "Art of the Fugue"
-
Ships in 2 to 3 weeks
Share
Details
Description
SKU: PR.114413450
Prelude to Contrapunctus X from the "Art of the Fugue". Composed by Shulamit Ran. Saddle. Set of Score and Parts. With Standard notation. 8+4+4+4+4 pages. Duration 4 minutes. Theodore Presser Company #114-41345. Published by Theodore Presser Company (PR.114413450).UPC: 680160570485. 8.5 x 11 inches.
A commission by the Brentano String Quartet, as part of the Art of the Fugue companion piece project, has Ran constructing a fascinating Prelude to Contrapunctus X. "I opted not to stray outside the r ealm of Bach-like materials and harmonic language," says Ran, instead using her own skills to create "something that's slightly different than the anticipated sum of the parts. A mildly deconstructed Bach, if you will." Bach-Shards leads directly to the entry point of Contrapunctus X, such that the entrance becomes a logical and emotional release of the energy built up throughout Ran's Prelude. Bach-Shards should always be performed as a prelude to Contrapunctus X. For advanced players. Duration: 4'.
While composing Bach-Shards I found myself gravitating, intuitively and gradually, toward a dual goal. First, though the tension and dissonance inherent in certain moments of Bach’s own maze-like contrapuntal structures could quite easily and naturally lead one into a pungent contemporary terrain, I opted not to stray outside the realm of Bach-like materials and harmonic language. Instead, it was my hope to alter their relationships and context in ways that add up to a something that’s slightly different than the anticipated sum of the parts. A mildly deconstructed Bach, if you will. The other important challenge I set for myself was building up the latter, toccata-like portion of Bach-Shards in a way that would make the entry point of the fugue which it precedes, Contrapunctus X, seem thoroughly natural. It was my intent to have the first fugal entrance feel like a huge and much welcome release of the energy created by my Prelude’s penultimate stretch, with its bravura figurations elaborating on an insistent dominant pedal point.