Geter | Prelude and Fugue (and Riffs, too)

Prelude and Fugue (and Rifs, too)

for orchestra

a�er J.S. Bach’s Prelude and Fugue No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 847 Damien

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Prelude and Fugue (and Rifs, too)

for orchestra

a�er J.S. Bach’s Prelude and Fugue No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 847

Damien Geter 2024

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Program Note

Prelude and Fugue (and Rifs, 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 frst 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 jazzinspired 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 diferent 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-fat–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.

Instrumentation

2 Flutes (Fl. 2 doubles Piccolo)

Oboe

English Horn

2 Clarinets in Bb (Cl. 2 doubles Bass Clarinet in Bb)

2 Bassoons

4 Horns in F

3 Trumpets in C

2 Trombones

Bass Trombone

Tuba

Timpani

Percussion (4 players):

Snare Drum, Bass Drum, Triangle, Crash Cymbal, Xylophone, Chimes, Glockenspiel, Large Gong

Strings

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Duration: c. 9 minutes

First printing, May 2024

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