Sikorski
“This Suite of Nine preludes comes from the cycle of 24 preludes for piano, written in 1998, co-commissioned by the Tom and Vivian Waldeck and the Caramoor Music Festival in New York
I felt that the idea of reestablishing the value and expressive possibilities of all tonalities is as valid in our time -- as it was during Bach's time, especially if we consider the esthetics of Western music and its travels in regard to tonality during the last two centuries.
Prelude in D major -Andantino is dreamy and unreal. The always-different patterns in the left hand create an impressionistic sense of changing colors of water and air. The melody in the right hand is floating freely like the dreams of a child. The sound that I had in mind is close to the trembling sound of a Chinese violin. In the second half of the prelude a third voice is added; it is a strange chant in the ‘wrong’ key (C minor against D major). This creates the atmosphere of the blurry reality of dreams where a subject can be of wrong proportions and can relate to other subjects in a strange and unexpected way.
Prelude in E Flat Minor- Allegretto is a strange dance, resembling a tango, that disappears back into its dreamlike origins before becoming real.
Prelude in F-sharp Minor - Presto has stormy passages and harmonic waves that give birth to a melody that is made possible by cross-hands writing.
Prelude in F Minor - Grave is a Passacaglia that consists of several polyphonic layers in each hand.
Prelude in B Flat Major - Allegro Moderato is the apotheosis of apocalyptic sound of bells. Ironically, the "tune" of the bells is similar to the Moscow Currants-Clock on the Red Square, although all my Russian friends have failed to recognize it. This prelude is powerful, frightening and demanding.
Prelude in C Minor - Misterioso. This prelude may remind one of something long forgotten, which may have been heard before - but when? How long ago? In what life?
Prelude in B Flat Minor - Moderato - Allegro ma non troppo is, proportionately, the golden section of the cycle of 24 preludes. It is also it's the emotional climax. Baroque-like string arpeggios gradually become more and more harmonically intense. The sound volume is continually increasing until the piece reaches a culmination with the dissonant trill in the left hand. Although arpeggios continue quietly in the top register, this dissonant trill is roaring and literally "kills" the arpeggios. This is the only prelude in the cycle in which tonality is used in its purest form. This is why the moment when its purity is destroyed has especially tragic connotations.
Prelude in A Flat Major - Adagio is only 14 measures long. It starts with the overtone series but doesn't complete it, creating a counterpuntal texture instead. It is probably the most tragic piece in a major key I have written.
Prelude in D Minor. D Minor has the reputation of being the ‘Requiem’ key. Quite appropriately, it also happens to be the last key of the circle of fifths; thus, the key for the final prelude. This prelude, written in the form of a Rondo, summarizes the experience of all previous preludes and contains many final references and quotes from previous material. Complex levels and dramatic problems become most apparent here. The ‘Death-chord’ that was in one form or another present (although mostly hidden) throughout the cycle becomes very dominant. We hear the rhythm of the Passaglia from the Prelude in F minor, the Armageddon bells of the Prelude in B-flat Major, the chants of the Prelude in C minor, the trembling repeated notes of the Prelude in E-flat minor, the arpeggios of the Prelude in B-flat minor, all surrounded by the obsessive presence of the "Death-chord" and the finality of D Minor.”
(Lera Auerbach, Januar 2006)