poster for 2013 From Bach Disc 4
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Disc IV delves into the tradition of the prelude and fugue. More than an academic two-part structure, the prelude and fugue, in Bach’s hands, spoke to something deeply human. The prelude is an invitation into Bach’s fantastical imagination, and the fugue is an extension of the prelude’s expression into the formal complexity of Bach’s contrapuntal mindscape. Bach’s writing captivated Haydn and, two centuries later, the likes of Gershwin, Britten, and Shostakovich.