Prelude and Fugue No. 2, Opus 1021

From the composer: "This cycle of nine preludes and fugues (2011/13) explores this familiar genre in a variety of manifestations. The preludes explore varied musical characters, serving as foils for their fugues. The fugues likewise take different approaches to the formal structure; no two follow the same plan.

Prelude and Fugue No. 2 (2013) was commissioned by Erik and Charissa Simmons and is dedicated to their daughters, Lydia and Emily. Its musical material is derived from their names. The mysterious prelude uses LYDIA as an ostinato theme, accompanying a continually changing melody in the (mostly) Lydian mode. The fugue uses EMILY as its subject, treated in a gentle, dancing two-voice texture in the manuals, over slower statements of the subject in the pedals."