William Howard
24 Preludes & Fugues
- Type CD
- Label Champs Hill
- UPC 5060212590176
- Catalog number CHRCD 016
- Release date 01 April 2011
About the album
"I have no doubt that these 24 Preludes and Fugues are one of the finest piano works of our time..." - David Matthews
Novakʼs music is intensely spiritual, and is truly modern in that it adds something completely new to what has existed before. At the same time it is not overtly radical; it does not seek to destroy the existing order and replace it with something new. Novak retains strong links with tonality, but his tonality, with its frequent use of triads, sounds uniquely his.
The 24 Preludes and Fugues were written for the pianist William Howard over a 17-year period, and consequently reflect the evolution of Novakʼs musical language during this time. Many of them were premiered at the Dartington International Summer School.
This 75-minute work is divided into four ʻbooksʼ, the first two based on the Old Testament and the second two on the New Testament. Whereas the pieces in the first two books are distinct and individual, the cycle strives increasingly towards a unity of form as it develops, while at the same time revealing Novakʼs growing interest in unison and a consonance in his compositional language.
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11Book One (Old Testament): Prelude One. The Creation of Heaven and Earth
02:17 -
12Book One (Old Testament): Fugue One, The Creation of Man
01:52 -
13Book One (Old Testament): Prelude Two. The Age of the Patriarchs
01:37 -
14Book One (Old Testament): Fugue Two. Noah
01:41 -
15Book One (Old Testament): Prelude Three. The Flood
01:22 -
16Book One (Old Testament): Fugue Three. Noah's Ark
02:14 -
17Book One (Old Testament): Prelude Four. The Departure of Abraham
00:57 -
18Book One (Old Testament): Fugue Four. Abraham and Isaac
00:47 -
19Book One (Old Testament): Prelude Five. The Burning Bush
03:02 -
110Book One (Old Testament): Fugue Five. Moses
01:04 -
111Book One (Old Testament): Prelude Six. Saul and David
01:47 -
112Book One (Old Testament): Fugue Six. King David
02:59 -
113Book Two (Old Testament): Prelude Seven. Job
00:43 -
114Book Two (Old Testament): Fugue Seven. The Book of Proverbs
01:09 -
115Book Two (Old Testament): Prelude Eight. The Little Book of Psalms
02:41 -
116Book Two (Old Testament): Fugue Eight. The Little Book of Psalms
03:59 -
117Book Two (Old Testament): Prelude Nine. Ecclesiasticus
02:37 -
118Book Two (Old Testament): Fugue Nine. The Song of Songs
01:01 -
119Book Two (Old Testament): Prelude Ten. Elijah
04:04 -
120Book Two (Old Testament): Fugue Ten. Elisha
02:39 -
121Book Two (Old Testament): Prelude Eleven. The Lamentations of Jeremiah
01:21 -
122Book Two (Old Testament): Fugue Eleven. Jeremiah
01:03 -
123Book Two (Old Testament): Prelude Twelve. Isaiah
01:57 -
124Book Two (Old Testament): Fugue Twelve. Isaiah
02:36 -
125Book Three (New Testament) - 'The Word became flesh and dwelt among us': Prelude Thirteen
01:46 -
126Book Three (New Testament) - 'The Word became flesh and dwelt among us': Fugue Thirteen
01:19 -
127Book Three (New Testament) - 'The Word became flesh and dwelt among us': Prelude Fourteen
02:14 -
128Book Three (New Testament) - 'The Word became flesh and dwelt among us': Fugue Fourteen
01:11 -
129Book Three (New Testament) - 'The Word became flesh and dwelt among us': Prelude Fifteen
01:15 -
130Book Three (New Testament) - 'The Word became flesh and dwelt among us': Fugue Fifteen
01:33 -
131Book Three (New Testament) - 'The Word became flesh and dwelt among us': Prelude Sixteen
01:54 -
132Book Three (New Testament) - 'The Word became flesh and dwelt among us': Fugue Sixteen
00:30 -
133Book Three (New Testament) - 'The Word became flesh and dwelt among us': Prelude Seventeen
00:56 -
134Book Three (New Testament) - 'The Word became flesh and dwelt among us': Fugue Seventeen
02:07 -
135Book Three (New Testament) - 'The Word became flesh and dwelt among us': Prelude Eighteen. Aria, The Seven Last Words of Jesus Christ on the Cross
02:19 -
136Book Three (New Testament) - 'The Word became flesh and dwelt among us': Fugue Eighteen
00:42 -
137Book Four (New Testament) - Landscapes of the Lamb: Fugue Nineteen
00:52 -
138Book Four (New Testament) - Landscapes of the Lamb: Postlude Nineteen
00:40 -
139Book Four (New Testament) - Landscapes of the Lamb: Fugue Twenty
00:50 -
140Book Four (New Testament) - Landscapes of the Lamb: Postlude Twenty
00:44 -
141Book Four (New Testament) - Landscapes of the Lamb: Fugue Twenty One
00:50 -
142Book Four (New Testament) - Landscapes of the Lamb: Postlude Twenty One
00:40 -
143Book Four (New Testament) - Landscapes of the Lamb: Fugue Twenty Two
00:55 -
144Book Four (New Testament) - Landscapes of the Lamb: Postlude Twenty Two
00:31 -
145Book Four (New Testament) - Landscapes of the Lamb: Fugue Twenty Three
00:27 -
146Book Four (New Testament) - Landscapes of the Lamb: Postlude Twenty Three
00:28 -
147Book Four (New Testament) - Landscapes of the Lamb: Parellel Fugue and Postlude Twenty Four
04:05