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Preludes album cover

Album guide

Preludes

Adam Birnbaum

Composer
J.S. Bach
Released
2023
Label
Chelsea Music Festival Records
Forces
Piano, Solo
Personnel
Adam Birnbaum, Matt Clohesy and Keita Ogawa

The project began with a 2015 Chelsea Music Festival commission to transform one Bach prelude and eventually grew into twelve.

Birnbaum keeps recognisable fragments of Bach in play but varies the method from track to track; in C minor, for example, the original left hand supports a newly invented melody.

Hear both

The classical side contains only the source pieces used on the album, in album order. The jazz side presents the complete album whenever a dependable copy can be embedded.

The originalsJ.S. Bach · classical source works

The listening queues above follow the same order. The classical player omits tracks that are not based on a classical original.

Jazzed upAdam Birnbaum · 2023
Open full album in Spotify

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Source works

The album’s complete track listing, with each classical source identified and original compositions marked plainly.

  1. Prelude In C MajorThe Well-Tempered Clavier I: Prelude No. 1 in C major, BWV 846
  2. Prelude In D MinorThe Well-Tempered Clavier I: Prelude No. 6 in D minor, BWV 851
  3. Prelude In Db MajorThe Well-Tempered Clavier I: Prelude No. 3 in C-sharp major, BWV 848
  4. Prelude In E MinorThe Well-Tempered Clavier I: Prelude No. 10 in E minor, BWV 855
  5. Prelude In E MajorThe Well-Tempered Clavier I: Prelude No. 9 in E major, BWV 854
  6. Prelude In C# MinorThe Well-Tempered Clavier I: Prelude No. 4 in C-sharp minor, BWV 849
  7. Prelude In D MajorThe Well-Tempered Clavier I: Prelude No. 5 in D major, BWV 850
  8. Prelude In Eb MinorThe Well-Tempered Clavier I: Prelude No. 8 in E-flat minor, BWV 853
  9. Prelude In G MajorThe Well-Tempered Clavier I: Prelude No. 15 in G major, BWV 860
  10. Prelude In Bb MinorThe Well-Tempered Clavier I: Prelude No. 22 in B-flat minor, BWV 867
  11. Prelude In F MajorThe Well-Tempered Clavier I: Prelude No. 11 in F major, BWV 856
  12. Prelude In C MinorThe Well-Tempered Clavier I: Prelude No. 2 in C minor, BWV 847