Prelude The
prelude is a lively two-part texture, using a series of
broken chords which swap between the hands. It is in a fast
time signature and is made up largely of
semiquavers. Later on in the piece, the semiquaver line splits between the hands before ending with a short
coda in an improvisatory manner. A
prelude is a short, introductory piece. It is reinterpreted in track 4 of
Charles Mingus' 1972 album
Let My Children Hear Music.
Fugue The three-voice fugue is unusually devoid of the commonly used fugal devices, such as
augmentation,
diminution,
inversion,
pedal point or
stretti. The cheerful
subject is characterised by descending broken 6ths in light
quavers. One of the
countersubjects is constructed with running legato semiquavers, whilst the other consists of longer note values. The fugue has an extensive sequential episode which develops through related keys before the reappearance of the three voices. ==References==