Larry Bell: 24 Preludes and Fugues
Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta, Maja Tremiszewska, Jennifer Elowsky-Fox, John McDonald
Influenced by Bach's magisterial Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, composer Larry Bell's 24 Preludes and Fugues actually began as another work and it wasn't until he wrote a Prelude and Fugue in F Major for piano that he decided to complete the remaining preludes and fugues. Bell wrote the fugues first with their preludes being fashioned out of motives derived from the fugue's subject. Each is self-contained and designed to culminate in one large narrative that the listener may experience without knowing any of the specialized techniques of its composition. Larry Bell is an award-winning composer with the Rome Prize and the Charles Ives Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters to his credit, among many orders. His music has been commissioned and performed by a distinguished array of performers, chamber ensembles, and orchestras. The 24 Preludes and Fugues are performed by four outstanding pianists — Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta, Maja Tremiszewska, Jennifer Elowsky-Fox, and John McDonald — all of whom enjoy noted careers as recitalists and chamber musicians.
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Track Listing
| Title | Composer | Performer |
|---|---|---|
| Twenty-four Preludes & Fugues, Op. 156 | Larry Bell | Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta (piano); Maja Tremiszewska (piano); Jennifer Elowsky-Fox (piano); John McDonald (piano) |
Reviews
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A body of work influenced by Bach's magisterial Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, this lengthy recording recruits the pianists Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta, Maja Tremiszewska, Jennifer Elowsky-Fox, and John McDonald to flesh out Larry Thomas Bell's strong attention to tonality. The first 12 chapters belong to Rodríguez--Peralta, whose swift keys and exciting sense of melody unfold with moments of sublime beauty amid the quicker bouts, and Tremiszewska takes the next 12 pieces and emits a very playful spirit that can occasionally hold some tension in firm gestures, and other times mesmerizes us with the meticulous progressions. Elowsky-Fox's contributions land on the back half, where a stirring sense of intimacy is present and appreciated amid the sometimes lower registers, and McDonald exits the listen with swirling dynamics and a fascinating dreaminess. All the players on hand have enjoyed careers as recitalists and chamber musicians, and they certainly illuminate Bell's work with highly technical and universally enjoyable piano music that we could never tire of.
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(TROY1917) presents Bell's 24 Preludes & Fugues (2019), with 4 excellent pianists each playing 6. They are quite tonal, the fugues resembling Bach's in matter-of-factness and technical procedures. The preludes are freer, though, each "fashioned out of motives derived from the fugue's subject".
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