Ronn Yedidia: 24 Preludes of Dusk & Dawn

Ronn Yedida’s 24 Preludes of Dusk and Dawn were composed between April 2020 and March 2021 — during a trying time overshadowed by the global COVID-19 health crisis. This set of evocative and contrasting preludes pays tribute to several people and topics, as follows:

24 Preludes of Dusk and Dawn is dedicated to my mother, Rosa Yedidia (1933–2020), who passed away shortly after I embarked on its creation. In particular No. 4: “Rose in the Garden” is about her, and the one during which she departed. Having had doubts in regard to modulating between keys — starting in Bb Major and shifting to C Major — once I returned to this prelude, a week after my mother’s passing, I found its mystery resolved, and the puzzling modulation redressed as a metaphor for the transition between modes in human life.

24 Preludes of Dusk and Dawn pay a very personal tribute to Frédéric Chopin’s 24 Preludes, Op. 28 — collectively as a set in all different keys, as well as individually — with several preludes wholly inspired and directly referencing Chopin’s preludes as follows:

No. 6 “Winds of Destiny” (A minor) is in reference to Chopin’s Prelude No. 14 (Eb minor) as well as his “Funeral March” 2nd Sonata’s fourth movement, all of which exploit rapid linear unisons played by both hands in different octaves throughout.

No. 9 “The Answer” (Eb minor) is in reference to Chopin’s Prelude No. 20 (C minor), both ringing with big, stoic chords framed into a small and concise structure.

No. 12 “Budding” (F Major) is a double reference to Chopin’s Prelude No. 5 (D Major) and No. 11 (B Major), carrying their sweet spring-like fragrance, and feathery light touch.

No. 16 “Once Upon a Flower” (D minor) is in reference to Chopin’s Prelude No. 4 (E minor), both using a sparse and pensive melody over repetitive and slowly evolving left-hand chords, building toward a dramatic climax followed by a vanishing fadeaway.

No. 17 “Despedida, Diego!” (C minor) is in reference to Chopin’s Prelude No. 16 (Bb minor), sharing its bold and fiery fast drive.

No. 18 “Bubbles” (Ab Major) is a double reference to Chopin’s Prelude No. 8 (F# minor) and No. 19 (Eb Major), fusing the miraculous, jolly flow of No. 19 with the valiant flair of No. 8.

No. 19 “Never Again!” (F minor) is in reference to Chopin’s Prelude No. 18 (F minor), both sharing a bold element of rage and protest and alternating between swift unisons and monumental chords.

No. 24 “Oath and After…” (D# minor) is in reference to Chopin’s Prelude No. 24 (D minor), both heroic in nature and symbolic in their conclusive narrative. While Chopin’s prelude ends with huge gongs of fate to conclude the entire set, “Oath and After” reverberates with delicate chimes, and disappears softly and slowly. This prelude was slightly revised in July 2023.

Several preludes are dedicated to individual people who are dear to me, some of whom passed away during that period:

No. 7 “Dreams” (D Major) is dedicated to the eminent Italian film composer Ennio Morricone (1928–2020) and inspired by his deeply evocative music which has left an everlasting impression on me.

No. 11 “Calling of the Bird” (Bb minor) was composed in close association with the haunting Oiseaux Tristes from Miroirs by the great French Impressionist composer Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) and was dedicated to him. It evokes stillness of sound and echo which is interspersed by short melisma — i.e. the bird’s callings, and it passes through with ephemeral brevity.

No. 13 “Prayer” (B minor) is inspired by and dedicated to the prodigious keyboard composer Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757) whose epic Sonata in B minor, K. 87/L. 33 is imprinted in this prelude, carrying an echo from his time through to our time and hopefully onwards.

No. 17 “Despedida, Diego!” was composed immediately after the tragic death of Diego Maradona (1960–2020), one of world’s greatest soccer players of all time whose incredible talent and performances enthralled every soccer fan around the globe for many years — myself included. This prelude is dedicated to him.

No. 21 “Orly” (E minor) was composed right after the untimely passing of Orly Keren-Goldman (1981–2021), the daughter of my colleague and friend Cantor Dov Keren. I knew Orly from her early childhood in New York City. This prelude is dedicated to her.

No. 22 “Yasemin” (B Major “Impressionistic”) is about Yasemin Licata, the mother of two of my dearest piano students, whose warm and quizzical temperament inspired this prelude. I attached the adjective “Impressionistic’” to the key of B Major due to the varied modes which originate in that key, and which continue to alternate throughout the piece, imbuing it with impressionistic gestures and a sense of mischief and puzzlement.

No. 23 “Windows of Spain; Rest in Peace, Chick!” (B Major) was written and dedicated to the legendary jazz pianist and composer Chick Corea (1941–2021) a few days after his passing. His music had a tremendous effect on me and my jazz compositions during the 1980s. In this ethereal prelude of just few and drifting notes I intertwined themes from two of Corea’s most popular compositions: Spain and Windows — hence the prelude’s subtitle “Windows of Spain.”

As to the other preludes in the set, the first three bear no subtitles and only carry tempo and character markings.

No. 1 (C# minor) was started on April 27, 2020, and took a long time till its completion on June 16, 2020. It sets a tone of imploring lyricism and subliminal mystique embedded in gentle flow and eventually drifting away. Chronologically, the melodic No. 2 (G# minor) was composed after the mercurial No. 3 which is written in the unusual D# Phrygian mode and morphs into D# Major at the very end.

No. 5 “Fantasia” (G Major/E Major) and No. 20 “Memories” (Db Major) are fully immersed in film and Hollywood sounds — joining the same vein as featured in No’s 4 and 7. No. 8 “Storm of Fate” (G minor) and No. 14 “Before the Snow” (F# minor) belong with the group of highly impassioned and agitated preludes resonating with power and acute emotion. No. 10 “Butterflies” (Gb Major) and No. 15 “Fata Morgana” (A Major) are in the category of light, fleet and charming preludes, eliciting the sweet fragrance also found in No’s 12 and 18.

We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the generous people whose help was essential in bringing this project to fruition: Yehudit Goldstein, Jon Lee, Ryan Streber, Xiwei Wang and Rosa Yedidia.

–Ronn Yedidia and Gila Goldstein