Score
Prelude X : for solo piano / Aristea Mellos.
Library shelf no. 786.2/MEL 10 [Available for loan]
Work Overview
As a child, my grandmother would sing me to sleep with a Greek lullaby that is widely known in Samos - the Aegean Island where she was born. Her mother sang it to her, she sang it to me, and now I sing it to my daughter. The lullaby represents an oral history - a testament of the unbreakable bonds of love.
In early January 2022, a friend sent my daughter Sophia a stuffed toy giraffe that we nicknamed Djoko. It was love at first sight for Sophia, who upon opening Djoko from his wrapping, swept him into her arms and began singing him the same family lullaby. This performative act of love and comfort inspired Prelude X, which draws from two musical sources: the style of the Brahms lullaby from the Op. 117 Intermezzi, and the opening of J.S. Bach's G Major Prelude from the First Cello Suite (BWV 1007). Alongside my love of both these composers, Prelude X celebrates the beauty of contrapuntal writing, and the endless variation it yields.
Work Details
Year: 2022
Instrumentation: Piano.
Duration: 4 min.
Difficulty: Advanced — Grade 7 - 8 AMEB
Dedication note: For Sophia
Written for: Stephanie McCallum
The composer notes the following styles, genres, influences, etc in relation to this work:
Lullabies, J.S. Bach, Brahms, Cello Suite, Preludes, Hemiola, Musical quotation, childhood, stuffed toy, maternal
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