{{Unreferenced, date=June 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) The prelude and fugue is a musical form generally consisting of two movements in the same key for solo keyboard. In classical music, the combination of prelude and

fugue In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the co ...

is one with a long history. Many composers have written works of this kind. The use of this format is generally inspired by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

's two books of preludes and fugues — ''

The Well-Tempered Clavier ''The Well-Tempered Clavier'', BWV 846–893, consists of two sets of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach. In the composer's time, ''clavier'', meaning keyboard, referred to a variety of ins ...

'' — completed in 1722 and 1742 respectively. Bach, however, was not the first to compose such a set:

Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer (some authorities use the spelling Johann Kaspar Ferdinand Fischer) (1656 August 27, 1746) was a German Baroque composer. Johann Nikolaus Forkel ranked Fischer as one of the best composers for keyboard of his day; ...

wrote a 20-key cycle in his 1702 work '' Ariadne musica''. A number of composers wrote sets of pieces covering all 24 major and/or minor keys. Many of these have been sets of 24 preludes and fugues, or 24 preludes. The first movement may be alternatively titled, resulting in a

fantasy and fugue Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and dra ...

, or a toccata and fugue, among others.

Works

The following works employ, sometimes loosely, the prelude-and-fugue format. * Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer: '' Ariadne musica'' (1702) *

: ** Prelude (Toccata) and Fugue in E major, BWV 566 (ca. 1705) **

Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543 Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543 is a piece of organ music written by Johann Sebastian Bach sometime around his years as court organist to the Duke of Saxe-Weimar (1708–1713). Extended footnote 1, with references in German. Versions an ...

(sometime around 1708–1717) ** Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 544 **

Prelude and Fugue in C minor, BWV 546 Prelude and Fugue in C minor, BWV 546 is a piece of organ music written by Johann Sebastian Bach, with the prelude dating around his time in Leipzig (1723–1750), and the fugue dating around his time in Weimar (1708–1717). ...

Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 548 Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 548 is a piece of organ music written by Johann Sebastian Bach sometime between 1727 and 1736, during his time in Leipzig. The work is sometimes called "The Wedge" due to the chromatic outward motion of the fugue ...

** ''

'', Books I and II (1722 and 1742) * Uncertain (formerly attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach) –

Eight Short Preludes and Fugues The Eight Short Preludes and Fugues (also Eight Little Preludes and Fugues), BWV 553–560, are a collection of works for keyboard and pedal formerly attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach. They are now believed to have been composed by one of Bach' ...

* Felix Mendelssohn: Six Preludes and Fugues Op. 35 (1827/37) * Franz Liszt: ** '' Fantasy and Fugue on the chorale Ad nos ad salutarem undam'' (1850) ** '' Fantasy and Fugue on the Theme B-A-C-H'' (1855 rev. 1870) * César Franck: Prélude, Choral et Fugue (1884) * Max Reger: '' Introduktion, Passacaglia und Fuge'' * Paul Hindemith: ''

Ludus Tonalis ''Ludus Tonalis'' ("Play of Tones", "Tonal Game", or "Tonal Primary School" after the Latin ''Ludus Litterarius''), subtitled ''Kontrapunktische, tonale, und Klaviertechnische Übungen'' (''Counterpoint, tonal and technical studies for the piano ...

'' (1942) * Leonard Bernstein: '' Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs'' (1949) * Dmitri Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 (1950–51)

Composers

The composers listed below, who lived and composed in the 19th and 20th centuries, employed this format. * Mark Alburger, ''12 Topical Preludes and Fugues'' * Algernon Ashton *

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (3 April 1895 – 16 March 1968) was an Italian composer, pianist and writer. He was known as one of the foremost guitar composers in the twentieth century with almost one hundred compositions for that instrument. In ...

* David Cope, 48 Preludes and Fugues * David Diamond, 52 Preludes and Fugues * Hiroshi Hara * Hans Huber *

Alexander Iakovtchouk Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

* Andersen Viana - Sinfonia Amerindia/Prelude and Fugue * David Johnson, 12 Preludes and Fugues * A. A. Klengel * Trygve Madsen, 24 Preludes and Fugues for piano, Op. 101 * Henry Martin * Felix Mendelssohn *

Bruce Cameron Munson The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been a ...

* Frank Tveor Nordensten *

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Second Piano Concerto ...

, 3 Preludes and Fugues, Opp. 99 & 109 * Vsevolod Zaderatsky, 24 Preludes and Fugues, 1937-39 * Dmitri Shostakovich, 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87, 1950–51 *

Dmitri Kabalevsky Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky (russian: Дми́трий Бори́сович Кабале́вский ; 14 February 1987) was a Soviet composer, conductor, pianist and pedagogue of Russian gentry descent. He helped set up the Union of Soviet ...

, 6 Preludes and Fugues for piano, Op. 61, 1958–59 *

Rodion Shchedrin Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin ( rus, Родион Константинович Щедрин, , rədʲɪˈon kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ɕːɪˈdrʲin; born 16 December 1932) is a Soviet and Russian composer and pianist, winner of USSR Sta ...

, 24 Preludes and Fugues for piano, composed in 1964 and 1970 * Igor Rekhin (b. 1941 in

Tambov Tambov (, ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna and Studenets Rivers, about south-southeast of Moscow. Population: 280,161 ( 2010 Census); 293 ...

, Russia), 24 Preludes and Fugues for solo Guitar, 1990 * Sergei Slonimsky, 24 Preludes and Fugues for piano, 1994 *

Nikolai Kapustin Nikolai Girshevich Kapustin (russian: link=no, Никола́й Ги́ршевич Капу́стин ; 22 November 19372 July 2020) was a Soviet composer and pianist of Russian-Jewish descent. He played with early Soviet jazz bands such as the ...

, 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 82, 1997 Musical forms