The ''Préludes'' (''Preludes'') are a 1928–1929 set of eight pieces by French composer

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century, he was also an ou ...

, which were written when the composer was 20 years old and studying at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

. Messiaen considered it to be his first work of any value. The compositions are based on Messiaen's

modes of limited transposition Modes of limited transposition are musical modes or scales that fulfill specific criteria relating to their symmetry and the repetition of their interval groups. These scales may be transposed to all twelve notes of the chromatic scale, but at lea ...

, and betrays an influence of

Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

's preludes. They were premiered by the composer in a private performance at the Concerts Durand in Paris on 28 January 1930. The first public performance was given by

Henriette Puig-Roget Henriette Marie Eulalie Puig-Roget (9 January 1910 – 24 November 1992) was a French pianist, organist and music educator. Biography Born in Bastia, she began her musical studies at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1919. She won 6 first prizes ...

on 1 March 1930, at the

Salle Érard Salle Érard The salle Érard () is a music venue located in Paris, 13 rue du Mail in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris. It is part of the hôtel particulier which belonged, from the 18th century, to the family of piano, harp and harpsichord manu ...

at the

Société Nationale de Musique Groupe Lactalis S.A. (doing business as Lactalis) is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier S.A. Lactalis is the largest dairy pr ...

in Paris.Nigel Simeone, Olivier Messiaen: A Bibliographical Catalogue of Messiaen's Works.

There are eight preludes, which take about thirty-four minutes to play in full:

References

{{Authority control 1928 compositions 1929 compositions Solo piano compositions by Olivier Messiaen

Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century, he was also an ou ...

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References