HELEN 5/24: I wonder what everyone is thinking about the end of this collection — Steven, in particular. I think you can see by the title of this post what I thought. Looking forward to our visit.
STEVEN 5/25: I completely agree. The piece is much the same to play as to listen to: not easy, though easier than some of these pieces, and very powerful and majestic.
I was a little worried that the 7 page fugue would be exhausting, but then I felt like I hit the end before I was ready. As with #4, I really enjoyed the double fugue with the return of the first subject creating a big climax about 2/3 of the way through the piece. The simplicity of the first subject and the strong rhythm of the second subject also helped me draw them out and made listening to my sight-reading much nicer.
NADIA 5/25: I have been very busy with the end of my junior year at school so I haven’t had much time to reply to the group. I just came home this past weekend and now have access to the piano. I may have cheated the system a bit, but I was able to play through the entire first book over the last couple days! I’ll be moving onto the second book tomorrow.
These preludes and fugues are probably my favorite out of all our monthly projects. They’re definitely complex, but I like them (even if I struggle sight reading some). After I finish playing through them, I’m going to listen to get a better feel for the pieces. I’m looking forward to our chat!