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Edward Cowie: 24 Preludes - CD recording by Philip Mead (piano)

ORIGINALITY

This is a premiere recording of a major work for piano lasting over an hour in performance, by this internationally known composer, which was reviewed in Piano Magazine as being a contemporary equivalent of the Debussy Preludes. It explores the 24 major and minor keys and they are grouped into four books representing Water, Air, Earth and Fire. Each Prelude is associated with a specific location known and experienced by the composer.

SIGNIFICANCE

The historic precedent for a set of 24 preludes by Bach, Chopin and Debussy is here developed in a personal language. The composer is also an artist and this is the first work for piano to be created alongside paintings depicting the location as the first stage in the creative process.The composer asks for a new kind of listening "I hope that the listener will not only hear what has been imagined but also see what has caused and guided the flow of the music, one into and beyond another."

RIGOUR

The collaboration between pianist and composer took place over an eighteen month period. The initial sketches for the music were subjected to minute critical analysis on both a compositional and pianistic level by the performer and a meaningful synthesis of ideas between composer and performer emerged. At every stage of the publishing and recording process the work was revised according to insights gained, and the results reevaluated.The composer has written in the CD insert; " The 24 Preludes are dedicated to the pianist Philip Mead, who commissioned the entire cycle and whose richly insightful collaboration with me is entirely responsible for making the project happen in the way it did. I owe him more than mere words, for all that he has given to me and to this music."