SUNDAY, August 9, 2020
Two really famous preludes…
They are both from the same opera, and that is not necessarily common. Any act or scene can have a prelude, and furthermore there is the problem that often an overture and a prelude are the same thing.So theoretically you can have as many preludes and overtures as you wish, although off the top of my head I would say that usually overtures come at the very beginning of an opera, while preludes are more likely to show up at the beginning of acts or scenes that are not at the beginning.
More about that at the end of this…
35:00 Lohengrin, Act I Prelude: 1847
This is really famous, and it is unusual in that it starts up very high in the strings, then gradually gets ever louder as the music descends. It just sets a mood. It intensifies, then gradually ebbs away at the end. This is called a prelude, but since an overture is the same thing, it is sometimes called an overture in recordings.
45: 58 Lohengrin, Act III Prelude: 1847
Strangely, I can barely remember this name, and I most surely do not know that it is from act III, but I love the music, and I’ve known it all my life. It’s fantastic brass music. I’d love to know how Wagner learned to write such incredible brass parts.
Wagner used both the name “prelude” and “overture” in a way that is rather confusing. Operas have scenes and acts, and there can be a prelude to any scene or act. However, when a piece of pure instrumental music plays at the very beginning, to me that’s an overture.
So, what are these things?
Definition of an overture, from Wiki:
Overture (from French ouverture ( lit. “opening”) in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century.
Definition of a prelude, from Wiki:
A prelude (German: Präludium or Vorspiel; Latin: praeludium; French: prélude; Italian: preludio) is a short piece of music, the form of which may vary from piece to piece.. The prelude also may refer to an overture, particularly to those seen in an opera or an oratorio.
And there you see the problem. An overture and a prelude may be the same thing, so in the case of an opera we can consider both words meaning pretty much the same thing.