Suite of Preludes for piano (1952)

{slider=Suite of Preludes. Animato /fragment/ }

Tomasz Lupa - piano, Warsaw 1995

{/slider}

{slider=Suite of Preludes. Affettuoso /fragment/}

Tomasz Lupa - piano, Warsaw 1995

{/slider}

{slider=Suite of Preludes. Agigato /fragment/ }

Tomasz Lupa - piano, Warsaw 1995

{/slider}

{slider=Suite of Preludes. Teneramente /fragment/}

Tomasz Lupa - piano, Warsaw 1995

{/slider}

{slider=Suite of Preludes. Veloce /fragment/}

Tomasz Lupa - piano, Warsaw 1995

{/slider}

{slider=Suite of Preludes. Capriccioso /fragment/ }

Tomasz Lupa - piano, Warsaw 1995

{/slider}

{slider=Suite of Preludes. Furioso /fragment/}

Tomasz Lupa - piano, Warsaw 1995

Suite of Preludes

Suite of Preludes

The work consists of seven sections: I. Animato, II. Affettuoso, III. Agitato, IV. Teneramente, V. Veloce, VI. Capriccioso, VII. Furioso. They differ considerably in terms of tempo and emotional character: alongside lyrical and pensive sections, Suite contains very energetic and vigorous fragments. What also varies are the properties of the sound language. While parts second and seven refer to an expanded tonal system, the remaining parts are built in accordance with more modern principles.

In Teneramente and Veloce they resemble dodecaphony, which caused Suite of Preludes to be commonly regarded as Serocki’s first dodecaphonic work and the first Polish twelve-tone work in general composed after the war. The latter belief is untrue; moreover, in the context of all Serocki’s works Suite of Preludes remains only a preliminary exploration of the possibility of creating twelve-note series and their musical disposition in time and space.

Undoubtedly, Suite is a dazzling cycle of piano miniatures in which Serocki looks for his own means of expression with regard to all elements of music, bearing in mind the best achievements of the genre to date. We will find here persistent motoric rhythmic passages (e.g. parts I and III, which bring Bartók to mind), repetitions of broken chords (part IV) and even – as in Affetuoso  (part II) – almost blues-like phrases or (as in parts II or VII) phrases resembling the best Chopin models.

{slider=Sources:}

• Tadeusz A. Zieliński, O twórczości Kazimierza Serockiego [On Kazimierz Serocki’s Oeuvre], Kraków 1985.
• Stanisław Będkowski, “Dwunastonowość Suity preludiów Kazimierza Serockiego” [“The twelve-note system in Kazimierz Serocki’s Suite of Preludes”], Muzyka 1994 no. 4.

{/slider}

Sheet music available from: PWM