88 Preludes Volume I

About the Preludes

The 88 Concert Tour spanned 5 years, 343 concerts, 30 countries, and all 7 continents. These Preludes are a musical journal of these experiences, all composed these during this tour by spelling out the names of concert hosts - or other dedicatees - in musical notes and then using those notes as the basis for a short musical composition. There are different ways to generate musical notes from letters. If the letter falls within the musical alphabet (A, B, C, D, E, F, G), composers can use those notes directly. Continuing from G, the letter H can be represented by the note A, I can be B, J can be C, K can be D, L can be E, etc. Likewise, if a letter or two letters correspond to any of the letters in solfège syllables (Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Si), the corresponding note may be used. Once the pitches are generated, they can be written forwards, backwards, on different clefs, in different rhythms, as harmony, melody, and in many other ways. When possible, I made every effort to use as few extra notes in the composition as possible so that the work may truly represent the name or names. In most cases, I composed the preludes on the day of the concert - or in the days immediately preceding the concerts - allowing up-to-the-minute influences of different cultures, sights, sounds, and musical styles. Volume I is dedicated to people I met in the United States.