As an American and a guitarist I can't imagine composing a set of preludes and fugues without a grateful consideration of blues, ragtime and other popular styles. Overtly and obliquely these styles permeate the cycle alongside more obviously traditional European elements. I believe the music of Scott Joplin, Robert Johnson, Duke Ellington, and Thelonius Monk is as indissolubly part of the Western musical heritage as Bach, Haydn, William Byrd or Stravinsky. There is no "opposition" between twelve-bar blues and contrapuntal processes for me.

And if the history of American music is full of blues, it's also full of Gospel (and other styles). Alert listeners will note the variety of traditional Christian hymns woven into the cycle. My aim was to make a cycle that reflected upon the span of polyphonic music up to even its more "modernist" forms, yet remains traditionalist enough that a majority of the music could still potentially be played in liturgical contexts. I've played some of these preludes and fugues in church services. Just as the cycle was not composed with any duality in academic and popular music in mind, neither was it composed to be construed in strictly "concert" or "church" music terms.

Jeremiah Lawson

Artwork courtesy of Abhijit Kar Gupta at http://tinyurl.com/j5rsghd

1. Prelude in A Minor (Jeremiah Lawson)
2. Fugue in A Minor (Jeremiah Lawson)
3. Prelude in B Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
4. Fugue in B Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
5. Prelude in G sharp Minor (Jeremiah Lawson)
6. Fugue in G sharp Minor (Jeremiah Lawson)
7. Prelude in B flat Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
8. Fuguein B flat Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
9. Prelude in G Minor (Jeremiah Lawson)
10. Fugue in G Minor (Jeremiah Lawson)
11. Prelude in A Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
12. Fugue in A Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
13. Prelude in B Minor (Jeremiah Lawson homage to William Byrd)
14. Fugue in B Minor (Jeremiah Lawson homage to William Byrd)
15. Prelude in A flat Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
16. Fugue in A flat Major (Jeremiah Lawson)
17. Prelude in F sharp Minor (Jeremiah Lawson)
18. Fugue in F sharp Minor (Jeremiah Lawson)
19. Prelude in B flat Minor (Jeremiah Lawson)
20. Fugue in B flat Minor (Jeremiah Lawson)
21. Prelude in D Minor (Jeremiah Lawson)
22. Fugue in D Minor (Jeremiah Lawson)

Listen to: the entire album.

Release date: 8/31/2016
Daniel Estrem lives in Minnesota USA

Tagged as: Classical, Contemporary, Instrumental, Composer: Jeremiah Lawson, Classical Guitar

1. Christmas Through the Gateway by Osamu Kitajima and Chris Mancinelli: pan pacific ambient dance masters
2. A Solo Piano Christmas by Chad Lawson: Multi-award winning pianist and composer who is not afraid to put his hat in anything
3. Off the Rails by The Old Recruits: a new take on old funk
4. Malevolence by Sophia Marie: bad ass bass with soaring femme fatale vocals
5. Veils of Light by Tim Rayborn: Medieval and Middle Eastern music
6. CD2-Bach Cello Suites by Vito Paternoster: cellist extraordinaire
7. Oasis by Ensemble Al Asdeka: spicy and hypnotic melding of Arabic and Jazz
8. Kara Nomadica by Kara Nomadica: a fresh new sound driven by traditional Arabic and Turkish rhythms
9. After Hours by AlmaNova: lively flute/guitar duo
10. Blues for all Occasions by Alan Marchand: Toe Teasin' Jazz Tunes For All Occasions
11. Christmas Guitar by Jeff Wahl: acoustic new age and jazz guitar.
12. Ladislav Jelinek plays Smetana and Dvorak by Ladislav Jelinek: classical works from a World renowned pianist
13. Holiday Frost by Cari Live: thoughtful expressions through intelligent new age
14. Bringing Light to the Darkness by Music for a Winter's Eve: Early song and dance to celebrate midwinter
15. The Three Noble Strains by Tim Rayborn: Medieval and Middle Eastern music
16. Mews by Jasmine Brunch: a secret garden of lucid musical dreams
17. Autumn Suite Volume 1 by Chad Lawson: Multi-award winning pianist and composer who is not afraid to put his hat in anything
18. The Chill Funk Trip by Made of Wood: Groove laden chillout funk
19. Tasabasaba by To Life!: Music as a journey through tribal landscapes, rhythmic dance, hypnotic trance.
20. Twisted by Sophia Marie: bad ass bass with soaring femme fatale vocals

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