Prelude and fugue

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In classical music, the combination of prelude and fugue is one with a long history. Many composers have written one or, usually, several such works. The use of this format is generally inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach's two books of preludes and fugues — The Well-Tempered Clavier — completed in 1722 and 1742 respectively. Bach, however, was not the first to compose such a set: Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer wrote a 20-key cycle in his 1702 work Ariadne musica.

A number of composers wrote sets of pieces covering all 24 major and minor keys. Many of these have been sets of 24 preludes and fugues, or 24 preludes.

Works

The following works employ, sometimes loosely, the prelude-and-fugue format.

Composers of

The composers listed below, who lived and composed in the 19th and 20th centuries, employed this format.

See also