Prelude and Canon

This short duet is ‘canonic’ throughout; the opening Prelude leading to a true canon, beginning with the second violin. In the central, slower section, the violins reverse, and the first violin is the lead voice to the end of the piece, which ends with a brief coda referring to the Prelude.As well as hinting at the musical lan- guage that Stradivarius would have known,‘Prelude and Canon’ is inspired by traditional Scottish fiddle music, and Pibroch; the classical music of the Highland bagpipes.

‘Prelude & Canon’ was commissioned by Peter Lissauer for the Inaugural ‘Partial to Paganini Festival’ held at RSAMD, March 2006.The premiere, on March 17th 2006, was given by Clio Gould and Jonathan Morton, played on a Stradivarius by Clio, with Jonathan playing on a new violin inspired by Stradivarius, built that week by some of the best violin makers in the UK. Funding for this work was made available by the RSAMD and generously supported by the Scottish Arts Council.