Prelude in the Dorian Mode (1941) by Antonio de Cabezon/Grainger
Antonio de Cabezon (Spanish 1510-1566) was one of the 16th Century’s greatest keyboard performers and composers. De Cabezon’s music is richly polyphonic. Although he composed primarily for keyboard instruments, his music also possesses a haunting vocal quality. His tientos, such as the Prelude in the Dorian Mode, are instrumental fantasies built upon the opening motive. These compositions make masterful use of fugal counterpoint, creating tensions between the motive and imitative secondary lines.
In this Prelude in the Dorian Mode, the opening motive repeats at irregular intervals throughout the main body of the work, forming a basis for the four-part polyphony which evolves around it. This transcription of Antonio de Cabezon’s 16th century composition is one of a series which Grainger entitled “Chosen Gems for Winds,” the idea for which originated with his teaching at Interlochen Music Camp in Michigan from 1937-44.
The work itself, originally for organ, is “a beautiful synthesis of the contrapuntal texture and gracefully ornamented melody characteristic of late Renaissance music.”
