Präludium und Fuge D-Dur

**Prelude and Fugue in D major per Organo pleno, op. 3 No. 16**
**Composed and performed by NeoBarock / Andreas Nieden**
**Performed on the Mascioni organ of Giubiasco, Bellinzona, Switzerland**

This new work, *Prelude and Fugue in D major per Organo pleno*, op. 3 No. 16, is conceived as a large-scale organ composition in a consciously baroque and neo-baroque spirit. It is not a miniature, nor merely a prelude with a short fugue attached, but rather an extended architectural work in two substantial parts. Both movements are written for the full sonority of the organ, yet they treat the *Organo pleno* not simply as loudness, but as a broad, solemn and festive musical space.

The first movement, the Prelude, is written in a highly expansive manner. Although the musical language is rooted in baroque figuration, contrapuntal energy and organistic rhetoric, the formal conception follows a classical sonata principle. This is perhaps one of the most interesting features of the piece: it combines a baroque surface with a form that looks beyond the strict prelude tradition.

The Prelude opens with a clearly profiled thematic complex in D major. The texture is lively, rhythmically alert and full of forward motion. The opening material has the character of a festive organ toccata, but it is handled with the discipline of thematic work rather than mere passagework. The exposition establishes the main musical ideas and is then repeated, giving the listener time to recognise the thematic material and the tonal world of the movement. This repeated exposition also gives the Prelude a formal clarity which is almost symphonic in intention.