Preludio e Fuga (a 4 voci)

Again and again, Holliger enhances his virtuoso compositions by reviving historical traditions. In Preludio e Fuga, this return to history refers to the scordatura of the so-called 'Viennese temperament': It can be found in the most important repertoire pieces of the double-bass (such as in Mozart's Concert Aria KV 612) as third interval between the first to the third string and thinner strings which respond better.
But to Holliger, virtuosity has never been an end in itself: More and more motivic particles emerge from the sweeping 'Prélude non mesuré' with almost unreally flickering sounds due to numerous harmonics and gradually fit together to form the elements of a four-part fugue.
Produced in collaboration with Edicson Ruiz for whom Preludio e Fuga has been written, our edition presents the piece in two forms of notation to facilitate studying: in pitch and in finger notation.