2020 until 2027

The aim of the project is to shed new light on the genre of piano prelude in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, taking into account music-theoretical treatises and textbooks on the preluding practice that was alive and widespread at the time. Historical writings on preluding, which were written during the period under consideration and/or are known to have been used for teaching, will be examined with regard to the theoretical-practical content conveyed therein. In particular, rules and instructions on harmony, counterpoint, modulation, as well as on the formal design of an improvised or composed prelude are to be focused on. The review of this chapter on the history of music theory not only allows conclusions to be drawn about contemporary compositional thinking, but also reveals aspects of historical compositional and theoretical didactics. The results of the investigations described will then be applied by means of analyses of selected prelude collections. They are of great interest for several sub-disciplines of current music theory teaching (such as piano improvisation and subject didactics).