🇩🇪Felix Mendelssohn ： 6 Preludes and Fugue No.5 in f-moll MWV U Op.35-5

The fifth piece in the six-piece set, this work is best heard as a pair of prelude and fugue. The prelude builds tension around its motives, with shifting harmonies and changes in texture guiding the music forward. In the ensuing fugue, the subject is passed from one voice to another, and the interwoven lines gradually gain density. A central point of interest is the transition from the prelude’s freer flow to the fugue’s clearly defined contrapuntal writing. In performance, bring out the subject as it passes between voices without allowing the inner parts to disappear, while giving direction to the smaller gestures. Use the pedal sparingly to avoid blurring the sonority, and carefully shape the gradations of dynamics and the breathing of each phrase to highlight the tension and forward momentum.