The Six Preludes (dedicated to Val Drewery) were written in 1945, and were amongst Lennox Berkeley's most popular piano works.The Six Preludes op.23, were originally commisioned by the B.B.C. as musical interludes between Radio programmes, however, despite the cancellation of this idea, Berkeley carried on with the idea and this eventually became the "Six Preludes". He intended this work to be easy to interpret, while still retaining a certain amount of pianistic effect, as he later admitted,.." after completing the whole set as the Preludes, two out of the six pieces(no's.1&3) turned out to be unexpectedly difficult, but even so, none of them require a virtuostic pianist." One pianist whom Berkeley wrote and dedicated some of his later piano works for around this time was Colin Horsley, works such as, "Scherzo" op.32/2(1949),(Horsley also recorded the "Six preludes" for Lennox in 1949,) "Concerto for piano" op.46(1954) and "Concert study in E-flat" op.48/2(1955). In 1945, Berkeley had left the B.B.C., where he had worked as an Orchestral programme planner for three years and took up a Teaching position at the Royal Academy of Music. Amongst other works that he composed around about this time, were the piano pieces, "Paysage"(1944) which he wrote to commemorate the liberation of France, "Five songs"op.26(1946), "Stabat mater"op.28(1947) and the "Piano concerto"op.29(1947). Lennox Berkeley, around this time, like many of his fellow composers such as, Vaughan Williams, Arthur Bliss and William Walton, also wrote Film scores, Berkeley's Film scores included, "Hotel Reserve" and "Out of Chaos"(1944) and "The First Gentleman"(1948). The first set(1.) of the "Six preludes" is almost reminiscent of Ravel whom Berkeley greatly admired, it has a vibrant originality about it. The remaining sets(2,3,4,5&6.) of the "preludes" have a crystal-clear feel throughout, an almost "Mozartian" quality to them and it is of no surprise that Berkeley was also a great admirer of Mozart. Overall, the Six Preludes 0p.23 have a certain sense of "joire de vivre" about them and a distinct air of finesse.

(Ⅰ) ALLEGRO.
The melody in this first piece starts with the left hand, accompanied by a delicate middle section of semi-quavers, somewhat "moto-perpetuo" on the right hand. Throughout this piece the melody line alternates between left and right hands and long "legato" passages are constantly underlying the melody. It is "pianistically" written, natural and fluid, with clarity and delicacy, in this first set, Berkeley is almost reminiscent of Ravel ! One important characteristic of Berkeley's works is that he has the ability to make a "short motif " extend itself into a much longer phrase and this Allegro is no exception to this. For the entire piece, the combination of the "minor and major third" is a key structural factor and it's crucial to the contrasting tonality that runs through it.

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(Ⅱ) ANDANTE.
The Andante is written in the key of A-major(the same key as his "piano sonata"), the long "legato"melody line is marked "Cantabile" and has a melancholic air. In this second piece, Berkeley's sensitivity and usage of tonality is again apparent and from the very begining his inclusion of an F# in the chord structure along with his combination of "minor and major thirds" once again, all serve to create a certain amount of tension and an ambiguity in it's key signature. Soon though, a counter signature in B-flat major appears and this later accompanies the melody line which is finally placed in "Alto" line marked "en dehors".

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(Ⅲ) ALLEGRO MODERATO.
This, the third of the six is in the key of F-major, a" Toccata like" piano piece. Pianistically speaking, it is technically demanding and quite tricky, by the middle section it's unsure of what key it's meant to be in! The contrary motion of the chromatic scale of both hands creates tension and induces in the listener a certain sense of anxiety as to where the piece is actually going. Berkeley's flexible usage of tonality always give his works something of a fluid nature. The theme later moves on to the key of A-major and then reaches it's climax in C-major, then finally returns back to it's signature key of F-major, before concluding delicately in the high register of the keyboard.

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(Ⅳ) ALLEGRETTO.
The Allegretto is in the key of E-major, and a charming sense of elegance and a certain wistfulness characterise this fourth piece. It is styled "mazurka" and written in 3/4 metre, double dotted semi-quavers are a characteristic of the piece and contributes to the "lightness" of it's elegant dance feel. One might feel it is reminiscent of Poulenc's" Trois pieces for piano"(1928) and in particular, his second piece-"Hymme", Berkeley, later said that it had impressed him very much.

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(Ⅴ) ALLEGRO.
This fifth piece is in the style of a "Rondo"(A-B-A-), and it is the only one of the six that constantly changes it's metre and rhythm throughout the piece. The opening motif starts in the key of B-flat major and consists of 3 bars of 7/8 and 5/8, this then returns after the middle section which comprises 17 bars of 6/8. Throughout the entire piece there is no "Ritenuto" evident, and so therefore the subtle graduation of dynamics and rhythmic impulses are absolutely crucial. Overall, the piece has a playfulness and charm about it, coupled with a certain air of restraint.

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(Ⅵ) ANDANTE.
The concluding piece of the "Six Preludes" is in the key of A-flat major, Berkeley himself described it as an "Epilogue" to the set, and it has a consistant rhythmic pattern of 6/8 and is written in the style of a "Siciliano". Berkeley had not wanted a fast piece to end the set, but chose instead to end the work with an eloquant lyrical piece that matches his opening piece(I."Allegro") and thus gives this concluding piece a charming nostalgic quality to end on.

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Kumiko Ida / Brian O'Hara-(text) Autumn 2005.