5 Préludes, op. 44

The 5 Preludes were composed in 1943 in Saratov where Borys Lyatoshynsky had been relocated following the invasion of Kyiv. This epic music, composed in the context of war, expresses the composer’s hope of a future victory. Lyatoshynsky’s unmistakable harmonic language also draws on Ukrainian popular and folk music, as do his major chamber music compositions Second Trio and Ukrainian Quintet, written during that same period. The 5 Preludes can be performed separately yet they are conceived as a cycle, similar to a ‘Suite’ in which the reoccurrence of several thematic elements – albeit transformed – throughout the composition creates an overall dramaturgic perspective.