Prelude (Smeed Moeran)
Movements
Notes
Ernest John Smeed Moeran was an English composer of part-Irish extraction, whose work was strongly influenced by English and Irish folk music of which he was an assiduous collector. The Prelude for cello and piano was published by Novello in 1944.This is a simple yet profound piece. A broad and lyrical melody in major and 4/4 time is played over an extremely simple accompaniment. Common chords and sevenths are the staple harmonic feature. The tempo is ‘Adagio ma non troppo’ throughout. Although the piece remains in the opening key, there is a brief modulation towards the middle bars of the piece.
