Pianist Jacqueline Smit had an extraordinary idea—an inspiring one. She commissioned 24 contemporary composers to write a prelude inspired by the first part of Johann Sebastian Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier. This resulted in the creation of a new miniature work, aptly titled: b weird – prelude.

The lively composition does not modulate and stays in the key of B minor, albeit in an eccentric variation. Through its motoric patterns and certain musical gestures, b weird – prelude offers a humble yet fitting tribute to the Great Master.

“Not all composers believe in God, but they do believe in Bach.”

— Jacqueline Smit, pianist