Chorale Prelude (The Magic Flute)

Details

Chorale Prelude “Der, welcher wandert diese Strasse voll Beschwerden” (“He who walks along this path so full of troubles”) from Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), K. 620, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, arranged for two pianos by Greg Anderson / Full score / Difficulty: Advanced / Duration: 4 minutes / Pages: 5 / Copyright: 2013 / Work number: 070 / Appears on the album An Amadeus Affair / Spotify / Apple Music

Notes

In The Magic Flute’s Act I, Tamino stands before the Temple Guards who sing “He who walks along this path so full of troubles.” In this chorale prelude, Mozart channels his Masonic ideals of trial, discipline, and the pursuit of inner light as Tamino is urged to confront rites of passage toward enlightenment — a search for clarity in an over-stimulated world.

Mozart’s prelude itself pays tribute to Bach by adopting an antiquated Baroque form to heighten the moment’s solemnity: a slow, chant-like chorale melody set against complex counterpoint. In turn, this two-piano transcription honors Ferruccio Busoni, whose revered arrangements of Bach’s Chorale Preludes can make a piano sound like an organ.

— Greg Anderson