the.com/prelude
the opening act so good it forgot it was supposed to be small.
means A prelude is an introductory piece, action, or event that comes before and leads into something larger or more important.
from From Latin 'praeludium,' built from 'prae-' (before) and 'ludere' (to play) — literally a 'playing beforehand,' the way a musician might warm up before the real performance. The 'ludere' root is the same one hiding in 'ludicrous,' 'allude,' and 'illusion,' all of which trace back to the idea of play. English borrowed it through French in the 1500s, first as a musical term before it spread to mean any opening act for events of every kind.
- original job
- warming up fingers and instruments before the real piece
- chopin's rebellion
- wrote 24 that lead to absolutely nothing after
- latin roots
- praeludere means to play beforehand, to rehearse
- now standalone
- became concert centerpieces with no main event
- life metaphor
- everything before the thing is also a thing
bach's well-tempered clavier — 24 preludes and fugues composed 1722, foundational keyboard work
debussy preludes for piano — two books of 12 preludes each, composed 1910-1913, impressionist masterwork