Form and Structure
Each piece is in two parts—a prelude and a fugue--varying in pace, length and complexity (for example, Fugue No. 13 in F-sharp major is in five voices, but Fugue No. 9 in E major is in only two voices).
The pieces proceed in relative major/minor pairs around the circle of fifths: first C major and A minor (prelude and fugue nos. 1 and 2), then to one sharp (G major, E minor), two sharps (D major, B minor), and so on, ending with D minor (1 flat). (Frédéric Chopin's set of 24 Preludes, Op. 28, is organised in the same way, as are the earlier sets of preludes by Joseph Christoph Kessler, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, and Shostakovich's earlier 24 Preludes, Op. 34.)
Read more about this topic: 24 Preludes And Fugues (Shostakovich)
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