The idea of Preludes and Fugues dates back to the origins of our duo, right at the end of our first season together in 2017, when we were preparing for the Universal Marimba Competition in Sint-Truiden. Into the program of the finals we decided to include some pieces of Johann Sebastian Bach, and that is how the Prelude and Fugue No. 24 came into our repertoire. Guided by our professors, we played the piece exploring marimba’s sound possibilities using nonconventional techniques, which created a whole new atmosphere and granted us with a warm applause and a second prize to bring back home.

Three years later, the idea of continuing with the exploration of our arranging style came to reality in the shape of this album, which sums up the view that we have about chamber music. Six different composers and their diverse way of facing the challenge of the form of prelude and fugue inspired us to enlarge our palette of colors and sounds on marimba and vibraphone. We would like to remark that this album represents a creative answer to one of the most challenging times we have faced so far in our lives: the COVID-19 crisis. Its impact is visible in the arrangements and in the introvert character that the pieces have in common. For example, Sgambati’s Prelude was first played during quarantine in a very chamber mode: in our place, playing on one (and only) marimba we had at our disposal. We developed the arrangement bearing in mind the situation we had, making it possible for two players to share one instrument. This adaptation to the circumstances made us a better, more unified duo.

That unification of sound is our main goal with this album. Once we prepared every detail, we found ourselves back in Luka Čabo’s Soundbrick Studio by the end of 2020, with our friend Šimun Matišić ready to produce and help. It was amazing to record in a familiar place with people who already understand our sound and philosophy. It was also a pleasure and a privilege bringing this music to life in a period when live performances were diminishing. We hope you will enjoy listening to it!