Prelude to a Kiss (song)

"Prelude to a Kiss" is a 1938 song composed by Duke Ellington with lyrics by Irving Gordon and Irving Mills.

Background and Composition

This composition is in the key of C Major, but makes extensive use of the secondary dominant chords, secondary ii–V–I progressions, and Cadence (music)#Interrupted (deceptive) cadences. The song extremely chromatic and complex, employing sophisticated mathematics that were rare at this time in jazz: Most notably, Ellington uses a set of rising semitones (G-G#-A-A#-B) at the end of the bridge, and then uses an exact mirror going back into the A section (B-A#-A-G#-G).

By the late 1930s, Swing music was at the height of its popularity. Using his fame and artistic freedom, Ellington became more ambitious and experimental, writing "Prelude to a Kiss" which abandoned the Tin Pan Alley style hooks and dance tempo, for melodic lines and harmonies found more often in classical music. Ellington originally recorded this piece as an instrumental in August 1938, before returning to the studio a few week later to record it as a vocal number, using lyrics by Irving Gordon and Irving Mills, with a young and relatively unknown Mary McHugh.

Prelude to a Kiss

Prelude to a Kiss may refer to:

Prelude to a Kiss (play)

Prelude to a Kiss is a 1988 play by Craig Lucas. It tells the story of a couple that falls in love despite the girl's pessimistic outlook on life. Shortly after their wedding, a supernatural event tests the strength of their love and commitment to each other.

The title is taken from the 1938 torch song of the same title by Duke Ellington.

Plot synopsis

Immediately after a young couple named Peter and Rita have exchanged wedding vows, an unknown elderly man asks to kiss the bride. As he does, Rita's soul and the old man's magically exchange bodies.

Neither Peter nor the wedding guests grasp what has happened. Peter leaves the wedding with a woman he believes is Rita. During their honeymoon, he comes to realize that Rita's body is no longer inhabited by Rita's true personality. He must find the old man and keep his love for Rita alive despite the fact that she is now in an unattractive body.

Dramatic analysis

Critic Frank Rich wrote: "...this play can be taken as an indirect treatment of [AIDS]. The epidemic is to Mr. Lucas what Babi Yar was to D. M. Thomas, and Peter's fidelity to his true love's soul is transparent. Critic James Hebert wrote: "When it premiered in 1990 it was widely presumed to be an oblique response to the ravages of AIDS. Long removed from that time, it becomes a broader commentary on eternal topics like the limits of love and the meaning of commitment."

Prelude to a Kiss (film)

Prelude to a Kiss is a 1992 American romantic fantasy film directed by Norman René and starring Alec Baldwin, Meg Ryan and Sydney Walker. The screenplay by Craig Lucas is based on his 1988 play of the same title.

Plot

Despite her pessimistic outlook on life, Rita Boyle (Meg Ryan), a liberal, free-spirited aspiring graphic designer and communist who earns a living as a bartender, falls in love with and marries Peter Hoskins (Alec Baldwin), the conservative employee of a Chicago publishing house. At their wedding, the couple is approached by Julius (Sydney Walker), a lonely, elderly man who requests permission to kiss Rita. When he does, their spirits switch places, leaving Peter with an aged man's soul inside his newlywed bride. Whether or not he can see beyond the physical and embrace the beautiful soul he loves, Julius will agree to return to his cancer-riddled flesh by kissing her again.

Cast