ETYM French prélude (cf. Italian preludio, Late Lat. praeludium), from Latin prae before + ludus play. Related to Prelude.
Music that precedes a fugue or introduces an act in an opera.
In music, a composition intended as the preface to further music, especially preceding a fugue, forming the opening piece of a suite, or setting the mood for a stage work, as in Wagner’s Lohengrin. As used by Chopin, a prelude is a short self-contained piano work.
A prelude is often rhetorical in style, mixing fast runs and sustained chords. It thereby allows the musicians to form an aural picture of the sound quality of the auditorium. In orchestra concerts the overture fulfills a similar role. + prikaži više

ETYM French préparation, Latin praeparatio. Related to Prepare.
The activity of preparing; SYN. readying.