Little Prelude for John McCabe was commissioned by John Turner, with funds provided by the Rawsthorne Trust, for an autumn 2016 concert at the Royal Northern College of Music to celebrate the life and work of composer and pianist John McCabe CBE.
The piece is based on the upper-case letters joHn mcCABE (H being B natural in German notation), but transposed. This interval succession acts as a cantus firmus throughout.