Harry Santen commissioned Elliott Carter to write "Enchanted Preludes" to celebrate the 50th birthday of his wife Ann, who was Music Director at public radio station WGUC in Cincinnati. The title is drawn from a Wallace Stevens poem called "The Pure Good of Theory": "Time...the enchanted space/In which the enchanted preludes have their place." Fitting both the context and the quotation, "Enchanted Preludes" is a joyous work in which the melody, played on the flute, seems suspended in air, with only the barest support, played on the cello. The flute mostly sprints its way through the piece, with dazzling runs and swoops reminiscent of Messiaen's flute writing interspersed only rarely with more reflective passages. The cello takes a mostly subservient role until the very end, when it seems to be struggling to match the effervescent flute. "Enchanted Preludes" sounds like its title: a little bit of magic, blessing a grand occasion.

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