A master in the art of counterpoint, Borden initially derived the musical material of each of the preludes and fugues in this collection from the letters of the name of the person to whom it is dedicated. Using the Pythagorean numerology alphabet, the remaining letters in the name were matched to a number, and then these numbers were assigned to the pitches of a mode that best "fit" the name. Once a suitable mode was found, and each letter assigned its pitch, the rhythmic shape of the fugue subject was determined.
David Borden is a pioneer in the field of electroacoustic music. In 1969, with the support of Robert Moog, Borden founded the first synthesizer ensemble, Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece Company, with which he performed his own works as well as music by Robert Ashley, John Cage, Terry Riley, Philip Glass, Steve Reich and others. The art of counterpoint has dominated Borden’s work, and his twelve-part cycle of works for synthesizers, acoustic instruments and voice, The Continuing Story of Counterpoint (1976–1987), has been called “the Goldberg Variations of minimalism.”
