Chandos records is one of the worlds premier classical music record companies, best known for. To debussy, preludes were the musical equivalent of impressionistic painting. Preludes book 2 debussy preludes, opus 32 rachmaninoff by lawrence budmen while an entire concert of preludes may seem repetitive at first glance, the term had a very different meaning to various composers. The most important early example of the prelude being exemplified in the forty eight preludes and fugues of books i and ii of the well tempered clavier of bach, where the prelude served to. Claudio arrau considered it to be one of debussy s greatest preludes and said its miraculous that he created, in so few notes, this kind of depth. The most important early example of the prelude being exemplified in the forty eight preludes and fugues of books i and ii of the well tempered clavier of bach, where the prelude served to establish the tonal center of the fugue that followed it. Debussy s colouristic masterpiece, a bewitching compendium of scents, colours and sounds. Musical analysis as a technique for performance decisions in selected preludes by claude debussy a monograph submitted to the graduate faculty of the louisiana state university and agricultural and mechanical college in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of musical arts in the school of. This blog is dedicated to discussion of the performance of the piano pieces of claude debussy.
With standard notation, introductory text and performance notes does not include words to the songs. The beams on even the 32nd notes are very easy to distinguish. Debussys piano pieces require deep thought and understanding. Complete preludes, books 1 and 2 dover music for piano. Along with maurice ravel, he is considered one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions. Often dubbed a musical impressionist, but his music always has a. Daniel ericourt books iii ivory classics 73006 4cd priced as 2 vladimir viardo books iii propiano 224525. This sonata is probably one of the most profound and difficult piano pieces written. Playing debussys piano works an amateurs thoughts about. Not only are 24 short works a great deal to take in at one time, but there are some stylistic differences between them also. He was too good a composer to imitate debussy, although there are a few examples of direct influence it. The form of the keyboard prelude research online uow.
Thus, for example, instead of heading his 24 preludes in two books with programmatic titles in his autograph score, he appended them at the. Apr 03, 2014 unlike previous collections of preludes, such as those of j. A descriptive analysis of the preludes book 1 of claude. Three years exist between the publication of the first and second book, with the former appearing in 1910. Among french musics most avantgarde expressions, they also contain some of debussy s most atonal sorties. These works have been central to stevens repertoire for many years and he brings them to the studio after. Nature was central to debussy s artistic aesthetic. The two pieces by claude debussy chosen for this program share the ambience of a habanera. Some pedaling marks at the bottom if these pages were cut off. Recorded oktaven audio, yonkers, new york 2015 january 45 and 11 2015 april 7. Among the most important 20th century composers, and the most influential. Claude debussy, alexei lubimov, alexei zuev debussy.
In 1872 he entered the paris conservatoire, where he abandoned the plan of becoming a virtuoso. These works are distinct from debussy s images pour orchestre. Traditional diatonic harmonies have little driving force in these pieces, replaced by modal melodies and. Preludes books 1 and 2 piano solo sheet music schirmer. Free sheet music l 117, debussy, claude preludes, book 1. Debussy is closer to the expressionism of schoenberg than to the chiselled sonorities of a chopin or the extravagant virtuosity of a liszt, even if his refined art can still be seen in the line of tradition of 19thcentury music. A descriptive analysis of the preludes book 1 of claude debussy. Claude debussy h18621918 by the time he began writing the first book of preludes, claude debussy had established himself as an important and prolific composer having already produced most of the works that history would label masterpieces. Each book was written in a matter of months, at an. This paper also includes a brief history of preludes as well as possible influences upon debussy and his compositions. It is not necessary to be a virtuoso in order to play the notes of many of the pieces, but formidable technique and vision are required to create the colours and capture the changing moods. The beams on even the 32nd notes are very easy to distinguish many printers do not get such a high resolution and the spaces between 2 or 3 beams are often poorly defined resulting in fat black patches instead of distinct lines. The first book 1910 proved to be his most successful work.
Adopting the major piano works including the preludes, bartok absorbed the liberated message as deeply as he absorbed the idiom of the hungarian peasant. Recorded live during the marion rubin berman 31 piano honors concert april 12, 2012 in necs jordan hall in boston. Debussy preludes, book 1 by claude debussy 18621918. Any recordings you find of sviatoslav richter playing any of debussy s preludes are also worthy of consideration.
Claude debussy s two books of preludes, implying homage to both chopin and bach, revel in the composers innovative piano techniques. Program notes and biographical note on the performer in english 1 folded sheet. This thesis is a set of program notes that cover the historical background and a. Perhaps the most impressionistic of the preludes, its cloudy textures inhabit a remote harmonic world. Debussy may have contributed the last important evolution to the prelude. The composer who benefited most from this liberation was bartok, who was introduced to debussy s music by kodaly in 1907. Here in his first debussy recording for hyperion he presents the two books of images. Both books 1 and 2 of debussys popular piano preludes are contained in this one sturdy volume. Debussy preludes, bk 1 alfred masterwork edition and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. That this was general we can to some extent see from the sales figures quoted by roy howat.
I provide the original scanned version and the filtered, because the filter does some changes smoothening, sharpening borders and some portions of the scan get lost sometimes when they are too small e. Bach and chopin, debussy s do not follow a strict pattern of key signatures. Canope preludes, book ii, 19 playing debussys piano works. His second book of preludes published in 19 consists of twelve generous vignettes painted in a pastel kaleidoscope of pianistic colors. There are, of course, many other complete recordings of the preludes, books iii. There are evocations of calm seascapes, delicate wind tracery, and snowcovered landscapes. This piano piece was initially published in the year 1908 and is included in preludes by debussy.
Music for relaxation, reliance and relief 10,415,940 views 1. Im only an amateur pianist, but have been playing debussys piano works since the late 70s. A new album from marcandre hamelin is always cause for celebration. Douze etudes by claude debussy a pianists view helda. Sep 29, 2006 claudio arrau considered it to be one of debussys greatest preludes and said its miraculous that he created, in so few notes, this kind of depth.
A habanera rhythm is consistently heard in the left. Shop and buy complete preludes, books 1 and 2 sheet music. One only prays and hopes that the rest of debussy s piano music is somewhere in the near future, probably along with at least the core ravel piano works if not all the ravel piano music. Often dubbed a musical impressionist, but his music always has a strong sense of form. Topflight debussy preludes march 23, 2019 by joseph f. Roy howats editions of debussy piano music for the. Breiner for orchestra debussy completed his two books of preludes in 1910 and 19 respectively, and they contain some of his most visionary and poetic writing for piano. Canope preludes, book ii, 19 playing debussys piano. My concert programme notes on debussys etudes began to grow and finally took the. Achilleclaude debussy august 22, 1862 march 25, 1918 was a french composer.
While in an opera or ballet, a prelude may be a mood setting introduction to. Debussy, claude martinu, bohuslav villalobos, heitor muczynski, robert. The preludes are bravura works, each written to take advantage of the orchestral scope of a concert grand piano. Claude debussy s preludes are 24 pieces for solo piano, divided into two books of 12 preludes each. The three sonic pictures that debussy published in 1905 as the first book of his images are remarkably different in tone, but each stands at a distinct distance from the musical practice of its time. Claude debussy s painterly preludes the subtle, elusive quality of debussy s twentyfour preludes is captured perfectly by pianist paul jacobs, who plays them with a tolling, belllike sound. The more one learns about claude debussy, the more the enigma grows a composer who revered. The notes to the present collection describe literary or pictorial associations intended by debussy. Bach bach cpe bach j c badings barber bartok bauer bax beach. Complete preludes, books 1 and 2 by claude debussy 18621918. Stream adfree with amazon music unlimited on mobile, desktop, and tablet. P ierrelaurent aimards muchpublicised recent claim in an interview with a german newspaper that debussy is a greater composer than wagner is by no.
Dovers book of debussy preludes is made of extremely high quality print on heavier paper than usual. This is frequently forgotten in the interpretation as well as the assessment of his oeuvre. Published in two sets of twelve in 1910 and 19, the preludes comprise a profusion of ideas for connecting sound, mood, and image. His readings of the first book of preludes, and the first set of images is going to be much, much, much more than soothing pastel background music listening. This is the first book of twelve preludes composed by debussy, the second. Images usually pronounced in french is a suite of six compositions for solo piano by claude debussy. Works for piano by bach, mozart, beethoven, schumann, debussy. Bachs adagio assai mesto e sostenuto, and bachs cantata. Debussys preludes demand a great deal from pianists. The d major prelude, written in 1903, features what biographer david fanning calls consoling lyricism, as it combines dense piano textures with a meditative melodic line. They were published in two books series, each consisting of three pieces.
Audio recording, 2000 to 2099, debussy, claude, no. These compositions, while endearing themselves to both pianist and listener, also occupy an important place in musical. Both books 1 and 2 of debussy s popular piano preludes are contained in this one sturdy volume. I would suggest that each book of the preludes be listened to separately. Claude debussys preludes are 24 pieces for solo piano, divided into two books of 12 preludes each. Johann sebastian bach welltempered clavier book i prelude and. Music for relaxation, reliance and relief 10,533,468 views 1. The late mary antonietti, a pianist and cousin of gustav holst who met debussy when he came to london in 1909, remembered that book ii of the preludes was greeted in britain with slight disappointment. Debussy was the composer who freed western music from the claustrophobic confines of functional harmony, the set of rules that for 300 years had governed which chords fit best with which others according to how well their bass notes got along.
Still, as musicologist rollo myers notes, the pictorial element is not unduly stressed if stressed at all. This creates a rhythmic feel much closer to black africanamerican ragtime performances than to white imitation rhythms. California state university, northridge works for piano. Piano smp level 10 advanced composed by claude debussy 18621918. He was too good a composer to imitate debussy, although there are a few examples of direct influence it was. The purpose of this thesis is to discuss and give a descriptive analysis of twelve of the twentyfour preludes written by claude debussy. The paperback of the complete preludes, books 1 and 2. Giesekings brilliant debussy preludes in superlative xr remasters. Bach trio sonata in d minor for flute, violin, and continuo. Soyoung choe performs excerpts from debussys preludes, book 1. Here he reaches between those two to tackle one of the pinnacles of the piano repertoire debussy s two books. Debussy slightly shortens the first half of the beat of each syncopated two note figure in the bass while slightly emphasizing and elongating the second half.
The sleeve states that there are full programme notes available online, but when i. As for his piano compositions, after he completed the second book of preludes the only. The first book was composed between 1901 and 1905, and the second book was composed in 1907. This paper also includes a brief history of preludes as well as possible influences upon debussy. I bought these recently on cd, because i gave away my lps when i moved into a manhattan apartment in the late 1980s, i still miss them. Steven osborne has already made a name for himself in french music with a disc of alkan and a profoundly moving performance of messiaens vingt regards. Unlike some notable collections of preludes from prior times, such as chopins op. Chandos records is one of the worlds premier classical music record companies, best known for its ground breaking search for neglected musical gems. Much too prosaic when translated as dead leaves, the title may derive from a book of verse by the littleknown georges turpin. Book i was written between december 1909 and february 1910, and book ii between the last months of 1912 and early april 19. Debussy images book 1 free downloadable sheet music. Publication date 1910 topics preludes, for piano, scores featuring the piano, for 1 player collection.
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