Debussy preludes book 1 program notes for cpe

Topflight debussy preludes march 23, 2019 by joseph f. Perhaps the most impressionistic of the preludes, its cloudy textures inhabit a remote harmonic world. This blog is dedicated to discussion of the performance of the piano pieces of claude debussy. This piano piece was initially published in the year 1908 and is included in preludes by debussy. Images usually pronounced in french is a suite of six compositions for solo piano by claude debussy. Debussy preludes, bk 1 alfred masterwork edition and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. A habanera rhythm is consistently heard in the left. Book i was written between december 1909 and february 1910, and book ii between the last months of 1912 and early april 19. The composer who benefited most from this liberation was bartok, who was introduced to debussy s music by kodaly in 1907. Daniel ericourt books iii ivory classics 73006 4cd priced as 2 vladimir viardo books iii propiano 224525.

My concert programme notes on debussys etudes began to grow and finally took the. Here he reaches between those two to tackle one of the pinnacles of the piano repertoire debussy s two books. Complete preludes, books 1 and 2 dover music for piano. Adopting the major piano works including the preludes, bartok absorbed the liberated message as deeply as he absorbed the idiom of the hungarian peasant. 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.

Claude debussy s preludes are 24 pieces for solo piano, divided into two books of 12 preludes each. Any recordings you find of sviatoslav richter playing any of debussy s preludes are also worthy of consideration. 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. This creates a rhythmic feel much closer to black africanamerican ragtime performances than to white imitation rhythms.

Thus, for example, instead of heading his 24 preludes in two books with programmatic titles in his autograph score, he appended them at the. Free sheet music l 117, debussy, claude preludes, book 1. The first book 1910 proved to be his most successful work. Claude debussy s two books of preludes, implying homage to both chopin and bach, revel in the composers innovative piano techniques. Johann sebastian bach welltempered clavier book i prelude and. His second book of preludes published in 19 consists of twelve generous vignettes painted in a pastel kaleidoscope of pianistic colors. 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.

Giesekings brilliant debussy preludes in superlative xr remasters. Each book was written in a matter of months, at an. The notes to the present collection describe literary or pictorial associations intended by debussy. The first book was composed between 1901 and 1905, and the second book was composed in 1907. Roy howats editions of debussy piano music for the.

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. This is frequently forgotten in the interpretation as well as the assessment of his oeuvre. This paper also includes a brief history of preludes as well as possible influences upon debussy and his compositions. 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. There are evocations of calm seascapes, delicate wind tracery, and snowcovered landscapes. 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. I would suggest that each book of the preludes be listened to separately. 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. 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. Complete preludes, books 1 and 2 by claude debussy 18621918. Often dubbed a musical impressionist, but his music always has a.

In 1872 he entered the paris conservatoire, where he abandoned the plan of becoming a virtuoso. Among french musics most avantgarde expressions, they also contain some of debussy s most atonal sorties. Bach and chopin, debussy s do not follow a strict pattern of key signatures. 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. 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. Debussy may have contributed the last important evolution to the prelude. Claude debussys preludes are 24 pieces for solo piano, divided into two books of 12 preludes each. The sleeve states that there are full programme notes available online, but when i. Debussy preludes, book 1 by claude debussy 18621918. Bachs adagio assai mesto e sostenuto, and bachs cantata. The preludes are bravura works, each written to take advantage of the orchestral scope of a concert grand piano. This sonata is probably one of the most profound and difficult piano pieces written.

Here in his first debussy recording for hyperion he presents the two books of images. Some pedaling marks at the bottom if these pages were cut off. Program notes and biographical note on the performer in english 1 folded sheet. Soyoung choe performs excerpts from debussys preludes, book 1. These works have been central to stevens repertoire for many years and he brings them to the studio after. These compositions, while endearing themselves to both pianist and listener, also occupy an important place in musical. 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. This paper also includes a brief history of preludes as well as possible influences upon debussy. A descriptive analysis of the preludes book 1 of claude. Preludes books 1 and 2 piano solo sheet music schirmer. Debussys piano pieces require deep thought and understanding.

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. California state university, northridge works for piano. Recorded oktaven audio, yonkers, new york 2015 january 45 and 11 2015 april 7. Music for relaxation, reliance and relief 10,415,940 views 1. The purpose of this thesis is to discuss and give a descriptive analysis of twelve of the twentyfour preludes written by claude debussy. Nature was central to debussy s artistic aesthetic. Dovers book of debussy preludes is made of extremely high quality print on heavier paper than usual. Much too prosaic when translated as dead leaves, the title may derive from a book of verse by the littleknown georges turpin.

A descriptive analysis of the preludes book 1 of claude debussy. Three years exist between the publication of the first and second book, with the former appearing in 1910. They were published in two books series, each consisting of three pieces. 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. 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. Achilleclaude debussy august 22, 1862 march 25, 1918 was a french composer.

Bach bach cpe bach j c badings barber bartok bauer bax beach. Playing debussys piano works an amateurs thoughts about. Stream adfree with amazon music unlimited on mobile, desktop, and tablet. Debussys preludes demand a great deal from pianists. Traditional diatonic harmonies have little driving force in these pieces, replaced by modal melodies and. Debussy s colouristic masterpiece, a bewitching compendium of scents, colours and sounds.

Canope preludes, book ii, 19 playing debussys piano works. 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. Douze etudes by claude debussy a pianists view helda. 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. 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. 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.

This thesis is a set of program notes that cover the historical background and a. Published in two sets of twelve in 1910 and 19, the preludes comprise a profusion of ideas for connecting sound, mood, and image. With standard notation, introductory text and performance notes does not include words to the songs. Claude debussy, alexei lubimov, alexei zuev debussy. Apr 03, 2014 unlike previous collections of preludes, such as those of j. Often dubbed a musical impressionist, but his music always has a strong sense of form.

He was too good a composer to imitate debussy, although there are a few examples of direct influence it. Both books 1 and 2 of debussy s popular piano preludes are contained in this one sturdy volume. This is the first book of twelve preludes composed by debussy, the second. The two pieces by claude debussy chosen for this program share the ambience of a habanera. These works are distinct from debussy s images pour orchestre. 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. Debussy images book 1 free downloadable sheet music. Publication date 1910 topics preludes, for piano, scores featuring the piano, for 1 player collection.

A new album from marcandre hamelin is always cause for celebration. Both books 1 and 2 of debussys popular piano preludes are contained in this one sturdy volume. The more one learns about claude debussy, the more the enigma grows a composer who revered. 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. Canope preludes, book ii, 19 playing debussys piano. There are, of course, many other complete recordings of the preludes, books iii. Unlike some notable collections of preludes from prior times, such as chopins op. The paperback of the complete preludes, books 1 and 2.

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. Not only are 24 short works a great deal to take in at one time, but there are some stylistic differences between them also. While in an opera or ballet, a prelude may be a mood setting introduction to. To debussy, preludes were the musical equivalent of impressionistic painting. Im only an amateur pianist, but have been playing debussys piano works since the late 70s. Works for piano by bach, mozart, beethoven, schumann, debussy. Still, as musicologist rollo myers notes, the pictorial element is not unduly stressed if stressed at all. Chandos records is one of the worlds premier classical music record companies, best known for its ground breaking search for neglected musical gems. Among the most important 20th century composers, and the most influential. Debussy, claude martinu, bohuslav villalobos, heitor muczynski, robert. Audio recording, 2000 to 2099, debussy, claude, no.

The form of the keyboard prelude research online uow. Shop and buy complete preludes, books 1 and 2 sheet music. Piano smp level 10 advanced composed by claude debussy 18621918. The beams on even the 32nd notes are very easy to distinguish. That this was general we can to some extent see from the sales figures quoted by roy howat. As for his piano compositions, after he completed the second book of preludes the only.