Each book was written in a matter of months, at an. That this was general we can to some extent see from the sales figures quoted by roy howat. These works have been central to stevens repertoire for many years and he brings them to the studio after. Three years exist between the publication of the first and second book, with the former appearing in 1910. Poissons dor, from images, book ii meiting sun piano. 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.
Canope preludes, book ii, 19 playing debussys piano. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Debussy dover music for piano by debussy, claude isbn. Chandos records is one of the worlds premier classical music record companies, best known for its ground breaking search for neglected musical gems. Some pedaling marks at the bottom if these pages were cut off. Nature was central to debussy s artistic aesthetic. Here he reaches between those two to tackle one of the pinnacles of the piano repertoiredebussys two books of preludes.
Preludes books 1 and 2 paperback april 1, 1999 by claude debussy composer 4. On the show, critic ted libbey called them quite remarkable and dubbed jacobs the gold standard for the piano music of debussy. Dovers book of debussy preludes is made of extremely high quality print on heavier paper than usual. Claude debussy is one of the greatest pianists of all time and one of the most prominent composers connected with. Debussys most dramatic contribution to music history was his disregard for traditional chord structures and tonality. Paul jacobss 1970s recordings of debussy s preludes for nonesuch were included in the npr classical 50 list of essential recordings. Im aiming to get through them over the next couple of years, but would like to start with the easiest few and work my way up, while also bubbling along with any that are crazy difficult so that i spend more time overall on them, and then. While in an opera or ballet, a prelude may be a mood setting introduction to. Debussys preludes demand a great deal from pianists. These works are distinct from debussy s images pour orchestre. One only prays and hopes that the rest of debussys 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. In 1872 he entered the paris conservatoire, where he abandoned the plan of becoming a virtuoso. Here, in one volume, are two bodies of work that, perhaps more than any others, reveal the essence of claude debussy s extraordinary expressiveness and his innovative gifts for musical imagery.
In general i prefer arrau to most recordings of debussy, but even he struggles to bring out the best of book 2. Both books 1 and 2 of debussys popular piano preludes are contained in this one sturdy volume. Free sheet music l 117, debussy, claude preludes, book 1. By the time he began writing the first book of preludes, claude debussy. Flex your piano fingers with these 7 easiest debussy preludes and piano pieces. Debussys intent becomes clear, and for the first time i realized how this music was meant to sound. They were published in two books series, each consisting of three pieces. Here in his first debussy recording for hyperion he presents the two books of images.
His second book of preludes published in 19 consists of twelve generous vignettes painted in a pastel kaleidoscope of pianistic colors. These compositions, while endearing themselves to both pianist and listener, also occupy an important place in musical. Not only are 24 short works a great deal to take in at one time, but there are some stylistic differences between them also. Also recorded here is the second book of preludes, in a poetic and evocative performance. Each book contains twelve preludes for the piano, many of them known to todays musical audiences because of their great popularity with pianists worldwide. 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. Order of difficulty of debussy preludes is there a general guide to the difficulty of the debussy preludes. The pianist sandro baldi presents these seminal piano works of debussy and the release includes two different periods in debussys development. A new album from marcandre hamelin is always cause for celebration. The first more youthful and still imbued with a certain romanticism in some aspects, and then from the peak of his maturity as debussy reached the apex of his artistic and compositional mastery. Playing debussys piano works an amateurs thoughts about.
Claude debussys preludes are 24 pieces for solo piano, divided into two books of 12 preludes each. A descriptive analysis of the preludes book 1 of claude. A further analysis of these same three preludes by three different artists. The esoteric style of writing in both books was in accordance with the nature of yogic study. 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. Jun 18, 2010 debussy was also one for the use of symbols in his music, now whether or not these symbols are musical representations of realworld things as evident by the debussy influence on takemitsu see rain tree or are symbolic of other things, im not sure. In the opening of the first prelude, the moving line is in the middle voice, playing a chromatic figure, and the outer voices playing octaves and sixths ex. Debussy preludes book ii richter aldeburgh 67 duration.
Two excerpts from the emperor concerto, showing beethovens use of uneven groups of notes. Unlike some notable collections of preludes from prior times, such as chopins op. There are evocations of calm seascapes, delicate wind tracery, and snowcovered landscapes. Canope preludes, book ii, 19 playing debussys piano works. Complete preludes, books 1 and 2 dover music for piano. Nov 08, 2015 the debussy preludes, which originated as a tribute to chopin, are made for piemontesi. 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. Debussys literary inspirations were mostly french, but he did not overlook foreign writers. Debussy preludes, book 1 by claude debussy 18621918. The works in debussys second book of preludes are similar in intent to those of book i 1907 1910. Images usually pronounced in french is a suite of six compositions for solo piano by claude debussy. To debussy, preludes were the musical equivalent of impressionistic painting. Book i was written between december 1909 and february 1910, and book ii between the last months of 1912 and early april 19. 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.
This paper also includes a brief history of preludes as well as possible influences upon debussy and his compositions. My personal journey through the 24 debussy preludes. Several of them look ahead to debussys later style, in which the composers earlier impressionistic, almost romantic poetry was supplanted by a greater concentration upon technique and neoclassical objectivity. Im only an amateur pianist, but have been playing debussys piano works since the late 70s. 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. Preludes, book 1 6 epigraphes antiques en blanc et noir robert and gaby casadesus 1956 ns 0105. Adopting the major piano works including the preludes, bartok absorbed the liberated message as deeply as he absorbed the idiom of the hungarian peasant. This piano piece was initially published in the year 1908 and is included in preludes by debussy. As for his piano compositions, after he completed the second book of preludes the only. Gifted from his early years with a preternatural and keen understanding of writing for the piano, this cd displays debussys prodigious gifts in full display as rendered by baldis sensitive playing.
Bach and chopin, debussy s do not follow a strict pattern of key signatures. Often dubbed a musical impressionist, but his music always has a strong sense of form. Aug 19, 2016 the composer who benefited most from this liberation was bartok, who was introduced to debussys music by kodaly in 1907. Publication date 1910 topics preludes, for piano, scores featuring the piano, for 1 player collection. The outer voices move apart, forming a wedge, however this is an example of debussy considering harmony over just the visual. The purpose of this thesis is to discuss and give a descriptive analysis of twelve of the twentyfour preludes written by claude debussy. 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. Debussys piano pieces require deep thought and understanding. He was one of the most important figures in music at the turn of the 20th century. The first book was composed between 1901 and 1905, and the second book was composed in 1907. For 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, bassoon, contrabassoon, 2 horns arr. The preludes use postscripts rather than titles, and the etudes are labeled with practical description. This blog is dedicated to discussion of the performance of the piano pieces of claude debussy. Among french musics most avantgarde expressions, they also contain some of debussys most atonal sorties.
Claude debussys painterly preludes the subtle, elusive quality of debussys twentyfour preludes is captured perfectly by pianist paul jacobs, who plays them with a tolling, belllike sound. Preludes books 1 and 2 piano solo sheet music schirmer. Claude debussys two books of preludes, implying homage to both chopin and bach, revel in the composers innovative piano techniques. Review of cd recording centaur records debussy preludes, bks. Achilleclaude debussy 22nd august 1862 25th march 1918 was a french composer. Jan 22, 2009 after sonatas by beethoven and chopin, a disc of schumann and magisterial accounts of the two brahms piano concertos comes this recital of debussy centred on the first book of preludes. A descriptive analysis of the preludes book 1 of claude debussy. Like images book i, book ii begins with two slow movements. Among the most important 20th century composers, and the most influential. In book 1 he maintains the pianissimo marking of voiles bflat bass pedal point with remarkable consistency, providing a gentle anchor for the drifting whole.
Often dubbed a musical impressionist, but his music always has a. 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. Des le 8 juin, jeanpierre chevenement mettait en garde lionel. Debussys colouristic masterpiece, a bewitching compendium of scents, colours and sounds. 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. In these pages ill try to summarize what references i have on the performance of. Achilleclaude debussy august 22, 1862 march 25, 1918 was a french composer. Still, as musicologist rollo myers notes, the pictorial element is not unduly stressed if stressed at all. Each of debussy s preludes, book i 19071910 is a short but substantial work that conveys a particular mood or impression suggested by its title. Prelude to the afternoon of a faun is that it is one of the foundational. The notes to the present collection describe literary or pictorial associations intended by debussy. Most pianists play book 2 as though they had to make the best out of a debussy whose creative power had fallen since book 1. 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.