The girl with the flaxen hair is almost a plain jane here, and the sounds and scents of the evening scarcely linger as impalpable impressions. 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. The family moved to paris in 1867, but in 1870 debussys pregnant mother fled. Nevertheless prelude established debussy as one of the leading composers of the era.
Les sons et les parfums tournent dans lair du soir. The second book of preludes for piano represents debussys strong interest. 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 and his compositions. He was too good a composer to imitate debussy, although there are a few examples of direct influence it was. Complete preludes, books 1 and 2 dover music for piano claude debussy. P ierrelaurent aimards muchpublicised recent claim in an interview with a german newspaper that debussy is a. As he plays debussys book 1 preludes, you notice how effortlessly his arms, hands, and fingers are choreographed to the music. Book i was composed in a short time between december 1909 and february 1910.
Maurizio pollinis main qualities as an artist are neither humor nor abundance of keyboard color. Claude debussy had been toying with the idea of writing a book of preludes for some time, and once he began, the process was a speedy one with his first volume completed within two months. Claude debussy s preludes are two sets of pieces for solo piano, written in 191010 and 1912, and published as book i and ii respectively. 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. My analysis of canope debussy preludes for piano, book. There are evocations of calm seascapes, delicate wind tracery, and snowcovered landscapes. They were published in two books series, each consisting of three pieces. Debussy preludes, book 1 download free sheet music. 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 debussys preludes are 24 pieces for solo piano, divided into two books of 12 preludes each. Chopin, debussy composed twentyfour preludes in two books 1910 and 19. Unlike other collections of preludes by great composers, debussy s do not follow a strict pattern of key signature. Topclassicalmusic music history channel 22,749,772 views.
Aug 19, 2016 the composer who benefited most from this liberation was bartok, who was introduced to debussys music by kodaly in 1907. Im only an amateur pianist, but have been playing debussys piano works since the late 70s. The titles are provided at the end of each prelude and left without dedication, with inspiration from impressionist artwork, literature, and nature. Preludes, book 1 6 epigraphes antiques en blanc et noir robert and gaby casadesus 1956 by claude debussy. P ierrelaurent aimards muchpublicised recent claim in an interview with a german newspaper that debussy is a greater composer than wagner is by no. Some pedaling marks at the bottom if these pages were cut off.
Wvk001 debussy preludes book 1 albums wave kinetics. 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. Now, these happen to be among the requisites necessary to play debussys preludes in the right frame of mind lets not speak about that woolly notion called style. Despite the research i have done regarding the title, the results i have found are still only speculation. Not only is the title full of mystery, but the piece. I have one other schirmer debussy piano book and this compilation book was what led me to purchase this set of preludes. Gerald larner explains how debussy, by defying the rules of. Debussys most dramatic contribution to music history was his disregard for traditional chord structures and tonality. Two excerpts from the emperor concerto, showing beethovens use of uneven groups of notes. Three years exist between the publication of the first and second book, with the former appearing in 1910. Like vladimir horowitz and glenn gould, michelangeli employs a relatively flatfingered technique for sustained legato passages and certain rotary arpeggios such as those in ce qua vu le vent douest. 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. Unlike some notable collections of preludes from prior times, such as chopins op.
Claude debussy s preludes are 24 pieces for solo piano, divided into two books of 12 preludes each. Preludes books 1 and 2 paperback april 1, 1999 by claude debussy composer 4. As for his piano compositions, after he completed the second book of preludes the only. Book i was written between december 1909 and february 1910, and book ii between the last months of 1912 and early april 19. The purpose of this thesis is to discuss and give a descriptive analysis of twelve of the twentyfour preludes written by claude debussy.
Publication date 1910 topics preludes, for piano, scores featuring the piano, for 1 player collection imslp. The game was originally planned to not have any music in the game until the games composer, dan golding. Preludes, book 1 6 epigraphes antiques en blanc et noir robert and gaby casadesus 1956 ns 0105. That this was general we can to some extent see from the sales figures quoted by roy howat. Playing debussys piano works an amateurs thoughts about. 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. Debussys piano pieces require deep thought and understanding. One of debussy s 24 preludes is from book 1, prelude 12, also known as minstrels. But the piano playing is superbly brilliant and precise, and the more energetic pieces, like no.
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. Order from your preferred classical music cd store arkivmusic. The titles are placed at the end of each prelude, a deliberate decision by debussy that was. Achilleclaude debussy 22nd august 1862 25th march 1918 was a french composer. My personal journey through the 24 debussy preludes. Here in his first debussy recording for hyperion he presents the two books of images. This blog is dedicated to discussion of the performance of the piano pieces of claude debussy. This album contains the preludes, books 1 and 2 by debussy, presented by piano classics, a label of brilliant classics.
Debussys colouristic masterpiece, a bewitching compendium of scents, colours and sounds. The esoteric style of writing in both books was in accordance with the nature of yogic. Debussy preludes, book 1 by claude debussy 18621918. Debussys two books of preludes amount to a revolution in piano writing, and reflect better that any of his other works the span of debussys achievement. Maybe i am a lazy pianist but i like editions that have some fingering suggestions so i dont have so. The french literary style of his period was known as symbolism, and this. Media in category preludes by claude debussy the following 28 files are in this category, out of 28 total. Arturo benedettimichelangeli book i aura 201 live, vatican, 1977 arturo benedettimichelangeli book ii aura 210 live, stuttgart, 1982. Images usually pronounced in french is a suite of six compositions for solo piano by claude debussy. A descriptive analysis of the preludes book 1 of claude. In these pages ill try to summarize what references i have on the performance of. In this piece, debussy creates an engaging sonic atmosphere with just the piano, one that, if you let it, will conjure up images and ideas. A descriptive analysis of the preludes book 1 of claude debussy. The first book 1910 proved to be his most successful work.
These compositions, while endearing themselves to both pianist and listener, also occupy an important place in musical. The composer who benefited most from this liberation was bartok, who was introduced to debussy s music by kodaly in 1907. These works are distinct from debussy s images pour orchestre. In general i prefer arrau to most recordings of debussy, but even he struggles to bring out the best of book 2. 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. Pessima esecuzione dei preludes con cambiamenti di ritmo e tempo anomali. Preludes, an album by claude debussy, krystian zimerman on spotify we and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. Publication date 1910 topics preludes, for piano, scores featuring the piano, for 1 player collection. 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. He was too good a composer to imitate debussy, although there are a few examples of direct influence it. Debussy took great care in assigning these titles, and several contain quotations from various poems.
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