But presumably it must have drawn attention to his new debussy recording, which neatly fits both books of piano preludes on to a single disc. Debussys most dramatic contribution to music history was his disregard for traditional chord structures and tonality. This blog is dedicated to discussion of the performance of the piano pieces of claude debussy. Ilya itin, piano this video was recorded at the golandsky institute international piano festival at princeton university.
In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading. An analysis of debussys preludes book 1 james omalley submitted in partial fulfilment of ma in performance and musicology nui. Each book was written in a matter of months, at an. Debussys preludes book one, 1910, book two, 19 are historically. The purpose of this thesis is to discuss and give a descriptive analysis of twelve of the twentyfour preludes written by claude debussy. Along with maurice ravel, he was 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. Voiles da preludi, libro i, per pianoforte debussy voiles preludes, book 1 no. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Debussy in the french seaside town of pourville, where he composed the douze etudes. Despite the research i have done regarding the title, the results i have found are still only speculation.
Unlike some notable collections of preludes from prior times, such as chopins op. A descriptive analysis of the preludes book 1 of claude. As he plays debussys book 1 preludes, you notice how effortlessly his arms, hands, and fingers are choreographed to the music. Here in his first debussy recording for hyperion he presents the two books of images. The paradox is that debussy succeeded in a series of piano works starting with estampes in 1903 and culminating in the two books of preludes in 1910 and 1912 respectively in creating what can only be called an impressionist technique. Debussy dover music for piano by debussy, claude isbn. The paperback of the complete preludes, books 1 and 2. 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. Nicholas cook and others have discussed musical analysis from. A descriptive analysis of the preludes book 1 of claude debussy.
Both books 1 and 2 of debussys popular piano preludes are contained in this one sturdy volume. Page 1 of 1 start over page 1 of 1 this shopping feature will continue to load items when the enter key is pressed. Douze etudes by claude debussy a pianists view helda. There are evocations of calm seascapes, delicate wind tracery, and snowcovered landscapes. Not only is the title full of mystery, but the piece. Some pedaling marks at the bottom if these pages were cut off. Scotts analysis a similar study to my own regarding gestural analysis has been conducted by douglas scott on mozarts flute quartet in d, k285. Dovers book of debussy preludes is made of extremely high quality print on heavier paper than usual.
Musical analysis as a technique for performance decisions in. Complete preludes, books 1 and 2 dover music for piano. This paper also includes a brief history of preludes as well as possible influences upon debussy and his compositions. 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. 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. Debussy preludes, book 1 by claude debussy 18621918. Soyoung choe performs excerpts from debussys preludes, book 1. Although you wont find krystian zimermans ultrarefined fingerwork and wide dynamic range, nor paul jacobs linear perception, theres much to.
As part of an ma dissertation scott presented his own logicodeductive form of analysis based on hattens theories of music and gesture. 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. 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. Krystian zimerman is a prime example of the modern interpreter who presents debussy as a composer of sense as well as sensibility. 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. Two excerpts from the emperor concerto, showing beethovens use of uneven groups of notes. Im only an amateur pianist, but have been playing debussys piano works since the late 70s. He was too good a composer to imitate debussy, although there are a few. Complete preludes, books 1 and 2 dover music for piano claude debussy. This significant compilation of 12 preludes represents debussys mature writing style and is filled with a great diversity of compositional styles. Unlike previous collections of preludes, such as those of j. He was one of the most important figures in music at the turn of the 20th century. Claude debussy s preludes are 24 pieces for solo piano, divided into tw o book s of 12 prelu des each. Debussys literary inspirations were mostly french, but he did not overlook foreign writers.
Debussys piano pieces require deep thought and understanding. Unlike some notable collectio ns of pre ludes from prior times, such as chopins op. Three years exist between the publication of the first and second book, with the former appearing in 1910. I have one other schirmer debussy piano book and this compilation book was what led me to purchase this set of preludes. Achilleclaude debussy august 22, 1862 march 25, 1918 was a french composer.
Larsons analysis describes a type of musical motion that contributes to the. In these pages ill try to summarize what references i have on the performance of. These compositions, while endearing themselves to both pianist and listener, also occupy an important place in musical. I then turn to debussys solo piano work reflets dans leau from images, book 1 and. Publication date 1910 topics preludes, for piano, scores featuring the piano, for 1 player collection imslp. The music expresses a vast repertoire of emotions, colors and moods. At one time his music was made to sound bleached and anaemic, but pianists are now ready to show it in much sharper focus. My analysis of canope debussy preludes for piano, book. Achilleclaude debussy 22nd august 1862 25th march 1918 was a french composer. Continuity and debussys reflets dans leau music theory online. Over the past few decades the way pianists play debussy has changed. Bach and chopin, debussys do not follow a strict pattern of key signatures. Such an eclectic nature points to another of its characteristics. 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.
Maybe i am a lazy pianist but i like editions that have some fingering suggestions so i dont have so. The bosendorfer piano he uses has a sound similar to that of debussys early 20thcentury pianos. Recorded live during the marion rubin berman 31 piano honors concert april 12, 2012 in necs jordan hall in boston. While the solo piano version of debussys preludes will always. In this prelude we find examples of harmonic procedures commonly used in claude debussys music like. Debussys colouristic masterpiece, a bewitching compendium of scents, colours and sounds. Nontraditional scales extended harmony traditional chords used in nontraditional context harmonic color tonal ambiguity. This album contains the preludes, books 1 and 2 by debussy, presented by piano classics, a label of brilliant classics.
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