Preludes books 1 and 2 paperback april 1, 1999 by claude debussy composer 4. These works have been central to stevens repertoire for many years and he brings them to the studio after. Bach, beethoven, chopin, debussy, handel, mozart, satie, schubert, tchaikovsky and more masterpieces of music. Three years exist between the publication of the first and second book, with the former appearing in 1910.
Each book contains twelve preludes for the piano, many of them known to todays musical audiences because of their great popularity with pianists worldwide. The attention to detail is painstaking notes seem to bend, individual. 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. Dovers book of debussy preludes is made of extremely high quality print on heavier paper than usual. To debussy, preludes were the musical equivalent of impressionistic painting. 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. Among the most important 20th century composers, and the most influential. 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. Images and the two books of piano preludes whose titles tend to be more concrete and descriptive. Debussy s colouristic masterpiece, a bewitching compendium of scents, colours and sounds. Debussys music virtually defines the transition from lateromantic music to twentieth century modernist music. Nature was central to debussy s artistic aesthetic. Preludes books 1 and 2 piano solo sheet music schirmer. Debussys preludes demand a great deal from pianists.
He was too good a composer to imitate debussy, although there are a few examples of direct influence it. 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. Here he reaches between those two to tackle one of the pinnacles of the piano repertoire debussy s two books of preludes. 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 descriptive analysis of the preludes book 1 of claude. Canope preludes, book ii, 19 playing debussys piano. Here in his first debussy recording for hyperion he presents the two books of images.
Marcandre hamelin, piano wolfgang amadeus mozart 17561791 sonata no. After the intermission, ivan gusev presented a set of debussy preludes. Both books 1 and 2 of debussys popular piano preludes are contained in this one sturdy volume. Each of debussys preludes, book i 19071910 is a short but substantial work that conveys a particular mood or impression suggested by its title. 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. In french literary circles, the style of this period was known as symbolism, a movement that directly inspired debussy both as a composer and as an active cultural participant. Any recordings you find of sviatoslav richter playing any of debussy s preludes are also worthy of consideration. In the three pieces published as images, book ii, one is reminded of this famous line from the poem ars poetica by paul verlaine, one of debussys favorite poets. Thus it seems that both books of preludes were notated in.
Reflets dans leau, from images, book 1 heidi hau piano. On an overgrown path is one of janaceks most intimate. Prelude to the afternoon of a faun is that it is one of the foundational works of the. Pour les octaves for octaves is an exuberant waltz, with shades of late nineteenth century angst and a tempo marking of joyeux et emporte joyous and with abandon.
I found the performances to be incisive and idiomatic without being in the least. The purpose of this thesis is to discuss and give a descriptive analysis of twelve of the twentyfour preludes written by claude debussy. Music for relaxation, reliance and relief 10,415,940 views 1. In pour les huits doigts for eight fingers, debussy counsels against using the thumbs, as they would. Aug 19, 2016 the composer who benefited most from this liberation was bartok, who was introduced to debussys music by kodaly in 1907. Canope preludes, book ii, 19 playing debussys piano works. 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 project aims to facilitate the learning process of the preludes for piano by. Complete preludes, books 1 and 2 dover music for piano. Debussy preludes, book 1 by claude debussy 18621918. Notice how debussy uses both extremes of the keyboard.
An extraordinary rendition of debussy s piano preludes, played not note by note but shapebyshape, colourbycolour. The ending of this movement is one of debussys best moments. Often dubbed a musical impressionist, but his music always has a strong sense of form. These beautiful french works are a must for all pianists. 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. 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. 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. I mentioned daniel ericourt above because he is an highly underrated pianist who does much for the music of debussy in a very special way a keyboard colorist, which is what this music requires. That this was general we can to some extent see from the sales figures quoted by roy howat. I spent some of this year trying different composers, to widen my technique, and while i did benefit from playing bach and mozart i didnt really enjoy it, i struggled to get the performance beyond mediocre because i just didnt care. When the mozart children were touring, though, they would most likely. A descriptive analysis of the preludes book 1 of claude debussy. 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.
These compositions, while endearing themselves to both pianist and listener, also occupy an important place in musical. Debussys preludes are given the orchestral treatment with this luscious new album from the royal scottish national orchestra. A new album from marcandre hamelin is always cause for celebration. Two excerpts from the emperor concerto, showing beethovens use of uneven groups of notes. Claude debussy s preludes are 24 pieces for solo piano, divided into two books of 12 preludes each. The paperback of the complete preludes, books 1 and 2. As for his piano compositions, after he completed the second book of preludes the only. Before delving into an analysis of debussys performances i intend to first.
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. Original poster 1 point 1 year ago thats fantastic, thank you. Images and the two books of piano preludes whose titles tend to be more. Evolving performance practice of debussys piano preludes. That bachs preludes and fugues captivated haydn and mozart is evident in their. Free sheet music l 117, debussy, claude preludes, book 1. Sep 29, 2009 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.
Hudson cites a letter from mozart to his father in which the composer bemoans. Complete preludes, books 1 and 2 dover music for piano claude debussy. As he plays debussys book 1 preludes, you notice how effortlessly his arms, hands, and fingers are choreographed to the music. Reflets dans leau, from images, book 1 gabriel escudero. Also recorded here is the second book of preludes, in a poetic and evocative performance. While in an opera or ballet, a prelude may be a mood setting introduction to. Claude debussys trio of piano pieces entitled images, book 1 was published in 1905, the same year as his suite bergmasque. 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. Claude debussys preludes are 24 pieces for solo piano, divided into two books of 12 preludes each.
Some pedaling marks at the bottom if these pages were cut off. 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. This paper also includes a brief history of preludes as well as possible influences upon debussy and his compositions. When one thinks of debussy, one thinks of vast, visionary ideas condensed into the confines of the keyboard. The two sets of images for piano take us to a higher level of abstraction. In the three pieces published as images, book ii, one is reminded of this famous line from the poem ars poetica by paul verlaine, one of debussy s favorite poets. Aug 27, 2012 debussy s preludes are given the orchestral treatment with this luscious new album from the royal scottish national orchestra. 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.
Often dubbed a musical impressionist, but his music always has a. Unlike some notable collections of preludes from prior times, such as chopins op. His second book of preludes published in 19 consists of twelve generous vignettes painted in a pastel kaleidoscope of pianistic colors. Any recordings you find of sviatoslav richter playing any of debussys preludes are also worthy of consideration. Marcandre hamelin, piano princeton university concerts. As debussy was known to love the city, this is not such a farfetched idea. The pianist sandro baldi presents these seminal piano works of debussy and the release includes two different periods in debussys development. And with both books of preludes completed in 1910 and 19, thats certainly the case. 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.