The works in debussys second book of preludes are similar in intent to those of book i 1907 1910. Physical description 51 leaves, 26 leaves of music. There is a strong tonal relationship between the preludes that suggests that the published order of the preludes is not arbitrary. Musical analysis as a technique for performance decisions in. He was supposedly unhappy to see them programmed whole, preferring pianists to make selections from the sets instead. There are evocations of calm seascapes, delicate wind tracery, and snowcovered landscapes. In the second stanza, its morning, and we consider the people rising early to rush out into the mud and get to work. They were published in two books series, each consisting of three pieces. Debussy dover music for piano by debussy, claude isbn. This site contains a flash animation with the complete score and recording of debussy prelude book i, no. This one, brouillards mists, the first from book ii, is one of the more compelling efforts in either set. Debussys preludes book one, 1910, book two, 19 are historically. My analysis of canope debussy preludes for piano, book ii.
Well, debussy obviously agreed but that didnt stop him putting his own stamp on the genre. Scotts analysis a similar study to my own regarding gestural analysis has been conducted by douglas scott on mozarts flute quartet in d, k285. Read, highlight, and take notes, across web, tablet, and phone. Its a small work, by comparison, and doesnt have any of the allusions or quotes in foreign languages that eliot is known for. World wide shipping follow this free score follow debussy, claude composer report problem sheet music sales from usa. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. As he plays debussy s book 1 preludes, you notice how effortlessly his arms, hands, and fingers are choreographed to the music. Debussy may have contributed the last important evolution to the prelude. Debussy preludes, book 2 by claude debussy 18621918. Although you wont find krystian zimermans ultrarefined fingerwork and wide dynamic range, nor paul jacobs linear perception, theres much to.
Preludes is a pretty name for the poem written by t. Debussy indicated he was not entirely happy with his two books of preludes, regarding both as somewhat artistically uneven. He was too good a composer to imitate debussy, although there are a few examples of direct influence it. Public domain audio performed by ivan ilic piano creative commons attribution 3. This recording combines a new recording of book 1 with a live recording of book. These compositions, while endearing themselves to both pianist and listener, also occupy an important place in musical. This significant compilation of 12 preludes represents debussy s mature writing style and is filled with a great diversity of compositional styles. It is a very descriptive book where all the formal, structural, harmonic and contextual analysis of the work can be found. Theyre both still quite the challenge for advanced players only. 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. Music and poetry in mallarme and debussy ubc library open.
Helpful english translations of french terms as well as debussy s performance. Book i was written between december 1909 and february 1910, and book ii between the last months of 1912 and early april 19. Preludes came out in 1920, years before eliots big, famous poem. Debussy wrote two books of preludes published in 1910 and 19 respectively. Debussys canope as narrative form college music symposium. 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. Im currently in the early stages of posting a series of articles through my music blog on the process of analysis of the debussy piece arabesque no.
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. The music expresses a vast repertoire of emotions, colors and moods. Therefore, the twentyfour preludes composed between 1909 and 19 rep. An analysis and discussion of the performance of five debussy preludes. Soyoung choe performs excerpts from debussys preludes, book 1. The next few measures go through a series of stacked chord progressions that eventually come full circle back to d. An analysis and discussion of the performance of five debussy. University of wollongong thesis collection university of. Chapter 1 introduction analysis can be a valuable tool for the performer who is seeking solutions to performance problems. Preludes books 1 and 2 paperback april 1, 1999 by claude debussy composer 4. He then argues that debussys prelude reads this virtual book by making. Chapter 4 is my specific musical and interpretative analysis of the preludes. As he plays debussys book 1 preludes, you notice how effortlessly his arms, hands, and fingers are choreographed to the music.
Claude debussys preludes are 24 pieces for solo piano, divided into two books of 12 preludes each. Walter morse rummel, piano complete first pub lication. Preludes is a poem divided into four parts, and like musical preludes, they are short. Analysis the piece starts with an introduction from measures 1 7. For 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, bassoon, contrabassoon, 2 horns arr. I welcome those who choose to adequately cite my analysis, but plagiarism does you a disservice. Unt theses and dissertations and was provided to unt digital library by the unt libraries.
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. The speaker addresses us, narrating the wet newspapers that hit our feet and the broken, dirty features of the city around us. A descriptive analysis of the preludes book 1 of claude debussy page. A descriptive analysis of the preludes book 1 of claude debussy. 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. This paper also includes a brief history of preludes as well as possible influences upon debussy and his compositions. Preludes book 2 principal composer debussy, claude sheet music. This introduction section a includes d minor and ddorian right next to each other. The primary purpose of this study is to examine various ways in which analysis can provide solutions to problems that may arise in the performance of debussy s preludes for piano.
A musical prelude often serves as an introduction for a larger piece, and eliots preludes seem to suggest. Canope preludes, book ii, 19 playing debussys piano works. The purpose of this thesis is to discuss and give a descriptive analysis of twelve of the twentyfour preludes written by claude debussy. The first book of preludes is slightly easier than the second, since the second collection features debussy s more mature writing style. Recorded live during the marion rubin berman 31 piano honors concert april 12, 2012 in necs jordan hall in boston. Claude debussy, brouillards, from preludes, book 2, no. Topclassicalmusic music history channel 22,749,772 views. An analysis and discussion of the performance of five. Despite the research i have done regarding the title, the results i have found are still only speculation.
Prelude 11 from book 2 of debussy s preludes, published in 19. One of the easiest pieces in this collection is the girl with the flaxen hair, around a. Vladimir ashkenazys first recording of debussy s preludes is a somewhat of a sensation. The structural outline underlies the score and important motivic, thematic, and harmonic information appears at the time it is heard in the recording. Chandos records is one of the worlds premier classical music record companies, best known for its ground breaking search for neglected musical gems. My analysis of canope debussy preludes for piano, book.
The paperback of the complete preludes, books 1 and 2. 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. It is possible to easily navigate back and forth through the animation. In addition, perhaps because debussy s style is so prone to mannerism. Eliot it suggests music, and also the presage of an event, usually something exciting or something to look forward to. The prelude of middlemarch very obviously ties dorthea, as the central character and analogous of saint theresa, to community idealism as does elliots very direct description of dorthea, lacking any subtlety, in the beginning paragraphs of chapter 1 where the reader is told that she yearned by. A descriptive analysis of the preludes book 1 of claude. Claude debussy was a leading composer of the early 20th century known for his impressionistic style and use of nontraditional scales and tonalities as well as chromaticism. But where bach and chopin used their preludes as something of a technical exercise, composing one for each musical key, debussy s were freeform and full of his signature expressive indulgences.
Debussy, pentatonicism, and the tonal tradition jeremy day. Claude debussys twentyfour preludes are among the composers last and. Debussy s book of preludes is some of his most wellknown and last works for solo piano. These works are distinct from debussy s images pour orchestre. A summar ofy all th processee s involve ind reachin mg y. Business and management portal free industry and ip guides databases and publications. 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. Although he offers little in the way of musical analysis, his observations on debussys activities during these years. Publication date 1910 topics preludes, for piano, scores featuring the piano, for 1 player collection imslp. Following you have a small commentary on the preludes. Debussy engulfed cathedral youtube debussy the sunken cathedral analysis duration. Not only is the title full of mystery, but the piece.
Debussy preludes, book 1 by claude debussy 18621918. Unlike some notable collections of preludes from prior times, such as chopins op. Several of them look ahead to debussy s later style, in which the composers earlier impressionistic, almost romantic poetry was supplanted by a greater concentration upon technique and neoclassical objectivity. Nontraditional scales extended harmony traditional chords used in nontraditional context harmonic color tonal ambiguity.
Adopting the major piano works including the preludes, bartok absorbed the liberated message as deeply as he absorbed the idiom of the hungarian peasant. 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. See all 4 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. In this prelude we find examples of harmonic procedures commonly used in claude debussy s music like. Images usually pronounced in french is a suite of six compositions for solo piano by claude debussy. Yet few if any musicians would regard debussys prelude as atonal.
But the piano playing is superbly brilliant and precise, and the more energetic pieces, like no. Three years exist between the publication of the first and second book, with the former appearing in 1910. As part of an ma dissertation scott presented his own logicodeductive form of analysis based on hattens theories of music and gesture. The easiest debussy piano pieces and the most difficult. Some pedaling marks at the bottom if these pages were cut off. Stanford libraries official online search tool for books, media, journals, databases. Pascal roge recorded debussys preludes book 1 for decca some time ago, and he has remade them, together with book 2, marking the start of a complete cycle of this composers piano works.
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