My personal journey through the 24 debussy preludes. Eliot it suggests music, and also the presage of an event, usually something exciting or something to look forward to. Debussy preludes, book 1 by claude debussy 18621918. The musical language of bach in the welltempered clavier volume 2. The title of the poem holds a special position in terms of analysis. In this prelude we find examples of harmonic procedures commonly used in claude debussy s music like. Included are english translations of french terms, debussy s performance. This piece was a part of my undergraduate level discourse. This paper also includes a brief history of preludes as well as possible influences upon debussy and his compositions. The easiest debussy piano pieces and the most difficult.
Preludes are musical interludes, so someone reading the title might expect the poem to sound like a song. Information from its description page there is shown below. 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. It is meant to depict an ancient egyptian city and egyptian burial urns. Some pedaling marks at the bottom if these pages were cut off. 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. Preludes book 2 principal composer debussy, claude sheet music. Eliot that depicts starkly the characteristic modernist trope of urban absurdity, monotony, and squalor. Voiles krystian zimerman youtube 50 most famous pieces of classical music duration. Preludes is a pretty name for the poem written by t. Media in category preludes by claude debussy the following 28 files are in this category, out of 28 total. Here eliot doesnt disappoint, though the poem isnt exactly twinkle twinkle little star. These compositions, while endearing themselves to both pianist and listener, also occupy an important place in musical.
Hinsons suggestions for performance and an analysis of each prelude. Preludes book 1 and preludes book 2 subtly evocative. Its followed by an encore of scriabins nocturne no 2 op 9 for the left hand. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Three years exist between the publication of the first and second book, with the former appearing in 1910.
The then society of eliot is presented as a waste land where corruption and desolation are dominant in the cycle of meaningless life. Preludes is an early lyric poem in free verse of poet t. They were published in two books series, each consisting of three pieces. A brief but interesting analysis of gershwins first prelude. An important feature of the fugue is its two pedal points bars 61 to 65, and 76 to 82. Additional specific references for this tempo issue.
Feuilles mortes dead leaves, the second in book ii, is the second of this sets nature pieces and like most of the others, presents rather subdued music of great atmospheric character. Eliot which was published in his first collection, prufrock and other observations, in 1917. The title of the piece may be translated to english as either veils or sails. Track 01 p 1983 produced in don casales studios in westbury, n. Osteen, william timothy, analysis and interpretation. In addition, the multiway88 book also suffered from a paucity of substantial applications. Claude debussys preludes are 24 pieces for solo piano, divided into two books of 12 preludes each. Roy howat, debussy in proportion cambridge up, 19831986, pp. World wide shipping follow this free score follow debussy, claude composer report problem sheet music sales from usa. This significant compilation of 12 preludes represents debussys mature writing style and is filled with a great diversity of compositional styles. 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. Summary preludes is a chain of four short poems composed by t. Debussy preludes, bk 2 by claude debussy, paperback. Prelude 11 from book 2 of debussy s preludes, published in 19.
Images usually pronounced in french is a suite of six compositions for solo piano by claude debussy. Applied multiway data analysis wiley online library. The music expresses a vast repertoire of emotions, colors and moods. Complete preludes, books 1 and 2 dover music for piano. Flute, clarinet, oboe, horn, bassoon 1 woodwind quintet 1violin fiddle. These preludes are well known for the unique way in which they are titled. A further analysis of these same three preludes by three different artists was. Jul 05, 2011 the crosseyed pianist is free to access and adfree, and takes many hours every month to research, write, and maintain. Applied multiway data analysis is a timely successor that marks the increased maturity of the field. This significant compilation of 12 preludes represents debussy s mature writing style and is filled with a great diversity of compositional styles. Commons is a freely licensed media file repository. The following is a critical analysis piece of the poem preludes by wellknown modernist poet t. A brief but interesting analysis of gershwins first prelude for piano.
Prelude 10, titled canope in his book of preludes no. Images, preludes book 2 hamelin by debussy, claude on cd. A fugue of unusual construction, in the few entries of the subject, and the very large proportion of episode. Compositions of debussy, the number of measures marked piano, and the number of measures marked forte. I welcome those who choose to adequately cite my analysis, but plagiarism does you a disservice. Voiles is a composition by claude debussy for solo piano from 1909. Both of these preludes seem to recall the beginning of book 1 in their. Chandos records is one of the worlds premier classical music record companies, best known for its ground breaking search for neglected musical gems. Debussys canope as narrative form college music symposium. 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. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis.
Types of triplets found in piano compositions of debussy and places where they are found. 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. Im only an amateur pianist, but have been playing debussy s piano works since the late 70s. This is something i did for my own benefit this afternoon, but it was interesting enough that i thought id share with rmusictheory to break up the endless series of posts just focusing on chord progressions and harmony. Except for some mild, localized chromaticism and a short pentatonic passage, the entire piece uses the whole. In addition, perhaps because debussy s style is so prone to. Buxheim organ book 1475 and th, e hamburg and erlangen manuscripts. In the ricercari moteti canzoni 1523 of marcantonio da bologna are found lengthy pieces written in the chordal and scalic style of the. Playing debussys piano works an amateurs thoughts about. The first book was composed between 1901 and 1905, and the second book was composed in 1907. Analysis can be a valuable tool for the performer who is seeking solutions to performance problems. This blog is dedicated to discussion of the performance of the piano pieces of claude debussy. The twentyfour preludes of debussy are published in two books of twelve preludes each. The first poem in preludes is a winter evening scene at six oclock.
A descriptive analysis of the preludes book 1 of claude debussy. It is a very descriptive book where all the formal, structural, harmonic and contextual analysis. A descriptive analysis of the preludes book 1 of claude. The main tonics of each prelude and how they are emphasized. Debussys preludes demand a great deal from pianists. 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.
The smell of steak cooking in passageways tells us it is dinner time. Surviving proofs of the 1st book of preludes show there was so much to correct and mark in a short time that several details including some lefthand chords in 2 of the preludes were overlooked. Debussy, pentatonicism, and the tonal tradition jeremy day. Sep 03, 2012 claudeachille debussy 1862 1918 preludes, livre 2. Debussy s twentyfour preludes are among the composers last and bestknown works for piano. If you find joy and value in what i do, please consider making a donation to support the continuance of the site. They were composed and published in two books of twelve. Debussy s book of preludes are some of his most wellknown and last works for solo piano.
With this recording pollini is closing the circle of debussy preludes with the long anticipated recording of the 2nd book 18 years after he recorded book 1, which is an evergreen in his discography. 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. Poems of william wordsworth selected the prelude, book 1 duration. The first two movements prelude and sarabande are around a level 10 difficulty, but the final toccata movement is much more challenging.
Canope, the tenth prelude in book 2, though lightly regarded by many critics. Someone whos just starting might be able recreate the notes. Jun 10, 2017 a detailed analysis of t s eliots preludes. Order from your preferred classical music cd store arkivmusic. Track 02 p 1986 produced for shanta productions inc. These works are distinct from debussy s images pour orchestre.
Impressionism piano sheet music by claude debussy to download and print instantly. Like many higherlevel debussy pieces, a certain amount of musical maturity is required to pull off these pieces. Its a small work, by comparison, and doesnt have any of the allusions or quotes in foreign languages that eliot is known for. Preludes books 1 and 2 paperback april 1, 1999 by claude debussy composer 4. Dovers book of debussy preludes is made of extremely high quality print on heavier paper than usual. Dg is proud to announce the new album of icon maestro pollini, coinciding with the debussy year 2018. The one clear fault of the osborne recording is dynamic extremes, which is, i assume, an engineering decision. These compositions, while endearing themselves to both pianist and.
The purpose of this thesis is to discuss and give a descriptive analysis of twelve of the twentyfour preludes written by claude debussy. Its followed by another sad prelude, feuilles mortes dead leaves. This study, through thorough analysis, provides pianists with insights into analyticallybased problemsolving techniques by examining passages in which analysis can provide assistance in solving specific performance problems. There are several works in which wholetone harmony plays an important role, such as cloches a travers les feuilles,i from images book 1 1905, and voiles, from preludes book 1 1909.
Preludes came out in 1920, years before eliots big, famous poem. Daniel barenboim and maurizio pollini between them cover the whole set of preludes in a highly contrasted pair of discs. Critical analysis preludes is one of the prominent work of eliot written in 1910 and 1911. Musical analysis as a technique for performance decisions in. Nontraditional scales extended harmony traditional chords used in nontraditional context harmonic color tonal ambiguity.
He was too good a composer to imitate debussy, although there are a few examples of direct influence it. Canope preludes, book ii, 19 playing debussys piano works. Another critic wrote that book 2 of the preludes is played more successfully than book 1. Debussy s book of preludes is some of his most wellknown and last works for solo piano. Musical analysis as a technique for performance decisions in selected. University of wollongong thesis collection university of. Piano piano solo 2 harp harp 1clarinet clarinet choir 1bassoon woodwind quintet. Unlike some notable collections of preludes from prior times, such as chopins op.
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