Debussy began piano lessons at the age of 7 in cannes as an evacuee from paris at the start of the francoprussian war, and he died during the final year of world war i. Maurizio pollini brings cool elegance and unflappable sheen to debussys preludes book one. Claude debussy 18621918 debussy was born in a suburb of france to a middleclass family. He contours the dynamics with micromanaged aplomb, and achieves ravishing pedal effects in the more meditative selections. He began studies at the paris conservatoire at the age of ten. The twentyfour preludes of debussy are published in two books of twelve preludes each. I would argue the tonality of this piece as being primarily based in c major. Some of the preludes book 1 are quite evocative and full of concentration. Lorsque au soleil couchant les rivieres sont roses. A transformational basis for form and prolongation in debussys feux dartifice, in musical form and transformation. Use of the whole tone scale in debussys voiles, prelude. Aug 19, 2016 debussy did nothing less than liberate music from the domination by functional harmony which had prevailed for three centuries.
Claude debussy, annotated bibliographies by jay hook. Claude debussy voiles debussy claude debussy born into a poor family in. Often dubbed a musical impressionist, but his music always has a strong sense of form. Voiles, meaning either veils or sails in french, is an example of an impressionist piece of music even though debussy himself refused the title of an impressionist.
These miniatures are varied in character and style, and include, among others, references to read more literature, poetry, nature, the mediterranean landscape and the events in paris during debussys lifetime. Voiles work by debussy britannica encyclopedia britannica. Feb 21, 2018 i t has taken maurizio pollini almost 20 years to complete his survey of debussys preludes his recording of the first book appeared in 1999. Offered on this double disc set are of debussy s compositions for piano. Prelude voiles, book 1 no 2 prelude voiles book 1 no 2. Unlike some notable collections of preludes from prior. Why not a tutorial or in put it in the slow series. Voiles da preludi, libro i, per pianoforte debussy voiles preludes, book 1 no.
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. I used to play this piece half a century ago and decided just this week to open the score and revive it. The debussy prelude voiles, which i have not touched since my christmas concert, was languid and transparent, something i have been struggling to achieve at home. The excerpt in figure l is the main melody of voiles as it opens the piece and constantly reappears throughout the piece as a repetitive motif. In general, the book 2 preludes are much better than those in book 1. The flickering quality of voiles double notes somehow lightens the static wholenotescale harmony. Debussys 24 piano preludes were published in two sets in 1910 and 19. As seen in figure l, while maintaining the same right hand melody, debussy adds not just one, but two melodic lines under. His father, manuelachille debussy, owned a shop where he sold china and crockery, and his mother, victorine manoury debussy, was a seamstress. Jan 09, 2010 voiles, number 2 from book i of debussys preludes.
Debussy, pentatonicism, and the tonal tradition jeremy dayo. Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance. It is the second piece in a set of twelve preludes published in 1910. Diversity of ivetrical scheme found in six different compositions of debussy, preludes, book ii, 39 2. The piece elicits feelings of serenity within an eerie tranquility. The title of the piece may be translated to english as either veils or sails. Debussys voiles was inspired by a javanese ensemble known. Voiles is a composition by claude debussy for solo piano from 1909. Voiles sails veilsmodere by claude debussy napster.
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. Its a piece that is very well suited to an instrument with a very singing, limpid treble set over a deep, resonant bass perfect for those recurring bflat pedal points. In the last and longest of the four essays in this volume, lewin turns to the last and longest of debussys twelve preludes for piano. Debussy did nothing less than liberate music from the domination by functional harmony which had prevailed for three centuries. Claude debussy was born in saintgermainenlaye, france in 1862, the eldest of five children. Datetime dimensions user comment 15 december 2011, 14. With glissandos emulating the sound of a harp, and by incorporating numerous dissonant chords that do not resolve to any traditional patterns of chord. Debussy complete preludes by martino tirimo, claude. Claude debussys preludes are 24 pieces for solo piano, divided into two books of 12 preludes each. Inspired by the performances of the american dancer loie fuller, whose scarf dances were.
Three years exist between the publication of the first and second book, with the former appearing in 1910. Parting the veils of debussys voiles page 45 important, if not the only, property of the wholetone scale itselfthe fact that it can be transposed once, by a semitone, to provide the other six notes of the chromatic scale. Voiles, number 2 from book i of debussy s preludes. Except for some mild, localized chromaticism and a short pentatonic passage, the entire piece uses the whole. Hyacinth talk contribs created by using sibelius 5. Debussys voiles was inspired by a javanese ensemble known as a a. Listen to voiles sails veilsmodere by claude debussy. Finally, although in voiles the contrast and similarity between the two modesboth with. Voiles is the second work in the volume and means, either veils or sails. After training at the paris conservatory, debussy took several jobs to support. Information from its description page there is shown below.
These compositions, while endearing themselves to both pianist and listener, also occupy an important place in musical. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The two books of etudes were debussys last significant pieces for solo. Buy debussy preludes by claude debussy, pascal roge from amazons classical music store. Playing debussys piano works an amateurs thoughts about playing debussy. In his later works, debussy took greater chances, implementing more nonresolving dissonances selfproclaimed floating chords and fragmented forms. Still, a very worthy addition to the orchestral repertoire, as more of debussy s piano music deserves to be heard with orchestra. Among the most important 20th century composers, and the most influential. He returned to paris and befriended symbolist poets and painters. Get a special offer and listen to over 60 million songs, anywhere with amazon music unlimited. These compositions, while endearing themselves to both pianist and. As for his piano compositions, after he completed the second book of preludes the only.
Module 5 analysis of piano repertoire lessons 1 and 2 debussy preludes the student must look for the book the piano works of claude debsusy, by e. It is characteristic of his music to present melodic material in varying harmonic contexts. Other debussian devices include the regarding of the seventh chord e. Debussy, pentatonicism, and the tonal tradition jeremy day. Analysis music teachers uk find a music teacher music. Voiles, from debussys first book of preludes, certainly displays some of debussys compositional affinities.
Claude debussys preludes are 24 pieces for solo piano, divided into two books of 12 preludes. Compositions of debussy, the number of measures marked piano, and the number of measures marked forte. Buy debussy complete preludes by martino tirimo, claude debussy, none from amazons classical music store. For the most part, the piece uses the wholetone scale, a scale that repeats at the octave and whose consecutive pitches are uniformly a wholetone distant from the preceding pitch, instead of combinations of whole and half. Voiles voiles preludes, book i, 1909 1910 sep29 sails or veils i havent had a chance to write this piece up yet, but feel free to start the discussion in the comments. Daniele fasani, piano live at orleans concours international. Use of the pentatonic scale in debussys voiles 1910, prelude. Art that gives an impression of what is there, rather than depicting it directly. On both an harmonic and melodic level, debussy made use of a variety of scales such as the wholetone, octatonic and pentatonic see, for example, the use of wholetone scales in voiles from the first book of preludes. Restricted to wholetone and pentatonic scales, debussys second piano prelude, voiles, often serves merely to exemplify both his early modernist musical language and his musical impressionism. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The american pianist ivan ilic who seems to be of serbian origin enters a very competitive arena in terms of debussys piano music and not least the two books of preludes whether it be gieseking, zimerman, roge, bavouzet, arrau particularly in book i, planes and ciccolini, to name just a few very distinguished interpreters of this endlessly fascinating music.
In voiles, debussy uses a slightly different approach to layering his melodies. Debussy voiles from the 1st book of preludes youtube. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. I would like it to appear as though it came from a shadow and that from time to time it will return there.
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