Preludes (Debussy)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Claude Debussy composed his two books Préludes pour piano (Preludes for piano) between 1910 and 1913. The total of 24 pieces for piano mostly have a poetic title that relates to the mood and character of the piece and are self-contained musical character pieces The duration of the performance is around 40 to 45 minutes per band. The pieces can also be played individually.

description

The term prelude is derived from the Latin praeludere (to play) and refers to the form-free, playful character of the pieces reminiscent of an improvising game, while the second meaning of the musical term prelude as the introduction to a following main piece, such as a fugue or a Chorale , not applicable.

Historically, the Preludes of Debussy follow the tradition of the Preludes non mesuré of baroque French harpsichord music, the 24 Preludes of the Well-Tempered Clavier by Johann Sebastian Bach and the 24 Preludes op. 28 by Frédéric Chopin . From them Debussy took over the freedom of design and the possibility of following its own musical logic with each piece.

According to the Debussy biographer Heinrich Strobel , the preludes for piano show all the characteristics of Impressionist music by composing a self-contained musical image, a mood, in terms of sound, melody and rhythm. The names at the end of the pieces should only be understood as confirmation of the impression conveyed by the music. Some preludes have an orchestral character and offer a great variety in pianistically small form. For playing the Preludes, Debussy himself pointed out that the main thing to forget is that the piano has hammers.

Debussy also played the Preludes himself in the concert hall, sound recordings of which have been preserved. His contemporary Maurice Emmanuel said of Debussy’s piano playing: “He awakened the diverse sounds of the orchestra on the keys. His touch was of an unparalleled delicacy and an almost unlimited wealth of nuances. With his legato he knew how to combine the strangest chords in the most natural way. He was a master at handling the pedal. "

Debussy wrote two other preludes, the symphonic poem Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune and the prelude to the opera Pelléas et Mélisande .

Title and sentence names

Premier Livre

from La cathédrale engloutie
  1. Danseuses de Delphes (Dancers Delphis): Lent et grave
  2. Voiles (veil / sails): Modéré
  3. Le vent dans la plaine (The Wind in the Plain): Animé
  4. Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soir (sounds and scents fill the evening air): Modéré
  5. Les collines d'Anacapri (The hills of Anacapri): Très modéré
  6. Des pas sur la neige (footsteps in the snow): Triste et lent
  7. Ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest (What the west wind saw): Animé et tumultueux
  8. La fille aux cheveux de lin (The girl with flax-colored hair): Très calme et doucement expressif
  9. La sérénade interrompue (The Interrupted Serenade): Modérément animé
  10. La cathédrale engloutie (The Sunken Cathedral): Profondément calme
  11. La danse de puck (The dance of the puck ): Capricieux et léger
  12. Minstrels : Modéré

Deuxième Livre

from Feuilles mortes
  1. Brouillards (fog): Modéré
  2. Feuilles mortes (wilted leaves): Lent et mélancolique
  3. La Puerta del Vino (The Gate of Wine): Mouvement de Habanera
  4. Les Fées sont d'exquises danseuses (The fairies are excellent dancers): Rapide et légèr
  5. Bruyères (heather): Calme
  6. Général Lavine - excentrique (General Lavine - eccentric): Dans le style et le mouvement d'un Cakewalk
  7. La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune (The terrace of the moonlight audiences): Lent
  8. Ondine ( Undine ): Scherzando
  9. Homage to S. Pickwick Esq. PPMPC : Grave
  10. Canope ( canopic jar ): Très calme et triste doucement
  11. Les tierces alternées (The alternating thirds): Modérément animé
  12. Feux d'artifice (fireworks): Modérément animé

Editions

The two booklets of the “Preludes” appeared in print in 1910 and 1913 respectively. In addition to the first edition, there is an autograph that served as an engraving model and other handwritten sources by Debussy. Based on these sources, the Wiener Urtext Edition by the publisher Michael Stegemann was published in 1986 and 1990 . Also referred to as the Urtext edition , the two volumes were published by Henle-Verlag in 1986 and 1988 , edited by Ernst-Günter Heinemann.

In 2014, the first volume of a new edition by Thomas Kabisch was published by Bärenreiter-Verlag with critical revisions and current research results. According to the editor, it is aimed at "experimenting, thinking players who are sensitive to how Debussy's piano writing feels on the keyboard and to the ears, how his musical composition works and which possibilities of piano sound he opens up."

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Chamber music leader of the Villa Musica . Retrieved February 27, 2019
  2. ↑ Jochen Scheytt: Preludes at The German Debussy Pages. Retrieved February 27, 2019
  3. ^ Heinrich Strobel: Claude Debussy . Atlantis Verlag, Zurich 1940
  4. ↑ Debussy plays Debussy on Youtube .
  5. ^ Claude Debussy: Preludes: After autograph and first edition. Volume 1. Piano. Edited by Michael Stegemann, Vienna 1986
  6. ^ Claude Debussy: Preludes: After autograph and first edition. Volume 2. Piano. Edited by Michael Stegemann, Vienna 1990
  7. ^ Debussy: Preludes 1st piano . Edited by Ernst-Günter Heinemann, G. Henle Verlag, Munich 1986
  8. ^ Debussy: Preludes 2nd piano. Edited by Ernst-Günter Heinemann, G. Henle Verlag, Munich 1988
  9. ^ Debussy: Preludes for piano, 1st volume. Edited by Thomas Kabisch, Bärenreiter 2014
  10. ↑ Debussy “Preludes”. Questions to the editor Thomas Kabisch. Retrieved February 28, 2019

Web links

Commons : audio files Debussy Preludes  - collection of images, videos and audio files