Debussy, pentatonicism, and the tonal tradition jeremy dayo. These compositions, while endearing themselves to both pianist and. 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. Debussy voiles from the 1st book of preludes youtube. Voiles is the second work in the volume and means, either veils or sails. Lorsque au soleil couchant les rivieres sont roses. With glissandos emulating the sound of a harp, and by incorporating numerous dissonant chords that do not resolve to any traditional patterns of chord. 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. Buy debussy complete preludes by martino tirimo, claude debussy, none from amazons classical music store. Inspired by the performances of the american dancer loie fuller, whose scarf dances were. He contours the dynamics with micromanaged aplomb, and achieves ravishing pedal effects in the more meditative selections. 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. Daniele fasani, piano live at orleans concours international.
Among the most important 20th century composers, and the most influential. In his later works, debussy took greater chances, implementing more nonresolving dissonances selfproclaimed floating chords and fragmented forms. 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. 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.
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. Voiles, from debussys first book of preludes, certainly displays some of debussys compositional affinities. Claude debussy 18621918 debussy was born in a suburb of france to a middleclass family. Voiles, number 2 from book i of debussy s preludes.
All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. The twentyfour preludes of debussy are published in two books of twelve preludes each. Debussys voiles was inspired by a javanese ensemble known. Compositions of debussy, the number of measures marked piano, and the number of measures marked forte.
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 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. 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. Datetime dimensions user comment 15 december 2011, 14. 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. Aug 19, 2016 debussy did nothing less than liberate music from the domination by functional harmony which had prevailed for three centuries. Some of the preludes book 1 are quite evocative and full of concentration. Voiles da preludi, libro i, per pianoforte debussy voiles preludes, book 1 no.
Use of the whole tone scale in debussys voiles, prelude. He returned to paris and befriended symbolist poets and painters. By contrast, the pianist is sometimes careless regarding debussys carefully considered dynamic and tempo indications. The title of the piece may be translated to english as either veils or sails. 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. Playing debussys piano works an amateurs thoughts about playing debussy. He began studies at the paris conservatoire at the age of ten. Prelude voiles, book 1 no 2 prelude voiles book 1 no 2.
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. Debussy complete preludes by martino tirimo, claude. 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. The flickering quality of voiles double notes somehow lightens the static wholenotescale harmony. Finally, although in voiles the contrast and similarity between the two modesboth with. I would argue the tonality of this piece as being primarily based in c major. The piece elicits feelings of serenity within an eerie tranquility.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Voiles is a composition by claude debussy for solo piano from 1909. Information from its description page there is shown below. Unlike some notable collections of preludes from prior. 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. Debussys 24 piano preludes were published in two sets in 1910 and 19. Get a special offer and listen to over 60 million songs, anywhere with amazon music unlimited. Hyacinth talk contribs created by using sibelius 5. Listen to voiles sails veilsmodere by claude debussy. I would like it to appear as though it came from a shadow and that from time to time it will return there. Offered on this double disc set are of debussy s compositions 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.
Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance. In general, the book 2 preludes are much better than those in book 1. Debussy, pentatonicism, and the tonal tradition jeremy day. Debussys voiles was inspired by a javanese ensemble known as a a. As seen in figure l, while maintaining the same right hand melody, debussy adds not just one, but two melodic lines under. After training at the paris conservatory, debussy took several jobs to support.
As for his piano compositions, after he completed the second book of preludes the only. His father, manuelachille debussy, owned a shop where he sold china and crockery, and his mother, victorine manoury debussy, was a seamstress. Art that gives an impression of what is there, rather than depicting it directly. Diversity of ivetrical scheme found in six different compositions of debussy, preludes, book ii, 39 2. Voiles sails veilsmodere by claude debussy napster. It is the second piece in a set of twelve preludes published in 1910. Analysis music teachers uk find a music teacher music. Use of the pentatonic scale in debussys voiles 1910, prelude. It is characteristic of his music to present melodic material in varying harmonic contexts. 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. Except for some mild, localized chromaticism and a short pentatonic passage, the entire piece uses the whole.
I used to play this piece half a century ago and decided just this week to open the score and revive it. Claude debussys preludes are 24 pieces for solo piano, divided into two books of 12 preludes each. The two books of etudes were debussy s last significant pieces for solo. Types of triplets found in piano compositions of debussy and places where they are found.
Buy debussy preludes by claude debussy, pascal roge from amazons classical music store. A transformational basis for form and prolongation in debussys feux dartifice, in musical form and transformation. Three years exist between the publication of the first and second book, with the former appearing in 1910. Maurizio pollini brings cool elegance and unflappable sheen to debussys preludes book one. Jan 09, 2010 voiles, number 2 from book i of debussys preludes.
Voiles work by debussy britannica encyclopedia britannica. Why not a tutorial or in put it in the slow series. In voiles, debussy uses a slightly different approach to layering his melodies. 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. 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. Still, a very worthy addition to the orchestral repertoire, as more of debussy s piano music deserves to be heard with orchestra. Often dubbed a musical impressionist, but his music always has a strong sense of form. These compositions, while endearing themselves to both pianist and listener, also occupy an important place in musical.
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