Among the first pieces of Impressionist music I heard was Clair de Lune, the third movement of Debussy's Suite bergamasque for solo piano. When I finally read online that "Clair de Lune" was part of a larger work, I went and looked it up. This probably happened around seventh grade. For this piece, I'll just point out my favorite musical moments in each of the four movements (for some, they are very closely packed ... this cycle is just fantastic).
Stephen Walsh writes of the Suite bergamasque in Debussy: A Painter in Sound [1]:
Debussy at first rejected the pieces, written in 1895, because he felt they did not reflect his more mature style, but was convinced in 1905 to have them published given the heights of fame he had reached in the years after their inception [2]. Still, he edited them heavily before sending them to Durand for publication. Thankfully, we get to enjoy this music today, and Clair de Lune, by happenstance, is now one of the most popular piano pieces of all time.
The YouTube video has recordings of two different pianists (timestamps: Cho/Bavouzet) that each have equally musical approaches. One thing that strikes me about both interpretations is what a granular range of dynamics they have in the "quiet" region - somehow they're able to distinguish and manifest Debussy's specific markings between piano (p), più piano (more p), pianissimo (pp), più pianissimo (more pp) and pianississimo (ppp).
I. Prelude - Moderato (tempo rubato) (0:00/18:07)
- (1:02/18:56): This sparkliness is so beautiful and takes my breath away every time.
- (1:16/19:08): When it jumps up to the higher register here, it's so ... crystalline and perfect.
- (2:10/19:50): The chord that just precedes the sparkle is so dark, and then the warmth that comes from that new chord ... just makes my heart melt.
- (3:51/21:14): The ending of this movement is spectacular for both interpretations, one so rich and one so bright.
II. Menuet - Andantino (4:31/21:48)
- (4:56/22:13): From the repeated theme through these buoyant chords (forte octaves and then a bunch of piano staccato chords), both interpretations nail it in different ways.
- (5:29/22:44): This beautiful lyrical melody is echoed in a higher octave with the right hand; Cho really shares the spotlight between both octaves, while Bavouzet leaves the higher voice as a mellow coat of clear glaze that leaves the lower octave very visible.
- (5:58/23:11) The wide octave drops from p with the warm crescendo always gets me. I remember obsessively repeating these last two musical moments I've pointed out when trying to learn this piece. Cho handles this so delicately and he really stretches the rubato to wonderful effect; Bavouzet plays it more in time, but with a clarity that is unmatched.
- (6:17/23:29): The real climax of this little moment comes at (6:26/23:38), but the development of the idea and the sudden modulations into F and then E♭ are magically heartwarming.
- (7:46/24:52): Listen for both the higher (flying overhead) and lower octaves (middle range) of the melody as it bursts forth and then recedes into staccato chords and ultimately dissolves into a glissando.
III. Clair de Lune - Andante très expressif (8:44/25:49)
- (9:54/26:46): This chord and the following cascade leading up to the next musical moment always gives me goosebumps; the high octaves are so bright above the richness of these muted but expansive chords below.
- (10:47/27:31): Of course, this is the part that everyone gets excited about. I love the undulating motion and the exchange between the left and right hands in order to make the music fluid and uninterrupted...
- (11:24/28:02): ...not to mention the sparkle of these four bars (so many *ledger lines!)!
- (13:28/29:53): Alternating between D♭ and Fm (I and iii) chords is unusual, even in a lot of Romantic music ... but it has such a warmth to it that's just irresistible.
*Ledger lines allow composers to mark notes that do not fit on the staff:
IV. Passepied - Allegretto ma non troppo (14:15/30:35)
- The whole movement has an energy that the other movements lack because of the tempo.
- (15:06/31:24): The alternation between quarter notes and quarter note triplets (while the offbeat quarter notes persist) and the eighth notes in the left hand always missing the strong beats creates a musical lopsidedness, but it still feels balance because of the incredible control the pianists display.
- (15:27/31:41): The dissonance created by the moving quarter notes, into and out of the half-step interval with the note just above is really charming.
- (15:40/31:52): The abrupt transition from legato to staccato (long and connected notes to short and separated notes) and the change in harmony I find really appealing.
- (15:54/32:07): This key change and the accompaying transition back from staccato to legato is wild, especially as the music relaxes into the key of A♭...
- (16:22/32:34): ...before awkwardly shifting back into F# minor via the F♭/E major chord using A♭/G# as a common tone. The way Debussy meanders about the final key center and cleverly shifts single notes of the chords to arrive there is pretty ingenious.
- (17:12/33:22): These connected D major and related chords are so beautiful! I personally like the way Cho handles these better than Bavouzet.
- (17:47/33:53): F# minor to B major (I-IV) in a minor key where the "4" chord is usually B minor (iv) is part of the Dorian mode, with its uniquely "happy" minor (function of the raised 6th scale degree) -- what a nice way to end the suite with those sparkling octaves.
I hope you enjoyed this! If you like this kind of second-by-second commentary on the pieces, let me know in the comments below!
[1] Walsh, Stephen (2018). Debussy: A Painter in Sound. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
[2] Roberts, Paul (1996). Images: The Piano Music of Claude Debussy. Amadeus Press, Portland, Oregon.
Stephen Walsh writes of the Suite bergamasque in Debussy: A Painter in Sound [1]:
For Jacques Durand [music publisher] it may have been bad news that, just when Debussy had been contracted to write a whole series of piano and orchestral Images, it turned out that he was starting quite a different orchestral work about the sea. But Durand could see only half the picture. Either that summer or very soon afterwards Debussy seems also to have been hatching a completely new set of piano pieces under the title Suite bergamasque. Exactly what was going on is still by no means entirely clear. Long ago he had written the suite of pieces that is today universally famous under that title, but it had never been published and was still lying idle, along with other short pieces, in his bottom drawer.
The YouTube video has recordings of two different pianists (timestamps: Cho/Bavouzet) that each have equally musical approaches. One thing that strikes me about both interpretations is what a granular range of dynamics they have in the "quiet" region - somehow they're able to distinguish and manifest Debussy's specific markings between piano (p), più piano (more p), pianissimo (pp), più pianissimo (more pp) and pianississimo (ppp).
I. Prelude - Moderato (tempo rubato) (0:00/18:07)
- (1:02/18:56): This sparkliness is so beautiful and takes my breath away every time.
- (1:16/19:08): When it jumps up to the higher register here, it's so ... crystalline and perfect.
- (2:10/19:50): The chord that just precedes the sparkle is so dark, and then the warmth that comes from that new chord ... just makes my heart melt.
- (3:51/21:14): The ending of this movement is spectacular for both interpretations, one so rich and one so bright.
II. Menuet - Andantino (4:31/21:48)
- (4:56/22:13): From the repeated theme through these buoyant chords (forte octaves and then a bunch of piano staccato chords), both interpretations nail it in different ways.
- (5:29/22:44): This beautiful lyrical melody is echoed in a higher octave with the right hand; Cho really shares the spotlight between both octaves, while Bavouzet leaves the higher voice as a mellow coat of clear glaze that leaves the lower octave very visible.
- (5:58/23:11) The wide octave drops from p with the warm crescendo always gets me. I remember obsessively repeating these last two musical moments I've pointed out when trying to learn this piece. Cho handles this so delicately and he really stretches the rubato to wonderful effect; Bavouzet plays it more in time, but with a clarity that is unmatched.
- (6:17/23:29): The real climax of this little moment comes at (6:26/23:38), but the development of the idea and the sudden modulations into F and then E♭ are magically heartwarming.
- (7:46/24:52): Listen for both the higher (flying overhead) and lower octaves (middle range) of the melody as it bursts forth and then recedes into staccato chords and ultimately dissolves into a glissando.
III. Clair de Lune - Andante très expressif (8:44/25:49)
- (9:54/26:46): This chord and the following cascade leading up to the next musical moment always gives me goosebumps; the high octaves are so bright above the richness of these muted but expansive chords below.
- (10:47/27:31): Of course, this is the part that everyone gets excited about. I love the undulating motion and the exchange between the left and right hands in order to make the music fluid and uninterrupted...
- (11:24/28:02): ...not to mention the sparkle of these four bars (so many *ledger lines!)!
- (13:28/29:53): Alternating between D♭ and Fm (I and iii) chords is unusual, even in a lot of Romantic music ... but it has such a warmth to it that's just irresistible.
*Ledger lines allow composers to mark notes that do not fit on the staff:
Debussy, Suite bergamasque, III. Clair de Lune, bar 39.
IV. Passepied - Allegretto ma non troppo (14:15/30:35)
- The whole movement has an energy that the other movements lack because of the tempo.
- (15:06/31:24): The alternation between quarter notes and quarter note triplets (while the offbeat quarter notes persist) and the eighth notes in the left hand always missing the strong beats creates a musical lopsidedness, but it still feels balance because of the incredible control the pianists display.
- (15:27/31:41): The dissonance created by the moving quarter notes, into and out of the half-step interval with the note just above is really charming.
- (15:40/31:52): The abrupt transition from legato to staccato (long and connected notes to short and separated notes) and the change in harmony I find really appealing.
- (15:54/32:07): This key change and the accompaying transition back from staccato to legato is wild, especially as the music relaxes into the key of A♭...
- (16:22/32:34): ...before awkwardly shifting back into F# minor via the F♭/E major chord using A♭/G# as a common tone. The way Debussy meanders about the final key center and cleverly shifts single notes of the chords to arrive there is pretty ingenious.
- (17:12/33:22): These connected D major and related chords are so beautiful! I personally like the way Cho handles these better than Bavouzet.
- (17:47/33:53): F# minor to B major (I-IV) in a minor key where the "4" chord is usually B minor (iv) is part of the Dorian mode, with its uniquely "happy" minor (function of the raised 6th scale degree) -- what a nice way to end the suite with those sparkling octaves.
I hope you enjoyed this! If you like this kind of second-by-second commentary on the pieces, let me know in the comments below!
[1] Walsh, Stephen (2018). Debussy: A Painter in Sound. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
[2] Roberts, Paul (1996). Images: The Piano Music of Claude Debussy. Amadeus Press, Portland, Oregon.
No comments:
Post a Comment