This three-movement suite is one of a number of piano works by Debussy which are often described as impressionistic, a term borrowed from painting. This style of composition had been pioneered by Ravel in Jeux d'eau written in 1901, and was soon adopted by Debussy (for example in the earlier numbers of Images), but Debussy did not himself identify as an impressionist.
La soirée dans Grenade ("Evening in Granada") – approx. 5+1⁄2 minutes (F♯ minor → F♯ major).
Jardins sous la pluie ("Gardens in the Rain") – approx. 3+1⁄2 minutes (E minor → E major).[2]
I. Pagodesedit
Pagodes evokes Indonesian gamelan music, which Debussy first heard in the Paris World Conference Exhibition of 1889. It makes extensive use of pentatonic scales and mimics traditional Indonesian melodies.[2] Four different pentatonic scales are incorporated within the piece, further defining the imagery of the pagoda. Pagodas are Oriental temples with petite bases that give rise to ornate roofs that typically curve upwards, much like the ascending melodic line (G♯, C♯, D♯) which serves as a repeated motive through different portions of the piece.[3]
As this is an Impressionistic work, the goal is not overt expressiveness but instead an emphasis on the wash of color presented by the texture of the work. Debussy marks in the text that "Pagodes" should be played "presque sans nuance", or "almost without nuance." This rigidity of rhythm helps to reduce the natural inclination of pianists to add rubato and excessive expression.
II. La soirée dans Grenadeedit
La soirée dans Grenade uses the Arabic scale and mimics guitar strumming to evoke images of Granada, Spain. At the time of its writing, Debussy's only personal experience with the country was a few hours spent in San Sebastián de los Reyes near Madrid.[4] Despite this, the Spanish composer Manuel de Falla said of the movement: "There is not even one measure of this music borrowed from the Spanish folklore, and yet the entire composition in its most minute details, conveys admirably Spain."[5]
III. Jardins sous la pluieedit
Jardins sous la pluie describes a garden in the Normandy town of Orbec during an extremely violent rainstorm. Throughout the piece, there are sections that evoke the sounds of the wind blowing, a thunderstorm raging, and raindrops dropping. It makes use of two folk melodies, the lullaby Dodo, l'enfant do [fr] and Nous n'irons plus au bois [fr] parce qu'il fait un temps insupportable (We will no longer go to the woods because the weather is unbearable).
Chromatic, whole tone, major and minor scales are used in this movement.
estampes, french, commune, gers, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, j. For the French commune see Estampes Gers This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Estampes news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2020 Learn how and when to remove this message Estampes Prints L 100 is a composition for solo piano by Claude Debussy It was finished in 1903 The first performance of the work was given by Ricardo Vines at the Salle Erard of the Societe Nationale de Musique in Paris on 9 January 1904 1 Estampesby Claude DebussyEnglish Prints CatalogueL 100GenreImpressionismComposed1903PerformedJanuary 9 1904 120 years ago 1904 01 09 Salle Erard Paris France This three movement suite is one of a number of piano works by Debussy which are often described as impressionistic a term borrowed from painting This style of composition had been pioneered by Ravel in Jeux d eau written in 1901 and was soon adopted by Debussy for example in the earlier numbers of Images but Debussy did not himself identify as an impressionist Contents 1 Structure 2 I Pagodes 3 II La soiree dans Grenade 4 III Jardins sous la pluie 5 References 6 External linksStructure editEstampes is a suite containing three movements Pagodes Pagodas approx 4 5 minutes B major La soiree dans Grenade Evening in Granada approx 5 1 2 minutes F minor F major Jardins sous la pluie Gardens in the Rain approx 3 1 2 minutes E minor E major 2 I Pagodes editPagodes evokes Indonesian gamelan music which Debussy first heard in the Paris World Conference Exhibition of 1889 It makes extensive use of pentatonic scales and mimics traditional Indonesian melodies 2 Four different pentatonic scales are incorporated within the piece further defining the imagery of the pagoda Pagodas are Oriental temples with petite bases that give rise to ornate roofs that typically curve upwards much like the ascending melodic line G C D which serves as a repeated motive through different portions of the piece 3 As this is an Impressionistic work the goal is not overt expressiveness but instead an emphasis on the wash of color presented by the texture of the work Debussy marks in the text that Pagodes should be played presque sans nuance or almost without nuance This rigidity of rhythm helps to reduce the natural inclination of pianists to add rubato and excessive expression II La soiree dans Grenade editLa soiree dans Grenade uses the Arabic scale and mimics guitar strumming to evoke images of Granada Spain At the time of its writing Debussy s only personal experience with the country was a few hours spent in San Sebastian de los Reyes near Madrid 4 Despite this the Spanish composer Manuel de Falla said of the movement There is not even one measure of this music borrowed from the Spanish folklore and yet the entire composition in its most minute details conveys admirably Spain 5 III Jardins sous la pluie editJardins sous la pluie describes a garden in the Normandy town of Orbec during an extremely violent rainstorm Throughout the piece there are sections that evoke the sounds of the wind blowing a thunderstorm raging and raindrops dropping It makes use of two folk melodies the lullaby Dodo l enfant do fr and Nous n irons plus au bois fr parce qu il fait un temps insupportable We will no longer go to the woods because the weather is unbearable Chromatic whole tone major and minor scales are used in this movement References edit University of Washington a b Hinson Maurice Preface to Estampes by Claude Debussy Van Nuys CA Alfred Publishing Co Inc 1993 Schmitz Robert E The Piano Works of Claude Debussy New York Duyell Sloan and Pearce Publishers 1950 p 83 84 Hinson Schmitz Robert E The Piano Works of Claude Debussy New York Duyell Sloan and Pearce Publishers 1950 pp 85 86 External links editEstampes Scores at the International Music Score Library Project nbsp This article about a classical composition is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Estampes amp oldid 1221089365, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
