Debussy: The Complete Preludes (Jumppanen)

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One of the great peaks of the prelude literature for piano, alongside Chopin’s, Rachmaninoff’s and Scriabin’s (late) prelude sets. These works are consistently ingenious in the deployment of those devices that are now consistently associated with impressionism – modal colour, exotic scales (whole-tone, pentatonic, double harmonic, Hungarian), non-functional harmony (planing chords, purely colouristic intervals, hanging and extended chords), pedal points, timbral figuration. Interestingly, Book 2 is very different from Book 1: it’s far more pessimistic and abstract, so much so that it was greeted upon publication with some disappointment. Book 1’s fantasy has been replaced by a certain weary or ominous realism, and you get the feeling that Book 1 was more explicitly imagistic in nature, while Book 2 is symbolic – it’s going for what certain images and objects *mean*, rather than trying to depict them per se. Book 2 is also completely written on 3 staves – its sound is a bit more expansive and less propulsive, more delicately tiered.

Book 1
1: Dancers of Delphi – A languorous melody embedded in a chordal texture.
2: Sails/Veils – Whole-tone scale, then the pentatonic, then whole-tone scales again. Sailing-boats stuck to a pedal-point
3: The wind in the plain – A displaced trill trembling like grass on a plain. Flashes of lightning in the middle.
4: "The sounds and fragrances swirl through the evening air" – Harmonically rich, disfigured waltz
5: The hills of Anacapri – Luminous bells introduce an ecstatic tarantella
6: Footsteps in the snow – Possibly the bleakest soundscape in the preludes. Trudging footsteps form an ostinato in the LH. Ends in emptiness.
7: What the West Wind has seen – The frozen landscape descends into a maelstrom.
8: The girl with the flaxen hair – The most tonal prelude, recalling Debussy’s early style.
9: Interrupted serenade – A guitarist tries to serenade a potential lover, but is interrupted.
10: The submerged cathedral – First, bells stifled by the depths of the sea (given mixolydian, lydian, and then phrygian colour); as the cathedral begins to rise, full chiming bells, a sustained plainchant, then a booming organ pedal-point.
11: Puck’s dance – The mischief-maker from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A loose gigue (in sonata form?) stuck through with dorian colour.
12: Minstrels – Banjo imitations interrupted by surprisingly blatant dominant-tonic pedals in G. A warmly sentimental lyric is introduced, as well as a drum-like theme.

Book 2
1: Mists – Fleeting shadows in the RH over a mystic, stunned chorale in the LH. The second theme is played in octaves separated by a desolate gulf in the middle of the keyboard.
2: Dead leaves – Dejected, inbent.
3: Wine door – Inspired a postcard Debussy received from De Falla of a Moorish wine-gate in Grenada. A playful evocation of an archaic habanera, underlaid with supressed violence.
4: The fairies are exquisite dancers – A fluttering dance alternatives with lyric passages.
5: Bruyères – Pastoral, with improvisatory figures that mimic birdcalls. Nostalgic and a bit lonely.
6: General Lavine – eccentric – Alternately comic and sentimental, crude and refined.
7: The terraces of moonlit audiences – Aching, rapt. Possibly inspired by a newspaper article about the coronation of George V as King of India, which concluded with the words: “…the audience was observing the events in a shimmering moonlight.”
8: Ondine – Ravel’s water nymph was hushed and candescent; Debussy’s is evasive, even, at points, slightly threatening.
9: Homage to S. Pickwick – Opening with a forceful but absurd parody of ‘God Save the Queen’, this prelude presents a sequence of contrasting musical styles, all linked only by their humour. Debussy was, for reasons only he will know, awfully fond of the British (see the little jig tune that the character whistles at 1:14:43 while walking into the distance).
10: Canopic jar – Debussy’s desk was occupied by two Egyptian canopic jars: this prelude is a meditation on death, but death held at a great distance, still and somehow hermetic. Even the sudden tonal shift in the fourth bar sounds inevitable, and the recurrent chromatic phrase centred on C# has the character of an incantation.
11: Alternating thirds – An etude, bone-dry.
12: Fireworks – A dazzle through which a deformed recollection of the Marsellaise is heard. Virtuosic and brilliant, but in a brutal way, like light too bright to look at directly.
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Jumppanen approaches these preludes armed with preternaturally fine dynamic control, a keen sense of shape & structure, and wonderful imagination (when the score says “caressingly”, you hear it, and Jumppanen is one of those who actually separates his mezzo-pianos, pianos, and pianissimos). The tempi in the slower preludes can get really very slow, but these are in service of colours that appear to stop time. And the characterisation you get in many of these is just perfect – the grand prismatic architecture of the ‘Submerged Cathedral’, the wry & slightly weird menace of ‘Wine Door’, the sparks of ‘Fireworks’, one moment festive & balmy, and the next mesmeric and dangerously close, so that you almost feel in danger of getting burnt. There are many great recordings of the preludes out there, but few are as haunting as this one.

Book 1:
00:00 - 1. Lent et grave (...Danseuses de Delphes, Dancers of Delphi)
03:46 - 2. Modéré (...Voiles, Sails/Veils)
07:38 - 3. Animé (...Le vent dans la plaine, The Wind in the Plain)
09:51 - 4. Modéré (...«Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soir», "The sounds and fragrances swirl through the evening air")
14:20 - 5. Très modéré (...Les collines d'Anacapri, The Hills of Anacapri)
17:51 - 6. Triste et lent (...Des pas sur la neige, Footsteps in the Snow)
22:08 - 7. Animé et tumultueux (...Ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest, What the West Wind has Seen)
25:47 - 8. Très calme et doucement expressif (...La fille aux cheveux de lin, The Girl with the Flaxen Hair)
28:43 - 9. Modérément animé (...La sérénade interrompue, Interrupted Serenade)
31:25 - 10. Profondément calme (...La cathédrale engloutie, The Submerged Cathedral)
38:42 - 11. Capricieux et léger (...La danse de Puck, Puck's Dance)
41:32 - 12. Modéré (...Minstrels)

Book 2
44:03 - 1. Modéré (...Brouillards, Mists)
47:19 - 2. Lent et mélancolique (...Feuilles mortes, Dead Leaves)
51:03 - 3. Mouvement de Habanera (...La puerta del Vino, Wine Door)
54:31 - 4. Rapide et léger (...«Les fées sont d'exquises danseuses», "Fairies are exquisite dancers")
57:45 - 5. Calme (...Bruyères, Heather/Town in Eastern France)
1:01:05 - 6. Dans le style et le mouvement d'un Cakewalk (...Général Lavine – eccentric)
1:03:46 - 7. Lent (...La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune, The Terraces of Moonlight Audiences)
1:09:08 - 8. Scherzando (...Ondine)
1:12:45 - 9. Grave (...Hommage à S. Pickwick Esq. P.P.M.P.C., Homage to S. Pickwick)
1:15:24 - 10. Très calme et doucement triste (...Canope, Canopic Jar)
1:19:16 - 11. Modérément animé (...Les tierces alternées, Alternating Thirds)
1:21:48 - 12. Modérément animé (...Feux d'artifice, Fireworks)

AshishXiangyiKumar
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You are a seriously underrated gem when it comes to YouTube as a whole. An absolute must for classical piano fans. Fantastic uploads as always.

grandbluepianistofthesky
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00:01 Дельфийские танцовщицы
14:20 Холмы анакапри
17:50 Следы на снегу
25:47 Девушка с волосами цвета льна
28:43 Прерванная серенада
31:26 Затонувший собор
41:32 Менестрели
54:31 Феи
1:09:08 Ундина
1:21:48 Фейерверк

soynaa
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Thank you Ashish for uploading these pieces with such quality. Your videos have the best audio quality of all sheet music channels, and you even write amazing descriptions with deep analysis. Thank you for giving us the most enjoyable sheet music video experience!

ColinChang
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Book 1
0:00:00 1. Danseuses de Delphes (Dancers of Delphi)
0:03:46 2. Voiles (Sails/Veils)
0:07:37 3. Le vent dans la plaine (The Wind in the Plain)
0:09:51 4. Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soir (The Sounds and Frangrances Swirl Through the Evening Air)
0:14:20 5. Les collines d'Anacapri (The Hills of Anacapri)
0:17:50 6. Des pas sur la neige (Footsteps in the Snow)
0:22:08 7. Ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest: (What the West Wind Has Seen)
0:25:47 8. La fille aux cheveux de lin (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair)
0:28:43 9. La sérénade interrompue (Interrupted Serenade)
0:31:25 10. La cathédrale engloutie (The Submerged Cathedral)
0:38:42 11. La danse de Puck (Puck's Dance)
0:41:32 12. Minstrels

Book 2
0:44:03 1. Brouillards (Mists)
0:47:19 2. Feuilles mortes (Dead Leaves)
0:51:02 3. La puerta del Vino (Wine Door)
0:54:31 4. Les fées sont d'exquises danseuses (The Fairies Are Exquisite Dancers)
0:57:45. 5. Bruyères
1:01:05 6. Général Lavine – eccentric (General Lavine)
1:03:46 7. La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune (The Terraces of Moonlit Audiences)
1:09:07 8. Ondine
1:12:45 9. Hommage à S. Pickwick Esq. P.P.M.P.C. (Homage to S. Pickwick)
1:15:24 10. Canope (Canopic Jar)
1:19:16 11. Les tierces alternées (Alternating Thirds)
1:21:48 12. Feux d'artifice (Fireworks)

qwert_yuiop
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00:00 №1 Dancers of Delphi
14:18 №5 The hills of Anacapri
25:45 №8 The girl with the flaxen hair
28:42 №9 Interrupted serenade
31:25 №10 The submerged cathedral
41:30 №
12 Minstrels
51:00 №15 Wine door
1:01:05 №18 General Lavine – eccentric

Olga
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The Untitled Goose Game seriously has me wanting to finally learn all of these...and then put on a recital. I seriously was so excited when I heard Debussy Preludes.

madameblackimusprime
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0:00 1. 델피의 무희들
3:46 2. 돛
25:48 8. 아마빛 머리의 처녀
31:25 10. 가라앉은 사원

조아라-ck
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If a game can get people into classical music that would be the greatest accomplishment. I'm sad I never knew about this, I love Debussy and had never heard of it. Thanks Goose Game!

SamK
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Debussy is one of a handful of composers that I look to for musical calming (if that makes sense). This beautiful collection of works is a much needed respite. Thank you for posting.

robertcohn
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Wow, I don't think I've ever heard a more potent rendering of these preludes by any other pianist that I'm aware of. Glad I discovered this pianist.

toothlesstoe
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Its a very beautiful and imaginative piece, I was at a live concert and i felt so immersed. If its your first time listening these preludes you should close your eyes and think of the music and compare your interpretations to Debussy's as the preludes title is purposely in the end so you dont immediately know what Debussy's ment and instead figure it out by the harmony and the specifically placed notes.

stargazerverse
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I am so intrigued by this collection. It slowly reveals itself over multiple listens.

willk
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41:32 makes me want to bully a gardener

turnerIott
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Mists is such a cool piece, totally paints the right picture of the phenomenon.

bjornviir
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1:26:01 echoes of la marseillaise in the distance: "Aux armes citoyens"

delko
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Listening to all his preludes is a periodic activity. ❤. Thank you, !

scottmichaelawaken
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Something interesting about the two most lyrical preludes, The Girl With the Flaxen Hair and Bruyeres, the structures of the two pieces are quite similar. Both land on the IV chord and we hear the melody repeated in a higher octave toward the ends of both pieces.

Henry-uvxu
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Зошит 1
0:00:00 1. Дельфійські танцівниці
0:03:46 2. Вітрила
0:07:37 3. Вітер на рівнині
0:09:51 4. Звуки й аромати майорять у вечірньому повітрі
0:14:20 5. Пагорби Анакапрі
0:17:50 6. Кроки на снігу
0:22:08 7. Те, що бачить західний вітер
0:25:47 8. Дівчина з волоссям кольору льону
0:28:43 9. Перервана серенада
0:31:25 10. Затонулий собор
0:38:42 11. Танець Пека
0:41:32 12. Менестрелі

Зошит 2
0:44:03 1. Тумани
0:47:19 2. Мертве листя
0:51:02 3. Ворот Альгамбри
0:54:31 4. Феї — чарівні танцівниці
0:57:45. 5. Верес
1:01:05 6. Генерал Лявін
1:03:46 7. Тераса, осяяна місячним світлом
1:09:07 8. Ундіна
1:12:45 9. На знак пошани С.Піквіку
1:15:24 10. Канопа
1:19:16 11. Терції, що чергуються
1:21:48 12. Феєрверк

yashkamusician
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Somehow found this work when I Google searched "Legacy of Ys: Books I & II DS" and decided to YouTube book 1. Amazing music!

Pikachu