DEBUSSY: PRELUDES, BOOK 2
Debussy's second book of Preludes, composed in 1912-13 at the end of a decade of prodigious piano output, is in many respects Debussy's strangest
– and most forward-looking – work. As was his custom, the titles are full of humor, whimsy, and at times nonsense, and derive from a wide range
of sources: a postcard from Granada (#3), a caption from a children's book illustration (#4), a newspaper clipping about the coronation of
George V as Emperor of India (#7), a mythological water nymph (#8), a Charles Dickens character (#9 – listen for God Save the Queen hidden in the
opening), a funerary urn from ancient Egypt (#10 – Debussy reputedly kept one on his desk). Yet despite these evocative titles – or perhaps because
of them – in his autograph score, Debussy placed the inscriptions at the end of each Prelude, as if unwilling to influence his listener with a specific
image. For those who wish their listening experience influenced by Debussy’s inspiration, titles – with translations – are below.
Préludes, 2ème livre (1912-13) Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
i. Brouillards [mists]
ii. Feuilles mortes [dead leaves]
iii. La Puerta del Vino [the wine gate]
iv. “Les fées sont d’exquises danceuses” [[the fairies are exquisite dancers]
v. Bruyères [moors]
vi. Général Lavine, excentric [General Lavine, eccentric]
vii. La Terasse des audiences du clair de lune [the terrace for moonlit audiences]
viii. Ondine [Undine]
ix. Hommage à S. Pickwick Esq., P.P.M.P.C. [homage to S. Pickwick Esq., PPMPC]
x. Canope [canopic jar]
xi. Les tierces alternées [alternating thirds]
xii. Feux d’artifice [fireworks]
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