DEBUSSY Préludes Books 1 & 2
DENNIS LEE, Piano
ICSM Records 015 / TT: 77”43
This is the second album of a survey of Claude Debussy’s complete piano music by Penang-born London-based pianist Dennis Lee. Like his earlier disc, focusing on the complete Images and Estampes, the 24 Préludes (published as two books, each with twelve pieces) is another fascinating journey through the impressionist sound world.
Debussy had written the pieces first, later appending the oh-so-poetic French titles which would appear at the bottom of each page. One is thus invited to first listen, imagine and fantasise before secrets are eventually revealed. As with the paintings of Monet, Renoir or Cezanne, one marvels at colour, light and shade, as expressed in brush-strokes, points or dots, with images and ideas later formed by the viewer’s senses.
Monet impressions. What do you see?
Water, sunlight and Houses of Parliament,
an impression of London on the Thames.
Book One is the more often performed set, and has the most familiar Préludes, including La fille aux cheveux de lin (The Girl with Flaxen Hair), La cathédrale engloutie (The Engulfed Cathedral) and Minstrels. My favourite sequence runs from Préludes 4 through 7, which encompasses the full palette of Debussy’s expressive effects. Shrouded mystery in Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l’air du soir (Sounds and Scents Swirl in the Evening Air, by far the longest title), sunlit playfulness in Les collines d’Anacapri (The Hills of Anacapri), bleak desolation in Des pas sur la neige (Footprints in the snow) and untamed violence in Ce qu’a ve le vent d’ouest (What the West Wind Saw) seem to say it all. Lee crafts these variegated scenes and moods to perfection, particularly in the portrayal of unremitting wintry sadness.
24 pictures representing 24 préludes,
as found on Google's image search.
Book Two offers both pianist and listener a wider spectrum of contrasts, even if the pieces are less familiar, with the exceptions of Bruyeres (Heaths) and Feux d’artifice (Fireworks), which concludes the set. In the opening Brouillards (Mists), one is immediately submerged in a heady mix of sound textures, then led into the melancholic visage of Feuilles mortes (Dead Leaves) and vigorous Spanish rhythms of La puerta del Vino (The Wine Gate), before flitting with Les fees sont d’exquises danseuses (The Fairies are Exquisite Dancers). I could go on but one gets the picture that these are aurally stimulating miniatures which Lee gets to the heart of. His fingerwork is crystal-clear, pedalling exemplary, and contrasts and varying textures judged close to perfection.
The recorded sound is warm and mellow, without the over-reverberance or haziness of sonority that tend to accompany some Debussy or Ravel recordings. Even if one possesses the famed recordings of Cortot, Gieseking (despite the limited sonics in both), Zimerman, Kocsis or Thibaudet (the modern day references), this set is ardently recommended.
No comments:
Post a Comment