Contemporary Classics July 26, 2018 Celebrating the Music of Claude Debussy - 2nd Episode

Chansons de Bilitis, Musique de scène

Debussy in 1900 wrote Musique de scene pour les chansons de bilitis (Bill-ah_tees) (also known as Chansons de bilitis) for recitation of twelve of Pierre Louÿs' poems. Louÿs' poems are a collection of erotic, essentially lesbian, poetry published in Paris in 1894. These pieces, were scored for two flutes, two harps and celesta. According to contemporary sources the recitation and music were accompanied by live tableaus as well. Apparently only one private performance of the entire creation took place in Venice. Debussy did not publish the score in his lifetime, but later adapted six of the twelve for piano as Six Epigraphes Antiques in 1914.

6 Épigraphes antiques           

This is the adaptation for piano 4 hands excerpts from the Chansons de Bilitis.  The six pieces are:

I. Pour invoquer Pan, dieu du vent d'été       

II. Pour un tombeau sans nom           

III. Pour que la nuit soit propice         

IV. Pour la danseuse aux crotales     

V. Pour l'Égyptienne     

VI. Pour remercier la pluie au matin  

La Boîte à joujoux (The Toy Box)

The Toy Box is orchestrated from Debussy's piano score by André Caplet. The work, which plays for about half an hour is in seven sections:[1]

    Prelude: Le sommeil de la boite (The toy-box asleep)

    Tableau 1: Le magasin de jouets (The toy shop)

    Valse: Danse de la poupée (The doll's waltz)

    Tableau 2: Le champ de bataille (The field of battle)

    Tableau 3: La bergerie a vendre (The sheepfold for sale)

    Tableau 4: Apres fortune faite (After making a fortune)

    Epilogue

Sonata for cello and piano

The sonata for cello and piano, L. 135, was written in 1915, and is notable for its brevity and is a staple of the modern cello repertoire.  Debussy structures the piece in the style of the eighteenth-century monothematic sonata, and was particularly influenced by the music of François Couperin. The piece makes use of modes and whole-tone and pentatonic scales, as is typical of Debussy's style. It also utilises many types of extended cello technique, including left-hand pizzicato, spiccato and flautando bowing, false harmonics and portamenti. The piece is considered technically demanding.   The work has three movements:

    I. Prologue: Lent, sostenuto e molto risoluto

    II. Sérénade: Modérément animé

    III. Finale: Animé, léger et nerveux

Sonata for flute, viola and harp

The sonata for flute, viola, and harp, L. 137, was also written in 1915. The first performance of the Sonata took place in Boston, at Jordan Hall in the New England Conservatory, on November 7, 1916.   Debussy initially planned this as a piece for flute, oboe and harp. He subsequently decided that the viola’s timbre would be a better combination for the flute than the oboe’s, so he changed the instrumentation to flute, viola and harp. The instrumentation would later become a standard ensemble instrumentation. The work has three movements:

    I. Pastorale: Lento, dolce rubato

    II. Interlude: Tempo di Minuetto

    III. Finale: Allegro moderato ma risoluto