Full Album available// Debussy: Nocturnes, La Mer by Eduard van Beinum 🎧 Qobuz (Hi-Res) cutt.ly/8efe78yC Tidal (Hi-Res) cutt.ly/pefe5f07 🎧 Apple Music (Lossless) cutt.ly/pelKDlNO Deezer (Hi-Fi) cutt.ly/eefe5mHU 🎧 Spotify (mp3) cutt.ly/Hefe5I43 TH-cam Music (mp4) cutt.ly/Fefe5KD2 🎧 Amazon Music (soon) Idagio (off) TH-cam Music (mp4) cutt.ly/Fefe5KD2 🔊 Download the album (Hi-Res MASTER - WAV uncompressed) cutt.ly/Classical-Music-Reference-Recording-Website-Van-Beinum Claude Debussy (1862-1918) Les Nocturnes 00:00 Trois Nocturnes, L. 91: I. Nuages (2024 Remastered, Amsterdam 1957) 06:54 Trois Nocturnes, L. 91: II. Fêtes (2024 Remastered, Amsterdam 1957) 12:42 Trois Nocturnes, L. 91: III. Sirènes (2024 Remastered, Amsterdam 1957) Collegium Musicum Amsterdam (Sirènes) Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Conductor: Eduard van Beinum Recorded in 1957, at Amsterdam New mastering in 2024 by AB for classicalmusicreference.com/ 🔊 Join us with your phone on our WhatsApp fanpage (our latest album preview): cutt.ly/5eathESK 🔊 Find our entire catalog on Qobuz: cutt.ly/geathMhL 🔊 Discover our playlists on Spotify: cutt.ly/ceatjtlB ❤ Support us on Patreon www.patreon.com/cmrr/about The premiere of the first two Nocturnes, "Nuages" and "Fêtes", at the Concerts Lamoureux on December 9, 1900, revealed Debussy’s name to the general public. The work delighted both the audience and the critics. It was at this time that the myth of "impressionist music" emerged among those anxious to link a still new and disconcerting art to an established phenomenon. This rather vague notion served for nearly fifty years to obscure the Debussy revolution behind a rosy smoke screen. The composer, it is true, somewhat contributed to this convenient misunderstanding by offering some pictorial comments about the Nocturnes: The title Nocturne is meant to take on a more general and especially more decorative sense here. It is not the usual form of a Nocturne, but everything that this word contains in terms of impressions and special lights. "Nuages": it is the immutable aspect of the sky with the slow, melancholy march of the clouds, ending in a gray agony, softly tinged with white. "Fêtes": it is the movement, the dancing rhythm of the atmosphere with bursts of sudden light, it is also the episode of a procession (dazzling and chimerical vision) passing through the festival, blending into it; but the background remains, persists, and it is always the festival and its mixture of music, luminous dust participating in a total rhythm. "Sirènes": It is the sea and its countless rhythms, then, among the moonlit waves, the mysterious song of the sirens is heard, laughing and passing by. If this text reveals an aspect of Debussy, it is mainly that of the literate, tireless letter-writer, who would later find a way to express himself in musical criticism. The third Nocturne, "Sirènes", includes a women's choir. The work was only performed in its entirety the following year (October 1901); and since then, the triptych was often amputated, for material reasons, of its third piece. An image of the abyss that separated Debussy from the dogmatists of contemporary official music is offered by a comical letter in which Vincent d'Indy wonders under which category to classify the Nocturnes for his Composition course: “Sonata? Never! Despite Marnold's efforts to punch them into this mold. Suite? No more. Symphonic poem? Despite the titles "Nuages", "Fêtes", "Sirènes"... very vague denominations, no literary program, no dramatic explanation comes to authorize the tonal deviations and pleasant but uncoordinated thematic excursions of these three pieces. It is therefore beautiful and good fantasy, for we cannot reject these works for poor workmanship... They are artistic, they exist, therefore they must be classified by us; where? in the fantasy, I see no other place...” Despite d'Indy's obstinacy in seeing this work as a hybrid form, the three movements of the Nocturnes present reciprocal coherence links. They also obey the classical laws of alternation, since this triptych is composed of two moderate movements framing a lively movement. "Nuages" is a kind of half-tone prelude. This piece, in B minor, respects the ternary form of the lied. The first part includes two thematic elements, which will be treated statically. The first, exposed in doublings by the bassoons and clarinets, seems directly inspired by a motif from the third melody of "Sunless" by Mussorgsky. The second element, very Debussyst (one thinks of "La Mer"), comes to the English horns; it is provided with a sort of coda motif: on a tritone enunciated by two horns. The middle section, in the dominant major, is based on a melodic scheme dear to Debussy (cf. the third measure of the "Faune" theme): The final part is more an evanescent vision of the first part than a true recapitulation. The elements appear scattered. The initial motif returns only at the end, followed by a reminiscence (even slower) of the middle section theme. "Fêtes" is a scherzo, also in ternary form. The trio is a fanfare. The march theme (8 measures after I0) is first heard from afar, exposed by muted trumpets; then it gets closer and soon bursts out in full force on a rhythmic ostinato of the drum and the sudden reappearance of the scherzo theme in the strings. The latter, left alone, introduces the recapitulation. The end fades out in a fairly long decrescendo emphasized by increasingly sparse orchestration. "Sirènes" requires the addition of a choir of 16 female voices (8 sopranos and 8 mezzos). If this captivating page also adheres to a tripartite layout, it does so in a very novel way, hinted at by the abridged, varied, revised “recapitulations” of the other two movements. This third movement can no longer be considered as the restarting of a previously seen mechanism but, which is common - and astonishingly new - in Debussy, as the inevitable outcome of a previously gestating process. After a fairly static introduction, a first orchestral theme appears on the English horn whose head will serve as a counterpoint to the choral theme. In fact, this choral theme is derived from the orchestral theme. A new theme appears in the central section, a little slower (8 measures after 5). A transition gradually brings back (figure 9) to the main tempo. The third part then begins with an inverted recapitulation of the themes: the choral theme soon passes to the strings, contrapuntal to the voices by the central section theme. It is only during the slowest part and holding until the end that the orchestral theme emerges. Here again, the concern for unity is affirmed in the care that Debussy takes to tonally link the movements through subtle analogies. If the tonality of "Sirènes" (B major) is easily explained by the majorization of the initial B minor, the structure of "Fêtes", with its 4 flats, may surprise. The F key of this theme (in the D mode transposed to F) creates with that of the previous movement the tritone relationship whose announcement can be seen in the melodic movement of the coda motif of the second element of "Nuages", at the very beginning of the work. It is also worth noting the symphonic treatment of the women's voices in "Sirènes". Debussy did not use a text; the choir sings on the syllable "a". In Debussy's use of this absence of words and the original effects he derives from it, one can see one of the first attempts to integrate the voice into the orchestra by treating it in an almost instrumental way. Other Album Available // Debussy: La Mer, Images, Nocturnes & Orchestral Works Manuel Rosenthal 🎧 Qobuz bit.ly/363YPLB Tidal bit.ly/3GKB6wM 🎧 Apple Music apple.co/3GNzjHb Deezer bit.ly/3GSZUm6 🎧 Amazon Music amzn.to/33pUAJw Spotify spoti.fi/3uM4nou 🎧 Napster, Pandora, Anghami, Soundcloud, QQ音乐, LineMusic, Awa 日本…
The orchestral sound, through my Bose headphones, is astonishingly perfect! Great recording of a performance by stellar musical artists. Nice pre-Christmas gift!
The premiere of the first two Nocturnes, "Nuages" and "Fêtes", at the Concerts Lamoureux on December 9, 1900, revealed Debussy’s name to the general public. The work delighted both the audience and the critics. It was at this time that the myth of "impressionist music" emerged among those anxious to link a still new and disconcerting art to an established phenomenon. This rather vague notion served for nearly fifty years to obscure the Debussy revolution behind a rosy smoke screen. The composer, it is true, somewhat contributed to this convenient misunderstanding by offering some pictorial comments about the Nocturnes: The title Nocturne is meant to take on a more general and especially more decorative sense here. It is not the usual form of a Nocturne, but everything that this word contains in terms of impressions and special lights. "Nuages": it is the immutable aspect of the sky with the slow, melancholy march of the clouds, ending in a gray agony, softly tinged with white. "Fêtes": it is the movement, the dancing rhythm of the atmosphere with bursts of sudden light, it is also the episode of a procession (dazzling and chimerical vision) passing through the festival, blending into it; but the background remains, persists, and it is always the festival and its mixture of music, luminous dust participating in a total rhythm. "Sirènes": It is the sea and its countless rhythms, then, among the moonlit waves, the mysterious song of the sirens is heard, laughing and passing by. If this text reveals an aspect of Debussy, it is mainly that of the literate, tireless letter-writer, who would later find a way to express himself in musical criticism. The third Nocturne, "Sirènes", includes a women's choir. The work was only performed in its entirety the following year (October 1901); and since then, the triptych was often amputated, for material reasons, of its third piece. An image of the abyss that separated Debussy from the dogmatists of contemporary official music is offered by a comical letter in which Vincent d'Indy wonders under which category to classify the Nocturnes for his Composition course: “Sonata? Never! Despite Marnold's efforts to punch them into this mold. Suite? No more. Symphonic poem? Despite the titles "Nuages", "Fêtes", "Sirènes"... very vague denominations, no literary program, no dramatic explanation comes to authorize the tonal deviations and pleasant but uncoordinated thematic excursions of these three pieces. It is therefore beautiful and good fantasy, for we cannot reject these works for poor workmanship... They are artistic, they exist, therefore they must be classified by us; where? in the fantasy, I see no other place...” Despite d'Indy's obstinacy in seeing this work as a hybrid form, the three movements of the Nocturnes present reciprocal coherence links. They also obey the classical laws of alternation, since this triptych is composed of two moderate movements framing a lively movement. "Nuages" is a kind of half-tone prelude. This piece, in B minor, respects the ternary form of the lied. The first part includes two thematic elements, which will be treated statically. The first, exposed in doublings by the bassoons and clarinets, seems directly inspired by a motif from the third melody of "Sunless" by Mussorgsky. The second element, very Debussyst (one thinks of "La Mer"), comes to the English horns; it is provided with a sort of coda motif: on a tritone enunciated by two horns. The middle section, in the dominant major, is based on a melodic scheme dear to Debussy (cf. the third measure of the "Faune" theme): The final part is more an evanescent vision of the first part than a true recapitulation. The elements appear scattered. The initial motif returns only at the end, followed by a reminiscence (even slower) of the middle section theme. "Fêtes" is a scherzo, also in ternary form. The trio is a fanfare. The march theme (8 measures after I0) is first heard from afar, exposed by muted trumpets; then it gets closer and soon bursts out in full force on a rhythmic ostinato of the drum and the sudden reappearance of the scherzo theme in the strings. The latter, left alone, introduces the recapitulation. The end fades out in a fairly long decrescendo emphasized by increasingly sparse orchestration. "Sirènes" requires the addition of a choir of 16 female voices (8 sopranos and 8 mezzos). If this captivating page also adheres to a tripartite layout, it does so in a very novel way, hinted at by the abridged, varied, revised “recapitulations” of the other two movements. This third movement can no longer be considered as the restarting of a previously seen mechanism but, which is common - and astonishingly new - in Debussy, as the inevitable outcome of a previously gestating process. After a fairly static introduction, a first orchestral theme appears on the English horn whose head will serve as a counterpoint to the choral theme. In fact, this choral theme is derived from the orchestral theme. A new theme appears in the central section, a little slower (8 measures after 5). A transition gradually brings back (figure 9) to the main tempo. The third part then begins with an inverted recapitulation of the themes: the choral theme soon passes to the strings, contrapuntal to the voices by the central section theme. It is only during the slowest part and holding until the end that the orchestral theme emerges. Here again, the concern for unity is affirmed in the care that Debussy takes to tonally link the movements through subtle analogies. If the tonality of "Sirènes" (B major) is easily explained by the majorization of the initial B minor, the structure of "Fêtes", with its 4 flats, may surprise. The F key of this theme (in the D mode transposed to F) creates with that of the previous movement the tritone relationship whose announcement can be seen in the melodic movement of the coda motif of the second element of "Nuages", at the very beginning of the work. It is also worth noting the symphonic treatment of the women's voices in "Sirènes". Debussy did not use a text; the choir sings on the syllable "a". In Debussy's use of this absence of words and the original effects he derives from it, one can see one of the first attempts to integrate the voice into the orchestra by treating it in an almost instrumental way. Other Album Available // Debussy: La Mer, Images, Nocturnes & Orchestral Works Manuel Rosenthal 🎧 Qobuz bit.ly/363YPLB Tidal bit.ly/3GKB6wM 🎧 Apple Music apple.co/3GNzjHb Deezer bit.ly/3GSZUm6 🎧 Amazon Music amzn.to/33pUAJw Spotify spoti.fi/3uM4nou 🎧 Napster, Pandora, Anghami, Soundcloud, QQ音乐, LineMusic, Awa 日本…
Wunderschöne und detaillierte Interpretation dieser impressionistischen und perfekt komponierten Meisterwerke mit farbenreichen doch perfekt entsprechenden Tönen aller Instrumente sowie durchsichtigen und gut harmoniserten Stimmen des ausgezeichenten Chors. Der intelligente und unvergleichliche Dirigent leitet das ausgezeichnete Orchester im gut analysierten Tempo und mit künstlerisch kontrollieter Dynamik. Die verbesserte Tonqualität ist auch ziemlich hoch als eine Originalaufnahme von siebenundsechzig Jahren vor. Alles ist faszinierend!
Music of Debussy is deeply original and striking as the French language itself. How much owes Stravinsky to Debussy (and also to Rimski-Korsakov). The buds of Debussy became flowers in Firebird, Sacre and Nightingale. A true prophet of modern times.
La création des deux premiers Nocturnes, "Nuages" et "Fêtes", aux Concerts Lamoureux le 9 décembre 1900, révéla au grand public le nom de Debussy. L'œuvre enthousiasma tant la salle que la critique. C'est à cette époque que naquit, chez des esprits inquiets de rattacher à un phénomène consacré un art encore neuf et déconcertant, le mythe de « la musique impressionniste », une notion assez vague qui devait servir, pendant près de cinquante ans, à voiler la révolution debussyste d'un écran de fumée rose. Le compositeur, il est vrai, a quelque peu contribué à ce malentendu commode en se livrant, à propos des Nocturnes, à quelques commentaires de nature picturale : Le titre Nocturne veut prendre ici un sens plus général et surtout plus décoratif. Il ne s'agit donc pas de la forme habituelle de Nocturne, mais de tout ce que ce mot contient d'impressions et de lumières spéciales. « Nuages » : c'est l'aspect immuable du ciel avec la marche lente et mélancolique des nuages, finissant dans une agonie grise, doucement teintée de blanc. « Fêtes » : c'est le mouvement, le rythme dansant de l'atmosphère avec des éclats de lumière brusque, c'est aussi l'épisode d'un cortège (vision éblouissante et chimérique) passant à travers la fête, se confondant en elle; mais le fond reste, s'obstine, et c'est toujours la fête et son mélange de musique, de poussière lumineuse participant à un rythme total. « Sirènes » : C'est la mer et son rythme innombrable, puis, parmi les vagues argentées de lune, s'entend, rit et passe le chant mystérieux des sirènes. Si ce texte dévoile un aspect de Debussy, c'est surtout celui du littérateur, épistolier infatigable, qui devait plus tard trouver à s'exprimer dans la critique musicale. Le troisième Nocturne, "Sirènes", comprend un chœur de femmes. L'œuvre ne fut exécutée intégralement que l'année suivante (octobre 1901); et depuis lors, le triptyque fut souvent amputé, pour des raisons matérielles, de sa troisième pièce. Une image de l'abîme qui séparait Debussy des dogmatistes de la musique officielle contemporaine est offerte par une lettre cocasse dans laquelle Vincent d'Indy se demande sous quelle rubrique il convient de classer les Nocturnes, pour les besoins de son cours de Composition : « Sonate? Jamais de la vie! malgré les efforts de Marnold pour les faire entrer à coups de poing dans ce gabarit. Suite ? Pas davantage. Poème symphonique ? Malgré les titres "Nuages", "Fêtes", "Sirènes"... dénominations très vagues, aucun programme littéraire, aucune explication d'ordre dramatique ne vient autoriser les écarts de tonalité et les excursions thématiques agréables mais non coordonnées de ces trois morceaux. C'est donc de la belle et bonne fantaisie, car on ne peut rejeter ces œuvres pour malfaçon... Elles sont artistiques, elles existent, donc elles doivent être classées par nous; où? dans la fantaisie, je ne vois pas d'autre place...» Malgré l'obstination de d'Indy à ne voir dans cette œuvre qu'une forme hybride, les trois mouvements des Nocturnes présentent des liens de cohérence réciproque. Ils obéissent aussi aux lois classiques de l'alternance, puisque ce triptyque est composé de deux mouvements modérés encadrant un mouvement vif. "Nuages" est une sorte de prélude en demi-teinte. Cette pièce, en si mineur, respecte la coupe ternaire du lied. La première partie comprend deux éléments thématiques, qui seront traités de façon statique. Le premier, exposé en doublures, par les bassons et les clarinettes, semble directement inspiré d'un motif de la troisième mélodie de « Sans soleil » de Moussorsgky. Le second élément, très debussyste (on songe à "La Mer"), vient aux cors anglais; il est pourvu d'une sorte de motif-coda: sur un triton qu'énoncent deux cors. Le dessin du milieu, à la dominante majeure, est fondé sur un schème mélodique cher à Debussy (cf. la troisième mesure du thème du "Faune") : Le dernier volet est plus une vision évanescente de la première partie qu'une véritable reprise. Les éléments y apparaissent, épars. Le motif initial ne revient qu'à la fin, suivi d'une réminiscence (encore plus lente) du thème du milieu. "Fêtes" est un scherzo, également de forme ternaire. Le trio est une fanfare. Le thème de marche (8 mesures après I0) est en premier lieu entendu de loin, exposé par les trompettes en sourdine; puis il se rapproche et éclate bientôt dans toute sa force sur un ostinato rythmique du tambour et la brusque réapparition aux cordes du thème de scherzo. Ce dernier, resté seul, introduit la reprise. La fin s'éteint en un assez long decrescendo que souligne une orchestration de plus en plus clairsemée. "Sirènes" exige l'adjonction d'un chœur de 16 voix de femmes (8 sopranos et 8 mezzos). Si cette page attachante obéit aussi à un découpage tripartite, elle le fait d'une façon très neuve, que laissaient pressentir les « reprises » abrégées, variées, revues des deux autres mouvements. Ce troisième mouvement ne peut plus être considéré comme la remise en marche d'un mécanisme déjà aperçu, mais, ce qui est courant - et étonnamment nouveau - chez Debussy, comme l'aboutissement fatal d'un agissement précédemment en gestation. Après une introduction assez statique, un premier thème d'orchestre apparaît au cor anglais dont la tête servira de contrepoint au thème de chœur. En fait, ce thème de chœur est issu du thème d'orchestre. Un thème nouveau apparaît dans la partie centrale, un peu plus lent (8 mesures après 5). Une transition ramène (chiffre 9) progressivement au fer tempo. La troisième partie s'amorce alors avec une reprise inversée des thèmes : le thème de chœur passe bientôt aux cordes, contrapunté aux voix par le thème de la partie centrale. Ce n'est seulement qu'au cours du plus lent et en retenant jusqu'à la fin que transparaît le thème d'orchestre. Ici encore, le souci d'unité s'affirme dans le soin que prend Debussy de lier tonalement par de subtiles analogies les mouvements entre eux. Si la tonalité de "Sirènes" (si majeur) s'explique aisément par la majorisation du si mineur initial, l'armature de "Fêtes", avec ses 4 bémols, peut surprendre. La tonalité de fa de ce thème (en mode de ré transposé sur fa) crée avec celle du mouvement précédent la relation de triton dont on peut voir une annonce dans le mouvement mélodique du motif-coda du second élément de "Nuages", tout au début de l'œuvre. Il convient aussi de souligner le traitement symphonique des voix de femmes dans "Sirènes". Debussy n'a pas eu recours à un texte; le chœur chante sur la syllabe "a". Il faut voir, dans l'utilisation que fait Debussy de cette absence de paroles et dans les effets originaux qu'il en tire, une des premières tentatives d'intégrer la voix à l'orchestre en la traitant d'une façon quasi instrumentale. Autre Album Disponible // Debussy: La Mer, Images, Nocturnes & Orchestral Works Manuel Rosenthal 🎧 Qobuz bit.ly/363YPLB Tidal bit.ly/3GKB6wM 🎧 Apple Music apple.co/3GNzjHb Deezer bit.ly/3GSZUm6 🎧 Amazon Music amzn.to/33pUAJw Spotify spoti.fi/3uM4nou 🎧 Napster, Pandora, Anghami, Soundcloud, QQ音乐, LineMusic, Awa 日本…
Full Album available// Debussy: Nocturnes, La Mer by Eduard van Beinum
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Claude Debussy (1862-1918) Les Nocturnes
00:00 Trois Nocturnes, L. 91: I. Nuages (2024 Remastered, Amsterdam 1957)
06:54 Trois Nocturnes, L. 91: II. Fêtes (2024 Remastered, Amsterdam 1957)
12:42 Trois Nocturnes, L. 91: III. Sirènes (2024 Remastered, Amsterdam 1957)
Collegium Musicum Amsterdam (Sirènes)
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conductor: Eduard van Beinum
Recorded in 1957, at Amsterdam
New mastering in 2024 by AB for classicalmusicreference.com/
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The premiere of the first two Nocturnes, "Nuages" and "Fêtes", at the Concerts Lamoureux on December 9, 1900, revealed Debussy’s name to the general public. The work delighted both the audience and the critics. It was at this time that the myth of "impressionist music" emerged among those anxious to link a still new and disconcerting art to an established phenomenon. This rather vague notion served for nearly fifty years to obscure the Debussy revolution behind a rosy smoke screen. The composer, it is true, somewhat contributed to this convenient misunderstanding by offering some pictorial comments about the Nocturnes:
The title Nocturne is meant to take on a more general and especially more decorative sense here. It is not the usual form of a Nocturne, but everything that this word contains in terms of impressions and special lights. "Nuages": it is the immutable aspect of the sky with the slow, melancholy march of the clouds, ending in a gray agony, softly tinged with white. "Fêtes": it is the movement, the dancing rhythm of the atmosphere with bursts of sudden light, it is also the episode of a procession (dazzling and chimerical vision) passing through the festival, blending into it; but the background remains, persists, and it is always the festival and its mixture of music, luminous dust participating in a total rhythm. "Sirènes": It is the sea and its countless rhythms, then, among the moonlit waves, the mysterious song of the sirens is heard, laughing and passing by.
If this text reveals an aspect of Debussy, it is mainly that of the literate, tireless letter-writer, who would later find a way to express himself in musical criticism. The third Nocturne, "Sirènes", includes a women's choir. The work was only performed in its entirety the following year (October 1901); and since then, the triptych was often amputated, for material reasons, of its third piece.
An image of the abyss that separated Debussy from the dogmatists of contemporary official music is offered by a comical letter in which Vincent d'Indy wonders under which category to classify the Nocturnes for his Composition course: “Sonata? Never! Despite Marnold's efforts to punch them into this mold. Suite? No more. Symphonic poem? Despite the titles "Nuages", "Fêtes", "Sirènes"... very vague denominations, no literary program, no dramatic explanation comes to authorize the tonal deviations and pleasant but uncoordinated thematic excursions of these three pieces. It is therefore beautiful and good fantasy, for we cannot reject these works for poor workmanship... They are artistic, they exist, therefore they must be classified by us; where? in the fantasy, I see no other place...”
Despite d'Indy's obstinacy in seeing this work as a hybrid form, the three movements of the Nocturnes present reciprocal coherence links. They also obey the classical laws of alternation, since this triptych is composed of two moderate movements framing a lively movement.
"Nuages" is a kind of half-tone prelude. This piece, in B minor, respects the ternary form of the lied. The first part includes two thematic elements, which will be treated statically. The first, exposed in doublings by the bassoons and clarinets, seems directly inspired by a motif from the third melody of "Sunless" by Mussorgsky. The second element, very Debussyst (one thinks of "La Mer"), comes to the English horns; it is provided with a sort of coda motif: on a tritone enunciated by two horns. The middle section, in the dominant major, is based on a melodic scheme dear to Debussy (cf. the third measure of the "Faune" theme): The final part is more an evanescent vision of the first part than a true recapitulation. The elements appear scattered. The initial motif returns only at the end, followed by a reminiscence (even slower) of the middle section theme.
"Fêtes" is a scherzo, also in ternary form. The trio is a fanfare. The march theme (8 measures after I0) is first heard from afar, exposed by muted trumpets; then it gets closer and soon bursts out in full force on a rhythmic ostinato of the drum and the sudden reappearance of the scherzo theme in the strings. The latter, left alone, introduces the recapitulation. The end fades out in a fairly long decrescendo emphasized by increasingly sparse orchestration.
"Sirènes" requires the addition of a choir of 16 female voices (8 sopranos and 8 mezzos). If this captivating page also adheres to a tripartite layout, it does so in a very novel way, hinted at by the abridged, varied, revised “recapitulations” of the other two movements. This third movement can no longer be considered as the restarting of a previously seen mechanism but, which is common - and astonishingly new - in Debussy, as the inevitable outcome of a previously gestating process. After a fairly static introduction, a first orchestral theme appears on the English horn whose head will serve as a counterpoint to the choral theme. In fact, this choral theme is derived from the orchestral theme. A new theme appears in the central section, a little slower (8 measures after 5). A transition gradually brings back (figure 9) to the main tempo. The third part then begins with an inverted recapitulation of the themes: the choral theme soon passes to the strings, contrapuntal to the voices by the central section theme. It is only during the slowest part and holding until the end that the orchestral theme emerges.
Here again, the concern for unity is affirmed in the care that Debussy takes to tonally link the movements through subtle analogies. If the tonality of "Sirènes" (B major) is easily explained by the majorization of the initial B minor, the structure of "Fêtes", with its 4 flats, may surprise. The F key of this theme (in the D mode transposed to F) creates with that of the previous movement the tritone relationship whose announcement can be seen in the melodic movement of the coda motif of the second element of "Nuages", at the very beginning of the work.
It is also worth noting the symphonic treatment of the women's voices in "Sirènes". Debussy did not use a text; the choir sings on the syllable "a". In Debussy's use of this absence of words and the original effects he derives from it, one can see one of the first attempts to integrate the voice into the orchestra by treating it in an almost instrumental way.
Other Album Available // Debussy: La Mer, Images, Nocturnes & Orchestral Works Manuel Rosenthal
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The orchestral sound, through my Bose headphones, is astonishingly perfect! Great recording of a performance by stellar musical artists. Nice pre-Christmas gift!
The best performance and recording I know of these magical pieces by Debussy. Bravi, tutti!
Wow, incredible audio remastering, and what a beautiful rendering of Debussy's audio tapestry!
The premiere of the first two Nocturnes, "Nuages" and "Fêtes", at the Concerts Lamoureux on December 9, 1900, revealed Debussy’s name to the general public. The work delighted both the audience and the critics. It was at this time that the myth of "impressionist music" emerged among those anxious to link a still new and disconcerting art to an established phenomenon. This rather vague notion served for nearly fifty years to obscure the Debussy revolution behind a rosy smoke screen. The composer, it is true, somewhat contributed to this convenient misunderstanding by offering some pictorial comments about the Nocturnes:
The title Nocturne is meant to take on a more general and especially more decorative sense here. It is not the usual form of a Nocturne, but everything that this word contains in terms of impressions and special lights. "Nuages": it is the immutable aspect of the sky with the slow, melancholy march of the clouds, ending in a gray agony, softly tinged with white. "Fêtes": it is the movement, the dancing rhythm of the atmosphere with bursts of sudden light, it is also the episode of a procession (dazzling and chimerical vision) passing through the festival, blending into it; but the background remains, persists, and it is always the festival and its mixture of music, luminous dust participating in a total rhythm. "Sirènes": It is the sea and its countless rhythms, then, among the moonlit waves, the mysterious song of the sirens is heard, laughing and passing by.
If this text reveals an aspect of Debussy, it is mainly that of the literate, tireless letter-writer, who would later find a way to express himself in musical criticism. The third Nocturne, "Sirènes", includes a women's choir. The work was only performed in its entirety the following year (October 1901); and since then, the triptych was often amputated, for material reasons, of its third piece.
An image of the abyss that separated Debussy from the dogmatists of contemporary official music is offered by a comical letter in which Vincent d'Indy wonders under which category to classify the Nocturnes for his Composition course: “Sonata? Never! Despite Marnold's efforts to punch them into this mold. Suite? No more. Symphonic poem? Despite the titles "Nuages", "Fêtes", "Sirènes"... very vague denominations, no literary program, no dramatic explanation comes to authorize the tonal deviations and pleasant but uncoordinated thematic excursions of these three pieces. It is therefore beautiful and good fantasy, for we cannot reject these works for poor workmanship... They are artistic, they exist, therefore they must be classified by us; where? in the fantasy, I see no other place...”
Despite d'Indy's obstinacy in seeing this work as a hybrid form, the three movements of the Nocturnes present reciprocal coherence links. They also obey the classical laws of alternation, since this triptych is composed of two moderate movements framing a lively movement.
"Nuages" is a kind of half-tone prelude. This piece, in B minor, respects the ternary form of the lied. The first part includes two thematic elements, which will be treated statically. The first, exposed in doublings by the bassoons and clarinets, seems directly inspired by a motif from the third melody of "Sunless" by Mussorgsky. The second element, very Debussyst (one thinks of "La Mer"), comes to the English horns; it is provided with a sort of coda motif: on a tritone enunciated by two horns. The middle section, in the dominant major, is based on a melodic scheme dear to Debussy (cf. the third measure of the "Faune" theme): The final part is more an evanescent vision of the first part than a true recapitulation. The elements appear scattered. The initial motif returns only at the end, followed by a reminiscence (even slower) of the middle section theme.
"Fêtes" is a scherzo, also in ternary form. The trio is a fanfare. The march theme (8 measures after I0) is first heard from afar, exposed by muted trumpets; then it gets closer and soon bursts out in full force on a rhythmic ostinato of the drum and the sudden reappearance of the scherzo theme in the strings. The latter, left alone, introduces the recapitulation. The end fades out in a fairly long decrescendo emphasized by increasingly sparse orchestration.
"Sirènes" requires the addition of a choir of 16 female voices (8 sopranos and 8 mezzos). If this captivating page also adheres to a tripartite layout, it does so in a very novel way, hinted at by the abridged, varied, revised “recapitulations” of the other two movements. This third movement can no longer be considered as the restarting of a previously seen mechanism but, which is common - and astonishingly new - in Debussy, as the inevitable outcome of a previously gestating process. After a fairly static introduction, a first orchestral theme appears on the English horn whose head will serve as a counterpoint to the choral theme. In fact, this choral theme is derived from the orchestral theme. A new theme appears in the central section, a little slower (8 measures after 5). A transition gradually brings back (figure 9) to the main tempo. The third part then begins with an inverted recapitulation of the themes: the choral theme soon passes to the strings, contrapuntal to the voices by the central section theme. It is only during the slowest part and holding until the end that the orchestral theme emerges.
Here again, the concern for unity is affirmed in the care that Debussy takes to tonally link the movements through subtle analogies. If the tonality of "Sirènes" (B major) is easily explained by the majorization of the initial B minor, the structure of "Fêtes", with its 4 flats, may surprise. The F key of this theme (in the D mode transposed to F) creates with that of the previous movement the tritone relationship whose announcement can be seen in the melodic movement of the coda motif of the second element of "Nuages", at the very beginning of the work.
It is also worth noting the symphonic treatment of the women's voices in "Sirènes". Debussy did not use a text; the choir sings on the syllable "a". In Debussy's use of this absence of words and the original effects he derives from it, one can see one of the first attempts to integrate the voice into the orchestra by treating it in an almost instrumental way.
Other Album Available // Debussy: La Mer, Images, Nocturnes & Orchestral Works Manuel Rosenthal
🎧 Qobuz bit.ly/363YPLB Tidal bit.ly/3GKB6wM
🎧 Apple Music apple.co/3GNzjHb Deezer bit.ly/3GSZUm6
🎧 Amazon Music amzn.to/33pUAJw Spotify spoti.fi/3uM4nou
🎧 Napster, Pandora, Anghami, Soundcloud, QQ音乐, LineMusic, Awa 日本…
Hi-Res STUDIO ... Very Good..!!! Thankyou Always ^^
Wunderschöne und detaillierte Interpretation dieser impressionistischen und perfekt komponierten Meisterwerke mit farbenreichen doch perfekt entsprechenden Tönen aller Instrumente sowie durchsichtigen und gut harmoniserten Stimmen des ausgezeichenten Chors. Der intelligente und unvergleichliche Dirigent leitet das ausgezeichnete Orchester im gut analysierten Tempo und mit künstlerisch kontrollieter Dynamik. Die verbesserte Tonqualität ist auch ziemlich hoch als eine Originalaufnahme von siebenundsechzig Jahren vor. Alles ist faszinierend!
Music of Debussy is deeply original and striking as the French language itself.
How much owes Stravinsky to Debussy (and also to Rimski-Korsakov).
The buds of Debussy became flowers in Firebird, Sacre and Nightingale.
A true prophet of modern times.
what a lovely interpretation!
I feel good just listening to it
Gracias por tan bella Música.
La création des deux premiers Nocturnes, "Nuages" et "Fêtes", aux Concerts Lamoureux le 9 décembre 1900, révéla au grand public le nom de Debussy. L'œuvre enthousiasma tant la salle que la critique. C'est à cette époque que naquit, chez des esprits inquiets de rattacher à un phénomène consacré un art encore neuf et déconcertant, le mythe de « la musique impressionniste », une notion assez vague qui devait servir, pendant près de cinquante ans, à voiler la révolution debussyste d'un écran de fumée rose. Le compositeur, il est vrai, a quelque peu contribué à ce malentendu commode en se livrant, à propos des Nocturnes, à quelques commentaires de nature picturale :
Le titre Nocturne veut prendre ici un sens plus général et surtout plus décoratif. Il ne s'agit donc pas de la forme habituelle de Nocturne, mais de tout ce que ce mot contient d'impressions et de lumières spéciales. « Nuages » : c'est l'aspect immuable du ciel avec la marche lente et mélancolique des nuages, finissant dans une agonie grise, doucement teintée de blanc. « Fêtes » : c'est le mouvement, le rythme dansant de l'atmosphère avec des éclats de lumière brusque, c'est aussi l'épisode d'un cortège (vision éblouissante et chimérique) passant à travers la fête, se confondant en elle; mais le fond reste, s'obstine, et c'est toujours la fête et son mélange de musique, de poussière lumineuse participant à un rythme total. « Sirènes » : C'est la mer et son rythme innombrable, puis, parmi les vagues argentées de lune, s'entend, rit et passe le chant mystérieux des sirènes.
Si ce texte dévoile un aspect de Debussy, c'est surtout celui du littérateur, épistolier infatigable, qui devait plus tard trouver à s'exprimer dans la critique musicale. Le troisième Nocturne, "Sirènes", comprend un chœur de femmes. L'œuvre ne fut exécutée intégralement que l'année suivante (octobre 1901); et depuis lors, le triptyque fut souvent amputé, pour des raisons matérielles, de sa troisième pièce.
Une image de l'abîme qui séparait Debussy des dogmatistes de la musique officielle contemporaine est offerte par une lettre cocasse dans laquelle Vincent d'Indy se demande sous quelle rubrique il convient de classer les Nocturnes, pour les besoins de son cours de Composition : « Sonate? Jamais de la vie! malgré les efforts de Marnold pour les faire entrer à coups de poing dans ce gabarit. Suite ? Pas davantage. Poème symphonique ? Malgré les titres "Nuages", "Fêtes", "Sirènes"... dénominations très vagues, aucun programme littéraire, aucune explication d'ordre dramatique ne vient autoriser les écarts de tonalité et les excursions thématiques agréables mais non coordonnées de ces trois morceaux. C'est donc de la belle et bonne fantaisie, car on ne peut rejeter ces œuvres pour malfaçon... Elles sont artistiques, elles existent, donc elles doivent être classées par nous; où? dans la fantaisie, je ne vois pas d'autre place...»
Malgré l'obstination de d'Indy à ne voir dans cette œuvre qu'une forme hybride, les trois mouvements des Nocturnes présentent des liens de cohérence réciproque. Ils obéissent aussi aux lois classiques de l'alternance, puisque ce triptyque est composé de deux mouvements modérés encadrant un mouvement vif.
"Nuages" est une sorte de prélude en demi-teinte. Cette pièce, en si mineur, respecte la coupe ternaire du lied. La première partie comprend deux éléments thématiques, qui seront traités de façon statique. Le premier, exposé en doublures, par les bassons et les clarinettes, semble directement inspiré d'un motif de la troisième mélodie de « Sans soleil » de Moussorsgky. Le second élément, très debussyste (on songe à "La Mer"), vient aux cors anglais; il est pourvu d'une sorte de motif-coda: sur un triton qu'énoncent deux cors. Le dessin du milieu, à la dominante majeure, est fondé sur un schème mélodique cher à Debussy (cf. la troisième mesure du thème du "Faune") : Le dernier volet est plus une vision évanescente de la première partie qu'une véritable reprise. Les éléments y apparaissent, épars. Le motif initial ne revient qu'à la fin, suivi d'une réminiscence (encore plus lente) du thème du milieu.
"Fêtes" est un scherzo, également de forme ternaire. Le trio est une fanfare. Le thème de marche (8 mesures après I0) est en premier lieu entendu de loin, exposé par les trompettes en sourdine; puis il se rapproche et éclate bientôt dans toute sa force sur un ostinato rythmique du tambour et la brusque réapparition aux cordes du thème de scherzo. Ce dernier, resté seul, introduit la reprise. La fin s'éteint en un assez long decrescendo que souligne une orchestration de plus en plus clairsemée.
"Sirènes" exige l'adjonction d'un chœur de 16 voix de femmes (8 sopranos et 8 mezzos). Si cette page attachante obéit aussi à un découpage tripartite, elle le fait d'une façon très neuve, que laissaient pressentir les « reprises » abrégées, variées, revues des deux autres mouvements. Ce troisième mouvement ne peut plus être considéré comme la remise en marche d'un mécanisme déjà aperçu, mais, ce qui est courant - et étonnamment nouveau - chez Debussy, comme l'aboutissement fatal d'un agissement précédemment en gestation. Après une introduction assez statique, un premier thème d'orchestre apparaît au cor anglais dont la tête servira de contrepoint au thème de chœur. En fait, ce thème de chœur est issu du thème d'orchestre. Un thème nouveau apparaît dans la partie centrale, un peu plus lent (8 mesures après 5). Une transition ramène (chiffre 9) progressivement au fer tempo. La troisième partie s'amorce alors avec une reprise inversée des thèmes : le thème de chœur passe bientôt aux cordes, contrapunté aux voix par le thème de la partie centrale. Ce n'est seulement qu'au cours du plus lent et en retenant jusqu'à la fin que transparaît le thème d'orchestre.
Ici encore, le souci d'unité s'affirme dans le soin que prend Debussy de lier tonalement par de subtiles analogies les mouvements entre eux. Si la tonalité de "Sirènes" (si majeur) s'explique aisément par la majorisation du si mineur initial, l'armature de "Fêtes", avec ses 4 bémols, peut surprendre. La tonalité de fa de ce thème (en mode de ré transposé sur fa) crée avec celle du mouvement précédent la relation de triton dont on peut voir une annonce dans le mouvement mélodique du motif-coda du second élément de "Nuages", tout au début de l'œuvre.
Il convient aussi de souligner le traitement symphonique des voix de femmes dans "Sirènes". Debussy n'a pas eu recours à un texte; le chœur chante sur la syllabe "a". Il faut voir, dans l'utilisation que fait Debussy de cette absence de paroles et dans les effets originaux qu'il en tire, une des premières tentatives d'intégrer la voix à l'orchestre en la traitant d'une façon quasi instrumentale.
Autre Album Disponible // Debussy: La Mer, Images, Nocturnes & Orchestral Works Manuel Rosenthal
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❤
Fantastic!
A question: if I purchase this on your (new?) website, would it be a high-res. download (24/96), or is it only for streaming? Thank you.
Hello, our website is a Hi-Res download, after purchase, the audio files accompanied by the covers belong to you definitively. Best