Debussy: Sea & Nocturne ¥128 Buy
In the field of painting, there is its representative impressionist painter - Monet; In the field of music, there is also a representative impressionist musician - Debussy.
Debussy's music can be described as "a painting in a song, a song in a painting", pursuing the capture of momentary impressions, rather than the explicit structure and emotional expression of traditional music. Fantastic fantasies, blurred outlines, hazy beauty, indistinguishable tonal shifts...... These are all unique symbols of Debussy's music.
Among them, the most interesting is the famous symphonic painting "The Sea", which is called "three symphonic sketches".
Debussy was deeply influenced by Japan ukiyo-e painter Katsushika Hokusai's famous woodblock print "Surfing in Kanagawa", and then created this work, which depicts a portrait of the "sea" for the listener through music from different aspects. When the work was officially published, he also chose this painting as the cover of the score.
This is Debussy's largest symphonic work, consisting of three movements with different contents, but each movement is intrinsically connected to each other and is concentrated to form a complete work.
The first: "Dawn to Noon on the Sea", this part depicts the sound of the tide in the sea. As the night slowly opened, a glimmer of light shone on the sea, a red sun gradually rose, the sky changed from purple to cyan, gradually increasing its brilliance, and an open view of the dawn of the sea was vividly depicted.
The second, "The Game of Waves", vividly depicts the white waves crashing against the shore. The introduction part depicts the sound of cute little waves turbulent back and forth. As the music continues to develop, the United Kingdom orchestra plays a lovely first main motive that gives a laid-back feel.
The third, "Dialogue between the Wind and the Sea", begins with the tremolo of the timpani depicting the agitated, floating thunder in the distance. Afterwards, the music depicts the sound of the sea breeze blowing to the surface of the sea, causing a riot of tides, like a dialogue between the wind and the sea. This work not only depicts a dramatic view of the sea, but also shows the author's praise and praise for the natural scene.
Debussy succeeded in presenting a vivid portrait of the sea with the rhythm of light and shadow of sound, and the imagery he presented brought the music into the subjective consciousness of the listener, and he allowed the listener to appreciate the work through his own impressions of the sea—the incongruous chords, the sound of the waves, or the reef in the sea.
All motivations for music vary from person to person, but the key lies in how one understands the music according to one's own impression and translates that into the image of the sea in one's mind.
Pierre Boulez, an early conductor who was known for his interpretation of Debussy's musical works, has an authoritative say in this.
He once pointed out that of all Debussy's orchestral works, The Sea best meets the usual "symphonic" standard, describing the second movement as "a brutal and bold timbre without losing its elegance"; The last movement, on the other hand, maximizes the characteristics and functions of the climax, which is almost rare in Debussy's other orchestral works.
As a result, he conducted the Cleveland Orchestra in 1993 for his interpretation of Debussy's "The Sea". Known for his coolness, clarity and precision, Boulez is undoubtedly one of the most convincing interpreters of Debussy's orchestral works. He emphasises the clarity of structure and subtle rhythmic variations, and this artistry is also reflected in the orchestra's rich timbre treatment and structural integrity.
Even if his style doesn't have the same acoustic color as Karajan and Reiner, the cold effect still has a unique flavor.
In addition, this album also includes Debussy's "Nocturne", "Rhapsody No. 1" for clarinet and orchestra, "Game" and other masterpieces, coupled with DG "4D technology" recording, from the pickup to the final production of the disc all using digital technology, so the noise separation is extremely high, the overall sound quality has a wide frequency response, a large dynamic range, and better acoustics. From this, this album is enough to be one of the outstanding albums of Debussy's orchestra.
Debussy's Nocturne was composed between 1897 and 1899, inspired in part by the poet and friend Ragnier, whose aesthetic views influenced Debussy, and by Whistler's paintings. When Debussy described his musical drawings as "experiments with various combinations of a single color, like studying gray in painting", he had Whistler's Nocturne in mind.
Debussy's Rhapsody No. 1 for clarinet and orchestra is described as "dreamlike", first with a hazy mood and the first theme in the weakest note, which is very moving, then the orchestral form scattered chords with triplets, syncopations and staccato notes, and the harp and other strings played on arpeggios show various changes in tempo in complex rhythms, full of fantasy and rhapsody.
The Game is one of several late stage music works composed by Debussy, which is very avant-garde in concept, and its orchestral color plays a large part in the main theme of the music, and like The Sea, the Game is also an ever-changing music, but on a larger scale and with some different thematic allusions.
The tendency to complicate the texture of orchestral music makes some musical ideas grip and remain in people's memories, and the musical effect is expressed as continuous fluidity. In terms of expression, it is music that makes people feel capricious and does not lose its seriousness.
The influence of Bourez conducting orchestral music in the first half of the 20th century is quite comprehensive and important. Since he was considered one of the most prominent composers of his time in the mid-1950s, when he stepped onto the podium in 1958, it was with modern music that he honed his conducting skills. His conducting gestures are simple, and he relies entirely on his natural charisma to attract the attention of the performer.
When he interprets the classics of famous composers such as Debussy, Ravel, Mahler, Bartók and Stravinsky with clear logic, flawless tones and colors, and structure, one can feel as if they were hearing this work for the first time.
During his half-century conducting career, Boulez served as chief conductor of several orchestras. In the 1990s and 2000s, he recorded a series of critically acclaimed recordings with the Cleveland Orchestra at DG using advanced recording techniques, and their Debussy series of recordings from this period explored the colors and different sounds of music.