First Arabesque, Debussy
This was the first Debussy pieces I learned, and is still a favourite of mine. It’s an early Debussy piece, and is very simple and pleasant. It is very accessible and sure to put a smile on any listener’s face, and it’s also a treat for the performer due to the movement and grace - but without any excessive difficulty.The biggest difference of interpretation in the piece is the tempo. I’ve seen some play it very, very slow while others, such as myself, take it at a more brisk pace. Although I try to stick to the composer’s intention as frequently as possible, I admit that perhaps in this case, I am taking a bit of a liberal interpretation in terms of tempo. The actual marking is “Andantino con moto“. “Andante” would indicate a moderate speed, at a walking pace (Wikipedia says somewhere around 80-100 BPM), so “Andantino” would mean a bit faster than “Andante”, though I’ve heard some people claim it could mean also mean a bit slower than “Andante”. I find that the piece gets a certain airy, or maybe dreamy is a better word, quality when you increase the speed a bit, combined with a light touch, so that’s how I play it. I don’t think either way is better, and I definitely don’t have qualms playing at a more relaxed pace.I try not to add too much heavy rubato anywhere, so that the sense of movement remains throughout the piece.I play the opening very lightly and freely. The main theme (0:19 in the video) , which consists of the 3 over 2 (triplets over quavers), is very beautiful and I try not to get too rigid and mechanical with the counting. Yes, it’s important to develop the skill to play the 3 over 2 but the audience should not immediately be able to tell that this is what you’re doing. It should contribute to the general tone. I pay close attention when the opening bars return again (0:40 in the video) but with a melody on top which should sound clear. In the following sections there are two ritardandos present, but I don’t interpret these as a very heavy drop in tempo, rather a sort of lilt in the movement. The piece moves along and the pattern changes until the lead-up to the first dynamic climax, as the right hand ascends the scale and then everything crashes down with the low bass E in the left hand (1:24 in the video).
The middle section should be very free from strict rhythm. The best description of this that I’ve heard is that it’s like a man taking a stroll, stopping to whistle a tune. That’s a very good description. The main motif here appears in several ways, until it is loudly reinstated for the last time in a different key, providing the lead-in back to the ideas from the beginning of the piece. There is a lot of contrast here between soft and loud and I pay close attention to bringing those out. There are two brief moments where the main motif is interrupted by ascending notes in the right hand which end with a loud moment of excitement (2:06 in the video). If we were to continue the story of the man taking a break from his stroll, I imagine that here, he notices a bird flying by and watches. =)
Anyways, after the final, bold reinstatement of the secondary theme, the opening bars come back (3:00) we move back into the main theme once again. However, it takes a different turn this time, and this is one of my favourite parts of the entire piece (3:35 in the video). I consider this the high point of the piece - the both the melody and the accompaniment begin to move towards the ultimate goal, which would be the grand, wide arpeggios that signal that the piece is coming to a close (3:50 in the video). After this, the main theme returns one final time, played an octave higher (and then again as it was originally) before everything comes to a close.
And there you have it - First Arabesque, Claude Debussy. It’s obviously a popular piece, considering the amount of people on Youtube who play it, and it’s easy to see why it’s so popular. The sheet music is, of course, available over at imslp.org, so what are you waiting for? Go and learn it!
August 29th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
I know this tune! If you’ve ever watched PBS, every week there’s a short segment called “Star Gazer” which plays this tune on a moog synthesizer. I think I like the Star gazer version better though
http://podcast.miamisci.org/podcastmedia/SG0735M.m4v
Check that out
the song is performed by Isao Tomita from an album called “Snowflakes Are Dancing”
August 29th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
I know of Isao Tomita. He also did a bunch of other Debussy pieces as well. I think his stuff is pretty impressive.
March 9th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
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