 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(March 2007) |
"Beau soir" (French for Beautiful Evening, or Evening Fair), L. 84, is a French art song written by Claude Debussy, first published in 1891. It is a setting of a poem by Paul Bourget.
Lorsque au soleil couchant les rivières sont roses
Et qu'un tiède frisson court sur les champs de blé,
Un conseil d'être heureux semble sortir des choses
Et monter vers le cœur troublé.
Un conseil de goûter le charme d'être au monde
Cependant qu'on est jeune et que le soir est beau,
Car nous nous en allons, comme s'en va cette onde :
Elle à la mer, nous au tombeau.
| |
"Beau soir" ("Beautiful Evening") is set to a poem by Paul Bourget. The poem paints the picture of a beautiful evening where the rivers are turned rose-colored by the sunset and the wheat fields are moved by a warm breeze. Debussy uses a gently flowing triplet rhythm in the accompaniment, which contrasts the duplets that drive the light melody. The piano and voice partner to create the sensation of peace that one might feel in the evening in nature, fitting the post-Romantic style. As any evening fades, however, so does the mood of the piece, and the song modulates from E major to F♯ minor. The piece reaches its climax when the melody reaches a high F♯, paired with the word "beau", [1] about two-thirds through the piece, before entering its modulated conclusion.
"Beau soir" has been recorded by many singers, including Barbra Streisand (on her album Classical Barbra ), Maggie Teyte, Véronique Gens, Giuseppe De Luca, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Renée Fleming, Jessye Norman (last track on the album An Evening With Jessye Norman), and Diana Damrau.[ citation needed ]
It has also been arranged for various instruments, including for violin and orchestra by Jascha Heifetz [2] and cello and piano by Julian Lloyd Webber. [3]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
Claude Debussy's Préludes are 24 pieces for solo piano, divided into two books of 12 preludes each. Unlike some notable collections of preludes from prior times, such as Chopin's Op. 28 preludes, or the preludes from Johann Sebastian Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, Debussy's do not follow a strict pattern of tonal centers.
Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, known in English as Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, is a symphonic poem for orchestra by Claude Debussy, approximately 10 minutes in duration. It was composed in 1894 and first performed in Paris on 22 December 1894, conducted by Gustave Doret. The flute solo was played by Georges Barrère.
Le roi des étoiles is a cantata by Igor Stravinsky, composed in 1911–12. It is set to a text by the Russian poet Konstantin Balmont and published in 1913 by P. Jurgenson. The original Russian title literally means "Star-face" or "The Star-Faced One". The work is more commonly known by the French title as translated by Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi.
Images pour orchestre, L. 122, is an orchestral composition in three sections by Claude Debussy, written between 1905 and 1912. Debussy had originally intended this set of Images as a two-piano sequel to the first set of Images for solo piano, as described in a letter to his publisher Durand as of September 1905. However, by March 1906, in another letter to Durand, he had begun to think of arranging the work for orchestra rather than two pianos.
Estampes ("Prints"), L.100, is a composition for solo piano by Claude Debussy. It was finished in 1903. The first performance of the work was given by Ricardo Viñes at the Salle Érard of the Société Nationale de Musique in Paris on 9 January 1904.
Elegy is an album recorded by the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber in 1998 for Philips.
This is a complete list of recordings by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, shown alphabetically by conductor, and then by recording label.
Maurice Vaute was a Belgian composer of classical music, conductor and music teacher.
François Valéry is a French singer-songwriter and composer. He is married to Nicole Calfan and Michael Calfan is his son.
Poldowski was the professional pseudonym of a Belgian-born British composer and pianist born Régine Wieniawski, daughter of the Polish violinist and composer Henryk Wieniawski. Some of her early works were published under the name Irène Wieniawska. She married Sir Aubrey Dean Paul, 5th Bt (1869–1961), becoming Lady Dean Paul. Her name appears in a number of forms:
The Victoires de la musique classique are an annual French classical music award event founded in 1986. The awards are the classical equivalent of the popular music awards Victoires de la Musique and the Victoires du Jazz. Most of the awards are for actual performers, orchestras, composers, etc. as opposed to the Diapason d'Or given to recordings, though there is an Enregistrement français de musique classique de l'année.
Les Feuilles d'Automne is a collection of poems written by Victor Hugo, and published in 1831. It contains a multitude of poems, six of which are especially known as Soleils Couchants.
Images is a suite of six compositions for solo piano by Claude Debussy. They were published in two books/series, each consisting of three pieces. These works are distinct from Debussy's Images pour orchestre. The first book was composed between 1901 and 1905, and the second book was composed in 1907. The total duration is approximately 30 minutes. With respect to the first series of Images, Debussy wrote to his publisher, Jacques Durand: "Without false pride, I feel that these three pieces hold together well, and that they will find their place in the literature of the piano ... to the left of Schumann, or to the right of Chopin... "
La Damoiselle élue, L. 62, is a cantata for soprano and contralto soloists, 2-part female chorus, and orchestra, composed by Claude Debussy in 1887–1888 based on a text by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. It premiered in Paris in 1893.
The Cinq poèmes de Charles Baudelaire constitute a song cycle for voice and piano by Claude Debussy, on poems taken from Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire. Composed from December 1887 to March 1889, these five highly developed vocal pieces were not well received by Parisian musical circles because of the Wagnerian influence they revealed.
Olivier Chauzu is a Franco-Spanish classical pianist.
Robert Planel was a French composer, music pedagogue and violinist.
Debussy Mélodies is a 178-minute studio album of sixty of Claude Debussy's art songs, presented roughly in order of composition, performed by Elly Ameling, Michèle Command, Mady Mesplé, Frederica von Stade and Gérard Souzay with piano accompaniment by Dalton Baldwin. It was released in 1980.
