Today’s post is the second in a series written by concert pianist and piano professor Julian Jacobson, who is ‘journeying’ through Debussy’s two books of Preludes in preparation for his concert on Thursday June 6th, 7.30 pm, at the 1901 Arts Club in London (pictured in the featured image at the top of this post). In this article, he muses on fingering, pedalling, and the most suitable scores or editions for his task.
Read Julian’s introductory post by clicking here.
And so to the wondrous Preludes themselves. Two books of 12, and since Debussy published the first 12 as “Premier livre” we can assume that he always intended a full 24, as in Chopin’s famous collection. However, unlike those of Chopin (or Bach, their ultimate source), Debussy’s cannot be in every major and minor key: by now he is composing in extended tonality and only a few of the simpler pieces are in a fixed key. Nevertheless there is a strong feeling of progressive tonality, both within each prelude and between the numbers: it’s worth analysing the connections for oneself, even though a large part of their charm and freedom is that Debussy no longer obeys the old academic rules (he rarely did, even at the beginning).
Firstly to editions, and this an easy choice: the new Durand edition of Roy Howat has cleared up all the errors, missing notes and inconsistencies of the old Durand which was always the reference edition, giving clear reasons for the changes and suggesting a few alternative readings based on Debussy’s own recordings (which any pianist should listen to!). The Henle edition is almost as good, however I don’t like the fingering (there is none in the Durand), and the text looks rather uninviting in Henle’s very Austro-German looking typeface. I’m actually very fond of the old Durand edition, its appearance puts me instantly in a Debussyan frame of mind and I’ve simply pencilled in the corrections from the new Durand.
Talking of fingering, it’s best to work out your own – “cherchons nos doigtés”, as Debussy wrote in the preface to the later Etudes. With such instinctive music it’s difficult to pin down a “logical” fingering and every pianist should work out their own fingering, which will be different for smaller and larger hands. But the fingering should be constructed so as to convey Debussy’s minutely detailed articulation and dynamics, and in music that depends so much on a beautiful, fluid sonority we should always aim for the most fluid and relaxed hand shape.
It’s hardly necessary to stress the vital function of the pedals, both or indeed all three! (Though in fact I use the sostenuto pedal in relatively few places, mainly in La Cathédrale Engloutie). Debussy the pianist was the master of pedalling, conjuring up a myriad of subtle colours and half lights. Experiment passionately with the pedals, always remembering that like sound itself the results will change with every piano, every acoustic and every audience size!
The fundamental sonority should be “French” – clear and light even in the stormiest passages of Ce qu’a vu le vent d’ouest and Feux d’artifice. French pianos of the period had a lighter, shallower touch, and one should avoid any hint of a weighty German or full-blooded Russian sonority! A finger-based touch, with flexible wrists and very limited use of arm weight, is the best way to find the sound. Similarly one should avoid heavy accents, unless marked by Debussy: spoken French is more or less without stresses, an even flow of clear sounds. Listen to beautifully spoken French, even if don’t speak it yourself, to “catch” the accent. Even though Debussy can take more freedom than, say, Fauré or Ravel, we should avoid any exaggerated rubato – in fact when Debussy writes the direction “Rubato” he usually means for us to play slightly slower rather than with a sudden rhythmic license.
