C laude D EBUSSY

C ENTENARY E DITION 2 018

I DANSEUSES DE
DELPHES

PRELUDES book I

iano Practical Editions

pianopracticaleditions.com
 Claude DEBUSSY 1862 - 1918
I DANSEUSES DE DELPHES
VI P R E L U D E S B O O K I

D ebussy was always searching for exotic stimuli, and

this first prelude dating from December 1909 centres
on Greek antiquity and the oracle at Delphi, the Temple of
Apollo, patron of the arts and a god of music and dance.
Some 15 years earlier this caryatid* had been discovered
by French archeologists during la Grande Fouille (the
Great Excavation). Displayed at the Louvre,
Debussy particularly admired la colonne des
danseuses de Delphes, three priestesses
clothed in chitoniskos**, bare feet suspended
and arms raised, and depicting dancers or
participants in a religious ritual.
glance, this is not difficult music to play, but to play it
well, with attention to every nuance, every painstaking
detail, is a serious exercise in mental and physical
control. Hearing Debussy play it, his English friend
reported "was like hearing a poet reciting some of his
own delicate lyrics. He had a soft, deep touch which
evoked full, rich, many-shaded sonorities.…I have
never heard more beautiful pianoforte
playing.”
— Stephen Walsh
In 1894 Debussy had composed an image

T
oubliée entitled Souvenir du Louvre*** and I
he first prelude, Danseuses de
wonder whether its heading might have
Delphes, was inspired Debussy told
influenced the slow and dignified character
an English admirer by the beautiful
of this first Prelude — dans le mouvement
column of that name exhibited on the
d’une “Sarabande", c'est-à-dire avec une
landing of the grand staircase of the
élégance grave et lente.
Louvre, a plaster copy of a stone original
recently excavated by the French Or could it be that the composer, always
archaeologist Théophile Homolle at attracted to original and evocative ideas,
Delphi. Perhaps the sculpture was rotated just liked the catchy caption? Perhaps it is
so that the three female figures appeared not useful to seek inspiration from the
in succession, or perhaps one could walk bracketed afterthought placed as always
round it. There is certainly some feeling in following the final bars.
the prelude of a slow circling, as of stately
dancers with linked arms. But the real miracle In any event, with some gravitas “The Dancers
of this piece is its harmonic concentration, of Delphi” brings to life stones from antiquity, an
the alternation of music made of soft asymmetric Brahmsian sarabande of hypnotic and
dissonance and music made of plain triads in irrational sombre sensuality.
but perfectly poised sequence. If, as the autograph
According to Marguerite Long, distinguished pianist,
suggests, the piece was written in a single day (7
pedagogue, friend and colleague: "Debussy played this
December 1909), one might picture Debussy at the
piece slowly, with almost metronomic accuracy. Its
piano - literally or metaphorically - carefully testing each
dynamics remaining soft and of a hierarchical density, so
chord, each sequence, listening to the spacing and
that the figures became more priestesses than dancers.
balance, the resonances, the dynamic shadings, the
The last two chords portray a form of prostration”.
effect of the two pedals (not indicated, as usual). At first
 Te m p l e o f A p o l l o
Archaia Korinthos, Greece

D uring the course of the 2018 centenary year Piano

Practical Editions became a creative and critical
working publication; in addition to several suggestions of
fingering and hand distribution, you will find significant
modifications to the general layout.
The strong influence of French piano music is surely
identified with Chopin and Debussy who share a unique
position as masters of an exceptional instrument; through
an extensive affinity with the sustaining pedal they each
created a personal language conceived to communicate
their work with the greatest authenticity.
Some quotations by the composer:
“Absence of fingering is an excellent exercise, negating
musicians’ perverse desire to completely dismiss the
composer’s, and thereby vindicating words of eternal
wisdom: ‘If you want something done well, do it
yourself’. Let us seek our own fingering!”
“I believe more and more that music in its essence is
not a thing that can be poured into a rigorous and
traditional mould. It is made of colours and rhythmical
beats.”
“Music is a mysterious mathematical process whose
elements are part of infinity.”
M uch of what happened to music — and to art in
general — in the twentieth century marked a break,
conscious or unconscious, with the nineteenth. The past
was an orphan parent, rejected by its children, despised by
its grandchildren. Debussy, too, found fault with his
forebears and tried to do things differently from them. But
while he questioned their methods, he never doubted
their fundamental intention, which was to create beauty
and to share sensibilities, to communicate wonder at the
richness of the world around us and the various ways our
senses give us of responding to it. His music is without
ideology and without doctrine. Like the world, it simply is,
take it or leave it.
Debussy: A Painter in Sound (2018)
by Stephen Walsh
* a sculpted female figure acting as support of a much larger
structure — the Akanthos Column standing at 1.95 metres
— a monument probably from 330 BC.
** short tunics — possibly worn by the three daughters of
Cecrops I, the legendary first king of Attica
*** the second of three Images Oubliées dedicated to
Yvonne Lerolle — later revised and published as the second
movement of the suite Pour le Piano (1901)
 1
lent et grave [q = 44 ]
doux et soutenu
. . . . . .
& bb œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ
œ œ œ œ
3 pœ œ
œ
œ nœ . œ2 # œ bœ nœ . œ #œ .
I ? b
b
? b
b œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ.

b
& b œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ
π. . . . .
œ œ œ n œ œ œ
œœ œœ œ
. . . . -
œœ œœ œœ œœ
3

? b œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ n œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ
b J & œœ œœ n œœ œœ œœ œœ
4* 3 œ œœ œœ œœ
œœ œ œœ œ œœ œ œ
? b œ #œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ
b œ nœ œ œ-
œ. n œ. œ. # œ. ˙

œœ. œœ. œœ. œœ. œœ. œœ.

& bb œœ n œœ # œœ œœ n œœ # œœ
J J J J J J
œ #œ œ #œ . œ
? b œ nœ . bœ nœ .
6

œ #œ œ #œ . œ
b ‚ nœ . b‚ nœ .
p .j .j .j .j
.j .j
œ œ
? b
œœ
œ n œœœ # œœ œœ
œ n œœœ # œœ
b œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ
. . . . . .

œ. œ. œ. œ.
b œœ œœ œœ œœ
&b J J J J . . . . .
F œ
œœ œœ œ . . . . -
b œœ œœ œœœ œœœ n œœ ˙˙
8

j œœ œœ œœ œœ
& b œœ .. œ œ . œ œœ .. œ n œœ .. œ œ œœ œœ œ œ n œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙˙
œ œœœ ... œ œœ .. œ œœ .. œ œœ œ
4 œœ .. 3 œœ œ œ 4
œœ œ œœ œœ œ œ œ ˙
? b œ #œ ˙ œ œ œ œœ œ ˙
b œ nœ
œ. n œ. œ. # œ. ˙ -̇
 2

œ-
doux mais en dehors

œ. œ œ. œ œ.
b œ œ. œ
*
b œ œ. œ œ. ˙
& œ ·
2 π j j j œœ œ
j œœ œœ n œœœ b œœ.
11

& bb œœ œœ
œœ
œœ
œœ œœ œ. .
œ.
œœ . .
. .
2 j j j j œœ ˙ n œœ œœ œ
b œœœ
œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ
? b œœ œ. œ. œ. . . . .
b ˙ œ.
˙ ˙
˙ ˙ ˙
* Sost. Ped

œ
- œ. œ œ. œ œ.
œ œ. œ œ *
˙
œ.
& bb œ œ. œ œ nn
J
j j j j œ œ œ
bb b œ œœ n œœ. b œœ. nn
14

& b œœ œœ œœ b œœ œ. b œœ.
œœ œœ b œ.
b œœ
. . .
j j j œœ œ œœ b b œœœ
j œœ b œœ œœ b œœœ n œœ b œ.
? b œœ œœ
b ˙ b œ. œ. ˙
œ. b œ. .
˙
. . nn
˙ ˙ ˙
* Sost. Ped

.j .j
œ *. j œ .j
œ.
œ # œ. # œœ. œ.
nœ œ œ
œ œ œ ‰ œœ ‰ ‰ œœ ‰
#œ #œ œœ œœ
& J J J J œœ œœ
J œœ J œœ
* 3 J J
j
17

œ œ. œ œœ .. œ œ œœ .. œ œ
& œ œ. œ #œ .
œ œ. œ œœ .. œ œ .. œ œœ .. œ œ œ
4 œ œ. œ #œ . œœ . œœ
F f [P]
j
? œ œ œœ .. œ œ œœ .. œ œ
œ œ œ.
œ
œ œ . œ œ3 # œ . œ œ ˙ œœœ . œ œœœ
J. œ J.
J. J
.
 3
π π
- œœ-
∏
-
b b œœœ ˙˙ U,
più
˙˙ œœ ˙˙
bœ ˙˙ b œœ ˙˙ œœ ˙˙
& ‰ J ‰ J ‰ J

œ œ
20

œ œ
& œ .. œ œ
œ.
œ œ
˙.
œ J œ. J ˙.
diminuendo π
j j
? œ. œ œ
‰ b b œœ ˙˙ œ œ. œ
‰ œ ˙˙
œ
‰̇
.
œœ ˙˙
bœ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙
J- J
π più
-
π ∏
J-

# œ œ.
#œ .œ œ n œ. œ
œ b œ. n œ œœ. œ œ œJ # œ J
&œ œ nœ
œ .
b œœ œ b œ n œ #œ J bb
œ b˙ œ J J
J p
p p œœ
bœ
più
bœ b œœ œ b b œœ n œ
23

bœ
? œ b œœ œ b b œœ œ b œœ b ˙ b b œœ n œ b œœ œ bœ bœ œ œœ œ œœ # œ
œœ ? b
bœ J. b œJ J. J. J. & œ b
J. ‰ J. J. #œ œ nœ J.
. J. J.
π
.
π
j .j
œ
# œœ # œœœ
b œœ n b œœœ ...
œ. n b œœœ # n œœœ œ œœ n b œœœ ...
œ. n b œœœ # n œœœ œ
&b œ œ. bœ nœ œ œ. bœ nœ
J J
‰ p ‰ p
.j .j
œœ n b œœ .. nœ œ œœ n b œœ .. nœ œ
27

? b œ œ. b œœ n # œœ œ œ. b œœ n # œœ
b œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ
œ J J
π π
∏
. .
œ- œ-
œ œ
˙ œ ˙ œ
& bb œœ ˙˙ œœ ˙˙
J J
π -j π -j π
-f - U
# œœœ ˙˙ # œœœ ˙˙
29

˙˙ .. ˙˙ .. ˙˙
? b ˙ ˙ ˙˙ .. ˙˙ .. ˙˙
b ˙ ˙ ˙˙ .. ˙˙ .. ˙˙ Œ
œ œ
˙ œ ˙ œ ˙. ˙. ˙
. œ Œ
∏ <
(... danseuses de Delphes )
 Appendix
Comments, afterthoughts & French vocabulary

Duration: 3 minutes

• In the first book of Preludes, the composer indicated metronome speeds in brackets, and
once wrote: “as a rose which might only last for one morning, a metronome speed might only
work for one bar.” Might this explain why there are no metronome speeds in the second
book?
• a wonderful study in the control of dynamics which Debussy has detailed with great clarity
• 3 - 17 editorial modification of time-signatures
• 11 & 14 editorial sostenuto pedal to be coupled with the sustaining pedal
• 13 & 16 this edition features a few practical ‘arrangements’ — it can be effective to project the
melody notes (minims) as tied acciaccaturas
• 17 - 26 modification of portamento crotchets (syncopated chords) and key-signature
• 18 RH D missing, probably in error

doux et soutenu gentle and sustained

mais en dehors but in relief
 D E B U S S Y
D A N S E U S E S D E D E L P H E S
p u b l i s h e d M a y 2 0 2 3

iano Practical Editions

pianopracticaleditions.com