Debussy’s Cello Sonata is among the great composer’s last works. A succinct composition that lasts only 10 minutes in its entirety, the work’s three movements display a wide range of drama of imagination in that short span.
The piece finds Debussy taking a retrospective approach to composition. In the first movement, Debussy contrasts a bold and powerful opening statement with an emerging theme with unusually sparse and close-knit harmonies lending an almost renaissance-like impression. Wild flourishes, reminiscent of the French baroque, provide a welcome departure from these close knit harmonic events.
The second movement, a Serenade steeped in fantasy and humor, begins with the cellist taking on the roll of a guitarist “tuning up.” Soon a dance begins in which the cello makes several excited attempts to capture the piano’s attention: these ultimately prove unsuccessful. The second movement transitions directly into the third movement which begins with a sense of bubbling excitement and effervescence. Both players alternate between furtive, scurrying and soaring melodies for much of the movement. Mid movement the scurrying gives way to a slow hypnotic dance with nearly free pulse, delivering the listener to a timeless, trance-like world. The trance is interrupted by more scurrying before a return to the opening theme of the first movement signals the close of this vivid and imaginative work. Alexander Hersh
Classical Music | Cello Music
Claude Debussy
Sonata for Cello and Piano Play
Recorded on 11/27/2019, uploaded on 06/26/2020
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
Debussy’s Cello Sonata is among the great composer’s last works. A succinct composition that lasts only 10 minutes in its entirety, the work’s three movements display a wide range of drama of imagination in that short span.
The piece finds Debussy taking a retrospective approach to composition. In the first movement, Debussy contrasts a bold and powerful opening statement with an emerging theme with unusually sparse and close-knit harmonies lending an almost renaissance-like impression. Wild flourishes, reminiscent of the French baroque, provide a welcome departure from these close knit harmonic events.
The second movement, a Serenade steeped in fantasy and humor, begins with the cellist taking on the roll of a guitarist “tuning up.” Soon a dance begins in which the cello makes several excited attempts to capture the piano’s attention: these ultimately prove unsuccessful. The second movement transitions directly into the third movement which begins with a sense of bubbling excitement and effervescence. Both players alternate between furtive, scurrying and soaring melodies for much of the movement. Mid movement the scurrying gives way to a slow hypnotic dance with nearly free pulse, delivering the listener to a timeless, trance-like world. The trance is interrupted by more scurrying before a return to the opening theme of the first movement signals the close of this vivid and imaginative work. Alexander Hersh
More music by Claude Debussy
La Puerta del Vino, from Préludes Book II
Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soir, from Préludes, Book I
Soiree dans Grenade, from Estampes
Rapsodie (arr. Rousseau)
Arabesque in C sharp major
Beau Soir
Ondine, from Préludes Book II
La Cathédrale engloutie, from Preludes, Books 1, No.10
Apparition, from Quatre chansons de jeunesse
Estampes
Performances by same musician(s)
Sonata for Cello and Piano
String Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 127
String Quartet No.1 in a minor, Op. 41, No. 1
Langsam in F Major
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