This issue’s title “Starry Night” refers to its track 7, which contains a
rather lovely arrangement for piano by Koji Attwood of Debussy’s song
Nuit d’étoiles, written when he was about eighteen years of age.
This makes an interesting conclusion to the group of four short pieces that
separate the two main items in Michael Lewin's programme. Those main
items are the three movements of
Estampes (“Prints”) of 1903, and
the twelve great
Préludes of Book 1 from 1910.
This is Lewin’s fourth studio recording for Sono Luminus, providing the
companion disc to his critically-praised “Beau Soir” published last year,
which featured Book 2 of the
Préludes. The current CD opens with
Estampes, its three movements entitled
Pagodes
(“Pagodas”),
La soirée dans Grenade (“Evening in Granada”), and
Jardins sous la pluie (“Gardens in the Rain”). Then follows
"Arabesque No.1 in E Major" (1888), familiar to pianists of more
modest technical resources. After the popular "Golliwog's cake
walk” of 1908 comes one of the most intriguing pieces on the recording;
Les soirs illuminés par l’ardeur du charbon (“Evenings lit by the
warmth of coal”) is one of Debussy’s very last compositions, and is a
poignantly lovely piece. In 1917, the composer was not only suffering along
with his compatriots from the depredations of war, but was in the advanced
stages of cancer, from which he died the following year. A friend and
admirer of his, who happened to be a coal merchant, supplied him with some
desperately needed fuel to keep himself warm, and Debussy expressed his
gratitude by presenting him with this tiny work. The title is taken from
Baudelaire’s poem 'Le Balcon' (“The Balcony”); what hasn’t
been widely noted is that Debussy alludes to the fourth
Prélude
from Book 1 (track 11),
Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l’air du
soir (“Sounds and Scents Swirl in the Evening Air”), a title itself
taken from
another Baudelaire poem,
Harmonie du soir.
All the short pieces are played with affection and style; but the disc
stands or falls by Lewin's account of
Estampes and,
especially, the
Préludes, which are among the pinnacles of the
piano repertoire. I was hugely impressed, and enjoyed this playing
enormously. Lewin's approach is one that the composer himself, who
often complained bitterly about the pianists who attempted his music, would
surely have warmly welcomed. He is careful to avoid exaggeration or
distortion, but is sensitive to all the magical colours created by the
music. I don’t think I have heard
Des pas sur la neige (“Footsteps
in the snow”) played with more devastating bleakness, its final D minor
chord like a block of ice. From that, the change to the tender simplicity of
La fille aux cheveux de lin (“Girl with the flaxen hair”) is
heart-wrenching.
I am glad that Lewin has adopted the correct tempi for
La cathédrale
engloutie (“Submerged Cathedral). It was Roy Howat, in the notes for
his fine Debussy set on Tall Poppies (TP164) who pointed out that the
printed music for this famous piece was misleading in its indications of
speed, resulting in performances which were too slow, and often up to twice
as long as the composer intended. Lewin’s performance is powerful and
majestic, but also avoids pummelling the piano into submission, as some
players can’t resist doing.
All of these wonderful
Preludes provide memorable experiences,
and Lewin rises magnificently to the challenge of their pictorial and poetic
qualities. His technique is fully equal to the demands of
Ce qu’a vu le
vent d’ouest (“What the West Wind Saw”), with its turbulence and
extreme contrasts. He also captures brilliantly the Will o’ the Wisp
mischief of
La danse de Puck (“Puck’s Dance”), its dancing gossamer
textures interrupted by the call of Oberon’s horn.
The recording of Lewin at his Model D Steinway is excellent; at first I
thought it might be a little too close-up, but by the end I was thoroughly
convinced. That perspective gives the music an intimacy which draws the
listener in effortlessly.
This is a very distinguished recording, an outstanding addition to the
Debussy discography, and certainly a worthy successor to last year’s ‘Beau
Soir’ (Sono Luminus DSL92175).
The CD comes with an audio Blu-Ray version of the same recording. I do not
have the equipment to play this at present so cannot comment or compare.
Gwyn Parry-Jones
