Debussy’s Images and Estampes: a Tierlist
Introduction
In this tierlist, two suits for solo piano, namely “Estampes” and “Images” by the French composer Claude Debussy will be covered. The reader should note that the basis of this tierlist is not based on the quality of music, but instead my enjoyment of the pieces.
The suite “Estampes” (Prints), L.100 consists of three movements, which will be ranked separately.
They include:
Pagodes ("Pagodas") – approx. 4-5 minutes (B major).
La soirée dans Grenade ("Evening in Granada") – approximately 51⁄2 minutes (F♯ minor → F♯ major).
Jardins sous la pluie ("Gardens in the Rain") – approximately 31⁄2 minutes (E minor → E major)
The suite “Images” (images), L.110 and L.111 for books I and II respectively, consists of six movements collectively, with three in each book. These will also be ranked separately
They include:
● Book 1 (L. 110)
1. "Reflets dans l'eau" (Reflections in the water) in D♭ major
2. "Hommage à Rameau" (Tribute to Rameau) in G♯ minor
3. "Mouvement" (Movement) in C major
● Book 2 (L. 111)
1. "Cloches à travers les feuilles" (Bells through the leaves) in B whole-tone (the middle section is in E major)
2. "Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut" (And the moon descends on the temple that was) in E minor
3. "Poissons d'or" (Goldfish) in F♯ major
Comments
Pagodes
As suggested from the title, the first from Estampes depicts the tableau of a pagoda, an East Asian tower built for religious purposes. Marked moderately animated, the composer presents beautiful and melodic themes and deploys a syncopated and animated rhythm, eliminating an emphasis on downbeats. (Notably, Scriabin also does this, as shown in the prelude Op.11 No.1).
Interestingly, Debussy skillfully imitates the Gamelan Scale, one originated from Indonesia, thus he immediately through the harmonic language hints the oriental image that is depicted throughout the piece.
To create a moderately animated, and thus relaxed atmosphere, Debussy used repeated congruent chords, my favourite form of texturing. In addition, this mood is created by the way in which the primary motif, marked with presque sans nuance, meaning almost without nuance, and even the whole piece is played.
Overall the beautiful melody, the animated rhythm and the powerful depiction of a pagoda resonates with me to a large extent - S tier
La soirée dans Grenade
The purpose of this suite is to portray three picturesque tableaux, which is exactly what Debussy did in this movement. As the title suggests, the image shown here is a tranquil evening in the Spanish city of Granada (not to be confused with the country Grenada). Marked Mouvement de Habanera, the rhythm of Habanera is present throughout, more interestingly however, the composer uses Arabic scale and no traditionally Spanish material, yet it is clear that he is depicting Spain. Magically, this piece simultaneously sounds Spanish, Middle Eastern and French.
Highlight: mm. 109-112, 115-118, marked leger et lointain, meaning light and distant, features quick and scuttling staccato, providing a vivid and satisfying contrast with the more subdued and calm atmosphere of the whole piece and mm. 113-114 - A tier
Jardin sous la pluie
Even though the name Estampes suggests that this suite depicts still images, in my opinion, this movement portrays a period of time in which the intensity of rain varies, as shown by the constantly changing amount of texturing and dynamics. I also crave for wavy texturing (for instance Scriabin’s Etude Op.42 No.5), which is wonderfully provided by this piece.
Highlight: mm. 100-115, a relatively straightforward yet effective build up, with a crescendo over sections with increasing pitch (G -> B -> D) - A tier
Reflets dans l’eau
Yet another piece depicting water, but this time the reflection it provides as it changes from clear to blurred and back to clear again as the water transforms from still to fast-moving and back to still. As a physics student, I perceive the reflection switching from specular to diffuse and back to specular again.
Out of the whole suite, this movement is the most picturesque for me, especially the texturing which covers the whole keyboard, with each oscillation depicting a wave from trough to crest and to trough again. This eventually leads to a climax, the highlight of the piece for me. - A tier.
Hommage a Rameau
The premise of this suite is to depict images yet Debussy wrote about something abstract… I guess it’s honouring the memory of Rameau though.
Generally this piece doesn’t really stand out to me in any way - sure it’s still decent and is able to maintain my interest throughout (despite its being quite long winded for me), but it lacks the depiction of a physical object/phenomenon. - F tier
Mouvement
Being a perpetuum mobile, the constantly vibrating texture is present throughout the piece. Again, this is an abstract piece (smh), but at least one can picture the movement of an object, perhaps the constant turning of a wheel.
Interestingly, the beginning reminds me of the very start of Scriabin’s Piano Sonata No.5, as the texture almost sounds like a long trill. However, I am not a big fan of said texturing, and because the piece overall doesn’t have any outstanding moments for me, it will be given - D tier
Cloches à travers les feuilles
I love bells in music, whether from Debussy, Ravel or Rachmaninoff. Here, Debussy uses the whole tone scale to yet again create an oscillation, but this time imitating the sounds of a bell travelling through leaves. Perhaps he depicts the Doppler Effect as the proximity of the bell to the listener changes.
Despite it sounding magical, it is lacking loud passages, with almost the entire piece being quiet. - B tier
Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut
C’mon, just finish the sentence… This just feels like pagodes at home, both having a tranquil and oriental atmosphere. This is depicting the moon setting over a ruined temple, but the temple itself is ruined and in East Asia. Again, this piece also evokes gamelan music. Like the previous image, the whole piece is quite low in volume, even more so than Cloches à travers les feuilles. Despite having a goosebump-inducing melody and wonderful polyrhythm in certain places, it is still not as interesting as other images. - D tier.
Poissons d’or
Not just a normal fish, but specifically a goldfish - Debussy must have really liked this type of fish for him to write a whole piece picturing it. The image of a fish is surprisingly vivid - one can literally picture the fish wagging its tail and darting around in the water as it’s disturbed. However there does not seem to be an element that shows that the fish depicted is specifically goldfish. On the plus though, this piece is written in F# major, my favourite key. Despite there being a climax, the rest of the piece does not interest me enough for me to enjoy it more than Cloches à travers les feuilles. - C tier
