There are so many interpretive problems involved with playing Debussy, not least that there is a very recognisable idea that only a Frenchman can express his idea properly. So having been working with my very English duet partner on Debussy's 6 epigraphs antiques recently we reached a point in our preparation where listening to a professional recording would help, who else would we consider but the Labèque sisters?

The Labèque Sisters

Katia and Marielle Labèque were bought up on the Basque coast and would travel to Paris to the conservatoire, which incidentally was where Debussy himself studied. The Labèques have always liked to explore a very eclectic range of music and will happily perform a huge variety of genres, from Bach (mid-late 18th Century) to a recently adaptation of Beatles music that Katia has been working on. This however has not created Jacks (or Jills) of all genres, they capture the romance and drama of Debussy with a sensitivity that is incredibly hard to match.

The Album

En Blanc et Noir is the actual title of the album, although ciao has decided it is simply the 'Debussy Album' and it includes a number of Debussy's works, some written for 2 pianos, and others as duets (4 hands on 1 piano) At the time that Debussy was writing, ie the turn of the 20th Century there were few duets or 2 piano pieces written specifically as duets. It was more normal to find thing transcribed for 2 pianos for pieces that you would more normally expect to hear as orchestral works, simple rearranged to fit 2 pianos. Debussy did this the other way around all the pieces on this album with the exception of the Nocturnes, which was a transcription by Maurice Ravel, a fine composer in his own right.

The Tracks

En Blanc et Noir
1. avec emportement - this is a very exciting opening to the album, a very fast moving piece, written for 2 pianos, with very subtle changes of mood throughout, the opening has a fantastic flowing melody which draws you in to a mid section that becomes more sombre, before returning to the opening almost fanfare like melody.
2. Lent - literal translation, slow and this opens with a very storm like introduction which then has a very expressive melody coming through it. It is so seamless that it really doesn't sound like 2 pianos are involved.
3. Scherzando - Debussy sticking to a form which by this time was becoming almost antiquated, with a work consisting of 3 movements, the first fairly jolly, the second slow and expressive and a fast, very hard to perform final movement. There are elements in this one that are almost reminiscent of Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue, which came into being 20 years later across the other side of the world.

Petite Suite

1. En bateau - the Petite Suite is probably the most often performed of all the pieces on the album, as it is a very popular choice for duets at local festivals and is accessible to good intermediate players and beyond. En bateau - (the boat) has a very boat like feel, lovely melodies and you could quite happily sit listening to it making up the story as it goes along.
2. Cortège - this has a very celebratory feel to it, with lovely happy, spring wedding like melodies - the lightness of the labèques touch is evident, particularly when it becomes to the end which is much louder and in a piece like this it is imperative that it does not become heavy.
3. Menuet - my students often grumble when given their second menuet to play that 'I've already played this one' but a Menuet is a dance, Mozart and his dad was responsible for churning out hundreds of the things, as that is what he was paid to do. By Debussy's time, the menuet had very much run its course, mainly to be replaced with the waltz but this one is lovely. It follows fantastically from the Cortège, almost without a break but again has fantastic melody, very easy to listen to and enjoy.
4. Ballet - I wish I was fit enough to dance to anything with this fast a tempo, again a very infectious melody running through and as with all of the petit suite, you know that 2 people are playing, but only because they told you that they were the playing is so together it is as one.

Nocturnes

1. Nuages - (clouds) The Nocturnes were a very popular form at this time, Chopin really having bought the idea of a nocturne into being, This one is not really what I would have expected from the title, and Chopins nocturnes would have been more of a top melody than this one which interchanges between the players regularly. It does have a cloud like feel to it, but on a fairly windy day.
2. Fêtes (festivals) - this one definitely has the frenzied feeling of a community festival, and makes absolutely full use of the range of the piano, which is quite substantial.
3. The third to this work is called Sirènes, but due to the necessity of female voices on it, it is not included on the album.

6 Epigraphes antiques

1. Pour invoquer Pan, dieu du vent d'été - To call for Pan, the God of the Summer wind - now as you can imagine to call a god of wind, you need an incredibly sensitive touch, to get a really fantastic provocative tone out of the piano. Also the piano you are playing has a huge impact - I can assure you if you tried to play this one on a pub piano, with decades of sticky beer spilling down the back of it - it certainly won't call any wind gods out of the woodwork. However on the front of the album there is a picture of the Rolls Royce of pianos, a beautiful Steinway grand piano (one day I'll have one), so the gentle rolling melody comes drifting through like - well, summer wind! This is one of the pieces that I was most interested in when I bought the album, and I love their interpretation, although I'm not convinced that we would get away with the variations in tempo in a competitive environment, nor that I could play the middle section that fast anyway.
2. Pour un tombeau sans nom - For a nameless tomb, Debussy was well into the mood music when he wrote these pieces, and this is very sombre and creepy, with typical Debussy chords giving a sinister feel to the whole piece.
3. Pour que la nuit soit propice - as the night is favourable (if anyone can translate that better please let me know) This has a wonderful rhythm running through it, which is a favourite technique of Debussy, and does have a very sultry nocturnal feel to it with some very nimble fingerwork - again something to aspire to.
4. Pour la danseuse aux crotales - the dance of the cymbals. I adore this piece, and is the one piece I would love to see them play live, as it is so intricate, the cymbal dance is quite a well known idea where ladies dance with the little hand held, bell like cymbals. But playing this piece is so intricate, both partners to the duet team need the same note, a split second after the other one has finished with it, and whilst I actually prefer the piece slower than they have played it, I find it incredible that anyone can bring it up to this speed.
5. Pour l'Egyptienne - For the Egyptian, and no, its nothing like the Bangles song. It has a very slow, tomblike Egyptian feel to it, and draws you in right from the very beginning.
6. Pour remercier la pluie au matin. - to be thankful for the morning rain. This has raindrops running all the way through it, trickling down window pains and all sorts. It is typical Debussy and is very similar to another of his solo pieces which I am performing later this year, so I'm holding off learning this one. Again the intricacy of the playing is to be marvelled at, the sisters are so close on the piano, wanting notes that the other is using.

Lindaraja.

This is a great piece to finish with, as they return to using 2 pianos for the final piece on the album which immediately gives a grander finish. This piece wasn't published in Debussys life time as he 'mislaid' it in between pages of an orchestral script and has a distinctly Spanish feel to it, with a repetitive habanera rhythm running through.

So there you have it, I love this album, it speaks to you throughout and gets your imagination working on so many different images. That from a colour point of view, there are far more than simply Black and White.

I bought mine from Amazon for £13.99 but it is usually on a delayed delivery, mine came within a couple of weeks

Thank you for reading, and if anyone feels that some of my translations are slightly suspect, you're probably right so please let me know.