CHILDREN’S CORNER
by CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Children’s Corner,
a six movement suite for solo piano by Claude Debussy is my favorite
composition for or about children next to Camille Saint-Saens’ Le Carnaval des animaux (Carnival of the
Animals) which I will explore here at a later date. It was first published by
Durand (Paris) in 1908 and premiered there, played by English pianist Harold
Bauer, on December 18th of that year. Three years later, an
orchestration of Children’s Corner by
Debussy’s friend Andre Caplet made its premier.
The
work is dedicated to Debussy’s young daughter, Claude-Emma, affectionately
known to her father as “Chou-chou” who was only three years of age when it was
written. Contrary to popular belief, the suite was not intended to be played by
children but rather it was intended to be reminiscent of the pleasures of
childhood as well as (interestingly) some of “Chou-chou’s” toys. She was born
on October 30 of 1905 and has been described by those who knew her as “lively,”
“friendly,” and as a little girl who was adored by her father — something one
might not be inclined to expect about the otherwise tempestuous composer. But
alas, she died of diphtheria on July 14, 1919, just one year after the passing
of her father.
As
I mentioned, there are six movements (short pieces really) to the suite, all
titled in English; something which Debussy did in acknowledgement of
“Chou-chou’s” British governess (and thus no French title for the suite
itself). The pieces are in order:
Doctor
Gradus ad Parnassum
Jimbo’s
Lullaby
Serenade
for the Doll
The
Snow is Dancing
The
Little Shepherd
Golliwogg’s
Cakewalk My favorite of the six.)
DOCTOR GRADUS AD PARNASSUM
The
title of this piece suggests “Gradus ad Parnassum” (Steps to Parnassus” by
Johann Joseph Fux (1660 – 1741), the first counterpoint text in any modern
sense of the term and one of the greatest school texts in European music up
until that time and Muzio Clementi’s “Gradus ad Parnassum” which is still used.
Debussy’s piece is a study in finger independence; where, especially in the
middle, the pianist slows down and tries various keys. It is somewhat difficult
to play unless one’s fingers are quite skillful and gets wilder toward the end.
JIMBO’S LULLABY
Actually
it should be “Jumbo” but French pronunciation sometimes confuses “um” with “un”
and with “im” and “in.” Be that as it may, Jimbo was an elephant who lived
briefly in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris around time Debussy was born. As a
reminiscence of his childhood, it is a wonderful lullaby but with some dark
moments.
SERENADE OF THE
DOLL
Noted
to be played moderately fast…but not too fast (Allegretto ma non troppo) and played with the soft peddle
throughout, the piece describes an Asian porcelain doll, probably Chinese, and
features the Chinese pentatonic scale.
THE SNOW IS
DANCING
A
difficult piece with the melody being carried by both left and right hands.
Somewhat dark at times, particularly in the middle, it depicts falling snow and
faint objects seen through it.
THE LITTLE
SHEPHERD
Simple
enough, this piece represents a shepherd with his flute — actually three solos
and “commentaries” after them, with a lot of dissonance.
GOLLIWOGG’S
CAKEWALK
At
the time of its composition, Golliwogs were all the rage, due in part to the
popularity of the novels of Florence Kate Upton. They were stuffed, black dolls
with red paints, red bow ties, and wild hair. This is ostensibly a ragtime
piece (also quite popular at the time) with syncopations, a large dynamic
range, and various effects. Listen carefully for occasional interruptions by
the love-death motif of Wagner’s Tristan
und Isolde followed by imitations of a banjo. A “cakewalk” itself was a
dance or actually more of a strut often seen in dance competitions of the time
in which the dancer with the most elaborate steps one a cake — hence the phrase
“took the cake.”
Piano Version:
Orchestral Version:
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