PlayPiano
The short answer
Bruyères reached listeners before the book reached print. Bruyères, Préludes, Book II No. 5 is a prelude by Claude Debussy. PlayPiano puts it at Level 7, an estimate.
- prelude
- Key of A-flat major
- gentle
Also known as Bruyères: Préludes, Book II No. 5.
History
Norah Drewett played Bruyères, alongside Book II No. 6, at the Salle Érard on 8 April 1913. Lesure records this performance before Durand issued the complete second book on 19 April.
Sources
What to listen for
An exposed upper line receives a lower answer
The upper opening is exposed before a lower response joins. Hear each line clearly as the texture expands.
Repeated gestures briefly broaden the phrase
Repeated gestures cross a brief meter expansion. Hear their longer grouping without assigning a permanent new pulse to the whole piece.
The contrast returns and begins to yield
Contrasting material is recalled in writing before a yielding continuation. Listen for the change from renewed motion to easing sound.
Thin recollections lead to repeated final sound
The last recollections become thinner before repeated final sonorities. Hear their quieter continuation through the ending.
How to practise it
Hear the late entry and shape its single exposed line.
- Count the full silence, then connect the final eighth into the next label.
- Sing the line first, then keep the sixteenth pair light inside its contour.
- Connect the examined phrase at a comfortable tempo while keeping its stated layers and releases distinct.
How hard is it
Pastoral melodic writing and delicate harmonic support require subtle touch, balance and resonance management.
About this piece
- Collection
- French piano colors
- Licence
- CC0
- Source
- musescore.com
More by Claude Debussy
- The Little Shepherd, Children's Corner No. 5Level 5, estimatedWith Maestro
- Clair de lune, Suite bergamasque, L. 75Level 8, estimatedWith Maestro
- La cathédrale engloutie, Préludes I No. 10Level 8, estimatedWith Maestro
