Pagodes from "Estampes"

Claude Debussy

Claude Debussy (arr. Percy Aldridge Grainger)

Subtitle: Arranged for tuneful percussion instruments and harmonium

General Info

Year: 1903 / 1928 / 1996
Duration: c. 6:30
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Bardic Edition
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - Rental | Score Only (print) - £13.95

Instrumentation

Piano (4)
Harmonium (Reed Organ)
Celeste
Percussion, including:

Dulcitone
Glockenspiel
Gong
Marimba, Metal (3)
Marimba, Wooden (3)
Tubular Bells
Xylophone (3)

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Estampes (Prints), L.100, is a composition for solo piano by Claude Debussy. It was finished in 1903. The first movement, Pagodes evokes images of East Asia. It makes extensive use of pentatonic scales and mimics Chinese and Japanese traditional melodies while also incorporating hints of Javanese Gamelan percussion.

As this is an Impressionistic work, the goal is not overt expressiveness but instead an emphasis on the wash of color presented by the texture of the work. Debussy marks in the text that Pagodes should be played "presque sans nuance," or "almost without nuance." This rigidity of rhythm helps to reduce the natural inclination of pianists to add rubato and excessive expression. Note that rigidity of rhythm within measures does not mean rigidity of tempo in the work; the tempo gradually fluxes quicker and slower throughout the piece, which is also common in gamelan compositions.

- Program Note from Wikipedia

Commercial Discography

Audio CD: Woof! (group) - 2012

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

University of Arkansas (Fayetteville) Wind Ensemble (Christopher Knighten, conductor) – 18 March 2016 (CBDNA 2016 Southwestern Division Conference, Boulder, Colo.)
Amadinda Percussion Group – July 2010

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Danse (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kurokawa)
Golliwog's Cakewalk (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kano) (1908)

All Wind Works

The Afternoon of a Faun (arr. Walters) (1894/1950/1999?)
The Afternoon of a Faun. See also: Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune
Beau Soir (arr. Warner) (1880/1971)
Children's Corner Suite (arr. Winterbottom) (1908)
Clair de Lune (orch. Blair) (1890/1905/2021)
Clair de Lune (arr. Hautvast) (1890/1905/2011)
Clair de lune (arr. De Meij) (1890/1905/2017)
Clair de Lune (arr. Wallace) (1890/1905/1995)
Danse (arr. Boyd) (1890/1983)
Danse (arr. Scheiwiller) (1890/2019)
Danse (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kurokawa)
Danses Sacrée et Profane (arr. Odom) (1904/2019)
Danses Sacrée et Profane (tr. J. Lloyd) (1904)
Debussy: Girl with the Flaxen Hair (arr. Akey) (1910/1995)
The Engulfed Cathedral (tr. Longfield) (1910/1987)
The Engulfed Cathedral (arr. Miller) (1910/1986)
The Engulfed Cathedral (tr. Patterson) (1910/1993)
The Engulfed Cathedral. See also: La Cathédrale Engloutie
Fêtes from "Nocturnes" (arr. Patterson) (c. 1899/2007)
Fêtes from "Three Nocturnes" (arr. Schaefer) (c.1899/1959)
Fêtes from "Three Nocturnes" (tr. Tatebe) (c.1899/1999)
Four Debussy Songs (trans. Anderson) (2018)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (tr. Beyrent) (1910/2013)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (tr. Brand) (1910)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (tr. Bernotas) (1910)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (arr. Moss) (1910/2007)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (arr. Sparke) (1910/2007)
Golliwogg's Cakewalk (arr. Lewis) (1908/2004)
Golliwog's Cakewalk (arr. Curnow) (1908/1985)
Golliwog's Cakewalk (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Kano) (1908)
Hommage à Rameau (arr. Hunsberger) (1905/2009)
La Cathédrale Engloutie (arr. Mortimer) (1910/2016)
La Cathédrale Engloutie. See also: The Engulfed Cathedral
La Mer (trans. Odom) (1905/)
Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien (1911)
L’isle joyeuse (arr. Mashima) (1904/2005)
L'isle joyeuse (arr. Volans) (1904/1995)
Marche Écossaise (tr. Onodera) (1891/1908/2015(?))
Marche Écossaise (tr. Onodera) (Octet) (1891/1908/2015(?))
Marche Écossaise (tr. Schaefer) (1891/1908/1964)
Marche Écossaise (tr. Scatterday) (1891/1908)
'Menuet' from Suite Bergamasque (arr. Southard) (1890/2012)
Minstrels (tr. Scarbrough) (1910/2016)
Pagodes from "Estampes" (arr. Grainger) (1996)
Petite Suite (arr. Brakkee) (1889/1999?)
Petite Suite (tr. Winterbottom) (1889/1927)
Petite Suite (arr. Kimura) (1889/1998)
Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune (tr. Sousa) (1894)
Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune. See also: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and The Afternoon of a Faun
Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune (arr. Stalmeieir) (1894/1992)
Prelude from "Suite Bergamasque" (arr. St. Louis)
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (tr. Hindsley) (1894/1973)
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. See also: Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune
Premiere Arabesque (1891)
Première Rhapsodie (arr. Yodo)
Première Rhapsody (tr. Baars) (1910/12016)
Première Rhapsody (arr. Walker; ed. Pappas) (1910/1963/2004)
Reverie (arr. Boo) (1890/)
Rêverie (tr. Thompson) (1890/2011)
Sarabande (tr. Bennefield) (1894/1901/2020)
Sarabande (tr. Erickson) (1894/1967)
Sarabande (arr. Howland; ed. Gregory) (1894/2018)
Suite Bergamasque Mvt 2 Menuet (arr. Thompson)
Three Debussy Pieces (arr. Singletary)
Three Pieces from "Children's Corner" (orch. Sheen) (1908/1988)

Resources

Debussy, C.; Grainger, P. (1996). Pagodes: From Estampes [score]. Bardic Edition: [United Kingdom].
Estampes, Wikipedia Accessed 23 February 2016