IDAGIO | Debussy - Fauré - Satie - Dove: Songs and Vexations 710357637223

Featuring

Susan Bickley
Andrew Matthews-Owen
Claire Booth
Erik Satie
Claude Debussy
Jonathan Dove

Gabriel Fauré

Did you know?

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Recording & Production

This recording originated from a coffee chat in 2017 between Andrew Matthews-Owen (pianist) and Claire Booth (soprano) about the Debussy centenary.

Album & Artwork

The cover art, "Out of Time, 2016" by Tom Hammick, was chosen for its perfect capture of Baudelaire and Jeanne Duval's longed-for "L'invitation au voyage."

Composer's Artistic Vision

Claude Debussy's artistic philosophy was encapsulated in his response to a tutor: "There is no theory, you merely have to listen. Pleasure is the law."

Compositional Technique

Erik Satie's "Vexations" is a short piece with a debated instruction to be played 840 times, leading to varied and experimental performances.

Composer Biography

Gabriel Fauré, a composer featured on this album, was known for being "extremely attractive to women" and had a relationship with Emma Bardac, who later became Debussy's second wife.

Compositional Technique

Jonathan Dove's song cycle "Letters from Claude" uses piano accompaniments prompted by chords or phrases from Debussy's piano pieces, reflecting the composer's letters.

Composer Biography

Erik Satie, a composer and friend of Debussy, was described by Debussy in a dedication as a "gentle mediaeval musician, who has strayed into this century for the joy of his good friend Claude A. Debussy."