View source for Estampes

{{Short description|Piano suite by Claude Debussy}}
{{for|the French commune|Estampes, Gers}}
{{italic title}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2020}}
{{use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox musical composition
| name                = ''Estampes''
| subtitle            = 
| type                = 
| composer            = [[Claude Debussy]]
| image               = CDebussy.JPG
| alt                 = 
| caption             = 
| translation         = Prints
| native_name_lang    = fr
| key                 = 
| catalogue           = [[List of compositions by Claude Debussy|L.]] 100
| genre               = [[Impressionism]]
| text                = 
| language            = 
| composed            = 1903
| performed           = {{start date and age|1904|01|09}} <br>[[Salle Érard]], Paris, France
| published           = 
| scoring             = 
}}

'''''Estampes''''' (Prints), [[List of compositions by Claude Debussy|L.]] 100, is a composition for solo [[piano]] by [[Claude Debussy]]. It was finished in 1903. The first performance of the work was given by [[Ricardo Viñes]] at the [[Salle Érard]] of the [[Société nationale de musique]] in Paris on 9 January 1904.<ref>{{Cite thesis|author=Matthew Goodrich|title=Ricardo Viñes and Les Apaches|date=25 July 2013|type=DMA thesis|hdl=1773/23565|publisher=University of Washington|url=https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/items/ed348a89-1526-4a03-a01d-4301da31e6d0|access-date=22 August 2024}}</ref> 

This [[suite (music)|suite]] with 3 [[Movement (music)|movements]] is one of a number of piano works by Debussy which are often described as [[Impressionism in music|impressionistic]], a term borrowed from painting. This style of composition had been pioneered by [[Maurice Ravel|Ravel]] in [[Jeux d'eau (Ravel)|''Jeux d'eau'']] written in 1901, and was soon adopted by Debussy (for example in the earlier numbers of [[Images (piano suite)|''Images'']]), but Debussy did not himself identify as an impressionist.

==Structure==
''Estampes'' consists of three movements:
{{ordered list|list_style_type=upper-roman
|''Pagodes'' (Pagodas) – approx. 4–5 minutes ([[B major]]).
|''La soirée dans Grenade'' (Evening in Granada) – approx. {{frac|5|1|2}} minutes ([[F-sharp minor|F{{music|sharp}} minor]] → [[F-sharp major|F{{music|sharp}} major]]).
|''Jardins sous la pluie'' (Gardens in the Rain) – approx. {{frac|3|1|2}} minutes ([[E minor]] → [[E major]]).<ref name=Hinson>Hinson, Maurice. Preface to ''Estampes'' by Claude Debussy. Van Nuys, California: Alfred Publishing, 1993.</ref>}}

== I. ''Pagodes''==
''Pagodes'' evokes Indonesian [[gamelan]] music, which Debussy first heard in the [[Exposition Universelle (1889)|Paris World Conference Exhibition of 1889]]. It makes extensive use of [[pentatonic scale]]s and mimics traditional Indonesian melodies.<ref name="Hinson" /> Four different pentatonic scales are incorporated within the piece, further defining the imagery of the [[pagoda]]. Pagodas are Oriental temples with petite bases that give rise to ornate roofs that typically curve upwards, much like the ascending melodic line (G{{music|sharp}}, C{{music|sharp}}, D{{music|sharp}}) which serves as a repeated motive through different portions of the piece.<ref>{{cite book|last=Schmitz|first=Robert E.|title=The Piano Works of Claude Debussy|location=New York|publisher=Duyell, Sloan and Pearce|year=1950|pages=83–84}}</ref>

As this is an [[Impressionism in music|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 {{lang|fr|presque sans nuance}} (almost without nuance). This rigidity of rhythm helps to reduce the natural inclination of pianists to add [[rubato]] and excessive expression.

== II. ''La soirée dans Grenade''==
''La soirée dans Grenade'' uses the [[Double harmonic scale|Arabic scale]] and mimics guitar [[strum]]ming to evoke images of [[Granada]], Spain. At the time of its writing, Debussy's only personal experience with the country was a few hours spent in [[San Sebastián de los Reyes]] near Madrid.<ref name="Hinson" /> Despite this, the Spanish composer [[Manuel de Falla]] said of the movement: "There is not even one measure of this music borrowed from the [[Spanish folklore]], and yet the entire composition in its most minute details, conveys admirably Spain."{{sfn|Schmitz|1950|pp=85–86}}

== III. ''Jardins sous la pluie''==
''Jardins sous la pluie'' describes a garden in the [[Normandy]] town of [[Orbec]] during an extremely violent rainstorm. Throughout the piece, there are sections that evoke the sounds of the wind blowing, a thunderstorm raging, and raindrops dropping. It makes use of two folk melodies, the lullaby "{{ill|Dodo, l'enfant do|fr}}" and "{{ill|Nous n'irons plus au bois|fr}} parce qu'il fait un temps insupportable" (We will no longer go to the woods because the weather is unbearable). Chromatic, whole tone, major and minor scales are used in this movement.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMSLP|work=Estampes (Debussy, Claude)|cname=''Estampes'' (Debussy)}}
* {{YouTube|R-YcnPXY2yE|Animated score}}, Pascal Rogé

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[[Category:Suites by Claude Debussy]]
[[Category:Solo piano compositions by Claude Debussy]]
[[Category:1903 compositions]]
[[Category:1904 compositions]]

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