question on" la fille aux cheveux de lin"

[mark1]

I was looking over the sheet music and found a chord in the 6th bar that I couldn't play...the span is too much for my hands(unless I use my nose) !How should I play this part? A recording of mine plays the lower e detached, previous to the chord. Does anyone else have this problem or am I missing something? Thanks for your help.                                              Mark

[bernhard]

Yes, you can do that. (Detach the lower Eb - or play with your nose!)

My hands are not that big so I arpeggiate the whole chord. Purists will probably squirm , but I actually arpeggiate it quite slowly and I find the effect nice.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[mark1]

thanks a ton!!!

[mark1]

My last question on this one! In bar 12...how do I play the arpeggiated notes, as in the order? Do I begin with lower gflat then end on the d flat or is it in some other order? Could you also explain the line connecting the c down to the a flat and d flat? Thank you so much!!!

[bernhard]

My last question on this one! In bar 12...how do I play the arpeggiated notes, as in the order? Do I begin with lower gflat then end on the d flat or is it in some other order? Could you also explain the line connecting the c down to the a flat and d flat? Thank you so much!!!

Do you mean the squiggly line connecting the right hand chord notes (from bottom to top: Db - Ab - Cb - Db)?

This is actually a direction to arpeggiate a chord. Arpeggiate it bottom to top (always).

Notice that the squiggly line only covers the right hand chord. Thereforr the left hand chord (Gb - Db - Gb) should be played as a chord (while the right hand should be arpeggiated).

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[mark1]

I got that much down, I was wondering what comes first...the left hand chord or the arpeggiated part...or do you play both on the first beat? Maybe I should ask how you do it...your advice on arpeggiating the other chord does make it flow really nice! Thanks again and your input is always appreciated ;

[bernhard]

Play both the left hand chord and the bottom note of the arpeggiated chord together on the beat. The remaining notes of the right hand chord then follow.

Experiment with the speed. Sometimes playing arpeggiated chords slowly (spreading them over the full time value of the chord) can be quite lovely.

Sometimes one arpeggiates a chord so as to fit the hand (the span may be too large). In such cases it makes sense to play the arpeggio as fast as possible to simulate a chord.

But sometimes (and I believe this to be the case, since the span is not a problem) one arpeggiates to single out each tone and yet overlap them in order to manipulate the overtones. Much of Debussy's music is about overtone manipulation.

I suggest you listen to a variety of pianists playing this piece (my favourite Debussy interpreter is Walter Gieseking)

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[mark1]

thanks                                                               Mark