*Discover Apple Music Classical, the streaming service for classical music here apple.co/NahreSol and enjoy 1 month for free if you are a new subscriber to Apple Music! 00:00 Intro 02:07 Number 1 03:39 Number 2 04:59 Number 3 06:36 Performance/Analysis of Debussy's "Clair de Lune" 12:00 Performance of my Postlude "Echoes of Clair de Lune"
And Ms Sol is the ideal person to explain why. Yet again she is able to describe highly technical issues with clarity and precision without ever losing sight of the emotional meaning of the piece. To paraphrase, given her popularity, it is easy to forget how special she is.
After a lifetime (now 78 years old) of playing the piano, working as an organist, singing with an opera company, I learn such a lot from your videos. You are a blessing.
I've always said, if I were to pick the one piece of music to send to another world to show them what humanity is like, how we feel, this would be the song.
My wife graduated college with a piano performance degree (but didn't pursue a music career), and occasionally (all too seldom) will sit down at her Steinway and play Clair de Lune. I can be upstairs in my library/workspace and as soon as I hear her I stop whatever I'm doing and listen and just enjoy the moment!! ❤❤❤❤
For my grade 8 'cello, I learned the sonata for 'cello and piano. Before that, I hadn't really paid attention to Debussy but learning that piece educated me
@Leif (not OP but) Personally, as I get older, I have more moments and events that connect to these compositions. It isn't intentional, but as I'm listening to this music, different things from my life hit the notes like magnets. It can feel meditative or very moving, sometimes both at once.
You should listen to more of Debussys music. He’s my all time favorite composer, many of his other lesser known pieces rival the beauty of Clair de lune. I’d suggest the Arabesque, 1 and 2 but 1 is what most people like better. Passepied is also gorgeous and so is the girl with the flaxen hair (L.117)
"Echoes of Clair de Lune" is ethereal. It made me think of if Debussy had composed his piece a hundred years later, with the jazz chords you so deftly wove into your melody. Just fantastic. Thanks for including it.
That postlude was ethereal. Clair de lune has become jaded to me, having heard it (and played it) so many times, but you've helped me hear it for the first time again.
Beautiful, intelligent, touching comments and analysis. I will never listen to an A flat in the same way again! 😃You always manage to create the perfect blend of serious and light-hearted descriptions of the music you gift us with. My favorite comment is the last one on the score: "Like making peace with where we came from"-isn't that what music is made for? Thank you
I am 78 years old, and I am not a musician. But I have always loved good music from the time I was a child and from the time I first heard this piece when I was a child I have loved it above all others. But now I love it even more because I now understand what I have been hearing and why I loved it so much and still do. Thank you so much and God bless you.
My music teacher once taught at a girl's school and they were all extremely stressed for the upcoming exams. A bunch of them came to her (she is so approachable because firstly she at the time must have been about 25 and also she is so trustworthy and understanding) and she played Clair de Lune for them, I'm not sure whether she played it herself or a recording, but that composer's voice from a hundred years ago moved every single one of them to tears.
Of the multitude of times hearing this popular piece, I’ve NEVER heard this piece played so evocatively, as if it were the first time I was hearing it!
My grandpa died a couple years ago and when I was driving with my brother and now sister-in-law from the church where we held the funeral to the burial site, this piece started playing in the car. When I heard it, I knew it sounded pretty, but it was so much more than that. This piece really sparked something inside of me, so with my grandma’s help (who’s married to the grandparent that died), I learned Clair de Lune. What I came to realize is that the song is, in a way, representative of a lifetime, wherein the birth of the piece has simple, fundamental chords that lay out the trajectory for the rest of the piece. Then the piece goes through puberty and flowers into a fulfillment of its true potential with beautiful and complex chord progressions. The piece then nears its end as it grows old and reflects on life, where it combines the original chords from the beginning of the piece with some chord progressions underneath. Then, the piece goes through a little more reflection and dies. What’s interesting is that I always thought that death was a terrible, morbid thing, yet in this piece, death is presumably bright and happy. I found that the reason death is actually portrayed as such a beautiful thing in this piece is because without death we’d always have tomorrow to do what’s important, to grow our relationships, to involve ourselves in a rich and meaningful life. But someday there won’t be a tomorrow, so we need to do what’s important now. I finally found peace in the eternal rest of my grandfather, for, just as the light of the moon is the greatness that can be found in the death of the day, all of the great things I can love about not only my grandpa but all of this universe is found through the inevitable end to our lives. Thanks, Debussy, for showing me that death is just as necessary as it is beautiful. I've already commented this on some other performances of clair de lune but I figured I may as well share it here too.
It is not only how we express ourselves when touched, it is how the fabric of our lives was sewn into each. I so enjoyed what came from within. Thank you. Very well conveyed. There is but a glimmer of light in all of us, sometimes when looking, our clarification can be found, appreciating once lost space in time for that of finding growth. The piece brings forth clarity of purpose within a spectrum of conveyance of mind, should the listener, artist first be of the understanding to which it was first written. Not all can conceive its identity, though in time, the fortnight of thought will allow. I have connected with you sir.
Ever since I found one of your videos, I've been binge watching practically all of them! I played Clair de Lune when I was 15 in front of music judges from the Academy of music where I was studying in Brussels Belgium. I won the first price, Nahre you have been giving me the incentive to buy a piano and start studying again, since my wife passed away a few years ago, this was her favorite composition that i always played for her. I am not certain about doing this and because I am retired, I am afraid that this would not be possible, I was a good pianist and played several piano concertos with orchestra when I was much younger. I believe now that it is never too late to start again. By the way, you rendition of this Debussy piece is the best I ever heard. Thanks for all your advices and wonderful playing.
It's definitely not too late to start again!! You'll very quickly remember again how to play, muscle memory stays with you forever. Please do this gift to yourself and start doing again what you enjoy
@@alexismandelias Thanks, I'm seriously thinking about it, it has been over 20 years since I played the piano, I'm sure it will come back, a friend just told me the other day, it's like riding a bicycle, you can't forget. LOL
When I started again in 2005, after a 20+ years absence, I couldn't even play a C major scale. Been playing every day since. Just part of my retirement life now.
Having an undying love for music, I have always wanted to play the piano. Running a business, earning a living and raising a family sort of got in the way. Now retired and free of other commitments, I have a piano, a place to practice, and a sympathetic teacher. I know at 83 years of age, I will never be an accomplished pianist, but the effort and the results are very much worthwhile.
I've been learning and practicing Claire de Lune for the past few months and I am playing it at a recital in a couple of weeks. This really helped me understand the piece and choices the composer made. I'm also into composing, so this is great. I believe this piece is a huge stepping stone in my learning and this video couldn't have come at a better time. So thank you! I love your content :)
Debussy is my favorite composer. The more I actually learn and play his pieces the more I realize how much a genius he was. Listening and admiring and actually understanding what and how he did it are two different things. Thanks for the video
You're such an amazing communicator. I'm a music lover, but not a musician. I was still able to follow your analysis, and much enjoyed your response piece!
I really like how you found the perfect words to describe each section with its own mini title. I often lack the vocabulary to express such things. Thank you!
Debussy's Clair de Lune is genius. And so is your illumination of why that is so. You've inspired me. And I think your "Echos" of the piece would have made Debussy smile and nod his head ups and down. Standing ovation here!
I truly believe that the Suite Bergamesque is one of the few truly perfect works of art. I've never listened to it without crying. How lucky we are to live after it was written.
When I first learned Clair de Lune, my wife was in the room while I was practicing and I noticed that she was crying. I stopped playing and asked if she was okay and what was wrong, and she said it was the music and asked me to play it again.. It’s a very strange feeling to feel pride for making someone you love cry! I can hardly think of a context outside of being a musician where that would happen.
My mother was a professional concert pianist and always had Clair de Lune ready to play as an encore. For a second encore she played Golliwog's Cake Walk which being a lighter song pretty well let the audience know it would be the last piece. I heard those pieces rehearsed MANY times. As a kid, I used to tell her that, to me, some of Claire de Lune sounded like "liquid music."
This is my favorite Nahre Sol video ever. I'm not a musician, but the way you describe music makes it so accessible. Claire de Lune is one of my favorite pieces of music, and you've brought me a whole new level of understanding.
The most beautiful piece of music ever written, IMO. I enjoyed your analysis, and your own complimentary composition at the end. You are a fabulous pianist!
It's such a perfect impressionist piece - almost all the features of Debussy's style are presented excellently - the accelerandos and ritardandos in the melodies, the syncopation, the interesting harmonic movement the open chord voicings, the beautiful coloration with extensions, the dynamics, the lovely arpeggios... it truly is a perennial favorite of mine. And even though he doesn't seem to be many people's favorite - I found Alexis Weissenberg's interpretations of Debussy to be extraordinarily beautiful. Your interpretation here was also very moving and immersive - brava! I never took as much note of how lovely the c-flat in measure 59 frames the b-flat in the next measure... your interpretation really brought it into the foreground. Not many of the interpretations I usually listen to have that accentuation as expressive with the rubato as yours. I like it! :) It's also such a "pianistic" piece that I never would have thought you could make really *really* good arrangements for other instruments - until I found James Edwards' arrangement for solo guitar (see e.g. here: ruclips.net/video/0_RnlOWmZD4/видео.html) - I was surprised how well it works.
I recall Debussy actually strongly objected to the use of the word "Impressionism" to describe his music. Similarly, he also didn't like his work in Suite Bergamasque thinking it did not reflect his true style. Yet, it's probably these pieces and this intrinsic link to impressionism that sticks the most with everyone. Truly fascinating stuff - we adore it whilst he could only see the flaws.
@@Jwm367t True - I recall reading about his distaste for the term "impressionism" as well. Didn't know he thought that way about the Suite Bergamasque though... interesting, thank you! It's a bit "death of the author" and "one's own worst critic". I mean - we might look at the other perennial favorite of his - Fille aux cheveux de lin. Similar use of accelerating and decelerating rythms, syncopation, extensive coloration, repetition of smaller motifs through registers, widely spaced chords, dynamics. And it is those qualities I think - the organic, dreamy, airy, sometimes wandering, sometimes wistful way the music flows and paints in pastels and greens that we associate with "impressionism", like Monet's Water Lillies. And after all - what are paradigmatic cultural cornerstones for those qualities in music if not these pieces - and maybe even another piece that isn't even technically/academically impressionist, but the harmonies and harmonic motions achieve the same effect with similar (though sparser) means: Satie's Gymnopédie No. 1 (whom Debussy called "the precursor" for a good reason).
About the 'pianicism' of this piece: there's an amazing orchestral transcription of Clair de Lune, played by the LSO and conducted by Stanley Black. You should give it a listen if you haven't yet!
I have to agree about the "pianistic" aspect: Debussy really makes the most of the percussion nature of the piano - the steady stream of notes is the raw material the dynamics of the piece are molded from. This wouldn't work very well with strings or other sustained-voice instruments. Though not my favorite style, it is clear he is a true master of his craft.
Wow, after all these years I never "heard" that incredible tone of continuity--Ab. One singular voice clearly informs this glistening gem of craftsmanship. It must have had a particular, extra-musical significance for Debussy. Personally, the entire piece will always be saturated with nostalgia, since my mother, one of the few adults in my childhood who appreciated classical music, loved this work. We always glanced at each other when the lovely, moonlit middle section ascended from some deep Jules-Verne seascape into the prosaic mid-20th-century.
I'm not a pianist, I'm just a guitarist. I love to play classical guitar pieces, such as Tarrega's compositions. However, a long time ago, I found a guitar arrangement of this piece in E, which obviously lacks a few things that the original composition has. Even though the guitar version is not the same, every time I've played this piece, it's so magical that I don't know how to explain it. It's like floating through the clouds, soothing, and relaxing. There are no problems or worries when the music exists. Without a doubt, Debussy was a great genius and composer.
I’ve listened to Clair de Lune for most of the 61 years I’ve been alive and it’s still my favourite piece of music by my favourite composer. My life would not been complete without Clair de Lune in it. Thank you for a spellbinding breakdown and a beautifully composed postscript piece.
Being a music lay person, I like the way you walked us through this important piece. The concept of Theme & variation I often see in art and architecture often evades me in a 3 minute composition if I don't pay attention. You played this Clair de Lune so wonderfully!
I just stumbled upon Evgeny Kissin’s rendition last week and it became my favorite rendition. His interpretation is perfectly metered and not rushed yet not boring. Yours is just as delightful especially with the insight of the notations.
I recently listened to his and it's become one of my favorites as well! For anyone interested some incredible interpretations are by Richter, Kissin, Seong-Jin Cho, Samson Francois, Gieseking, Moravec, and Antonio Pompa-Baldi. Pompa-Baldi's performance of the whole Suite Bergamasque here on YT is an absolute masterpiece and gem.
As someone who has played guitar by ear for 45 yrs and is finally learning some music theory in his 6 decade of existence I want to thank you for helping me understand what I'm listening to. I'm at a point where I have enough theory to benefit from your videos, and enjoy them tremendously.
It's incredible the depth to which Nahre analyzes this timeless classic. Also hugely applause her creation of a followup piece that indeed produces a pleasant echoing effect to the original
I love how you explain the music, annotate so we can see what you talked about as the song plays, then share your talent by adding your own interpretation to the piece with a beautiful Postlude. Thank you for making it so easy to tune into what you are communicating. Very enjoyable to watch/listen 🙌🎹💖
It’s joyful, it’s sad, it’s romantic, it’s hopeful, it’s loss. This piece makes me cry every time it’s so beautiful. It’s a piece that takes you through an entire life’s journey. I told my friend that this piece is what I want to play at my funeral.
I love your Echos piece at the end, it ties this whole video together wonderfully. Thank you for the chord analysis of Clair de Lune, it helps me as I'm currently learning this piece.
Thank you for sharing this, Nahre. Your rendition and postlude is beautiful. Claude Debussy's Clair de Lune always made me feel some type of way - A dreamlike state. Wishing of a simpler time. A bit of sadness and longing. Beautiful memories. More melancholy.
Nahre. I’ve listened to this several times. Your beautiful postlude captures the longing emotion in it’s echo. I absolutely love this piece by Debussy. It never fails to carry me away to a very wonderful place with eyes closed as a glorious panoply of colors envelope my heart. Your postlude is absolutely fitting neither distracting from nor adding to but, could have been included by the composer himself as so much more than an afterthought. A longing echo as one departs with a touch of sadness from a beautiful dream while yet lingers the promise of return. Wonderful Nahre. You’ve beautifully done justice to this poetic piece.
It always seems to me that great music is predictable and unpredictable at the same time - so as it progresses (and, of course, it only exists in time), one is satisfied while being pleasantly surprised. Thank you for giving us this beautiful piece and playing it so beautifully.❤
Thank you for vocalizing what many of us undoubtedly felt about the fragments of this masterpiece, but did not have the words to express. At 75 now, I have adored and admired this piece for a good 6 decades. It never gets old; it always seems to speak anew. Fred
I've always viewed this piece as 'narrating' a walk through woodland on a moonlit night and discovering a beautifully, softly lit glade. For me Debussy's music expresses that moment of enchanted revelation better than anything I can imagine. So close to being my favourite and forever cherished.
What a wonderful explanation of this, my favourite piece of piano music. Thank you so very much, Nahre, for your video and, in particular, your ‘Echoes’ composition towards the end of this video - such a beautiful composition of your own. Brilliant. I am so envious of your talented playing. The one thing I would very much like to have my life over again for, is to be able to play piano like this, especially ‘Clare de Lune’. Thank you so very much for posting. Warm regards from the Giant’s Causeway Coast of Northern Ireland. 😀👏☘️
Truly beautiful playing and so intelligently analysed. I really appreciated such loving understanding of such a beautiful piece! Your original piece paid such homage to Debussy, and is beautiful in its own right. Thank you.
I wrote this a year ago, in a post relating to the music..."When I listen to this music, as joyful as it makes me to hear it...where the beginning and most of it is this dream, and beautiful...a vision of a young woman dancing in a life that should have been...at about 4:10 in with the key change down, the entire piece transforms and the whole of it becomes a requiem for all the things I never had a chance to do, and the years spinning away as I held off from trying."
This video as well as the original piece is ridiculously beautiful. Thanks for bringing a lot of new things into something I have been listening to for years but still manages to bring me the most intense emotion every single time.
That was unexpectedly one of the best versions of Clair de Lune I've heard. Like, there are so many great renditions out there and you never expect to find a new favorite, but this is just amazing.
I was very suprised to hear you being mentioned on the radio some days ago. Someone at NRK, Norwegian state broadcasting corporation(i think), found your "flowers" video interesting enough to make a bit about it. Just wanted to let you know
Nahre, your analyses, musicality and creatively are genius. Your understanding of the music is so evident in your performances and compositions! Bravo!
I came to love this piece from hearing it in the Oceans 11, 12, 13 films, - and it's still my favorite classical piece - especially Isao Tomita's version he made with a Moog which is used during the end of Oceans 13. Thank you for this! I love being able to see what the notes are as you play.
Ha! I love Tomita's synthesizer version (and his whole Debussy album)! My wife, a music major graduate with an emphasis on piano performance cannot stand Tomita 🤣! Tomita is my guilty pleasure! 😂😂😂
I still tear up a bit bc it takes me back to the first time I encountered classical music. I remember vividly when I was about 10 years old. I heard a mesmerizing melody on a tv commercial…used to wait all day for it to pop up so I can hear that melody again. I kept playing it in my head ,fantasized about it, memorized the sound of it, it captured my soul. Later when I grew up I searched everywhere for it and it was Clair de lune. So enchanting 🤍
If I was forced to pick one, Debussy is probably my favorite classical composer and I've heard many different interpretations of Clair de Lune over the years, but your interpretation was pretty much perfect to me! Your pacing is not too fast or slow, but just savors every single shimmery note. I also love your postlude. Thanks so much for this!
Listening again 6 days later Nahre. BEAUTIFUL. WELL DONE. Your postlude is especially poignant and beautiful. Ethereal sensitivity. Claire DeLune has long been my favorite piece of music 🎼. Thank you so much for sharing this along with the breakdown of it’s composition. It truly is Debussy’s enduring masterpiece.
Nahre, your performance of claire de lune was masterfully done. And your encore echo after piece was also incredibly beautiful. What a monumental accomplishment...to add to such a perfect composition but you pulled it off exquisitely! Sharing this with my 10 year old son who also appreciates this piece and composes so he can hear your analysis. Thank you 😊
When my teenage daughter was sick in the hospital, this hauntingly ethereal tune came into my dreams! As her body was battling an auto-immune disorder, she was like a beautiful butterfly whose wings became weighted down trying soooo hard to fly. Eventually in the dream, she was able to fly again....in real life she did fly again, married a wonderful young man and has two gorgeous children now.....thank G-d.
I sure wish we had videos like this (& instructors like you!) when I went through music school in the 70s. Love the postlude! If I didn't know the connection, I still heard the influence of Debussy. Thank you!
Very nice analysis. The prominence of the pedal Ab and the syncopated melody.. you went straight to the compositional elements, the mechanical techniques, that create the "feel", the imaginary "world" that great music invokes.
I had hoped that you might spend a minute comparing the normal interpretations with his timing from the roll version that Debussy played when he was alive. You did a beautiful job composing your version that came after the original piece. The very last note drove me crazy that it did not go back down; which was probably your intent. Wonderful video.
"Echoes of Clair De Lune" is very beautiful. You communicate your love for Debussy so well through it. I've played this piece for years and now you've given me ideas on how to improve it. Best Regards
Clair de Lune is my absolute favorite classical piece of all time. It never gets old, it's incredibly beautifully composed, and there are so many incredible ways to interpret it, and your interpretation is just gorgeous~
Clair de Lune draws you in, in subtle ways with delicate sadness and unfathomable melancholy in the celebration of life and love while recognizing its fragility. It is truly bittersweet.
You just brought this most haunting and emotional piece back to my memory, together with the name and its composer - Debussy. ❤❤❤ Thank you for taking your time with it. Allowing us to marinate in its sentiment and expression. Great video as always.
I don't remember how I came across this piece about two years ago. However, when I came across this piece, I felt seen and understood. I cried then and still cry whenever I come across this piece. I've cried even while listening to some other piano pieces but none of them fill me up as this one. Also, I got into a conundrum when I came across Chopin's Ballade No. 4 because that was a piece of a kind that I hadn't heard in a while, and on top of that I had already put Clair de Lune on the pedestal of my classical piano pieces list. However, I again concluded that Clair de Lune fills in the gaps of my soul that would never be filled completely by any person on this planet (ok, who knows!?) or any other piano piece.
That second big building arpeggio section is my favorite. It just sounds like water and colors and lights. I grew up around classical and Clair de Lune, Firebird and Rite of Spring have been my favorites for decades.
Thank you, Clair de Lune is one of my favorite pieces and your interpretation was so incredibly beautiful that I was barely breathing in the end, it was really special
I'm a 76 yr old guy, Engineer, advanced piddler organist, cat lover and have beat the Widowmaker thrice. Some refer to me as a crusty old fart. Now this morning as I have my coffee, I encounter this video. And my wife wants to know why I am crying. The beauty of the music, your incredibly sensitive interpretation, and the memories this brings are overwhelming. I know Maestro Debussy is pleased. Thank you so much. Twic, nay, thrice.
Very nice original composition that does honour to its inspiration. To me, it brings to mind an even calmer vibe, gentler swells, clear Mediterranean ocean, a small yacht gently rising and falling in the moonlight, its inhabitants now rocked to sleep, sleeping gulls bobbing on soft rises and falls a few hundred yards from the coast, with everything safe and comforting. Lovely work. Downloading.
I love playing this piece. It can change the atmosphere of a room like nothing else. Beauty, mystery, melancholy, longing. It tells a story with music, but no story ever comes to mind because the music is so "complete" and without flaw that is defies your attempts to add anything to it. And that one grace note! There's got to be some meaning to it.
![5 Minutes On... Debussy - Clair de Lune | Daniel Barenboim [subtitulado]](/img/1.gif)
*Discover Apple Music Classical, the streaming service for classical music here apple.co/NahreSol and enjoy 1 month for free if you are a new subscriber to Apple Music!
00:00 Intro
02:07 Number 1
03:39 Number 2
04:59 Number 3
06:36 Performance/Analysis of Debussy's "Clair de Lune"
12:00 Performance of my Postlude "Echoes of Clair de Lune"
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I've been waiting for apple music classical for DECADES it feels like. I love this video in particular btw. ;)
Anyone that watches this video needs to search for "magic moon" by the rays here on RUclips. See what they did with this gorgeous melody.
This seems to be the fruits of them acquiring the Primephonic service not long ago.
@@Dparrey Unfortunately they did not go on with the more fair payment system to artists Primephonic used to have.
It's easy to forget, given its popularity, how special this piece is.
Well said
Exactly
I really don't see how you could forget that.
@@IAm7 like getting so used to hearing it that you forget to pay attention to the details
And Ms Sol is the ideal person to explain why. Yet again she is able to describe highly technical issues with clarity and precision without ever losing sight of the emotional meaning of the piece. To paraphrase, given her popularity, it is easy to forget how special she is.
After a lifetime (now 78 years old) of playing the piano, working as an organist, singing with an opera company, I learn such a lot from your videos. You are a blessing.
Humility makes us able to learn more...and even be surprised by gifts like these...GBY
That’s awesome man!
Beautiful
Oh, this is one of the most beatiful comments on internet, this abstract place load with hate!
I've always said, if I were to pick the one piece of music to send to another world to show them what humanity is like, how we feel, this would be the song.
And yet, just a sliver of the kaleidoscopic human condition.
This or the Rach 2
i would send schoenberg's pierrot lunaire
It isn't a song.
@@finlybenyunes8385 i guess technically yes but i think it falls under 'piece' given the context of what theyre talking about.
My wife graduated college with a piano performance degree (but didn't pursue a music career), and occasionally (all too seldom) will sit down at her Steinway and play Clair de Lune. I can be upstairs in my library/workspace and as soon as I hear her I stop whatever I'm doing and listen and just enjoy the moment!! ❤❤❤❤
The older I get, the more Debussy becomes one of my very favorite composers. This was wonderful, and I loved your composition.
For my grade 8 'cello, I learned the sonata for 'cello and piano. Before that, I hadn't really paid attention to Debussy but learning that piece educated me
Debussy is depressing and doesn't help recover from it.
I only listen to it when I'm sad.
Why do you think as yiu get older you like it mor
@Leif (not OP but) Personally, as I get older, I have more moments and events that connect to these compositions. It isn't intentional, but as I'm listening to this music, different things from my life hit the notes like magnets.
It can feel meditative or very moving, sometimes both at once.
Yes.
Out of all the millions of songs, of all times, of all composers, Clair de Lune is what I consider THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SONG OF ALL TIME.
You should listen to more of Debussys music. He’s my all time favorite composer, many of his other lesser known pieces rival the beauty of Clair de lune. I’d suggest the Arabesque, 1 and 2 but 1 is what most people like better. Passepied is also gorgeous and so is the girl with the flaxen hair (L.117)
it never fails to amaze me how such a beautiful thing can even exist
Une barque sur L'Ocean by Ravel
I have said something similar - the most beautiful piece for the piano.
morning Glory by Tim Buckley exists. also the Johannes passions by Bach exist
"Echoes of Clair de Lune" is ethereal. It made me think of if Debussy had composed his piece a hundred years later, with the jazz chords you so deftly wove into your melody. Just fantastic. Thanks for including it.
That postlude was ethereal. Clair de lune has become jaded to me, having heard it (and played it) so many times, but you've helped me hear it for the first time again.
I wasn’t ready to cry today
Same it's just so beautiful it can't be helped
Me neither :')
My favorite classical piece. It doesn't seem possible that a human being could have created this.
I've thought the very same thing multiple times. It was as if he was inspired by something outside his own existence.
Only a human being open enough for God to play through them - even if they didn't know.
Beautiful, intelligent, touching comments and analysis. I will never listen to an A flat in the same way again! 😃You always manage to create the perfect blend of serious and light-hearted descriptions of the music you gift us with. My favorite comment is the last one on the score: "Like making peace with where we came from"-isn't that what music is made for? Thank you
🙏 Great comment.
Tears
Blah
I am 78 years old, and I am not a musician. But I have always loved good music from the time I was a child and from the time I first heard this piece when I was a child I have loved it above all others. But now I love it even more because I now understand what I have been hearing and why I loved it so much and still do. Thank you so much and God bless you.
Livia, you can learn any instrument now, the age or the time don't matter. "it's never too late to learn"
That postlude is BEAUTIFUL. Incredible work
My music teacher once taught at a girl's school and they were all extremely stressed for the upcoming exams. A bunch of them came to her (she is so approachable because firstly she at the time must have been about 25 and also she is so trustworthy and understanding) and she played Clair de Lune for them, I'm not sure whether she played it herself or a recording, but that composer's voice from a hundred years ago moved every single one of them to tears.
Of the multitude of times hearing this popular piece, I’ve NEVER heard this piece played so evocatively, as if it were the first time I was hearing it!
My grandpa died a couple years ago and when I was driving with my brother and now sister-in-law from the church where we held the funeral to the burial site, this piece started playing in the car. When I heard it, I knew it sounded pretty, but it was so much more than that. This piece really sparked something inside of me, so with my grandma’s help (who’s married to the grandparent that died), I learned Clair de Lune. What I came to realize is that the song is, in a way, representative of a lifetime, wherein the birth of the piece has simple, fundamental chords that lay out the trajectory for the rest of the piece. Then the piece goes through puberty and flowers into a fulfillment of its true potential with beautiful and complex chord progressions. The piece then nears its end as it grows old and reflects on life, where it combines the original chords from the beginning of the piece with some chord progressions underneath. Then, the piece goes through a little more reflection and dies. What’s interesting is that I always thought that death was a terrible, morbid thing, yet in this piece, death is presumably bright and happy. I found that the reason death is actually portrayed as such a beautiful thing in this piece is because without death we’d always have tomorrow to do what’s important, to grow our relationships, to involve ourselves in a rich and meaningful life. But someday there won’t be a tomorrow, so we need to do what’s important now. I finally found peace in the eternal rest of my grandfather, for, just as the light of the moon is the greatness that can be found in the death of the day, all of the great things I can love about not only my grandpa but all of this universe is found through the inevitable end to our lives. Thanks, Debussy, for showing me that death is just as necessary as it is beautiful.
I've already commented this on some other performances of clair de lune but I figured I may as well share it here too.
This is beautiful. I'm so glad I read this, thanks for writing it.
I feel richer and more at peace for having read this. Thank you. :)
An apropos and timeless comment, much appreciated.
one of the most beautiful comments ever
It is not only how we express ourselves when touched, it is how the fabric of our lives was sewn into each. I so enjoyed what came from within. Thank you. Very well conveyed.
There is but a glimmer of light in all of us, sometimes when looking, our clarification can be found, appreciating once lost space in time for that of finding growth. The piece brings forth clarity of purpose within a spectrum of conveyance of mind, should the listener, artist first be of the understanding to which it was first written. Not all can conceive its identity, though in time, the fortnight of thought will allow.
I have connected with you sir.
Ever since I found one of your videos, I've been binge watching practically all of them! I played Clair de Lune when I was 15 in front of music judges from the Academy of music where I was studying in Brussels Belgium. I won the first price, Nahre you have been giving me the incentive to buy a piano and start studying again, since my wife passed away a few years ago, this was her favorite composition that i always played for her. I am not certain about doing this and because I am retired, I am afraid that this would not be possible, I was a good pianist and played several piano concertos with orchestra when I was much younger. I believe now that it is never too late to start again. By the way, you rendition of this Debussy piece is the best I ever heard. Thanks for all your advices and wonderful playing.
It's definitely not too late to start again!! You'll very quickly remember again how to play, muscle memory stays with you forever. Please do this gift to yourself and start doing again what you enjoy
@@alexismandelias Thanks, I'm seriously thinking about it, it has been over 20 years since I played the piano, I'm sure it will come back, a friend just told me the other day, it's like riding a bicycle, you can't forget. LOL
Do it! Dive back in, you won't regret it.
When I started again in 2005, after a 20+ years absence, I couldn't even play a C major scale. Been playing every day since. Just part of my retirement life now.
Having an undying love for music, I have always wanted to play the piano. Running a business, earning a living and raising a family sort of got in the way. Now retired and free of other commitments, I have a piano, a place to practice, and a sympathetic teacher. I know at 83 years of age, I will never be an accomplished pianist, but the effort and the results are very much worthwhile.
I've been learning and practicing Claire de Lune for the past few months and I am playing it at a recital in a couple of weeks. This really helped me understand the piece and choices the composer made. I'm also into composing, so this is great. I believe this piece is a huge stepping stone in my learning and this video couldn't have come at a better time. So thank you! I love your content :)
How did your recital go?
@@PaulieDC It went so so well! :0) I am really happy with how I did
Debussy is my favorite composer. The more I actually learn and play his pieces the more I realize how much a genius he was. Listening and admiring and actually understanding what and how he did it are two different things. Thanks for the video
You're such an amazing communicator. I'm a music lover, but not a musician. I was still
able to follow your analysis, and much enjoyed your response piece!
very well, said...you do not need to be a musician to love music.
being called the bussy is crazy
You made me snort out milk
I really like how you found the perfect words to describe each section with its own mini title. I often lack the vocabulary to express such things. Thank you!
I recently started practicing again and currently working on this piece, it's such a timeless classic, simply gorgeous.
Debussy's Clair de Lune is genius. And so is your illumination of why that is so. You've inspired me. And I think your "Echos" of the piece would have made Debussy smile and nod his head ups and down. Standing ovation here!
I truly believe that the Suite Bergamesque is one of the few truly perfect works of art. I've never listened to it without crying. How lucky we are to live after it was written.
Have you listened to 'pour le piano'? It overtook the suite Bergamasque as my favourite Debussy collection.
When I first learned Clair de Lune, my wife was in the room while I was practicing and I noticed that she was crying. I stopped playing and asked if she was okay and what was wrong, and she said it was the music and asked me to play it again.. It’s a very strange feeling to feel pride for making someone you love cry! I can hardly think of a context outside of being a musician where that would happen.
My mother was a professional concert pianist and always had Clair de Lune ready to play as an encore. For a second encore she played Golliwog's Cake Walk which being a lighter song pretty well let the audience know it would be the last piece. I heard those pieces rehearsed MANY times. As a kid, I used to tell her that, to me, some of Claire de Lune sounded like "liquid music."
😇
This is my favorite Nahre Sol video ever. I'm not a musician, but the way you describe music makes it so accessible. Claire de Lune is one of my favorite pieces of music, and you've brought me a whole new level of understanding.
The most beautiful piece of music ever written, IMO. I enjoyed your analysis, and your own complimentary composition at the end. You are a fabulous pianist!
It's such a perfect impressionist piece - almost all the features of Debussy's style are presented excellently - the accelerandos and ritardandos in the melodies, the syncopation, the interesting harmonic movement the open chord voicings, the beautiful coloration with extensions, the dynamics, the lovely arpeggios... it truly is a perennial favorite of mine.
And even though he doesn't seem to be many people's favorite - I found Alexis Weissenberg's interpretations of Debussy to be extraordinarily beautiful.
Your interpretation here was also very moving and immersive - brava! I never took as much note of how lovely the c-flat in measure 59 frames the b-flat in the next measure... your interpretation really brought it into the foreground. Not many of the interpretations I usually listen to have that accentuation as expressive with the rubato as yours. I like it! :)
It's also such a "pianistic" piece that I never would have thought you could make really *really* good arrangements for other instruments - until I found James Edwards' arrangement for solo guitar (see e.g. here: ruclips.net/video/0_RnlOWmZD4/видео.html) - I was surprised how well it works.
I recall Debussy actually strongly objected to the use of the word "Impressionism" to describe his music. Similarly, he also didn't like his work in Suite Bergamasque thinking it did not reflect his true style. Yet, it's probably these pieces and this intrinsic link to impressionism that sticks the most with everyone. Truly fascinating stuff - we adore it whilst he could only see the flaws.
@@Jwm367t True - I recall reading about his distaste for the term "impressionism" as well. Didn't know he thought that way about the Suite Bergamasque though... interesting, thank you!
It's a bit "death of the author" and "one's own worst critic". I mean - we might look at the other perennial favorite of his - Fille aux cheveux de lin. Similar use of accelerating and decelerating rythms, syncopation, extensive coloration, repetition of smaller motifs through registers, widely spaced chords, dynamics.
And it is those qualities I think - the organic, dreamy, airy, sometimes wandering, sometimes wistful way the music flows and paints in pastels and greens that we associate with "impressionism", like Monet's Water Lillies.
And after all - what are paradigmatic cultural cornerstones for those qualities in music if not these pieces - and maybe even another piece that isn't even technically/academically impressionist, but the harmonies and harmonic motions achieve the same effect with similar (though sparser) means: Satie's Gymnopédie No. 1 (whom Debussy called "the precursor" for a good reason).
About the 'pianicism' of this piece: there's an amazing orchestral transcription of Clair de Lune, played by the LSO and conducted by Stanley Black. You should give it a listen if you haven't yet!
@@DumblyDorr and sadly, many people plays it in a romantic manner
I have to agree about the "pianistic" aspect: Debussy really makes the most of the percussion nature of the piano - the steady stream of notes is the raw material the dynamics of the piece are molded from. This wouldn't work very well with strings or other sustained-voice instruments. Though not my favorite style, it is clear he is a true master of his craft.
Wow, after all these years I never "heard" that incredible tone of continuity--Ab. One singular voice clearly informs this glistening gem of craftsmanship. It must have had a particular, extra-musical significance for Debussy. Personally, the entire piece will always be saturated with nostalgia, since my mother, one of the few adults in my childhood who appreciated classical music, loved this work. We always glanced at each other when the lovely, moonlit middle section ascended from some deep Jules-Verne seascape into the prosaic mid-20th-century.
I'm not a pianist, I'm just a guitarist. I love to play classical guitar pieces, such as Tarrega's compositions. However, a long time ago, I found a guitar arrangement of this piece in E, which obviously lacks a few things that the original composition has. Even though the guitar version is not the same, every time I've played this piece, it's so magical that I don't know how to explain it. It's like floating through the clouds, soothing, and relaxing. There are no problems or worries when the music exists. Without a doubt, Debussy was a great genius and composer.
I’ve listened to Clair de Lune for most of the 61 years I’ve been alive and it’s still my favourite piece of music by my favourite composer. My life would not been complete without Clair de Lune in it.
Thank you for a spellbinding breakdown and a beautifully composed postscript piece.
Being a music lay person, I like the way you walked us through this important piece. The concept of Theme & variation I often see in art and architecture often evades me in a 3 minute composition if I don't pay attention. You played this Clair de Lune so wonderfully!
Great vid! And your own original piece at the end was absolutely beautiful 🙂
I just stumbled upon Evgeny Kissin’s rendition last week and it became my favorite rendition. His interpretation is perfectly metered and not rushed yet not boring.
Yours is just as delightful especially with the insight of the notations.
I recently listened to his and it's become one of my favorites as well! For anyone interested some incredible interpretations are by Richter, Kissin, Seong-Jin Cho, Samson Francois, Gieseking, Moravec, and Antonio Pompa-Baldi. Pompa-Baldi's performance of the whole Suite Bergamasque here on YT is an absolute masterpiece and gem.
You can hear Debussy himself play it (possibly not his though)
As someone who has played guitar by ear for 45 yrs and is finally learning some music theory in his 6 decade of existence I want to thank you for helping me understand what I'm listening to. I'm at a point where I have enough theory to benefit from your videos, and enjoy them tremendously.
Enchanting, Nahre. The annotations add so much to the listening experience.
It's incredible the depth to which Nahre analyzes this timeless classic. Also hugely applause her creation of a followup piece that indeed produces a pleasant echoing effect to the original
I love how you explain the music, annotate so we can see what you talked about as the song plays, then share your talent by adding your own interpretation to the piece with a beautiful Postlude. Thank you for making it so easy to tune into what you are communicating. Very enjoyable to watch/listen 🙌🎹💖
You break everything down in such a simplified manner, but the composition is still complex. Thank you for your amazing videos!!!
probably the most beautiful piece of music ever written
It’s joyful, it’s sad, it’s romantic, it’s hopeful, it’s loss. This piece makes me cry every time it’s so beautiful.
It’s a piece that takes you through an entire life’s journey.
I told my friend that this piece is what I want to play at my funeral.
I love your Echos piece at the end, it ties this whole video together wonderfully. Thank you for the chord analysis of Clair de Lune, it helps me as I'm currently learning this piece.
Thank you for sharing this, Nahre. Your rendition and postlude is beautiful.
Claude Debussy's Clair de Lune always made me feel some type of way - A dreamlike state. Wishing of a simpler time. A bit of sadness and longing. Beautiful memories. More melancholy.
The way that I describe Debussy: "He was an artist that painted with sound."
Nahre. I’ve listened to this several times. Your beautiful postlude captures the longing emotion in it’s echo. I absolutely love this piece by Debussy. It never fails to carry me away to a very wonderful place with eyes closed as a glorious panoply of colors envelope my heart. Your postlude is absolutely fitting neither distracting from nor adding to but, could have been included by the composer himself as so much more than an afterthought. A longing echo as one departs with a touch of sadness from a beautiful dream while yet lingers the promise of return. Wonderful Nahre. You’ve beautifully done justice to this poetic piece.
It always seems to me that great music is predictable and unpredictable at the same time - so as it progresses (and, of course, it only exists in time), one is satisfied while being pleasantly surprised. Thank you for giving us this beautiful piece and playing it so beautifully.❤
Thank you for vocalizing what many of us undoubtedly felt about the fragments of this masterpiece, but did not have the words to express.
At 75 now, I have adored and admired this piece for a good 6 decades. It never gets old; it always seems to speak anew.
Fred
I cannot listen to this piece anymore. I know tears will ensue.
I have always loved his music.
It's like a fairy tale where everyone is happy, respected and understood.
This is how I see Debussy's world.
I've always viewed this piece as 'narrating' a walk through woodland on a moonlit night and discovering a beautifully, softly lit glade. For me Debussy's music expresses that moment of enchanted revelation better than anything I can imagine. So close to being my favourite and forever cherished.
My favorite piano piece. My kind of Nahre Sol content.
Debussy, first jazz keyboard player
What a wonderful explanation of this, my favourite piece of piano music. Thank you so very much, Nahre, for your video and, in particular, your ‘Echoes’ composition towards the end of this video - such a beautiful composition of your own. Brilliant. I am so envious of your talented playing. The one thing I would very much like to have my life over again for, is to be able to play piano like this, especially ‘Clare de Lune’. Thank you so very much for posting. Warm regards from the Giant’s Causeway Coast of Northern Ireland. 😀👏☘️
Truly beautiful playing and so intelligently analysed. I really appreciated such loving understanding of such a beautiful piece! Your original piece paid such homage to Debussy, and is beautiful in its own right. Thank you.
certainly one of THE greatest and encouragingly warm melodies ever written. thank you for the lesson (with far clearer note instructions). Nice
I wrote this a year ago, in a post relating to the music..."When I listen to this music, as joyful as it makes me to hear it...where the beginning and most of it is this dream, and beautiful...a vision of a young woman dancing in a life that should have been...at about 4:10 in with the key change down, the entire piece transforms and the whole of it becomes a requiem for all the things I never had a chance to do, and the years spinning away as I held off from trying."
This video as well as the original piece is ridiculously beautiful. Thanks for bringing a lot of new things into something I have been listening to for years but still manages to bring me the most intense emotion every single time.
that flat 7 at 59 feels like being shocked back into reality, recognizing that it was all a memory, leading into the following acquiescence
It's so beautiful I'm still bawling my eyes out while writing this. You do it justice.
That was unexpectedly one of the best versions of Clair de Lune I've heard. Like, there are so many great renditions out there and you never expect to find a new favorite, but this is just amazing.
I was very suprised to hear you being mentioned on the radio some days ago. Someone at NRK, Norwegian state broadcasting corporation(i think), found your "flowers" video interesting enough to make a bit about it. Just wanted to let you know
Nahre, your analyses, musicality and creatively are genius. Your understanding of the music is so evident in your performances and compositions! Bravo!
I came to love this piece from hearing it in the Oceans 11, 12, 13 films, - and it's still my favorite classical piece - especially Isao Tomita's version he made with a Moog which is used during the end of Oceans 13. Thank you for this! I love being able to see what the notes are as you play.
Ha! I love Tomita's synthesizer version (and his whole Debussy album)! My wife, a music major graduate with an emphasis on piano performance cannot stand Tomita 🤣! Tomita is my guilty pleasure! 😂😂😂
I still tear up a bit bc it takes me back to the first time I encountered classical music. I remember vividly when I was about 10 years old. I heard a mesmerizing melody on a tv commercial…used to wait all day for it to pop up so I can hear that melody again. I kept playing it in my head ,fantasized about it, memorized the sound of it, it captured my soul. Later when I grew up I searched everywhere for it and it was Clair de lune. So enchanting 🤍
Bravo. Fantastic rendition.
If I was forced to pick one, Debussy is probably my favorite classical composer and I've heard many different interpretations of Clair de Lune over the years, but your interpretation was pretty much perfect to me! Your pacing is not too fast or slow, but just savors every single shimmery note. I also love your postlude. Thanks so much for this!
Wow! Echoes of Clair de Lune is breathtaking!
Listening again 6 days later Nahre. BEAUTIFUL. WELL DONE. Your postlude is especially poignant and beautiful. Ethereal sensitivity. Claire DeLune has long been my favorite piece of music 🎼. Thank you so much for sharing this along with the breakdown of it’s composition. It truly is Debussy’s enduring masterpiece.
Debussy was a true genius! You played it so beautifully!
Nahre, your performance of claire de lune was masterfully done. And your encore echo after piece was also incredibly beautiful. What a monumental accomplishment...to add to such a perfect composition but you pulled it off exquisitely! Sharing this with my 10 year old son who also appreciates this piece and composes so he can hear your analysis. Thank you 😊
When my teenage daughter was sick in the hospital, this hauntingly ethereal tune came into my dreams! As her body was battling an auto-immune disorder, she was like a beautiful butterfly whose wings became weighted down trying soooo hard to fly. Eventually in the dream, she was able to fly again....in real life she did fly again, married a wonderful young man and has two gorgeous children now.....thank G-d.
I sure wish we had videos like this (& instructors like you!) when I went through music school in the 70s. Love the postlude! If I didn't know the connection, I still heard the influence of Debussy. Thank you!
I admire your ability to distill each movement of this piece into the perfect words
Very inspirational. I love how you analyze the music and highlight points often missed by many when learning to play a piece. This is great!
Very nice analysis. The prominence of the pedal Ab and the syncopated melody.. you went straight to the compositional elements, the mechanical techniques, that create the "feel", the imaginary "world" that great music invokes.
Great job, Nahre! Amazing analysis of this piece and lovely performance. Really enjoyed your postlude, too!
That postlude was beautiful! I love that you can recognize elements of the original, but it’s toned down. Excellent follow-up!
I had hoped that you might spend a minute comparing the normal interpretations with his timing from the roll version that Debussy played when he was alive.
You did a beautiful job composing your version that came after the original piece. The very last note drove me crazy that it did not go back down; which was probably your intent.
Wonderful video.
"Echoes of Clair De Lune" is very beautiful. You communicate your love for Debussy so well through it. I've played this piece for years and now you've given me ideas on how to improve it. Best Regards
Clair de Lune is my absolute favorite classical piece of all time. It never gets old, it's incredibly beautifully composed, and there are so many incredible ways to interpret it, and your interpretation is just gorgeous~
This was my mom's favorite piece to play when I was kid. Hearing you play it gets me very choked up. Your touch is amazing.
Debussy really was next level. Wonderful performance & explanation into the nuance of the piece. Loved your echo composition too 👌
Clair de Lune draws you in, in subtle ways with delicate sadness and unfathomable melancholy in the celebration of life and love while recognizing its fragility. It is truly bittersweet.
You just brought this most haunting and emotional piece back to my memory, together with the name and its composer - Debussy. ❤❤❤
Thank you for taking your time with it. Allowing us to marinate in its sentiment and expression.
Great video as always.
I don't remember how I came across this piece about two years ago. However, when I came across this piece, I felt seen and understood. I cried then and still cry whenever I come across this piece. I've cried even while listening to some other piano pieces but none of them fill me up as this one. Also, I got into a conundrum when I came across Chopin's Ballade No. 4 because that was a piece of a kind that I hadn't heard in a while, and on top of that I had already put Clair de Lune on the pedestal of my classical piano pieces list. However, I again concluded that Clair de Lune fills in the gaps of my soul that would never be filled completely by any person on this planet (ok, who knows!?) or any other piano piece.
you're improv interpretation at the end was so touching. it really inspired me to reignite my passion for the piano, thank you nahre!
That second big building arpeggio section is my favorite. It just sounds like water and colors and lights.
I grew up around classical and Clair de Lune, Firebird and Rite of Spring have been my favorites for decades.
Something magical about this piece. Very well done Nahre. Thank you for the beauty, enchantment, and perfection.
This is my favorite classical piece, it has such movement, texture, dynamics and harmony.
Thank you, Clair de Lune is one of my favorite pieces and your interpretation was so incredibly beautiful that I was barely breathing in the end, it was really special
I'm a 76 yr old guy, Engineer, advanced piddler organist, cat lover and have beat the Widowmaker thrice. Some refer to me as a crusty old fart. Now this morning as I have my coffee, I encounter this video. And my wife wants to know why I am crying. The beauty of the music, your incredibly sensitive interpretation, and the memories this brings are overwhelming. I know Maestro Debussy is pleased. Thank you so much. Twic, nay, thrice.
Very nice original composition that does honour to its inspiration. To me, it brings to mind an even calmer vibe, gentler swells, clear Mediterranean ocean, a small yacht gently rising and falling in the moonlight, its inhabitants now rocked to sleep, sleeping gulls bobbing on soft rises and falls a few hundred yards from the coast, with everything safe and comforting. Lovely work. Downloading.
That postlude was stunning. Thank you for sharing!
As with all your output, this is enchanting as well as profoundly thought-provoking. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I love playing this piece. It can change the atmosphere of a room like nothing else. Beauty, mystery, melancholy, longing. It tells a story with music, but no story ever comes to mind because the music is so "complete" and without flaw that is defies your attempts to add anything to it. And that one grace note! There's got to be some meaning to it.
Amazing! Loved performing this one. And the first arabesque as well
i’m usually super lost when i listen to people talk about music theory but this made perfect sense
thank you for your performance and especially the beautiful annotations which really helped me appreciate the music more ❤️