Bruyères, No. 5: Violin Solo with Piano

Unlike Bach and Chopin, Claude Debussy (1862-1918) wrote his twenty-four Préludes for solo piano without a clearly organized pattern of key relationships. They were written from December 1909 to April 1913, in two sets, with twelve preludes to each volume. Jane Mortier delivered the premiere of the first volume on May 3, 1911, at the Salle Pleyel in Paris. Walter Morse Rummel gave the first complete performance of the second volume on June 12, 1913, at the Aeolian Hall in London. Prelude No. 5 from Book 2, subtitled Bruyéres, bears similarity to another of his works for piano, La Fille aux cheveux de lin (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair). The pianist Marguerite Long, a friend of the composer, suggested that it sounded reminiscent of the mingling scent of sea mist and pines. French composer and arranger Lucien Garban completed this transcription of No. 5 from Book 2 (Bruyères) for violin and piano in 1926. Reprint edition.