Symphonic Poem La Mer, Arrangement for Piano Four Hands (One Piano)

General Overview

Shortly after the completion of the orchestral version's first draft in 1905, Debussy began working on a piano arrangement of the piece for one piano, four hands, and managed to publish it in the same year. However, as the writer and friend Victor Segalen (1878-1919) noted in a letter, quoting Debussy's wife Emma, that it was "unplayable,"[1] this arrangement was not necessarily well-received. Debussy himself, whose motto was "Always higher (Toujours plus haut),"[2] was likely not satisfied with it either. This is because he re-engaged with the piano arrangement of this symphonic poem by supervising André Caplet's (1878-1925) arrangement for two pianos, four hands. Caplet's "more accessible"[3] arrangement incorporated the revised version of the orchestral score from 1909 and was published in the same year.

The differences between these two piano arrangements correspond to those between the first and revised versions of the orchestral score. Firstly, measures 84-85 of the first movement (immediately preceding two measures before rehearsal number 9) are condensed into one measure in the revised version. Secondly, the horn and trumpet fanfare placed in measures 237-244 of the third movement (immediately preceding rehearsal number 60) is deleted. That is to say, Debussy's piano arrangement does not feature the shortening of the first movement, and the fanfare in the third movement is also reflected in the second player's right hand. Regarding the latter, perhaps due to its effect of augmenting the piano's sonority, it was also adopted in the complete edition's arrangement for two pianos by Durand.[4] While Debussy's piano arrangement often draws attention for its difficulty, it also serves to complement Caplet's arrangement.

First Movement: From Dawn to Noon on the Sea

Composed of five sections. In the Introduction (measures 1-30), following an octave tremolo, a theme used in the third movement is played by the first player (rehearsal number 1, measures 12-16), gradually becoming more urgent. In the first section (measures 31-84), beginning with Modéré, sans lenteur, a theme in parallel fifths is presented by the first player's right hand, then develops into a climax at measure 76 (fifth measure from rehearsal number 8), and then temporarily subsides. The second section (measure 85 / rehearsal number 9 - measure 122) begins rhythmically with a unison in both hands of the first player, building tension to form a second climax with ff (rehearsal number 11, measure 106), and then subsides again. In the Coda (measures 133-142), which begins after a transitional section (measures 123-132), the theme from the first section returns with vigor, building a third climax with fff.

Second Movement: Play of the Waves

Although an extremely fluid movement, its progression can be understood through seven climaxes.[5] The first motif, an ascending augmented fourth figure (rehearsal number 16, measure 9), urgently forms the first climax (rehearsal number 18, measures 28-32), while the trill motif appearing in the first player's part at rehearsal number 19 (measure 35) forms the second climax in the second player's part (measures 72-73). Following a small third climax (measure 99), the fourth climax (measure 115) and fifth climax (measure 126) appear intermittently. The sixth climax (rehearsal number 32, measures 153-160) is built with a powerful bass line in the second player's part and trills in both hands of the first player, preparing for the return of the trill motif beginning at rehearsal number 33 (measure 163). Tension builds through the recapitulation of rehearsal number 19, creating the seventh climax with fff (rehearsal number 38, measures 215-218). However, the music then rapidly subsides, fading away without a clear cadence.

Third Movement: Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea

Like the first movement, it is composed of five sections. In the latter half of the Introduction (measures 1-55) (from rehearsal number 4, measure 31), the theme used in the introduction of the first movement reappears, emphasizing the connection between the movements. Meanwhile, the melody in the first player's right hand appearing at the beginning of the first section (measure 56 / rehearsal number 44 - measure 156) becomes the theme of this movement. Indeed, this theme is repeated three times in the second section (measures 157-210) and also returns at the end of the third section (measures 211-257) (rehearsal number 60, measure 245). In the subsequent Coda (measures 258-292), there is no prominent return of the theme, and the music vigorously pushes towards the final climax.

[1] Claude Debussy, Correspondance (1872-1918), François Lesure et Denis Herlin (éd.), Paris, Gallimard, 2005, p. 1062-63, note 6.

[2] ジャン・バラケ 『ドビュッシー』（「永遠の音楽家」 7） 平島正郎訳 東京：白水社 1969 p. 121、および、 松橋麻利 『ドビュッシー』（「作曲家・人と作品シリーズ」） 音楽之友社 2007 p. 200。

[3] Claude Debussy, op. cit.

[4] Id., Œuvres pour piano à quatre mains et pour deux pianos (Première suite d’orchestre, Petite suite, Marche écossaise, La Mer, Six Épigraphes antiques, Danses sacrée et profane), dans Œuvres complètes de Claude Debussy, série I/9, Noël Lee et Edmond Lemaître (éd.), Paris, Durand, 2013, XXIV-320 p.

[5] Cf. Roy Howat, Debussy in Proportion: A Musical Analysis, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1983, p. 117-118.