Monique Haas – Debussy: Preludes I & II & Etudes (1963/2018) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Here are some unforgettable recordings of Debussy by Monique Haas for the Yellow Label, now available in Hi-Res for the first time. She recorded the Études (1950, Grand Prix du Disque) over the 22nd and 23rd of October 1951, in Hanover’s Beethovensaal. This disc was unavailable for a long time, but it offered an exhilarating vision of freedom which is rarely seen in this French composer’s unusually delicate work, apart from in the work of Anatoly Vedernikov in 1957 (on Melodiya) or, later, Samson François (a work which was unfortunately left unfinished). Monique Haas was a little over 40 and enjoying a promising career in Germany, and here her sense of style combines with her striking drive for clarity and an exacting poetic sense, which together more than justifies this performance’s legendary status.

More than a decade later, she returned to Germany to record two fairly long sessions at Berlin’s Jesus-Christus-Kirche (on 2nd- 5th July 1962 for the first Livre, and 14th-17th January 1963 for the second): a complete and wonderfully subtle recording of the Préludes, with moderate, but absolutely precise tempos, clear harmonies, colours verging on the sparse, an expression that distills a kind of melancholy. These Préludesfrom 1963 bear witness to the pianist’s steadily-maturing command of this repertoire, and give a foretaste of the rather more distant style of the complete recordings which he would do for Erato a few years later. This is a capitally important re-release which has benefited from a great remastering. The album cover reproduces the cover of the Préludes, Livre II LP published in 1963 (LP138872).

Tracklist:
Claude Debussy (1862 – 1918)
01. Préludes / Book 1, L.117: 1. Danseuses de Delphes
02. Préludes / Book 1, L.117: 2. Voiles
03. Préludes / Book 1, L.117: 3. Le vent dans la plaine
04. Préludes / Book 1, L.117: 4. Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l’air du soir
05. Préludes / Book 1, L.117: 5. Les collines d’Anacapri
06. Préludes / Book 1, L.117: 6. Des pas sur la neige
07. Préludes / Book 1, L.117: 7. Ce qu’a vu le vent d’ouest
08. Préludes / Book 1, L.117: 8. La fille aux cheveux de lin
09. Préludes / Book 1, L.117: 9. La sérénade interrompue
10. Préludes / Book 1, L.117: 10. La cathédrale engloutie
11. Préludes / Book 1, L.117: 11. La danse de Puck
12. Préludes / Book 1, L.117: 12. Minstrels
13. Préludes-Book 2, L.123: 1. Brouillards
14. Préludes-Book 2, L.123: 2. Feuilles mortes
15. Préludes-Book 2, L.123: 3. La puerta del vino
16. Préludes-Book 2, L.123: 4. “Les fées sont d’exquises danseuses”
17. Préludes-Book 2, L.123: 5. Bruyères
18. Préludes-Book 2, L.123: 6. “General Lavine”-eccentric
19. Préludes-Book 2, L.123: 7. La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune
20. Préludes-Book 2, L.123: 8. Ondine
21. Préludes-Book 2, L.123: 9. Hommage à S. Pickwick, Esq., P.P.M.P.C.
22. Préludes-Book 2, L.123: 10. Canope
23. Préludes-Book 2, L.123: 11. Les tierces alternées
24. Préludes-Book 2, L.123: 12. Feux d’artifice
25. 12 Etudes, L.136: 1. Pour les “cinq doigts” (d’après Monsieur Czerny)
26. 12 Etudes, L.136: 2. Pour les Tierces
27. 12 Etudes, L.136: 3. Pour les Quartes
28. 12 Etudes, L.136: 4. Pour les Sixtes
29. 12 Etudes, L.136: 5. Pour les Octaves
30. 12 Etudes, L.136: 6. Pour les huit doigts
31. 12 Etudes, L.136: 7. Pour les Degrés chromatiques
32. 12 Etudes, L.136: 8. Pour les Agréments
33. 12 Etudes, L.136: 9. Pour les Notes répétées
34. 12 Etudes, L.136: 10. Pour les Sonorités opposées
35. 12 Etudes, L.136: 11. Pour les Arpèges composés
36. 12 Etudes, L.136: 12. Pour les Accords
37. Pour le piano, L. 95: 3. Toccata
38. Préludes / Book 1, L.117: 8. La fille aux cheveux de lin
39. 12 Etudes, L.136: 6. Pour les huit doigts
40. Préludes-Book 2, L.123: 12. Feux d’artifice