Children’s Corner L119[17’05]
1 Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum[2’10]
2 Jimbo’s lullaby[3’26]
3 Serenade for the doll[2’52]
4 The snow is dancing[2’41]
5 The little shepherd[2’50]
6 Golliwogg’s cake-walk[3’06]
Suite bergamasque L82[18’27]
7 Prélude[4’20]
8 Menuet[4’30]
9 Clair de lune[5’36]
10 Passepied[4’01]
11 Tarantelle styrienne ‘Danse’ L77[5’28]
Deux Arabesques L74[7’43]
12 Andantino con moto[4’01]
13 Allegretto scherzando[3’42]
Pour le piano L95[14’06]
14 Prélude[4’23]
15 Sarabande[5’31]
16 Toccata[4’12]
17 Masques L110[5’03]
18 L’isle joyeuse L109[6’42]
19 La plus que lente L128[4’51]
Angela Hewitt’s previous forays into the French repertoire have been praised for their ‘tenderness, Gallic wit, verve, and—the most important ingredient of all—charm’. These qualities are very much to the fore in this new disc of Debussy featuring some of the composer’s most sunlit, delightful and popular works.
Children’s Corner was written for Debussy’s beloved daughter (though not, as Hewitt explains, for her to play immediately). Hewitt embraces the music’s wit, artful references and gentle beauty. The atmospheric Suite bergamasque includes the famous ‘Clair de lune’. Also included are the tragic Masques and gorgeously exuberant L’isle joyeuse. Hewitt and Debussy are a perfect match.