Scottish Music Centre - Catalogue

Programme Note

Prélude (Intermezzo)
Rêverie
Scherzo
Nocturne
Danse Bohémienne

How the lost works of great composers tantalize performers and music lovers - not least because of the possibility that one day, in some dusty attic, a trunk will be opened, a manuscript found, and a masterpiece might be rediscovered. It has happened again and again (think Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Haydn's Cello Concerto in C, most of the music of Schubert), so hope lives eternal.

In the case of Debussy's Suite for Cello of 1882, cellist Steven Issserlis and composer Sally Beamish have decided not to trust to luck. "The cello repertoire is not so huge that we can bear our losses lightly," explains Isserlis. "Works by Haydn, Schumann, Brahms, Dvorak, and even Shostakovitch have gone missing over the years - almost certainly forever. Debussy's early Suite for Cello and Orchestra is another lost treasure, bu at least we have here a few remaining gems. The Intermezzo of 1882 was originally the fourth movement, and the Scherzo, dating from the same year, was probably intended as part of the suite as well. Both works survive in versions for cello and piano. So, given that all was not lost, I wondered whether it might be possible to reconstruct a Debussy Suite for Cello and Orchestra - not the suite, but a consolation prize for cellists. I tentatively mentioned the idea to Sally Beamish, and to my delight she agreed. This Suite is the result - a "new" work by Debussy!"

Beamish faithfully orchestrated the two movements left by Debussy (Prélude - which Debussy originally called intermezzo - and Scherzo), and added three other pieces from the 1880s to complete the Suite. Two were originally for piano (Rêverie and Danse Bohémienne), and one was a song: 'Nuit d'étoiles' from 1880. In these 'new' works she allowed herself "more liberties." For example, she adds a slow introduction and a sort coda to the Danse Bohémienne, in which she reflects the early Russian influence on Debussy: "In 1880, Debussy spent the summer at the house of Tchaikovsky's patron, Nadezhda von Meck ...[and his music of the time]... shows a strong influence o Tchaikovsky."
Finally, Beamish also allowed herself to depart from Debussy in order to ensure that the cello lines are soloistic enough.