Sunken Cathedral

The Sunken Cathedral (or La Cathedrale engloutie as it's known by in its original French title) by Claude Debussy is my all time favorite solo piano piece.


I actually played it my final semester at college. I remember the first time i heard it was in one of my theory classes my sophomore or junior year and I instantly fell in love with it. I decided then that I would play this piece at some point, but i didnt want to just hash my way through it and come out with an ameteurish take on the piece... I wanted it to sound the best it could. I wanted to be able to play it the way it deserved. So I decided the best thing to do was to play other stuff by Debussy first. I wanted to get a feel for his style and see what he was about.

The first Debussy piece I worked on was First Arabesque. It's a pretty popular song, and very beautiful. The hardest thing about this piece was getting the rhythm right (damn those triplets over eighth notes). For about the first week or two, I spent my practice time doing nothing but simple exercises trying to be able to conquer the seemingly impossible task of subdividing two in one hand and three in the other hand (and vice versa just to keep things interesting). But once i got it, it stuck with me, so I think it was well worth the two weeks of isolated practice (anyone who had to listen to me while doing this may disagree). But I really loves the Arabesque. I heard one person describe it as the song she imagined angels playing on their harps in heaven. It's an overly sappy description for me, but now it's all I imagine when I play it, and to be honest, it works.

After learning the Arabesque I moved on to another Debussy piece. I think my teacher was wondering why I had such a sudden fascination with Debuusy (I mean, why wasn't I that into Chopin or Bach?). This time it was Clair de Lune. Another more common piece. Most people have heard it at some point and are somewhat familiar with it. I have to admit that this piece was more difficult that I initially thought it would be. It looks so much simpler on paper. But my teacher told me that Debussy often looks and sounds much easier than it actually is. I think that's one of the things that drew me to his music. It's understated, yet at the same time complex. I have to admit Clair de Lune was not one of my better peices, though I've been working on it a lot lately, so hopefully that will change. There are parts of the song that I love playing and parts that I loathe. Overall I think the song is supposed to sound simple and effortless, but when I play it, you can see and hear how hard I'm working. Which I think defeats the inner quality of the piece.

Finally I felt I was ready for Sunken Cathedral. I was so excited when I started practicing this piece. I could work on it for hours on end. But then I started realizing how hard it was. And I got discouraged. It sounds so simple when I listen to recordings. At times it even seems as though nothing is happening, so why am I having such problems? I wanted to give up. I mean I really wanted to give up. I never want to give up on a piece. If I work at it long enough and hard enough I always come out okay in the end. But I had had just about enough of this piece. Perhaps it was because I had built it up for so long, perhaps I was just tired of having to work so hard to play something that I felt I was destined to play. So I took it easy for a while. Worked on some of my other repertoire (oh yeah... this isnt the only song I'm supposed to learn this semester... oops), and eventually got back around to it. This time I realized that I was going to have to step my game up a level if I hoped to beat it. And that's how I approached it from then on. I worked harder and set my expectations higher. Never have I ever needed to work so hard to memorize a song (usually I can memorize things even before my hands can actually play them). And in the end, I'd like to think I won.

I did perform the piece at my last recital. The day of the recital I went to my piano teacher's house for my final lesson. I kind of knew going into the lesson that this wasnt a good idea. I expected my teacher to give me a list of all the things I was doing wrong and needed to fix within the next few hours before I performed on stage. That's usually how things go. But this time was different. This time as I played, I really got into the piece. I dont just mean I clicked with it, or got excited about it. I really got in to it. I felt like I became a part of it. Not the other way around, it wasnt a part of me. As strange as that sounds (which I'm aware it does sound strange), i played the best I had ever played up to that point in my entire life. And when i was done I looked at my teacher and waited for her to start her list of corrections. but all she said was 'good, play it like that tonight.' Amazing...

Unfortunately it was not so amazing at the recital. On the whole, it was great. I was actually excited to play (as opposed to scared out of my wits like usual). I felt I was actually good enough to be heard this time. I did play one wrong chord at one point. Doesnt seem like that big of deal, but it was one of those important chords, and I couldnt believe I missed it. Everyone said they didnt notice. I dont really believe them though, i'm sure if I were in the audience, I would have noticed, but people try to be nice no matter what happens. and really, I dont mind the positive support. I just wish I had another chance to do it over again so I could get it right this time.

So now I just play at home. I'm sure my neighbors are sick of it by now. But it still is a piece that I feel I was destined to play... and so I continue on

Comments

Anonymous said…
what's this about a washboard and a styrofoam tuba?