{"product_id":"syrinx-by-debussy-rhythmic-teaching-edition","title":"Syrinx-by Debussy Rhythmic Teaching Edition","description":"\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eBy Kathryn Blocki and Laurel Ewell\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\r\nThe first six (oversized) pages of this edition systematically teach students how to   play Syrinx with rhythmic integrity. In many instances the teacher and student will play through the composition as a rhythmic duet to reinforce the divisions and subdivisions of the beat. Pages 7-8 contain just the solo, with the breath marks from the 1913 Brussel's manuscript clearly marked and all other breaths in parentheses. Because it is on oversized paper the fast moving notes are much simpler to read than previous editions. Playing and teaching Syrinx has never been so easy!\r\n\r\nAdditionally, an article by Laurel Ewell explains the text of the melodrama for which Syrinx was written. Each phrase of Syrinx was written to describe or portray the corresponding text. This knowledge is invaluable in understanding how Debussy intended the piece to be played.\r\n\r\nThis edition is licensed through the Theodore Presser Co, with permission by Jobert.\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-weight: bold;\"\u003eSyrinx 101\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cp align=\"center\" class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align:center\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: bold; font-size: 18pt;\"\u003eSyrinx 101 By Walfrid Kujala\u003c\/span\u003e\u003co:p\u003e\u003c\/o:p\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eWhile taking note of the one-hundred-first anniversary of\r\nthe premiere of Claude Debussy’s \u003ci\u003eSyrinx\u003c\/i\u003e,\r\nI would like to take this opportunity to recommend a publication that ought to be\r\nin every flutist’s \u003ci\u003erelearn-it-now\u003c\/i\u003e library:\r\n \u003ci\u003eSyrinx\r\nfor solo flute by Claude Debussy, Rhythmic Teaching Edition \u003c\/i\u003eby Kathy Blocki\r\nand Laurel Ewell (www.BlockiFlute.com). \r\nIf you saw my Oct. 2013 article, \u003ci\u003eSyrinx\r\nGone Wild\u003c\/i\u003e, you may have been surprised at the multitude of rhythmic blunders\r\nI noted as a result of my YouTube survey of over sixty \u003ci\u003eSyrinx\u003c\/i\u003e performances (at least half of them by professional players).  Many of those errors were illustrated in my\r\ncomposite notation, five bars of which are shown below.  (My composite “error” version of the whole\r\npiece can be found in the \u003ci\u003eFlute Talk\r\nOnline \u003c\/i\u003eof Oct. 2013). \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eBlocki’s teaching edition of \u003ci\u003eSyrinx\u003c\/i\u003e cleverly subdivides each beat of the music into two, three\r\nor four related background rhythms on separate lines in score form, and with\r\nthe original notation always printed on the bottom line for reference.  In the very first beat, for example, the top\r\nline has three B flat sixteenths followed by one A natural sixteenth, and the\r\nline below combines the three B flats into a dotted eighth followed by an A\r\nnatural sixteenth.  Close attention to\r\nthe placement of that A natural will help you gain expressive sounding,\r\nunrushed thirty-second notes.  Playing a\r\ncontinuous all-thirty-second note version of the first two beats is also\r\nhelpful. (By far, the most common error in \u003ci\u003eSyrinx\u003c\/i\u003e\r\nperformances is the consistent rushing of the two thirty-second notes as if\r\nthey were grace notes.  They are an\r\nintegral part of the thematic structure, not mere ornaments.)  Then later in the fourth bar, differentiating\r\nproperly between the thirty-seconds of the first beat and the triplet\r\nsixteenths of the second and third beats is neatly accomplished after careful practicing\r\nof each of the upper three lines.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe most interesting rhythm is in the penultimate bar with\r\nits descending five-note whole-tone scale spread evenly over two beats.  By mentally dividing the first beat\r\nquarter-note into five equal sixteenths, as Blocki specifies, you can get a\r\nvery accurate feeling for the values of the descending eighth notes and still\r\nbe able to control Debussy’s \u003ci\u003etres retenu\u003c\/i\u003e\r\nmarking.  But don’t spoil the continuity\r\nof this final phrase by taking a disconcerting breath at the bar-line like too\r\nmany flutists do.\u003co:p\u003e\u003c\/o:p\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eI have myself practiced the entire Blocki rhythmic teaching\r\nedition several times, ending up even more confident about my rhythm and phrasing--a\r\nvery satisfying feeling.  No matter how certain\r\nyou may be about \u003ci\u003eyour\u003c\/i\u003e rhythm, playing\r\nthe Blocki version will give you a very nice check-up opportunity--and perhaps\r\ntrigger a few wake-up calls along the way.\u003co:p\u003e\u003c\/o:p\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe six separate pages of the \u003ci\u003eRhythmic Teaching Edition\u003c\/i\u003e are attractively engraved on durable,\r\nheavy-stock, legal size paper, printed on one side only, and can be spread out\r\nover two music stands.  The original\r\nperformance version of \u003ci\u003eSyrinx\u003c\/i\u003e is\r\nprinted separately on two pages, and there are three other pages, one\r\ncontaining guidance and hints from Blocki about how to practice the rhythmic\r\nteaching edition, and two pages of excellent program notes by Laura A. Ewell:\r\n“The Relationship Between Music and Poetry in Syrinx (\u003ci\u003eLa Flûte de Pan\u003c\/i\u003e)”.  Ewell’s\r\nessay gives valuable historical and poetical insights, and is well-worth\r\nstudying.\u003co:p\u003e\u003c\/o:p\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eIt would be nice if Blocki were to design a similar rhythmic\r\nteaching edition for the often disfigured Varèse \u003ci\u003eDensity 21.5.  \u003c\/i\u003eI did something\r\nalong those lines for my students a few years ago by designing a CD audio\r\nclick-track that outlined the alternating duple and triple rhythms plus the\r\nchanges of tempo, on top of which I also added some vocals in the form of\r\nannouncing some of the critical bar numbers in case a player got lost.  All the students seemed to benefit from the\r\nexperience, and were able to perform the piece with much better rhythmic\r\nprecision after being weaned off the click-track.\u003co:p\u003e\u003c\/o:p\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eAn extremely fascinating and authentic source of Debussy’s\r\nown thoughts and attitudes concerning performances of his own compositions is conveniently\r\naccessible.  Just google the following: “A\r\npiano method by Claude Debussy”. \r\nKarstein Djupdal, a Norwegian pianist and composer, is the author of\r\nthis compilation of illuminating quotes. \r\nIn his introduction Djupdal writes: \r\n“For the pianists who want a better understanding of the performance of\r\nDebussy’s piano music, it is interesting to get to know the ideas that Debussy\r\nhimself had.  I have attempted to\r\nconstruct the piano method that Debussy could have written.  That is, the ideas I present here are not \u003ci\u003emy\u003c\/i\u003e ideas about playing Debussy, but\r\nshould as far as possible be Debussy’s own ideas.  Fortunately, we have a lot of sources which,\r\ntaken together, can give us a good indication of how Debussy wanted his music\r\nplayed.”\u003co:p\u003e\u003c\/o:p\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eDjupdal’s sources are well-known pianists who studied with\r\nDebussy at one time or another—Ricardo Vines, Marguerite Long, E. Robert\r\nSchmitz, Maurice Dumesnil, George Copeland and Louis Laloy.  Their observations are neatly categorized, as\r\nshown by the following chapter headings: \r\naccuracy of interpretation, artistic license of the performer, musical\r\nimagination and atmosphere, musical expression, rhythm and rubato, dynamics,\r\nthe visual performance in a concert. \r\n(Other chapters are devoted to more specific areas of piano technique\r\nsuch as touch and pedaling.)\u003co:p\u003e\u003c\/o:p\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eMeanwhile, on a return visit to my YouTube” laboratory”\r\nrecently, I discovered a very exciting addition to the short list of exemplary \u003ci\u003eSyrinx\u003c\/i\u003e performances, this one by French\r\nflutist Mathilde Calderini.  She plays\r\nwith a beautiful, luminous tone, tasteful expression, and very good rhythm\r\n(except for a 7\/8 conversion of bars 17-18). \r\nThe 25-year old Calderini won 1\u003csup\u003est\u003c\/sup\u003e Prize at the 8\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e\r\nKobe International Competition in 2013. \r\nHer YouTube recital also includes a stunning performance of the Faure \u003ci\u003eFantasie\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003co:p\u003e\u003c\/o:p\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eAnd finally, in case you might be surfing the internet for \u003ci\u003eSyrinx\u003c\/i\u003e references, you’ll likely find,\r\namong many other things, these four surprising definitions of \u003ci\u003esyrinx\u003c\/i\u003e: \r\na syringe; a set of panpipes; the lower larynx or voice organ in birds;\r\na pathological tube-shaped cavity in the brain or spinal cord.  \u003co:p\u003e\u003c\/o:p\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eGraecum est, non\r\nlegibur\u003c\/i\u003e (“It’s all Greek to me.”)\u003co:p\u003e\u003c\/o:p\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e ","brand":"Blocki Flute","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47754889101548,"sku":"Syrinx","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0832\/5795\/0444\/files\/capturesyrinxcover_bac5711e-f037-4a94-9604-e8f8559a9cb9.png?v=1781681973","url":"https:\/\/www.blockiflute.com\/products\/syrinx-by-debussy-rhythmic-teaching-edition","provider":"Blocki Flute","version":"1.0","type":"link"}