Debussy - Estampes [Ogawa] Last month i listened to Ogawa's Images [10th December 2010], and this month it's the turn of the Estampes from the same disc, i'm glad i bought this disc, as she's a good Debussian, and of all the volumes that Ogawa has made of Debussy, this one has the best works on it.
Noriko Ogawa is Japanese, now 48 years old, she recorded this disc in 2000, the booklet cover photo is by Ian Tilton, a nice shot, the introduction of hands, and the denim jacket make a big difference in the success of the shot.
Even though i think all three of these pieces are so wonderful and refreshing, inspirational, i keep coming back to the first piece in the set, 'Pagodes', an Oriental tone poem, like a watercolour awash with sounds, the recording is quite warm, and maybe certain aspects are lost because of this, the opening right hand tune is so sublime [0:09-0:35], just that right amount of Eastern-ism on a Western instrument, i like where the bass line adds to the texture in a counter melody [0:24+], this same opening returns in full later in the piece [2:40-3:06, and the counter melody 2:54+], Debussy also evokes the tolling of bells in the left hand [1:30-1:49], and again at [2:11-2:28], this second time i love the way the left hand shifts into bell-ringing gear [2:11], the left hand takes over the melody and the right hand treble now goes into a lovely background trill [2:28-2:39], the ending is atmospheric, again the bassline controls the tune, while the right hand treble has runs up and down the keyboard [3:59+], and the left hand goes deeper in the bass in a wonderful way [4:14+], using the lovely counter melody near the beginning [0:24+], and the treble right has these lovely washes of colour, the whole thing gradually slows down to a close, a remarkable invention from Debussy.
Here's Pagodes being played on YouTube.
