Debussy’s Nocturne et Scherzo is a fascinating early work for cello and piano, composed in 1882 when Debussy was nineteen. Contrasting animated Scherzo writing with a lyrical, nocturne-like central character, the piece already hints at the composer’s sensitivity to colour and atmosphere. This Faber Music edition was prepared from the surviving manuscript by Neil Heyde and first published in 1995.
Key Features:
•For cello and piano
•Composed by Claude Debussy
•Written in 1882
•Edited by Neil Heyde
•Published by Faber Music
•Catalogue No. 0571515118
•ISBN 978-0-571-51511-0
•16 pages
•Contrasts lively Scherzo writing with lyrical, cantabile expression
An intriguing glimpse into Claude Debussy’s earliest musical language, Nocturne et Scherzo was written in 1882, when the composer was only nineteen. A now-lost version for violin and piano appears to have preceded the surviving version for cello and piano, preserved in Debussy’s autograph manuscript. Despite its title suggesting two separate movements, the surviving music can be understood as a single hybrid work: lively Scherzo-like material surrounds a contrasting cantabile passage of nocturnal character. This Faber Music edition, first published in 1995, was prepared by cellist and musicologist Neil Heyde and brought this fascinating early work into print for the first time.
Key Features:
Composed by Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
Nocturne et Scherzo
For cello and piano
Composed in 1882
Edited by Neil Heyde
Based on Debussy’s surviving autograph manuscript
First published in this edition in 1995
Published by Faber Music
Catalogue No. 0571515118
ISBN 978-0-571-51511-0
16 pages
Score with cello part
Musical Benefits:
Develops contrast between lively articulation and lyrical cantabile playing
Refines tonal colour, phrasing and dynamic control
Strengthens rhythmic clarity and cello-piano coordination
Introduces players to the formative musical style of the young Debussy
Debussy’s Sonata in D Minor for Cello and Piano is a compact yet richly expressive masterpiece of 20th-century chamber music. This Edition Peters Urtext, edited by Josef Schwab, presents Debussy’s three contrasting movements—Prologue, Sérénade and Finale—in a carefully prepared edition ideal for advanced study, recital and professional performance.
Debussy’s Sonata in D Minor for Cello and Piano is a landmark of early 20th-century chamber music, composed in 1915 and published by Durand. Across its three connected movements—Prologue, Sérénade and Final—Debussy explores an exceptional range of cello colours, articulations and expressive effects, creating challenging and rewarding repertoire for advanced performers.
Debussy’s Cello Sonata in D Minor is a landmark 20th-century work combining atmospheric lyricism, rhythmic vitality and imaginative cello writing. This Henle Urtext edition is edited by Ernst-Günter Heinemann, with cello fingering and bowing by Reiner Ginzel, and uniquely provides both marked and unmarked cello parts, allowing performers to work either with practical performance guidance or directly from the Urtext.
