Minstrels

The first volume of Debussy’s Préludes for Piano (HN 383) was published in 1910 and was soon followed by arrangements for various scorings commissioned by the original publisher. Debussy personally transcribedonly one Prélude, Minstrels, which was released in 1914 in a version for Violin and Piano.

Back at that time, “Minstrels” was the name given to comedians who performed in blackface andcaricatured the alleged behaviour of Blacks in America. The arrangement is of interest not only to pianists, since Debussy intervened in the original musical text by adding variants, but also to violinists, who willdiscover charming and rewarding music of medium difficulty (5 of 9).