JEAN COULTHARD

Image Astrale
piano solo
AvP 48

The Avondale Press

photo: Andreas Poulsson

Jean Coulthard was born in Vancouver on February 10, 1908 and died in North Vancouver on March 9, 2000.
She was an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre. For biographical information and a list of
works please visit www.musiccentre.ca.

Also see Jean Coulthard: A Life in Music by William Bruneau and David Gordon Duke published by Ronsdale
Press.
 Image Astrale

by Jean Coulthard
(1908 – 2000)

edited by Kathryn Cernauskas (editor’s notes on last page)

© The Avondale Press 1988, revised 2009

ISMN: 979-0--706041-48-3 AvP 48

 ii
Foreword for Image Astrale and Image Terrestre by Jean Coulthard

The following is an excerpt from Jean Coulthard: A Life in Music by William Bruneau and David
Gordon Duke, published by Ronsdale Press. Permission has been granted for its inclusion
here.
The two Images date from 1980 and 1990 respectively and were composed
for two pianist friends of the composer: Image Astrale was written “in honour of
Cristine Coyiuto,” a young pianist from the Philippines who came to live in
Vancouver during the 1970s. Image Terrestre was the last in a series of pieces for
Margaret Bruce, and old family friend and Vancouver-born pianist who
established the “Canadians and Classics” series of concerts in London, England.
The titles link the beginning and the end of the 20th century. “Image” recalls
Debussy’s famous set of pieces dating from 1905–1907. But the subtitles Astrale
“of the stars” and Terrestre “of the earth” are late 20th- century ideas. And
despite the ten-year gap in their composition, they are companion pieces
exploring a favourite formal idea, the palindrome or arch structure made popular
by Bartók.
Image Astrale begins by “floating” harmonies over a pedal chord with
evocative, space imagery, quasi-aleatory staccato figures derived from a 12-note
row, reminiscent of similar patterns in Coulthard’s other “space” work, the
Sonata for two pianos “Of the Universe.”
 iii
Subsequent sections contrast a “celestial” tranquillo cantabile with toccata-like
con brio passages and maestoso chords.

Image Terrestre uses similar materials, but is, if anything, a more extroverted
and dramatic score. The second Image begins Allegro drammatico, with a
minor/major seventh chord, the same ambiguous sonority that ends the piece.

At the centre of the arch form, maestoso chords create a thrilling high-point.
iv

Coulthard’s favourite mood and designation is unquestionably lyric, but she

was, as always, willing to exploit the technical powers of a well-prepared virtuoso.
Like her earlier Sketches from the Western Woods, the Images are conceived
first and foremost as performance pieces: their extroverted style is designed to
give the pianist ample opportunity to display a variety of moods and techniques.
In Sketches, her music evokes Emily Carr’s eternal western woods: the
environment of Image Terrestre is threatening and threatened.
Throughout both Images Coulthard’s emphasis is on the theatrical and the
technical, translated into contemporary terms. Coulthard’s trick is to make sure
that neither piece is all that hard: a well-prepared pianist at an ARCT level can
present the works with great effect.
As always Coulthard’s piano idiom derives from the great nineteenth- and
twentieth-century traditions of keyboard writing. But there are a few extended
techniques that display late twentieth-century idioms. A particularly effective
moment in Image Astrale occurs when Coulthard uses a tone cluster as a dark
gong-like sonority underscoring and amplifying maestoso chords.

In the final years of her long career Coulthard was secure in her technique and
individuality. Her willingness to take risks and to explore new ideas marks the
two Images. On one level their spirit remains true to Coulthard’s “hero gods” at
the century’s beginning. But her new sounds, from 12-note themes, tone clusters,
and modestly minimalist patterns infuse these two works with a spirit of
adventure.
 IMAGE ASTRALE
in honour of Cristine Coyiuto
Jean Coulthard (1908 - 2000)

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108

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113

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 18

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 Image Astrale editor’s notes
Jean Coulthard finished the original version of Image Astrale on December 4, 1980. She finished a second copy on
December 28 and subsequently made some changes in February 1981. The piece was first published by The Avondale
Press in 1988. I based the 2009 revised edition primarily on the February 1981 manuscript, consulting the other
sources as necessary. Many thanks to William Bruneau, David Gordon Duke and Elaine Keillor for their generous
help and excellent advice.

Coulthard used only the top number for time signatures. I used the standard two numbers.

It was Coulthard’s practice to include many courtesy accidentals. These seem to be helpful for performers so I have
included them as they appear in her manuscripts, without parentheses. It seems that accidentals in the cadenzas apply
only to the following note. For example in bar 127, the third sextuplet on the top system of page 18 was originally
written an octave lower with an 8va sign above so the previous accidentals would not have carried through and the E
flat would not have carried through to the next sextuplet. In other words, the last twelve notes of that system should
be: En Cn Ef G F# An En, etc.

JC uses “attacca” to mean “attack” rather than the more usual meaning “attach.”

The following detailed notes are listed by bar number:

1 JC wrote the chord on the bottom staff as whole notes with laissez vibrer signs. This makes sense in the
unmetered cadenzas but here I used the appropriate note values for the time signature and tied the notes to the
next bar.
3 (page 1 last system) JC wrote some of the middle staff notes an octave higher and used the 8va sign for
others. I thought it was easier and clearer to make both staves 8va.
4 See bar 1 notes. I added a barline as at bar 1. I made the low chord 8ba to avoid conflicts at the end of the
passage.
15 The low E in the left hand should perhaps be an octave lower as in similar passages but this is not indicated in
any of the copies so I did not change it.
23 Beat 2 RH surely must be E natural although this is not indicated in any of the copies.
26-27 The original marking here was “molto legato celestial ethereal.”
43,44 The bottom system chords are rolled in the original but not in the February 1981 version.
49 The “Attacca allegro con brio” marking and the 8ba under the top system F#
appear in the original but not in the February 1981 version.
52-54 I have added slurs to all the grace notes for consistency.
53 The second last LH note is G# in the later copies but F# appears in the original and fits the canonic pattern.
55 A treble clef appears at the beginning of the next system (bar 56) in all the versions but without the usual
warning clef at the end of the previous system. I believe the clef change should occur at the beginning of bar
55.
57 “A tempo” appears here in the original, but in bar 58 in later versions.
63 A bass clef appears here in the original but not in later versions. The February 1981 version has a bass clef at
the beginning of the next system (bar 64) but without the usual warning clef at the end of the previous system.
I believe the clef change should occur at the beginning of bar 63.
65 I added a barline to mark the end of the cadenza in the top system of page 11.
66 I changed the notation of the LH tremolo and moved the Sost. ped. marking from the 16th octaves to the next
bar.
68-69 I believe the clusters continue on the bottom system. I omitted the 8ba marking from the low C and A flat.
103 I added the following accidentals to maintain the pattern in beat 3 RH F natural, G natural and in beat 4 E
natural.
104 I deleted the courtesy accidentals in beats 3 and 4 RH because of crowding.
118 I changed the 8va to 15ma at the third group of RH 16ths to avoid conflicts between the hands.
122 The chord on the bottom system is marked 8ba in the original but not in the later versions. The lower octave
matches similar passages.
More Piano Music from The Avondale Press

Instrumentation AvP# Composer Canadian (*) Title

piano 48 Jean Coulthard * Image Astrale

piano 49 Jean Coulthard * Image Terrestre
piano 50 Jean Coulthard * Sonata No. 2
piano 51 Barbara Pentland * Echoes
piano 52 Barbara Pentland * Hands Across the C
piano 53 Barbara Pentland * Interlude
piano 54 Barbara Pentland * Maze/Labyrinthe and Casse-Tête/Puzzle
piano 55 Barbara Pentland * Music of Now, Book 1
piano 56 Barbara Pentland * Music of Now, Book 2
piano 57 Barbara Pentland * Music of Now, Book 3
piano 59 Barbara Pentland * Shadows/Ombres
piano 60 Barbara Pentland * Space Studies
piano 127 Jean Coulthard * Preludes
piano 140 Jean Coulthard * Requiem Piece
piano 145 Barbara Pentland * Early Works for Solo Piano
piano 169 Ramona Luengen * Refractives
piano 170 Ramona Luengen * Refractions
piano 171 Imant Raminsh * Morning (1st mvmt of Field Notes)
piano 190 Sylvia Rickard * Nagareboshi
piano 203 Peter Rudzik * Truly Astounding Animals
piano 194 Calixa Lavallée * The Complete Works for Solo Piano
piano 208 David Gordon Duke * preludes
piano 4 hands 113 Jack Behrens * Carol Suite

visit www.TheAvondalePress.com to view complete catalog