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Author
Claude Debusse (1862-1918: French)
- impressionist
- parents kept a china shop
- entered the Paris Conservatory at age eleven.
- established a reputation as one of the wittiest critics of his time.
- died during the bombardment of Paris in March 1918
- Wikipedia Article
About the Piece
(much of the description comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)
- Genre is symphonic poem
- "lyrical, sinuous melodies that repeat"
- ternary form, (very loosely)
- lots of fast moving sixteenth notes throughout, but they don't intensify the piece, but rather contribute to silkiness
- work has a very smooth feel to it
- characteristic instruments include strings, flute, oboe, harps, clarinets, and English and French horns
- free flowing; gives a sense of floating
- several melodic themes repeated throughout
Purpose
- entertainment
- inspired by a poem
Reflections
I like this piece too, but not this late in the quad, when I haven't had enough sleep and I am tired. It's a beautiful, dream-like piece, but listening to it without falling asleep can be difficult. I like all of the movement on the oboe and flute parts; movement is one of my favorite things to hear in orchestral pieces. The gliding sixteenth notes in this piece are fantastic. Not my favorite piece so far, but certainly worth hearing again.