Claude Debussy (born Achille-Claude Debussy) was among
the most influential composers of the late nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries. His mature compositions,
distinctive and appealing, combined modernism and
sensuality so successfully that their sheer beauty
often obscures their technical innovation. Debussy is
considered the founder and leading exponent of musical
Impressionism (although he resisted the label), and his
adoption of non-traditional scales and tonal structures
was paradigma...(+)
Claude Debussy (born Achille-Claude Debussy) was among
the most influential composers of the late nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries. His mature compositions,
distinctive and appealing, combined modernism and
sensuality so successfully that their sheer beauty
often obscures their technical innovation. Debussy is
considered the founder and leading exponent of musical
Impressionism (although he resisted the label), and his
adoption of non-traditional scales and tonal structures
was paradigmatic for many composers who followed
It is difficult to establish an appropriate
chronological place for Claude Debussy's Suite
bergamasque within his output. He originally composed
the piece in 1890, but it was not published until 1905,
and the extent to which he revised it during the
interval is unclear. Certainly the published work is a
great stylistic advance over the few short piano works
which preceded it during the late 1880s and early
1890s, but whether that advance is due to an early
maturity or to much later alteration will perhaps
always elude historians.
The Suite, Debussy's tribute to the French Baroque
clavecinistes (harpsichordists), comprises four
individual movements: Prélude, Menuet, Clair de lune,
and Passepied. It is interesting to note that Debussy
originally titled the third and fourth pieces
"Promenade sentimentale" and "Pavane," respectively,
and changed their titles only shortly before publishing
the Suite in 1905. This has caused many to question the
purported connection between the much-celebrated Clair
de lune and Paul Verlaine's poem of the same name.
However, Debussy's connection with Verlaine's poetry is
far reaching enough for the association to be
meaningful. He had already set the poem "Clair de
lune," as well as several others, for voice and piano
on two separate occasions by 1891, and the word
bergamasque is itself contained within that particular
text.
The Prelude, an F major piece cast in ternary (ABA)
form, unfolds in an aristocratic, unhurried way. The
opening declamation, spanning some four octaves, is
nobleness itself, while the B section, in A minor, is
devoted to more thoughtful ideas. Perhaps the best
music in the Prelude is contained within the lengthy
passage that connects the middle section to the reprise
of the opening. The Menuet presents the best glimpse of
Debussy's emerging compositional voice. Save for its
3/4 meter there is little trace of the traditional
minuet form to be found. Especially notable is the
absence of a trio section. Clair de lune is perhaps the
most famous work Debussy ever penned. Although
Debussy's reliance on left-hand arpeggios throughout
the piece can lead to a somewhat mechanical effect in
the hands of less skilled performers, Clair de lune has
a way of drawing the listener into its magical
atmosphere. Particularly striking are the opening
gestures, still and quiet, and a passage in parallel
octaves that connects the opening to the more active
middle-section. The Passepied that ends the Suite is
cast in 4/4 time, betraying its origins as a pavane,
since the traditional Passepied is invariably found in
3/4 time. As is the case with the Menuet, Debussy is
making reference to an antiquated dance form without
actually making use of it.
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