Claude-Achille Debussy (1862 ? 1918) was a French
composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the
most prominent figures working within the field of
impressionist music, though he himself intensely
disliked the term when applied to his compositions In
France, he was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour
in 1903. A crucial figure in the transition to the
modern era in Western music, he remains one of the most
famous and influential of all composers.
One third of the art songs Deb...(+)
Claude-Achille Debussy (1862 ? 1918) was a French
composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the
most prominent figures working within the field of
impressionist music, though he himself intensely
disliked the term when applied to his compositions In
France, he was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour
in 1903. A crucial figure in the transition to the
modern era in Western music, he remains one of the most
famous and influential of all composers.
One third of the art songs Debussy composed were
settings of the poems of Paul Verlaine (1844-1896). The
poet?s influence on the composer was immense. A
description of the poet?s style, one favoring
insinuation over declaration, might even be applied to
Debussy?s music. An accumulation of fleeting subtleties
is more to the point than a grander revealed structure.
The first movements of Debussy?s Petite Suite of 1889
are drawn from two poems of Verlaine?s 1869 volume
Fêtes galantes. The poems evoke the era of
18th-century aristocrats on country outings, the world
depicted in the fanciful paintings of Fragonard and
Watteau. Partiers assume the archetypal Commedia
dell'Arte roles ? there are countesses and rogues,
priests and knights, all engaged in an atmosphere of
frivolity.
In En bateau (Sailing), revelers in a boat have their
minds on romantic trysts as they sail at dusk on a dark
lake. Debussy?s music captures perfectly a mood of
water-borne serenity and languor, opening with a kind
of musical sigh that made the Petite Suite immediately
popular with a wide audience.
But Verlaine?s poem has a wrinkle. There is a desire
for romance, but no consummation. In fact, the poem
ends with a wistfulness, despite a happy tone ? promise
unfulfilled.
Although this 1st movement from the Petite Suite was
originally composed for orchestra (and later Piano by
Jaques Durand), I created this arrangement for Concert
(Pedal) Harp.
PARTITION