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Debussy
(Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born to a family of modest means and little cultural involvement, Debussy showed enough musical talent to be admitted at the age of ten to France's leading music college, the Conservatoire de Paris. He originally studied the piano, but found his vocation in innovative composition, despite the disapproval of the Conservatoire's conservative professors. He took many years to develop his mature style, and was nearly 40 when he achieved international fame in 1902 with the only opera he completed, '' Pelléas et Mélisande''. Debussy's orchestral works include ''Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune'' (1894), ''Nocturnes'' (1897–1899) and ''Images'' (1905–1912). His music was to a considerable extent a r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pelléas Et Mélisande (opera)
''Pelléas et Mélisande'' (''Pelléas and Mélisande'') is an opera in five acts with music by Claude Debussy. The French libretto was adapted from Maurice Maeterlinck's symbolist play of the same name. It premiered at the Salle Favart in Paris by the Opéra-Comique on 30 April 1902; Jean Périer was Pelléas and Mary Garden was Mélisande, conducted by André Messager, who was instrumental in getting the Opéra-Comique to stage the work. The only opera Debussy ever completed, it is considered a landmark in 20th-century music. The plot concerns a love triangle. Prince Golaud finds Mélisande, a mysterious young woman, lost in a forest. He marries her and brings her back to the castle of his grandfather, King Arkel of Allemonde. Here Mélisande becomes increasingly attached to Golaud's younger half-brother Pelléas, arousing Golaud's jealousy. Golaud goes to excessive lengths to find out the truth about Pelléas and Mélisande's relationship, even forcing his own child, Yniold ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nocturnes (Debussy)
''Nocturnes'', L 98 (also known as ''Trois Nocturnes'' or Three Nocturnes) is an impressionist orchestral composition in three movements by the French composer Claude Debussy, who wrote it between 1892 and 1899. It is based on poems from ''Poèmes anciens et romanesques'' (Henri de Régnier, 1890). Composition "Three Scenes at Twilight" Based on comments in various Debussy letters and in Léon Vallas's biography, it has generally been assumed that composition of the ''Nocturnes'' began in 1892 under the title ''Trois Scènes au Crépuscule'' ("Three Scenes at Twilight"), an orchestral triptych. However, the lack of actual manuscripts makes it impossible to determine whether such works were truly related to the ''Nocturnes''. ''Trois Scènes au Crépuscule'' was inspired by ten poems by Henri de Régnier entitled ''Poèmes anciens et romanesques'' (published in 1890). Régnier was a symbolist poet, and his poems contain vivid imagery and dreamlike associations of ideas. In a l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Mer (Debussy)
''La mer, trois esquisses symphoniques pour orchestre'' (French for ''The sea, three symphonic sketches for orchestra''), or simply ''La mer'' (''The Sea''), List of compositions by Claude Debussy by Lesure number, L. 109, CD. 111, is an orchestral composition by the French composer Claude Debussy. Composed between 1903 and 1905, the piece was premiered in Paris in October 1905. It was initially not well received. Even some who had been strong supporters of Debussy's work were unenthusiastic, even though ''La mer'' presented three key aspects of Debussy's aesthetic: Impressionism in music, Impressionism, Symbolism in music, Symbolism and Japonisme, Japonism. The work was performed in the US in 1907 and Britain in 1908; after its second performance in Paris, in 1908, it quickly became one of Debussy's most admired and frequently performed orchestral works. The first audio recording of the work was made in 1928. Since then, orchestras and conductors from around the world have set ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Préludes (Debussy)
Claude Debussy's '''' are 24 pieces for solo piano, divided into two books of 12 preludes each. Unlike some notable collections of preludes from prior times, such as Chopin's Op. 28 preludes, or the preludes from Johann Sebastian Bach's ''The Well-Tempered Clavier'', Debussy's do not follow a strict pattern of tonal centers. Each book was written in a matter of months, at an unusually fast pace for Debussy. Book I was written between December 1909 and February 1910, and Book II between the last months of 1912 and early April 1913. Pieces Two of the titles were set in quotation marks by Debussy because they are, in fact, quotations: ''«Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soir»'' is from Charles Baudelaire's poem ''Harmonie du soir'' ("Evening Harmony"). ''«Les fées sont d'exquises danseuses»'' is from J. M. Barrie's book ''Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens'', which Debussy's daughter had received as a gift. Performance practice An important precedent was set on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Six Sonatas For Various Instruments
Claude Debussy's ''Six sonatas for various instruments, composed by Claude Debussy, French musician'' () was a projected cycle of sonatas that was interrupted by the composer's death in 1918, after he had composed only half of the projected sonatas. He left behind his sonatas for cello and piano (1915), flute, viola and harp (1915), and violin and piano (1916–1917). History From 1914, the composer, encouraged by the music publisher Jacques Durand, intended to write a set of six sonatas for various instruments, in homage to the French composers of the 18th century. The First World War, along with the composers Couperin and Rameau, inspired Debussy as he was writing the sonatas. Durand, in his memoirs entitled ''Quelques souvenirs d'un éditeur de musique'', wrote the following about the sonatas' origin: After his famous String Quartet, Debussy had not written any more chamber music. Then, at the Concerts Durand, he heard again the Septet with trumpet by Saint-Saëns and his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prélude à L'après-midi D'un Faune
''Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune'' ( L. 86), known in English as ''Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun'', is a symphonic poem for orchestra by Claude Debussy, approximately 10 minutes in duration. It was composed in 1894 and first performed in Paris on 22 December 1894, conducted by Gustave Doret. The flute solo was played by Georges Barrère. The composition was inspired by the poem '' L'après-midi d'un faune'' by Stéphane Mallarmé. It is one of Debussy's most famous works and is considered a turning point in the history of Western art music, as well as a masterpiece of Impressionist composition. Pierre Boulez considered the score to be the beginning of modern music, observing that "the flute of the faun brought new breath to the art of music." Debussy's work later provided the basis for the ballet '' Afternoon of a Faun'' choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky and a later version by Jerome Robbins. Background About his composition Debussy wrote:The music of this prelude ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Damoiselle élue
''La Damoiselle élue'' (''The Blessed Damozel''), List of compositions by Claude Debussy by Lesure number, L. 62, is a cantata for soprano soloist, 2-part children's choir, 2-part female (contralto) choir (with contralto solo), and orchestra, composed by Claude Debussy in 1887–1888 based on a text by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. It premiered in Paris in 1893. History Claude Debussy was interested in the Symbolism (arts), symbolist movement and later took inspiration from a poem by Stéphane Mallarmé for his ''Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune'' (1894). Reading an anthology of English poetry translated by Gabriel Sarrazin, "Poètes modernes d’Angleterre" (1883) gave Debussy the idea of composing a cantata on the poem "The Blessed Damozel" (1850) by Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Pre-Raphaelite poet and painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti.Caroline RaeLa Damoiselle élue, Claude Debussy website of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, accessdate 13 June 2016. Debussy had probably not seen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Images Pour Orchestre
''Images pour orchestre'', L. 122, is an orchestral composition in three sections by Claude Debussy, written between 1905 and 1912. Debussy had originally intended this set of ''Images'' as a two-piano sequel to the first set of ''Images'' for solo piano, as described in a letter to his publisher Durand as of September 1905. However, by March 1906, in another letter to Durand, he had begun to think of arranging the work for orchestra rather than two pianos. Scoring ''Images pour orchestre'' is scored for a large orchestra consisting of 2 piccolos, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, oboe d'amore, cor anglais, 3 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 4 trumpets (in C), 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, field drum, tambourine, castanets, 2 harps, celesta, triangle, xylophone, cymbals, 3 bells, and strings. Sections I. ''Gigues'' (1909–1912) The original title of ''Gigues'' was ''Gigues tristes''. Debussy used his memories of England as inspiration for the music, in ad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Études (Debussy)
Claude Debussy's ''Études'' ( L 136) are a set of 12 piano études composed in 1915. Debussy described them as "a warning to pianists not to take up the musical profession unless they have remarkable hands". They are broadly considered his late masterpieces. # ''Étude 1 pour les cinq doigts d'après Monsieur Czerny'' (five fingers, "after Monsieur Czerny") # ''Étude 2 pour les tierces'' ( thirds) # ''Étude 3 pour les quartes'' ( fourths) # ''Étude 4 pour les sixtes'' ( sixths) # ''Étude 5 pour les octaves'' # ''Étude 6 pour les huit doigts'' (eight fingers) # ''Étude 7 pour les degrés chromatiques'' (chromatic degrees) # ''Étude 8 pour les agréments'' (ornaments) # ''Étude 9 pour les notes répétées'' (repeated notes) # ''Étude 10 pour les sonorités opposées'' (opposing sonorities) # ''Étude 11 pour les arpèges composés'' (composite arpeggios) # ''Étude 12 pour les accords'' ( chords) Notes References * Elie Robert Schmitz, V. Thomson. ''The Piano Work ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Le Martyre De Saint Sébastien
''Le Martyre de saint Sébastien'' is a five-act musical mystery play on the subject of Saint Sebastian, with a text written in 1911 by the Italian author Gabriele D'Annunzio and incidental music by the French composer Claude Debussy (L.124). Background The work was produced in collaboration between Gabriele D'Annunzio (at that time living in France to escape his creditors) and Claude Debussy, and designed as a vehicle for Ida Rubinstein. Debussy's contribution was a large-scale score of incidental music for orchestra and chorus, with solo vocal parts (for a soprano and two altos). Debussy accepted the commission in February 1911. Some of the material was orchestrated by André Caplet. During auditions for the female semi-chorus, the chorus director Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht suggested, on hearing Ninon Vallin, that she take over the role of the celestial voice. As Rose Féart (who had been engaged) was absent from the general rehearsal, Vallin sang the role and Debussy insiste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Impressionism In Music
Impressionism in music was a movement among various composers in Western classical music (mainly during the late 19th and early 20th centuries) whose music focuses on mood and atmosphere, "conveying the moods and emotions aroused by the subject rather than a detailed tone‐picture". "Impressionism" is a philosophical and aesthetic term borrowed from late 19th-century French painting after Monet's ''Impression, Sunrise''. Composers were labeled Impressionists by analogy to the Impressionist painters who use starkly contrasting colors, effect of light on an object, blurry foreground and background, flattening perspective, etc. to make the observer focus their attention on the overall impression.J. Peter Burkholder, Donald Jay Grout and Claude V. Palisca, ''A History of Western Music'', eighth edition (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010). . The most prominent feature in musical Impressionism is the use of "color", or in musical terms, timbre, which can be achieved through or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most opera composers, Wagner wrote both the libretto and the music for each of his stage works. Initially establishing his reputation as a composer of works in the romantic vein of Carl Maria von Weber and Giacomo Meyerbeer, Wagner revolutionised opera through his concept of the ''Gesamtkunstwerk'' ("total work of art"), by which he sought to synthesise the poetic, visual, musical and dramatic arts, with music subsidiary to drama. He described this vision in a series of essays published between 1849 and 1852. Wagner realised these ideas most fully in the first half of the four-opera cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (''The Ring of the Nibelung''). His compositions, particularly those of his later period, are notable for their complex textures, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
