La Mer (Trois esquisses symphoniques) Claude Debussy
1. De l'aube à midi sur la mer
2. Jeux de vagues
3. Dialogue du vent et de la
mer
Debussy entitled these three
brilliant movements 'symphonic sketches' and the first, 'From Dawn to Noon on
the Sea' is a series of contrasting episodes that seem to express a wide range
of moods and tone colours from anticipatory stillness to solar radiance. In the second, 'Play of the Waves', a smooth,
siren-like theme soars over rapid, darting rhythms whilst the composer's
marking for the 'Dialogue between the Wind and the Sea' is 'animated and
tumultuous'. The final movement is the most stormy and turbulent, beginning
with a murky, threatening motif in the bass before another siren-like theme
soars above the sea's agitation, only to be annihilated by the surging,
monumental climax.
Although La Mer was
the nearest Debussy came in his later works to writing in traditional forms (it
was begun in 1903, but not completed until 1905) it also marked a new
complexity in terms of textures, rhythms and harmonies. The work was first written as a piano duet, followed
by the more familiar orchestral version a few months later. Piano duets were always familiar territory
for Debussy: he was the favourite partner of Nadezhda von Meck, Tchaikovsky's
benefactor, and also of Igor Stravinsky, with whom he played the Rite of
Spring in 1913. Tong, Hasegawa
Classical Music | Piano Music
Claude Debussy
La Mere, Trois Esquisses symphoniques Play
Recorded on 02/28/2006, uploaded on 01/22/2009
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
La Mer (Trois esquisses symphoniques) Claude Debussy
1. De l'aube à midi sur la mer
2. Jeux de vagues
3. Dialogue du vent et de la mer
Debussy entitled these three brilliant movements 'symphonic sketches' and the first, 'From Dawn to Noon on the Sea' is a series of contrasting episodes that seem to express a wide range of moods and tone colours from anticipatory stillness to solar radiance. In the second, 'Play of the Waves', a smooth, siren-like theme soars over rapid, darting rhythms whilst the composer's marking for the 'Dialogue between the Wind and the Sea' is 'animated and tumultuous'. The final movement is the most stormy and turbulent, beginning with a murky, threatening motif in the bass before another siren-like theme soars above the sea's agitation, only to be annihilated by the surging, monumental climax.
Although La Mer was the nearest Debussy came in his later works to writing in traditional forms (it was begun in 1903, but not completed until 1905) it also marked a new complexity in terms of textures, rhythms and harmonies. The work was first written as a piano duet, followed by the more familiar orchestral version a few months later. Piano duets were always familiar territory for Debussy: he was the favourite partner of Nadezhda von Meck, Tchaikovsky's benefactor, and also of Igor Stravinsky, with whom he played the Rite of Spring in 1913. Tong, Hasegawa
More music by Claude Debussy
Poissons d’or, from Images, Book II
La Puerta del Vino, from Préludes Book II
Rapsodie (arr. Rousseau)
Soiree dans Grenade, from Estampes
Beau Soir
Reflets dans l’eau, from Images, Book 1
Ondine, from Préludes Book II
Bruyères, from Préludes Book 2, No. 5
Pagodes, from Estampes
General Lavine – eccentric, from Préludes Book II
Performances by same musician(s)
Slavonic Dance in A-Flat Major, Op. 46 No. 3
Allegro in a minor (Lebensstürme), D 947
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