With no surviving manuscript, the exact date of composition of Rêverie is unknown, yet it is believed that it was composed rather hastily somewhere between 1880 and 1884 and for purely commercial reasons. This makes the piece a particularly early work for Debussy, as well as an early foray into impressionism that came to dominant his mature style. When some of his piano works began appearing in print in 1890, such as the Deux Arabesques and the Petite Suite for piano four-hands, Rêverie was, against the composer’s wishes, included among them. In the eyes of its creator, Rêverie was deemed unfit to be published and Debussy even expressed his dissatisfaction with his publisher that it was put into print. He saw the work as a mere trifle and even described it himself as “no good.” Later, Debussy would even come to loathe the early style of his piano music, a sentiment that prompted him to revise his well-known Suite Bergamasque before its publication in 1905. A disowned child, Rêverie was lovingly adopted by the public and became one of Debussy’s most beloved piano works, garnering for itself a place among the mature composer’s finest pieces. Besides its popularity in its original form, Rêverie has also been frequently transcribed for various instrumental combinations and even served as the basis for Larry Clinton’s 1938 hit My Reverie.
Very similar to the simple style of the Deux Arabesques, Rêverie depends heavily on a left-hand accompaniment of arpeggios to provide the rich harmonic support, tinged with modal coloring, for its expressive and lyrical melody. Two bars of accompaniment, establishing the ostinato figure, preludes the arrival of the melody, after which it dissolves into the gentle ebb and flow of arpeggios rising and falling with the meter. The melody itself with simple expression is unadorned, venturing only occasionally to introduce a contradictive triplet rhythm in the otherwise undisturbed and regular flow of common time. The central episode is more animated, turning more to the lilting triplet rhythm to impart a greater energy to the music, while simultaneously reducing the accompaniment to unembellished chords. A sweeping gesture of triplets returns the listener to the opening material in which the ostinato-figure is deftly divided above and below the melody. Greatly shortened in its reprise, the principal melody gives way to a reprise of the central episode just before the piece’s gentle and quiet conclusion.Joseph DuBose
Classical Music | Guitar Music
Claude Debussy
Reverie Play
Recorded on 08/01/2009, uploaded on 08/01/2009
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
With no surviving manuscript, the exact date of composition of Rêverie is unknown, yet it is believed that it was composed rather hastily somewhere between 1880 and 1884 and for purely commercial reasons. This makes the piece a particularly early work for Debussy, as well as an early foray into impressionism that came to dominant his mature style. When some of his piano works began appearing in print in 1890, such as the Deux Arabesques and the Petite Suite for piano four-hands, Rêverie was, against the composer’s wishes, included among them. In the eyes of its creator, Rêverie was deemed unfit to be published and Debussy even expressed his dissatisfaction with his publisher that it was put into print. He saw the work as a mere trifle and even described it himself as “no good.” Later, Debussy would even come to loathe the early style of his piano music, a sentiment that prompted him to revise his well-known Suite Bergamasque before its publication in 1905. A disowned child, Rêverie was lovingly adopted by the public and became one of Debussy’s most beloved piano works, garnering for itself a place among the mature composer’s finest pieces. Besides its popularity in its original form, Rêverie has also been frequently transcribed for various instrumental combinations and even served as the basis for Larry Clinton’s 1938 hit My Reverie.
Very similar to the simple style of the Deux Arabesques, Rêverie depends heavily on a left-hand accompaniment of arpeggios to provide the rich harmonic support, tinged with modal coloring, for its expressive and lyrical melody. Two bars of accompaniment, establishing the ostinato figure, preludes the arrival of the melody, after which it dissolves into the gentle ebb and flow of arpeggios rising and falling with the meter. The melody itself with simple expression is unadorned, venturing only occasionally to introduce a contradictive triplet rhythm in the otherwise undisturbed and regular flow of common time. The central episode is more animated, turning more to the lilting triplet rhythm to impart a greater energy to the music, while simultaneously reducing the accompaniment to unembellished chords. A sweeping gesture of triplets returns the listener to the opening material in which the ostinato-figure is deftly divided above and below the melody. Greatly shortened in its reprise, the principal melody gives way to a reprise of the central episode just before the piece’s gentle and quiet conclusion. Joseph DuBose
More music by Claude Debussy
La Puerta del Vino, from Préludes Book II
Arabesque in C sharp major
Soiree dans Grenade, from Estampes
Rapsodie (arr. Rousseau)
Beau Soir
Ondine, from Préludes Book II
La Cathédrale engloutie, from Preludes, Books 1, No.10
Estampes
Apparition, from Quatre chansons de jeunesse
General Lavine – eccentric, from Préludes Book II
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