Classical Works Spotlight #528--Debussy

[erik]

Several works of Claude Debussy's that we associate with his orchestral output began as piano works. Case in point, the work in this week's Classical Works Spotlight.

Debussy: PETITE SUITE (ORCHESTRATED BY HENRI BUSSER)

Claude Debussy never felt comfortable with the idea of being labeled a musical “impressionist”. And yet, along with his near-contemporary Maurice Ravel, Debussy did create the style that formed a good part of the music of the 20th century. This was evident even before such works as “Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Faun” and “La Mer” in his four-movement “Petite Suite”. This was a work for two pianos that Debussy worked on between 1886 and 1889, and was first performed by the composer and pianist Jacques Durand at a salon in Paris on February 2, 1889. Many writers speculate that it was written upon the request of Durand to make a piano piece accessible to skilled amateur pianists. The four-movements are: (1) En Bateau (Sailing); (2) Cortege (Retinue); (3) Menuet (Moderato); and (4) Ballet (Allegro Giusto); and the first two movements are settings of poems from the volume of poems entitled “Fetes Galantes” by the French writer Paul Verlaine. The work remains a staple of the piano repertoire, but it is even better known in an orchestral version that was arranged by the composer’s close colleague Henri Busser in 1907. Busser’s orchestration, apart from the added use of cymbals, tambourine, triangle, and harp, is roughly for traditional classical forces. This orchestral version may not have initially enjoyed the extreme popularity of Debussy’s better-known works, but it does remain a frequently recorded entry in the world of works transcribed for orchestra.



Detroit Symphony Orchestra/PAUL PARAY (Mercury Living Presence)

Included:
Debussy: NOCTURNES (featuring the Wayne State University Women’s Glee Club)
Ravel: SUITE NO. 2 FROM “DAPHNIS AND CHLOE”
Ravel: VALSES NOBLES ET SENTIMENTALES
Ravel: BOLERO

[egoodstein]

A very pretty shortish piece for sure, and if 'simpler' than some of his work, still those nice scintillating 'coloristic' aspects and glistening effects, with also a sense of longing. And of course it goes some interesting places, not always predictable. The orchestral version to me has always seemed close to Romantic dance/ballet music-- nothing wrong with that. I think it's one that, like the piano version, might be a good introduction to his more complex works too. I like Debussy very much, including his solo piano and chamber works. If very 'French' in balancing delight and serious depth, he's very good and innovative at it, and to me his work sounds fresh even today.

[erik]

Whether Debussy was ever aware of it, or was willing to acknowledge, he did a lot of musical painting; and I felt this was true with the "Petite Suite", both in its two-piano version and then later in Busser's orchestration. Or rather, maybe a very early form of musical movie/video in the Classical form. Given how many such works he made of this type, it's sometimes easy to take his innovations for granted (IMHO).