Hope you enjoy this short and beautiful piece by French composer Claude Debussy.
Claude Debussy
Achille Claude Debussy was born on August 22, 1862 in the outskirts of Paris to a family of modest means and little musical knowledge, yet the young Debussy was somehow admitted to the Paris Conservatoire at age 10. He was regarded as a top pianist, but his approach to composition was at odds with the highly conservative faculty.
His early compositions were poorly received by the faculty and were called bizarre, incomprehensible, and unperformable. In 1887, Debussy was exposed to new musical inspiration, initially Wagner’s operas. He was also inspired by the rhythms, musical modes, and harmonic concepts of Indonesian gamelan music. A final inspiration was the music of Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's, particularly his unorthodox approach to harmony and his widely varied orchestrations.
By 1894, Debussy began his rise to fame. His symphonic poem, Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun), received a warm reception. Over the next decade, he would complete almost all of his major works, including pieces for orchestra, chamber ensembles, solo piano, and the opera stage. He also began to spend time with a group called Les Apaches, an artist collective that included Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, and Manuel de Falla.
Debussy died of cancer on March 25, 1918, while Paris was under siege during World War I. He remains one of the most iconic composers and is remembered for his embrace of the avant-garde, mastery of orchestral texture, use of literary influences, and non-traditional scales.
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair
Debussy wrote his two books of piano Preludes late in his life, between 1909 and 1913. The 12 short pieces in each book display a rich variety of styles, moods and emotions – almost a summing up of his compositional output – and each has its own evocative title. The pieces are intended to encourage the listener’s imagination to produce their own images. The Girl with the Flaxen Hair is the 8th Prelude in the first book. It is popular for its emotional depth, despite its technical and harmonic simplicity. The title was inspired by an 1852 poem by Charles-Marie René Leconte de Lisle. Although this piece is short, it will immediately transport you, taking you to a vivid, sensual, evocative place that lingers once you return to the real world. Interesting fact - this piece was written in one day!
Further Information
Comments