Chill With Debussy

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Cat No: 8556788

Release Date: 06 January 2004

Label: Naxos - Bonuses (30%) / Naxos Classics

Packaging Type: Jewel Case

No of Units: 1

Barcode: 730099678827

Genres: Classical

Composer/Series: CHILL WITH DEBUSSY

Description
Chill with Debussy'The music I desire must be supple enough to adapt itself to the lyrical effusions of the soul and thefantasy of dreams.' Debussy in a letter to a friendA unique voice in classical music, Claude Debussy influenced virtually every composer in subsequentgenerations including Messiaen, Cage and Bartok. He continued the legacy of Chopin in his attempts to create anew musical language for the piano, and in fact conceived an entirely new rich soundscape by his use ofJavanese influences (heard at the 1889 Paris Exhibition) and modal scales rather than major or minor keys. Themajority of his writing was for the piano, although he also wrote a number of song settings, as well asinstrumental and orchestral works and even an opera, Pelleas et Melisande(although he once causticallyremarked 'In opera, there is always too much singing.') His music has often been called 'Impressionistic' for itscolourful use of whole tone scales and subtly shifting, blurred chords - the musical equivalent of paintings byMonet and Renoir, who were both contemporaries and compatriots - although Debussy himself had a hugedislike of being labelled as such.Debussy showed an aptitude for music at an early age, entering the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 10. Heabandoned his early aspirations of becoming a virtuoso pianist to concentrate on composition and quicklyprogressed to become one of the key figures of early 20th century Parisian society. He was often in thecompany of prominent poets and painters, and while he chose not to mix much with other composers, countedErik Satie amongst his close friends. He was also known for his philandering ways, leaving his first wife Lily forthe soprano Emma Bardac, leading Lily to attempt suicide (the second woman to do so as a result of beingrejected by Debussy) and resulting in a huge scandal that lost him many friends. After Emma's rich uncledisinherited her Debussy was forced to take various commissions and make regular performance trips abroad tosupport them both. Despite his financial insecurity, he had a lifelong penchant for fineries and often spent hismoney on antiquities and objets d'art, including a Chinese ornamental wooden toad named Arkel without whichhe claimed not to be able to compose. He continued to compose, conduct and perform virtually to the end of hislife and eventually died at the age of 55 during the bombardment of Paris in March 1918, ravaged by cancer anddeeply saddened by the devastation of war.
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