Posted in: Classical by alkair on July 16th, 2009 | 0 Comments
Debussy is a famous French composer. His arabesque is a popular piano piece.
Debussy is a very famous French Composer who was considered by some as an impressionist composer. His music has a sensory component and it reflected heavily on occurrences and turbulence in his life. My favorite composition of his is Arabesque no. 1. An arabesque is defined as a “Position in which the dancer has one leg raised behind and arms outstretched in a conventional pose”. In music however it is usually of the 2:2 or 4:4 meter and was danced to in the seventeenth century. So both uses of the word “Arabesque” relates to dancing and when you listen to it you can imagine a graceful dancer.
The piece is made for piano and is extremely fluid and doesn’t really have a recurring theme or leitmotif like in contemporary music. However leitmotifs were not heavily used back in his era of music. Debussy lived in an era that was transforming from the classical age to the romantic age. He helped make that change to romantic music also. The arabesque really does represent the style of composing Debussy has in my opinion. I also think this piece is extremely beautiful and it is one of my favorite piano pieces.
When hearing the piece it conveys many feelings and images to me. One of the biggest images you can imagine when hearing the beginning is soaring through the night, weightless. The piece is probably one of the most gorgeous piano pieces, because it is so fluid and graceful. Another image that comes to mind when listening to the piece is probably a clean flowing stream. Overall Debussy made the piece extremely serene and relaxing to listen to. It probably is one of his best works too.
Debussy was one of the most prominent music figures in Europe in his day. His music is so great that it is stilled played today and enjoyed.
