Debussy: La Mer, Images

Featuring

Emmanuel Krivine
Orchestre National de France
Claude Debussy

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Composition History

La Mer was premiered on October 15, 1905, by the Concerts Lamoureux, conducted by Camille Chevillard, but Debussy later revised the finale to remove a fanfare he deemed inappropriate.

Critical Reception

Despite the 'hazy' reputation of Debussy's music, his friend and pianist Ricardo Viñes criticized the 'misty atmosphere of most performances,' stating that Debussy's scores reveal 'very incisive, often rather 'acidic' instrumentation'.

Composition History

Debussy began composing La Mer in 1904 while in Burgundy, preferring to draw inspiration from his memories of the sea rather than its immediate reality.

Recording & Production

This recording includes an excerpt of the original 1905 version of La Mer's finale, featuring the fanfare that Debussy later removed in his 1909 revision.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Olivier Messiaen, a 20th-century French composer, described Debussy as 'the greatest lover of water and wind' and credited him with introducing 'haziness' into harmony, melody, rhythm, and tonal succession.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Claude Debussy believed that the symphony form had become futile since Beethoven and was merely a respectful repetition of old forms by composers like Schumann and Mendelssohn.

Compositional Technique

Debussy often used a three-movement structure, or 'triptych', in his orchestral works like La Mer and Images, even though symphonies traditionally have four movements.