Many of Debussy's early mélodies were inspired by his passion for Mme Vasnier, a red-haired beauty with a high soprano voice, for whom he composed around forty songs.
Compositional Technique
Debussy composed both the text and music for his 'Proses lyriques' and two other mélodies in 'Les nuits blanches', preferring rhythmic prose and believing composers should write their own texts.
Performer Biography
Antonio Ballista, the pianist, has a colorful career including classical repertoire, ragtime, popular songs, rock, and film soundtracks, and has collaborated with many renowned conductors and orchestras.
Instruments
The piano used in this recording is a Pleyel grand piano à queue Gronkowski No 61F287-173255, made in Lyon on February 15, 1923.
Composer Biography
Claude Debussy, the composer, had a difficult childhood, born into a modest family, and his father was imprisoned for several years.
Composition History
Debussy became a song composer before finishing his studies, writing his first song, 'Nuit d'étoiles', at age eighteen.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Debussy often revised and perfected his works throughout his life, which explains why a title like 'Clair de lune' appears twice in this anthology, with significant differences.
