The Nash Ensemble, the performers on this album, is the Resident Chamber Ensemble at London's Wigmore Hall and has premiered over 330 new works by 225 composers.
Composer Biography
Claude Debussy, the composer, was weakened by cancer and only completed three of his planned six sonatas before his death.
Composition History
The Cello Sonata, the first of Debussy's sonatas to be finished, was originally intended to be titled 'Pierrot angry with the moon'.
Recording & Production
The arrangement of Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune for wind quintet, string quintet, harp, and crotales on this album was made by French oboist and composer David Walter.
Composition History
Debussy's String Quartet, his first piece of mature chamber music, was influenced by Russian music, especially Borodin, and the cyclic forms and harmonic fluidity of César Franck.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Debussy began writing a series of instrumental sonatas at the start of World War I, aiming to regain hold of ancient French musical traditions.
Composition History
Debussy composed Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune in 1894 as a "very free illustration" of Stéphane Mallarmé's poem, evoking the faun's desires and dreams.
You might also enjoy...
Debussy: Sonatas and Piano Trio
Debussy: Chamber Music
Ravel, Debussy & Saint-Seans with the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields
