Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Debussy's Best "B-sides"

When people hear the name Debussy, they immediately think of "Claire de lune" or maybe even "Arabesque 1". But Debussy did so much more, and he's often overlooked more than he deserves. Here are some of Debussy's best "B-sides". 

1) The Snow is Dancing is a wonderful musical painting. It perfectly expresses the imagery of falling snow in a snowstorm. I've heard very few songs of this nature communicate an idea so well.
Snowflakes


2) Doctor gradus ad parnassum is a fun song that often gets butchered in its performance because people tend to play it too quickly. Much too quickly. Debussy is a passionate composer, and when people try to fly through this piece, it kills a lot of the emotion. This recording is excellent- not too fast or too slow, it simply moves with the music. 
Doctor


3) It was a tough pick for this last slot, but this performance of Reverie is perfect. While not being an unknown piece, I think it's severely underrated. I think it's one of Debussy's most beautiful compositions. While his ideas are always impressionistic and vague in their identity, there's a strong sense of melody here. It's quite elegant. 
Reverie

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