Path 15
Paris around 1900
Fauré, Satie, Debussy, Chausson, Dukas and Ravel, from 1887 to 1920.
Fauré → Satie → Debussy → Chausson → Dukas → Ravel
La mer, L. 109
This guide follows Debussy’s La mer, L. 109 (1905) in three parts: De l’aube à midi sur la mer, Jeux de vagues and Dialogue du vent et de la mer.
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- IDe l’aube à midi sur la mer
- IIJeux de vagues
- IIIDialogue du vent et de la mer
IDe l’aube à midi sur la mer0:50–9:47
Very slow and very quiet at first, in B minor, the music wakes like the sea at dawn. Listen for the abrupt two-note rhythm in the cellos and for the rising-and-falling melody that muted trumpet and English horn give out early, which comes back in the . The wave-like phrases grow clearer through Section 1 (“Moderate, without slowness”) and Section 2 (“A little more animated”), and a striking passage for sixteen cellos stands out. A brass marks the arrival of midday, and the releases the full orchestra, with a swell of cymbals.
- Moderate, without slowness
IIJeux de vagues9:56–16:30
IIIDialogue du vent et de la mer16:41–25:21
Section boundaries in music are not always sharp; a transition may be felt over a pause or a held chord.
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