Overture Magazine - 2014-2015 May-June 2015 | Page 23

also an expression of a turbulent period
in the composer’s life.
When the work was premiered in Paris
on October 15, 1905, many of the critics
and even Debussy’s friends did not like
it. After the delicate colors and veiled
emotions of his recent opera Pélléas et Mélisande, they found La mer’s intense drama
and loud, blazing climaxes unworthy of
the composer. But Debussy had aimed
for something new in this work. If he had
already shown the sea as gentle and mysterious in Sirènes, the last movement of his
Nocturnes, now he was going to describe
its raw elemental power, corresponding to
the deepest turmoil in the human soul.
Neither symphony nor tone poem
(Debussy hated Richard Strauss’ graphic
musical descriptions), La mer was subtitled
“Three Symphonic Sketches.” The first,
“From Dawn to Noon on the Sea,”
begins with a slow, misty introduction
out of which important motives rise as the
day breaks. Gradually, the roll of the sea
emerges: a fair-weather sea of sparkling
waves and steady breezes. A brass chorale
appears at the end, portraying the midday sun blazing overhead.
“Play of the Waves” is lighter in
mood and orchestration. In the work’s
scherzo section the waves frolic “in a
capricious sport of wind and spray.”
(Oscar Thompson).
The finale, “Dialogue of the Wind
and the Sea,” begins ominously with the
rumble of timpani and gong and a stormy
cello/bass motive. A passionate melody,
introduced by woodwinds and eventually treated in grand Romantic fashion
by the strings, seems as much inspired by
Debussy’s tumultuous love affair as by
the storm-tossed waters. Motives from
the first movement as well as the brass
chorale return for a frenzied conclusion:
Debussy finally tearing away his habitual
self-protective veil.

Get results
from award-winning design
and print services that are
within your area code
and within your budget.
For over two decades, we’ve served
local businesses and nonprofits,
producing everything from ads,
annual reports and brochures,
to web sites and logos.
(We even designed and printed the
magazine you’re holding right now.)
To see samples of our work or
to discuss your next project,
call us at 443-873-3916.

Proud supporter of the BSO

Instrumentation: Two flutes, piccolo, two
oboes, English horn, two clarinets, three
bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three
trumpets, two cornets, three trombones, tuba,
timpani, percussion, two harps and strings.
Notes by Janet E. Bedell, Copyright ©2015

www.baltimoremagazine.net/dpd

May– June 2015 |

O v ertur e

21