Engulfed Cathedral

Composer: Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

Frenchman, Claude Debussy, was one of the most prominent composers of the impressionistic period of music. His music is noted for its sensory component and for not often forming around one key or pitch. Published in 1910, this piece is based on an ancient Breton myth in which a cathedral, submerged underwater off the coast of the Island of Ys, rises up from the sea on clear mornings when the water is transparent. Using techniques of musical Impressionism, Debussy creates the sounds of priests chanting, bells chiming, and the organ playing, from across the sea. But in the end, the island is once again submerged, the cathedral is gone from sight, and only the bells are heard, in the distance.

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Recorded 05-12-2012 (5:36)