Pagodes

Composer: Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

Debussy was a French composer who was the leading representative of the Impressionist period of European classical music, roughly from 1875 to 1925. Similar to its precursor in the visual arts, musical impressionism focuses on the suggestion of mood and color and strives to achieve a particular atmosphere. He took an experimental approach to composition, developing his own musical style reflecting his musical imagination.

In 1889 Debussy heard Javanese gamelan and Cambodian pin peat musicians at the Universal Exhibition, a world's fair held in Paris. Pagodes, one of three pieces in a collection entitled Estampes, or Prints, was inspired by that encounter. If you listen carefully you will hear the booming gongs and tinkling bells suggestive of faraway places.

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Recorded 06-10-2013 (6:21)

Piano: 1956 Steinway & Sons "L"