Claude Debussy is well-known to represent the art of impressionism in music, though composer himself did not like to be coined with the term. Labels aside, most of his music has the ability to evoke strong visual ties with the nature. Playing with keys and modes, the composer could skillfully draw the lines and shapes of nature in his pieces.
Perhaps one of the brightest examples of composer’s early impressionistic pieces is the two arabesques he composed in 1888 – 1891. The slower and more melodic Arabesque No.1 and the faster in tempo No.2 are the beginning of Debussy’s distinctive style: this is where he starts using a special impressionistic technique – parallelism of triads and the pentatonic scale.
Classical music is something for our ear and mind. But in case of Debussy, the eye is longing for an image too. Therefore, his works of impressionism, like the two arabesques, are very-well perceived when accompanied with quality visuals. I personally enjoyed listening to the piece watching the vid below. Hope you’ll enjoy it as well!
