As I indicated last week, I will be sticking to the field of Classical Music for awhile but
bringing your attention to some of the more obscure yet deserving pieces of music in this genre. This week brings us to the French composer, Claude Debussy. He was born in France in 1862 and died of cancer in 1918.
In the music world of the time he was considered a rebel. Even though he studied music and graduated from the prestigious Paris Conservatory of Music, he was dissatisfied with the tonal and harmonic approach of conventional classical music. That attitude gave rise to the quote you see with Debussy’s image above – to create new possibilities in music, he had to alter some firm classical music traditions. Debussy lived during the period when French Impressionistic painting, like Monet, was very popular. In short, he wanted to bring the same impressionism to music. While he was alive, the music world and fellow composers firmly rejected his music as too short and too different. Consequently, he had to make his living giving lessons and being an accompanist for singer’s public performances.
On a personal basis, Debussy’s life was as rebellious as his music. While married only once, he had numerous affairs and lovers his entire life. What is it about musical men that they can’t keep their pants zipped up? In a serious vein, the answer to that question is what gives rise to great music. The emotional turmoil in great composers that drives them to express those emotions in music also drives them to find expression of those same emotions with those of the opposite sex. If one looks at the personal life of just about any great composer, they could never be called a one woman man. Thank Goodness I am a not so good of a composer since I’ve been able to be married for 49 years.
Most of the modern world knows Debussy because of his piece “Clair de Lune”. This music has been featured in numerous movies and is one of the most popular pieces of Classical music in the world. It is a Great Piece of Music and will undoubtedly be featured before this series ends. But first, I wanted you to get to know one of Debussy’s less well known pieces that illustrates his “impressionistic” approach to seeing “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair” or even better know around the world as La fille aux cheveux de lin
Here is a YouTube video of The Girl With The Flaxen Hair You will notice I chose another female pianist to showcase this music. It is my experience that women are in better touch with their emotions and are able to grasp the composer’s emotional context when expressing the music better than most men. This is such a delicate piece of music, it requires a very light touch on the keys, something testosterone fueled men seem to find difficult.
TOP IMAGE: By Nadar, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=983139