Debussy used the principal tune again in his ballet for children La boite à joujoux, where it represents an English soldier.Īt the beginning of the 20 th century, valse lente was very popular in Paris. Given its spelling by the composer himself, The little Nigar (subsequently changed by publishers to The little Negro ) was commissioned in 1909 for Théodore Lack's predecessor of ragtime). This tongue-in-cheek reference concludes the set the way it began - very agreeable for children to listen to, but essentially aimed at adult understanding. The merry rhythm of the minstrel dance imported from the United States is interrupted but once, almost at the end: making fun of Wagner, Debussy quotes several opening bars of the Tristan prelude, marking it in the music "avec une grande emotion". Maybe the best known of the set, Golliwogg's Cake-walk is named after a doll created in 1895 by Florence Upton. The expressive simplicity of The Little Shepherd is conveyed by imitating soliloquy on shepherd's reed pipes which alternates with accompanied dance tunes. While the use of whole-tone scale and chromaticism result in an overall complex harmonic picture, the middle section exhibits particularly intricate and delicate rhythmic texture. The Snow is Dancing portrays children's fascination with the beauty of the snow-flakes and the visual aspect of the precipitation, which spurs their imagination and fantasy. After a pentatonic opening melody, the middle part conveys nostalgic atmosphere - maybe of a happy childhood gone by. Serenade of the Doll (meaning: to the doll) was already published separately in 1906. The elephant is being nursed to sleep using the popular lullaby Do, do, l'enfant do, of which a few notes are heard several times. It may even be understood as an encouragement of rebellion against academicism.ĭebussy insisted on calling his daughter's little velvet elephant Jimbo (not Jumbo), thus entitling the next piece Jimbo's Lullaby. However, the substantial difference between the two is that Debussy's writing shows the emotional distance of an observer, rather than a participant.ĭoctor Gradus ad Parnassum is a piece whose satire - poking fun at finger exercises - is certainly above children's comprehension. The cycle's precursor might have been Mussorgsky's cong cycle The Nursery, which Debussy knew well and indeed gave it a positive review. Only a decade later, Debussy was dead, and his daughter was to follow him next year. Debussy dedicated his 1908 cycle Children's Corner to his five-year old daughter, writing in his dedication: "To my beloved little Chouchou, with the tender excuses of her father for that which follows".
0 kommentar(er)
