Debussy’s “Nocturnes”
Notes by TŌN horn player Ziming Zhu
Completed in 1899, the concept for Nocturnes could be dated back to 1892, under the composition Trois Scènes au Crépuscule (Three Scenes at Twilight). Inspired by the poems of Henri de Régnier, Debussy intended to compose a triptych for orchestra, an idea similar to his famous orchestral triptych Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. The piano score of Three Scenes at Twilight was completed in 1893. However, Debussy started recomposing this work into a piece for solo violin and orchestra after listening to Eugène Ysaÿe premiere his String Quartet in G minor. In 1894, Debussy retitled the Three Scenes to Nocturnes, inspired by the works of American painter James McNeill Whistler. By 1897 Debussy had abandoned the idea of composing a piece for solo violin and orchestra, and he started revising the piece into a full orchestral work. The score of Nocturnes was signed with a completion date of December 15, 1899. However, until the day he died, Debussy continued to make new adjustments and modifications to the score. At some point, even the revised versions became contradictory to each other. The “definitive version” was published in 1930 and became the most widely performed version today.
The first movement, “Nuages” (“Clouds”), depicts “thunderclouds swept along by a stormy wind; a boat passing, with its horn sounding” (comments recorded by biographer Léon Vallas from Debussy himself). The second movement, “Fêtes” (“Festivals”), pictures a rustic festival with the rhythm of dances. Debussy explained that “Festivals” was inspired by the scene of noisy crowds watching the drum and bugle corps of the Garde Nationale in the parade of merry-making in the Bois de Boulogne. The third movement, “Sirènes” (“Sirens”), depicts a sea scene with the mysterious sounds of waves and the mythological sirens. This movement resembles his later work La Mer. The similar haunting female voices can be later found in Holst’s “Neptune” from The Planets.