Debussy-La Mer cover (Durand, 1905)

As I start off a week in Newport, Rhode Island, I chose Debussy’s La Mer as my piece to learn. I thought it would be an interesting and fun choice as I stare at ocean waves. I think it’s possible that this piece was on a listening test at some point in my undergrad curriculum (probably Music Theory IV), but I have next to no recollection of it at this point.

After an interminable wait downloading the PDF score over a most kludgy resort wifi, I headed to the exercise room, iPad in hand, ready to face the surf, and have an initial listen on the elliptical.

First Impressions

After the first run-through, and with quite a sweat on, I have concluded that the piece feels like it has very little to do with the ocean, at least as viewed from the beach. This surprises me, given that Debussy was an impressionistic composer, and I would’ve expected traditional western interpretations of rolling waves as Haydn used in The Creation, or the gently undulating cascade of the flowing river in Smetana’s Moldau. I did know that I should expect a score that was effective primarily due to color and contrasting timbres. I had been given this impression some years back, and believed Debussy to be the master of color until I sensed a rival in Snooch’s Silly Symphony Year 2, upon first hearing Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G. This challenge was upheld earlier in Year 3 with the unveiling to me of Le Tombeau de Couperin. My readings have suggested to me that I am wrong in this initial impression, and that this piece is full of impressionistic qualities, so I am willing to presume that I have perhaps not paid enough attention to the score, as I bounced up and down on the elliptical machine (which had a more strenuous range of motion than my home machine, my usual study desk). I guess I was expecting more programmatic material, perhaps in line with the “Sea and Sinbad’s Ship” movement of Scheherazade, which, when you know the story being told, perfectly aligns with the spirit of the tale.