Debussy - Arabesque No.1 (Paolo Chiarandini, Piano)
The Deux arabesques, L. 66 (Two arabesques) are a pair of piano compositions by Claude Debussy, written between 1888 and 1891, when the composer was just twenty years old. These early works already anticipate some elements of the musical style that Debussy would develop in later years, making them among the first examples of Impressionist music, inspired by the French visual art movement. In the arabesques, Debussy explores sonorities in which modalities and tonalities alternate, creating suggestive atmospheres.
The first arabesque is in E major. The initial arpeggio, as in many Impressionist piano works, evokes the image of moving water, then leading to a larger central section. Here the left-hand arpeggio in E major combines with a pentatonic descent of the right hand, also in E major. After a brief passage in F-sharp major, the music returns to E major to conclude the section.
The second section (B), more delicate and quiet, is in A major and begins with a motif (E-D-E-C#) that develops with ascending triplets in the right hand and octaves in the left. The section culminates in an emphatic repetition of the theme in C major, then repeated in a higher register with slight variations, returning to the original key of E major for the reprise of section A. During the reprise, the music moves to higher registers, concluding with an ascending and descending pentatonic scale and a dominant chord (B7) that resolves to E major. Both hands end with delicate final chords in E major.