La Mer (the Sea): Three Symphonic Sketches (Dover Miniature Music Scores)

The exceptional French composer Claude Debussy (1862-1918) captured the quality of light playing off of water in his music. It took him two years to write this masterwork (1903-1905), which in three movements--"From dawn to noon on the sea," "Play of waves," and "Dialogue of the wind and sea" captures both the soft appeal and the dark menace of the sea. There was no precedent for a composition of this scope, leaving Debussy to develop the chromatic language required to paint his complex portrait of an elemental force. Readers can explore the ways in which he accomplished this with the aid of this pocket-sized full orchestral score from Dover. Inexpensive, sturdily bound, and with wide margins to facilitate note-writing, it is sized for home study or to take along to the concert hall. This series is a gift to the serious musician or student, as Dover scores are always reprints of out-of-copyright volumes. Because of this, readers shouldn't expect to find up-to-the-moment scholarship in them, but they are a great bargain and a great study aid. The large glossary of French musical terms is a real plus. --Sarah Bryan Miller