Classical Music | Music for Flute

Recorded on 04/27/2016, uploaded on 01/12/2017

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Selections from Chansons de Bilitis, Claude Debussy, arranged by Karl Lenski

Pour un tombeau sans nom
Pour que la nuit soit propice
Pour l’Égyptienne
Pour remercier la pluie au matin

In 1894, Pierre Louÿs published a volume of poetry, Chansons de Bilitis,  that became a sensation in French literary culture. Louÿs initially claimed to have translated the poems from ancient Greek, but the truth was quickly revealed: Louÿs had assumed the stylistic trappings of antiquity so as to write poetry that was openly sensual. Debussy, ever attracted to the exotically erotic, composed incidental music to accompany the recitation of several poems from the collection. He transformed these little gems several times, creating a version for piano, Six Antique Epigraphs, which forms the basis of this flute and piano arrangement. Debussy’s response to Louÿs’s risqué imagery is characteristically elliptical, understated, and suggestive—almost coy. The low register of the flute murmurs gently, while the cushioned layers of Debussy’s distinctive piano idiom envelop the irresistible siren songs in a rich, heady glow.     Sarah Frisof

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.