French Impressionists, vol. 2, for Horn Quartet

Description

1. “Pavane pour une Infante défunte” by Maruice Ravel arranged by Kerry Turner
2. “Tarantelle Styrienne” by Claude Debussy arranged by Geoffrey Winter

Claude Debussy (1862-1918) was the foremost of the French Impressionistic composers. His innovative use of harmony, rhythm and melody as colour had great influence over most of the major composers of the early 20th century, not only in France but in the rest of world as well.
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), though greatly influenced by Debussy, retreated from the indistinctness of Debussy’s use of melody, harmony, rhythm and structure, choosing for more functionalism in all of his compositional devices. His superb feel for and use of colour, and his conceptual use of “moods” and “atmospheres” ties him irrevocably to the French Impressionistic Period.
Ravel’s Pavane pour une Infante défunte is a good example of this – a piece written with a suggestive title as in much of Debussy’s music, but containing much clearer and longer melodic and harmonic lines. Composed for piano in 1899, Ravel exploited the rich inherent timbres by setting it for orchestra in 1910. Also originally composed for piano, Debussy’s Tarantelle Styrienne gently plays with the ambiguity of the 3/4 and 6/8 meters. It was republished in 1903 as “Danse”.