Debussy Pays Homage to Rameau: A Musical Tribute
What magical,secret link could unite two of the most influential French composers in the history of music? One lived between the 17th and 18th centuries,and offered baroque music a major treatise on harmony as well as sensational lyrical works or pieces for harpsichord.The other also marked his time and continues to inspire musicians today: Claude debussy, who pays homage to Rameau, draws inspiration from some of his lessons, but also questions manny others…
What you hear here is an excerpt from Rameau’s lyric tragedy Les Boréades. A piece that evokes the breath of Zephyr, the god of the wind. Here, the wind is evoked spectacularly by descending notes played in the bass, but also by rapid scales played twice as fast in the high register by the winds, strings and harpsichord. Let’s now listen to how Debussy manages to evoke the wind using a fully different trick, almost the opposite of Rameau.