L'Isle joyeuse
in A major
Claude Debussy 1862–1918
A major
Key
Score
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Our estimate Virtuoso
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Themes & character
Inspired by a Watteau painting·Written during an elopement·Ecstatic and brilliant·Composed 1904
At a glance
- Key
- A major
About the piece
Composed in 1904 and among the most exuberant things Debussy wrote. It is usually connected to Watteau's painting The Embarkation for Cythera, showing lovers departing for the island of Venus.
The circumstances were less idyllic than the subject: Debussy wrote much of it on Jersey, where he had fled with Emma Bardac while his first wife, abandoned in Paris, attempted suicide. The scandal cost him many friendships. The piece itself is a headlong accumulation of energy toward one of the most brilliant closes in the repertoire.
The composer
Claude Debussy
1862–1918
Achille Claude Debussy was a French composer, born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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