Nocturnes

• Debussy wrote this set of three tone poems over the course of three years, from 1897-1899.¹
• Debussy originally conceived this set as a violin and orchestra vehicle for Eugene Ysaÿe, but in the process of writing decided to forgo the solo instrument.²
• The first two movements of the suite premiered on December 9, 1900, in Paris, in a performance by the Lamoureux Orchestra conducted by Camille Chevillard.³
  • The critics were not impressed with the premiere of Debussy’s Nocturnes. The composer’s Grove article notes that Chevillard also conducted the premiere of La Mer, which was similarly poorly-received, and suggests that Chevillard’s “indifferent direction” was a factor.⁴
  • The same ensemble premiered the complete set of Nocturnes on October 27, 1901.⁵

Movements

1. Nuages (Clouds) 
2. Fêtes (Celebrations) 
3. Sirènes (Sirens or Mermaids) ⁶

1. François Lesure and Roy Howat, “Debussy, (Achille-)Claude,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed July 23, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000007353
2. Ibid.
3. “Nocturnes (Debussy, Claude),” IMSLP, accessed July 23, 2021, https://imslp.org/wiki/Nocturnes_(Debussy%2C_Claude)
4. Lesure and Roy Howat, “Debussy, (Achille-)Claude,” Grove Music Online.
5. “Nocturnes (Debussy, Claude),” IMSLP.
6. Ibid.