Debussy: Nocturnes

Completed in 1899, Claude Debussy’s kaleidoscopic, freewheeling Nocturnes catapulted music into the 20th century. Based on three Whistler paintings, the orchestral composition finds Debussy conjuring vivid images of brooding Parisian skies, a dazzling portrait of a festival and, in the composer’s own words, “the sea and its countless rhythms”, complete with ethereal, wordless female chorus. The Hallé and Mark Elder are in top form, bringing out both the sumptuous richness and the surgical precision in Debussy’s scores. The Nocturnes may be the main attraction here, but there are some delightful surprises, too, including the seductive—and fiendish—“Première Rapsodie” for clarinet and orchestra, plus Debussy’s Rossetti-inspired early cantata, La Damoiselle élue, charged with irresistible sensuality.