Deux arabesques

The shimmering delicacy and florid figuration of Deux arabesques (1888-91)—a couple of dance-like solo piano pieces composed while Debussy was in his twenties—ushered in Impressionism, a musical style later ascribed to the composer on account of his blurred harmonies and fascination with light and space. The liquid sound—requiring a complex piano technique—would go on to be echoed in the composer's subsequent works, becoming a key component of the Debussy style. Arabesque No. 1: Andantino con moto opens with flowing melodic lines and a theme comparable with the better-known Clair de lune. Quiet contemplation gives way to the staccato Arabesque No. 2: Allegretto scherzando, a lively and more percussive piece. Spiky notes are tempered by moments of melting lyricism, with hints of Chopin and Robert Schumann. Most often performed as a twosome, these pieces might be considered as movements of the same work, with much of the same interconnective tissue.