Images pour orchestre

Debussy’s set of three orchestral Images began life as a cycle for two pianos, intended as a followup to his two books of solo piano Images (1905-07). Gradually, however, the music took shape as an orchestral sequence. The first work in the published order is Gigues (Jigs, 1909-12); then comes Ibéria (1905-08), and finally Rondes de printemps (Round Dances of Spring, 1905-09). Each Image offers a stylised portrait of a different European musical culture. Gigues quotes fragments of the song “The Keel Row” from Northumberland in northeastern England, whose misty climate is conjured in the music’s melancholy atmosphere. Ibéria is a three-movement evocation of Spain and its folk music, ranging from the vibrant, sunlit activity of “Par les rues et les chemins” (“Along the Streets and Pathways”) and “Le matin d’un jour de fête” (“Festival Day Morning”) to the dreamy sumptuousness of the centrally placed “Les parfums de la nuit” (“Night Scents”). And, in tribute to Debussy’s own country, Rondes de printemps quotes two traditional French songs.