classicalliterature:

Debussy - Arabesque No. 1

Performed by Aldo Ciccolini, 1991

What do you think of when you read the word: Arabesque? To an artist, it consists of “surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils” (Dictionary of the Decorative Arts 1977) found in Islamic art and in European decorative art from the Renaissance onwards.

     

To a dancer, it’s a ballet position with leg stretched behind, and the arm held to the front, creating the longest line of which a human body is possible.

To a classical musician, it’s a piece which usually has a decorated melodic line, which seems neatly to combine the other two ideas. Debussy wrote two Arabesques, and they are a good starting point for a survey of some of his music, as they are early works -roughly 1888.

(via classicaloftheday)