Claude Debussy
La plus que lente
La plus que lente, L. 121 (, "The more than slow"), is a waltz for solo piano written by Claude Debussy in 1910, shortly after his publication of the Préludes, Book I. The piece debuted at the New
Style#
Despite its title, La plus que lente was not meant to be played slowly; “lente,” in this context, refers to the valse lente genre that Debussy attempted to emulate. Typical of Debussy’s caustic approach to naming his compositions, it represented his reaction to the vast influence of the slow waltz in France’s social atmospheres. However, as Frank Howes noted, “La plus que lente is, in Debussy’s wryly humorous way, the valse lente slow waltz to outdo all others.”
History#
It has been claimed that Debussy was supposedly inspired for La plus que lente by a small sculpture, “La Valse”, that he kept on his mantelpiece. During the same year of its composition, an orchestration of the work was conceived, but Debussy opposed the score’s heavy use of percussion and proposed a new one, writing to his publisher:
See also#
- List of compositions by Claude Debussy by genre
- List of compositions by Claude Debussy by Lesure numbers
- Impressionist music
- Romantic music
External links#
- *Original solo-piano version at last.fm
- Composer
- Claude Debussy