DEBUSSY POISSONS D’OR

In this second edition of Music Meditations I will play a piece by Claude Debussy from his second collection of piano "Images". The third and last piece of the set, the work is entitled "Poissons d'Or" ("Goldfish"). Though there is no story or program attached to this work, the listener is struck by the abundance of water imagery depicted in the pianistic writing.

Rather than focusing on water as a metaphor, though, I prefer to consider the language of gesture and how that language conveys light and color. Our aural canvas is covered with flickering or dappled light and passing strokes of translucent, then saturated shades. There is whimsy and sensuality, and the motion is free-flowing and linear.

What I have come to appreciate, having played this piece for a long time, is the way the emotional content unfolds. There are moods and impressions--they can take us by surprise, even overwhelm us. They churn and roil, they build tension, they dissipate, and they sometimes erupt--and we can but "watch" them and ride along.