Description

The cycle with three movements, composed at the end of 1907 and published at the beginning of the next year, contains a singular innovation: Debussy notated the highly differentiated piano part that goes into the extreme registers on three staves. The first movement (Cloches �� travers les feuilles) is reminiscent of a deathknell, the second (Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut) conjures up far-off India or also China; and as for the third movement (Poissons d��or) Debussy was inspired by an enamel painting of goldfish in his study. The dedicatee of the third movement, Ricardo Vi��es, gave the first performance of the cycle.