Imagery in Debussy’s La mer

There is an innate irony in many of Debussy’s works. While his music usually has an evasive quality, his titles are typically evocative. La mer is one of Debussy’s most ambitious projects. The work’s subtitle is “Three Symphonic Sketches,” and it is quite an incredible positioning between the tone poem and the symphony. Although his habits of specific titling appear in each movement—”From Dawn ’til Noon on the Sea,” “Play of the Waves” and “Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea,”—the title of the work as a whole is simply La mer, which means “the sea.”

Debussy had spent much time absorbing the paintings of Joseph Mallord William Turner. He was particularly drawn to Turner’s illustrations of the sea. Although no direct connection was ever admitted, the first “sketch”—“From Dawn ’til Noon on the Sea”—evokes the aesthetic of a Turner painting, particularly in his murky depictions of the clouded sky against the sea.

Perhaps the greatest connection to the medium of visual art is The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai. Debussy precisely requested this work to be on the front cover of the published score. While it was popular work of art in France at the time, it is still a fascinating choice, as it reveals Debussy’s acceptance of influences from around the world, further complicating any traditional Western label to this work. It suggests Debussy’s thoughts on the ocean—borderless and surrounding the Earth with no true regard to direction.

Here is how it appeared on the 1905 score, the year of the premiere:

Interestingly, Debussy was totally landlocked during the two or so years he composed this piece. He composed La mer completely from his childhood memories of the sea. Thus, there is a longing and reminiscence nature to this work that unlocks a whole new listening experience.

You must come and hear this oceanic tour de force performed live by the NJSO Mar 7–10!

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Post by Michael Rosin