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Editions & prices
Debussy, Claude
Debussy, Claude

Nocturnes (1899 vs, NCPE. Nieweg)

B-Note says:“Three orchestral pictures evoke clouds, festive moods, and the sea — the final movement featuring an eight-part women's chorus.”
Opus
CD 98
Composed
1897–1899
Duration
ca. 25:00 min
First publisher
Fromont, Paris, 1900
Reprint publisher
Serenissima Music, Edwardsville, 2005
Instrumentation
3d1.2+1.2.3 / 4.3.3.1 / timp, 2prc, 2hp i
Woodwinds
Flutes3d1
Oboes2+1
Clarinets2
Bassoons3
Brass
Horns4
Trumpets3
Trombones3
Tuba1
Further timp Timpani · 2prc 2 × Percussion · 2hp 2 × Harp
+1 = additional player on an auxiliary instrument (e.g. piccolo, cor anglais, bass clarinet, contrabassoon)
d = doubling, e.g. 2d1: one of the two players also plays the auxiliary instrument
Orchestra
Symphony orchestra
Choir
Femeale choir
Your orchestra Available to registered customers only i Your orchestra Save your orchestra’s line-up once – by drag & drop or from a template, from chamber to full symphony orchestra. Fits – no extra players needed Nearly – additionally: 1 harp 5 extra players needed Every work page then shows at a glance whether the work fits your orchestra and which extra players you would need. Several orchestras and project line-ups are possible. The catalogue is aimed at orchestras and ensembles – once logged in, the feature is available under "My orchestra". Log in →
Nuages
Fêtes
Sirènes
Symphonic poem

Claude Debussy's “Nocturnes” were composed between 1897 and 1899 and rank among the most significant orchestral works of musical Impressionism. The three-movement work comprises the movements “Nuages”, “Fêtes”, and “Sirènes”, with the final movement including an eight-part women's chorus. The premiere of the first two movements took place on December 9, 1900, in Paris, with the complete first performance following in 1901.

Debussy himself described the title “Nocturnes” not in terms of the conventional piano form, but as an exploration of various impressions and effects of light. “Nuages” paints the motionless sky and slowly drifting clouds through calmly shifting expanses of sound. “Fêtes” depicts the dancing, shimmering light of a festival with a procession of brilliance and dust, while “Sirènes” evokes the sea and its endless rhythm, permeated by the mysterious song of the sirens.

This new edition was edited by Clinton F. Nieweg.

„I am trying to do 'something different' – an effect of reality – what imbeciles call 'Impressionism', a term which is as poorly used as possible, especially by the art critics.“
— Debussy, Brief an Jacques Durand, 1908
„The title Nocturnes is intended to have here a more general and, above all, a more decorative meaning. It is not meant to designate the usual form of the Nocturne, but rather all the various impressions and the special effects of light that the word suggests.“
— Debussy, Programmnotiz zur Uraufführung der Nocturnes, Paris 1900/1901
Date
1900
Venue
Paris
Conductor
Camille Chevillard
Orchestra
Concerts Lamoureux
Die ersten beiden Sätze (Nuages und Fêtes) wurden am 9. Dezember 1900 uraufgeführt; alle drei Sätze (inkl. Sirènes) erstmals am 27. Oktober 1901, ebenfalls unter Chevillard mit den Concerts Lamoureux.

Editions available

Item no. Description Price (incl. 7% VAT)
SER-11668.00Full score
Fromont, Paris, 1900, rev. Serenissima Music 2005 		€ 117,00
SER-11682.10Set of parts with strings 4.4.3.2.2
Fromont, Paris, 1900, rev. Serenissima Music 2005 		€ 374,00
🎵 Digital options

Digital parts for this edition are not yet available. Please log in to request digitization.

SER-11682.21Extra Str. Vl.1€ 11,00
SER-11682.22Extra Str. Vl.2€ 11,00
SER-11682.23Extra Str. Va.€ 11,00
SER-11682.24Extra Str. Vc.€ 11,00
SER-11682.25Extra Str. Bass€ 11,00
SER-11682.12Wind parts
Fromont, Paris, 1900, rev. Serenissima Music 2005 		€ 160,00
SER-11682.31Vocal score
Serenissima Music 2005 Arr. Ephraim Hammett Jones		€ 7,50

Sample pages

Sample pages Sample pages

Video

More by Claude Debussy

La Mer CD.111 2+1.2+1.2.3+1 / 4.3+2.3.1 / timp, perc, 2 hp, str Clair de Lune (orch. Caplet) CD 82/3 2.2.2.2 / 2.0.0.0 / hrp, str Pelléas et Malisande (complete) CD 93 3.2+1.2.3 / 4.3.3.1 / timp, perc, 2hp, str, SATB soli, SATB chs Children’s Corner (orch. Caplet) CD 119 2.2.2.2 / 4.2.0.0 / 4 perc, hp, str Jeux – Poème dansé for orchestra CD 133 2+2.3+1.3+1.3+1 / 4.4.3.1 / timp, perc, cel, 2hp, str Iberia ( No.2 from „Images“) CD 118 3D1+1.2+1.3.3+1 / 4.3.3.1 / timp, perc, 2 hp, cel, str
All 18 works by Debussy →

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