Claude Debussy
The Sunken Cathedral
for Concert Band
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Claude Debussy
The Sunken Cathedral
for Concert Band
- Instrumentation Concert Band
- Composer Claude Debussy
- Editor Roland Szentpali
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Difficulty Level
- Edition Score
- Publisher Editions Bim
- Order no. BIM96348B
ships within 1-2 weeks
Description:
La Cathédrale engloutie is one of Debussy's most famous piano preludes. The piece is based on an old Breton legend: that of the cathedral of the city of Ys, which sank beneath the waves and is said to rise from the sea on certain mornings to ring its bells and sing its hymns before disappearing once more into the depths. From this image, Debussy draws music of profoundly evocative power. Parallel chords with archaic-sounding tones, reminiscent of an organ and a chorale, allow the structure to gradually rise from the water; the sound swells to a radiant climax at which the cathedral rises in all its grandeur, with bells ringing out in full, before slowly fading away and sinking back into the silence of the waves. This arrangement for wind orchestra serves the work’s purpose perfectly: the richness and variety of the wind instruments’ timbres enhance the resonances, colors, and the almost orchestral breadth that Debussy had already hinted at on the piano. An impressionistic piece of great atmospheric power, oscillating between mystery, contemplation, and grandeur.