Claude Debussy (22 August 1862 25 March 1918) was a French composer.

. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures associated with Impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions. Debussy was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and his use of non-traditional scales and chromaticism influenced many composers who followed. Debussy returned to Paris in 1887 and attended the Paris World Exhibition two years later. There he heard a Javanese gamelana musical ensemble composed of a variety of bells, gongs and xylophones, sometimes accompanied by vocalsand the subsequent years found Debussy incorporating the elements of the gamelan into his existing style to produce a wholly new kind of sound. The music written during this period came to represent the composer's early masterpiecesAriettes oublies (1888), Prlude l'aprs-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun; completed in 1892 and first performed in 1894) and the String Quartet (1893)which were clearly delineated from the works of his coming mature period. ARABESQUE Definition: Depending on the context, the term arabesque has several different meanings. Originally, it described a style of Arab art and architecture consisting of intricate designs of geometric floral, and foliate patterns. Similarly, as it applies to classical music, arabesque is a style of music that is ornately decorative. Most arabesques were composed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. An arabesque (in music) is a piece of music which is highly ornamental. That is quite literally the only criteria. There is a genre of Turkish music known as arabesque music which is highly ornamental. That's where the classical Western composers got the name. The Western arabesque, incidentally, has nothing to do with Turkey or Turkish music. Debussy's music does fit the description. Rather than telling a story, a piece of music conveys a mood or atmosphere. The Two Arabesques (Deux arabesques), L. 66, is a pair of arabesques composed for piano by Claude Debussy. They are two of Debussy's earliest works, composed between the years 1888 and 1891, when he was still in his twenties.

Although quite an early work, the arabesques contain hints of Debussy's developing musical style. The suite is one of the very early impressionistic pieces of music, following the French visual art form. Debussy seems to wander through modes and keys, and achieves evocative scenes through music. His view of a musical arabesque was a line curved in accordance with nature, and with his music he mirrored the celebrations of shapes in nature made by the Art Nouveau artists of the time. Arabesque No. 2. Allegretto scherzando The second arabesque in G major is noticeably quicker and more lively in tempo. It opens with left hand chords and right hand trills. The pieces makes several transpositions and explores a lower register of the piano. Again notable is a hint of the pentatonic scale. The style more closely resembles some of Debussy's later works. Like the closing bars of the first arabesque, this arabesque closes in a similar fashion. DEBUSSY'S WORK List of compositions by Claude Debussy, organized by the catalogue created by musicologist Franois Lesure in 1977. The catalogue was necessary because Debussy did not use opus numbers, except for his String Quartet (labeled Op. 10).

L 66, Deux arabesques (1888, 1891) L 67, Mazurka (1890) L 68, Rverie (1890) L 69, Tarantelle styrienne (Danse) (1890) L 70, Ballade slave (Ballade) (1890) L 71, Valse romantique (1890) L 75, Suite bergamasque (1890-1905)

Prlude Menuet Clair de Lune

Passepied L 82, Nocturne (1892) L 95, Pour le piano suite (18941901)

Prlude Sarabande

Toccata L 99, D'un cahier d'esquisses (1903) L 100, Estampes (1903)

Pagodes

La soire dans Grenade

Jardins sous la pluie L 105, Masques (1904) L 113, Children's Corner (19061908) L 114, Le petit Ngre (1909) L 115, Hommage Joseph Haydn (1909) L 117, Prludes, Book 1 (19091910) L 121, La plus que lente (1910) L 123, Prludes, Book 2 (19121913) L 133, Page d'album (1915) L 136, tudes (1915) L 138, Elgie (1915) Les soirs illumins par l'ardeur du charbon (1917)

Other composers who wrote arabesques include:

Robert Schumann: Arabeske in C, Op. 18 Jean Sibelius: Arabesque, Op. 76/9 Moritz Moszkowski: Opp. 15/2, 61, 95/4 and 96/5 Ccile Chaminade: Opp. 61 and 92 Edward MacDowell Anton Arensky: Op. 67 Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmller: Op. 100 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky[2][3] and Bohuslav Martin: Seven Arabesques for cello and piano (1931). Harold Budd: Arabesque 1,2&3 (2005)