Julie Nesrallah, the host of CBC Radio 2’s brilliant classical music show Tempo, is back from vacation which means my mornings are filled with peace and beauty and magic once again. Yesterday she shared the story of what she referred to as “the original ’50 Shades Of Grey'” — Claude Debussy‘s three-movement composition Nocturnes which he composed between 1897 and 1899. The first of the three, entitled “Nuages” (Clouds), is a characteristic study in veiled harmony and texture and was inspired by a giant set of rolling thunderhead clouds which were passing overhead one day in France. Debussy was mesmerized by the near infinite range of greys visible in the clouds — from deeply foreboding charcoal to elegant light hues of near-white grey — which were in a constant state of transition and movement between form and color. If Claude were here in Montreal today I’m wondering if this blanket of humidity would inspire a similar work of genius. To learn more about the life of Claude Debussy CLICK HERE. And for more great stories from the world of classical music be sure to visit Classical Music on FEELguide.
