1889: Impressions of the Orient

1889, Paris. Beneath the newly built Eiffel Tower, millions of visitors flock to the Paris Exposition, a vast showcase of technology, culture and empire. Among them is a young Claude Debussy, who finds himself drawn not to the machinery or monuments but to the sounds of a Javanese gamelan ensemble performing within the exhibition grounds.

For Debussy, the encounter is revelatory. The layered textures, cyclical rhythms and unfamiliar harmonies offer an alternative to the conventions of western classical music. At a time when many French artists are seeking to break free from the dominance of German Romanticism, influences from Asia and beyond begin to open new artistic possibilities.

From the popularity of Japonisme and the fascination with the so-called Orient to the emergence of musical Impressionism, composers such as Debussy, Ravel and Lili Boulanger help create a new musical language. Their work points towards the modernist revolutions of the twentieth century and a classical tradition increasingly shaped by ideas and influences from around the world.

Gillian Moore is joined by a roster of distinguished historians for this major new BBC Radio 3 series, charting a course through 1,000 years of classical music history. For the next eight programmes, historian Rana Mitter is in the chair, as together they explore the turbulent, technological world emerging at the dawn of the twentieth century.

Producer: Chris Taylor
Academic Consultant: Professor Laura Tunbridge, University of Oxford
Story Consultant: Kate Leys
Series Editor for BBC Audio: Emma Harding

Key Changes theme tune composed by Joseph Howard and performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Kerem Hasan.

MUSIC DETAILS

Claude Debussy: Pagodes (from Estampes)
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano)

Léo Delibes: Lakmé – Flower Duet
Natalie Dessay (Lakmé, soprano)
Delphine Haidan (Mallika, mezzo-soprano)
Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse
Michel Plasson (conductor)

Claude Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Bernard Haitink (conductor)

Erik Satie: Gymnopédie No. 1
Pascal Rogé (piano)

Claude Debussy: La mer – De l'aube à midi sur la mer
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Simon Rattle (conductor)

Béla Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta – IV. Allegro molto
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Pierre Boulez (conductor)

To listen to this programme using most smart speakers, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Key Changes."