During a brief visit to Budapest in 1910 Claude Debussy was impressed by the Gypsy-style cafe ensembles he heard in the city. Of one Gypsy musician, Debussy wrote:
“In an ordinary, commonplace café, he gave one the impression of sitting in the depths of a forest; he arouses in the soul that characteristic feeling of melancholy in which we so seldom have an opportunity to indulge.”
Debussy’s had composed “La Plus que lente” (The Slower than Slow), four months earlier. Lazy and atmospheric, it is perhaps most effective as an exaggerated parody of the sentimental slow waltzes that were enjoying a fad just then.
Debussy’s publisher, Jacques Durand, commissioned Paris arranger Henri Mouton to prepare an orchestration of the waltz. But Debussy, who supported the project in principle, was not pleased with the result. If you want something done right, of course, you must do it yourself; and so in 1912 Debussy interrupted his jam-packed schedule to prepare his own orchestral arrangement of La Plus que lente.
Debussy’s version makes a magical sound, and the composer further enriched this seductive piece by adding the several introductory bars he felt Mouton’s version had needed.
Here, for your enjoyment is the music for piano solo:
