L'Orgue Impressionniste

Debussy’s Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune marked a turning point in French music. With its floating tonality and dreamy melodies, it aimed to capture impressions of nature and emotion. What will this music sound like in meantone temperament? Will Debussy’s Pagodes sound even richer, even more mysterious? Organist Ere Lievonen and saxophonist Ties Mellema are exploring this. Claude Debussy hated the term impressionism. However, he did influence an entire generation of French composers such as Maurice Ravel, Nadia Boulanger, Louis Vierne, André Caplet, Charles Tournemire and Henri Sauget. By utilizing the pure major thirds of meantone temperament, their work and harmonic approach gain a fresh perspective. The sound of the Renaissance converges with the musical adventures of the fin de siècle.