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Jeux: Poeme Danse, L. 126 (complete ballet)
Composers:- Debussy, Claude
- Nieweg, Clinton F.
Duration: 20
Description:
The ballet Jeux (Games), described as a “poème dansé” was written in the space of a month during the end of summer, 1912, by Claude Debussy (1862-1918) for a commission from Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, with choreography to come from Vaslav Nijinsky. Debussy originally intended to reject the project as he found the scenario of a man and two girls playing tennis until interrupted by a plane crash to be absurd. But he accepted after Diaghilev offered to double the commission fee and remove the plane crash, having the moment among the trio interrupted instead by another mystery tennis ball instead. The May 13, 1913, premiere by the Ballets Russes under Pierre Monteux at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris was not a success, and the work was further overshadowed by the famous premiere of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring less than two weeks later. While the work has never gained much interest in the ballet world, it is now thought of more as a part of the concert repertoire. Instrumentation: 2+Picc(2).3+EH.3+BCl.3+Sarrus: 4.4.3.1: Timp.Perc(4): Hp(2).Clst: Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set). Part of the Nieweg Performance Editions series.
