The Two Arabesques L. 66, is a pair of arabesques composed by Claude Debussy

Claude Debussy

Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...

. They are two of Debussy's earliest works, composed between the years 1888 and 1891, when he was still in his twenties.

Although quite an early work, the arabesques contain hints of Debussy's developing musical style. The suite is one of the very early impressionistic

Impressionist music

Impressionism in music was a tendency in European classical music, mainly in France, which appeared in the late nineteenth century and continued into the middle of the twentieth century. Similarly to its precursor in the visual arts, musical impressionism focuses on a suggestion and an atmosphere...

 pieces of music, following the French visual art form. Debussy seems to wander through modes and keys

Key (music)

In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...

, and achieves evocative scenes through music.

The two arabesques are given these tempo marks:

1. Andantino con moto
2. Allegretto scherzando

Arabesque No. 1. Andantino con moto

This arabesque is in the key of E major

E major

E major is a major scale based on E, with the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps .Its relative minor is C-sharp minor, and its parallel minor is E minor....

. This piece begins with parallelism of triads in first inversion, a composition technique very much used by Debussy and the impressionist movement. It leads into a larger section beginning with a left hand arpeggio in E major and a descending right hand E major pentatonic progression.

The second quieter B section is in A major

A major

A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps.Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor...

, which starts with a gesture (E-D-E-C), briefly passes through E major, returns to A major and ends with a bold pronouncement of the E-D-E-C gesture, but transposed

Transposition (music)

In music transposition refers to the process, or operation, of moving a collection of notes up or down in pitch by a constant interval.For example, one might transpose an entire piece of music into another key...

 to the key of C major

C major

C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....

, played forte.

In the middle of the recapitulation of the A section, the music moves to a higher register and descends, followed by a large pentatonic scale ascending and descending, and resolving back to E major.

Arabesque No. 2. Allegretto scherzando

The second arabesque in G major

G major

G major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp, F; in treble-clef key signatures, the sharp-symbol for F is usually placed on the first line from the top, though in some Baroque music it is placed on the first space from the bottom...

 is noticeably quicker and more lively in tempo. It opens with left hand chords and right hand trills. The pieces makes several transpositions and explores a lower register of the piano. Again notable is a hint of the pentatonic scale. The style more closely resembles some of Debussy's later works. Like the closing bars of the first arabesque, this arabesque closes in a similar fashion.

In popular culture

Arabesque No. 1 was the theme music to PBS

Public Broadcasting Service

The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....

's show Jack Horkheimer: Star Gazer. The version used is an electronic

Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

 rendition by Isao Tomita

Isao Tomita

, often known simply as Tomita, is a Japanese music composer, regarded as one of the pioneers of electronic music and space music, and as one of the most famous producers of analog synthesizer arrangements...

, from the album Snowflakes are Dancing

Snowflakes are Dancing

Snowflakes Are Dancing is an electronic music album by Isao Tomita, recorded in 1974 and first released as a Quadradisc in April. The album consists entirely of Tomita's arrangements of Claude Debussy's "tone paintings", performed by Tomita on a Moog synthesizer...

.

Arabesque No. 1 is interpolated on R&B/Soul

Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

 singer Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys

Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...

 track "Like the Sea", from her 4th studio album "The Element of Freedom

The Element of Freedom

Keys began working on the album in May 2009. During this time, Keys and her audio engineer bought several vintage keyboards, describing the Moog as her "special best friend". Recording took place in The Oven Studios in Long Island, New York. Keys expressed that she "didn't know what to do" when she...

".

It is also used in the 2009 third season of British television show, Skins

Skins (TV series)

Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...

. It is used in JJ's episode, along with other Debussy pieces such as "Golliwogg's Cakewalk" and "Clair de lune

Clair de Lune

"Clair de Lune" is French for "moonlight". It may refer to:Music:* Clair de lune ", third movement of Suite bergamasque by Claude Debussy, a piano depiction of a Paul Verlaine poem* Clair de lune , from Op...

". The impressionist music reflects JJ's inner thoughts and emotional personality.