Claude Debussy's Nocturnes arranged for string orchestra

Having been a great admirer of music from the French Impressionist period for the past quarter century, I chose to address what I see to be a dearth in Impressionist repertoire for string orchestra. Thus, my DMA essay project is to create a string orchestra arrangement of Claud Debussy’s Nocturnes (L.91), a three-movement piece originally composed for full orchestra. Widely considered to rank among Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune and La Mer in the upper echelon of Debussy’s orchestral works, my transfigured Nocturnes will provide string orchestras the opportunity to perform such a work. Many academic institutions are too small to field a full orchestra, and this arrangement makes a great pedagogical tool to approach and present this type of music. Lask of repertoire from this period is a definite deficiency for a diverse collegiate string orchestra program, and it is my hope that this project will help fill that void.

I undertook two Impressionist music arranging projects between 2005 and 2009 while working on conducting MA and violin performance MFAs at the University of Iowa. For the first project I orchestrated a portion of Maurice Ravel’s String Quartet in F, arranging it for chamber orchestra; for the second, I de-orchestrated Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G, crystallizing the Adagio assai second movement down to just two voices, the violin and piano.

I began to think in earnest about starting my Debussy Nocturnes arrangement project a few years later, while acting as associate conductor and principal second violin of the Boston String Players (BSP). It was during that time that I completed an arrangement of the first movement, Nuages (Clouds). I first performed my arrangement with a string nonet at my Cambridge Philharmonic’s debut concert Meet Cambridge Phil. I doubled the strings from nine to eighteen players, added two percussionists, and premiered the second movement Fêtes (Festival) the following year in the Apollo Leader of the Muses concert.

After commencing my orchestral conducting DMA at the University of Iowa in 2016, I revisited my original Nuages arrangement, greatly expanding and elaborating upon it. As I rehearsed and then performed my arrangement with the UI All-University String Orchestra and then two other small college string orchestras, I was able to continue improving and refining my project.

The third movement, Sirènes, has the potential to be the most elaborate. In additional to featuring a string orchestra, I will leave Debussy’s sixteen voice women’s choir, as in the initial orchestration, and have reduced the original two harp parts down to just one.

My DMA essay consistent of nine sections. The introductory chapter focuses on the development of my project, as briefly mentioned above. Chapter One covers the complicated and shifting evolution of Debussy’s original orchestral Nocturnes, from the planning stages in 1894 to the eventual complete premiere in 1901. Chapter Two will go into depth regarding my various arranging choices and processes. Chapters Three through Five consists of the actual three string orchestra scores that I have created: 1. Nuages, 2. Fêtes, and 3. Sirènes, one for each movement. Following the three scores, the concluding chapter focusing on outcomes and the project’s future. A comprehensive bibliography (scores utilized, instrumentation texts, in addition to referenced literature regarding Debussy, Ravel, Impressionism – both in music and the visual arts – and correspondences to and from Debussy throughout the Nocturnes’ development), precedes an addendum, that includes all concert programs and a detailed performance history.

As mentioned above, there is a clear lack of Impressionist repertoire for the string orchestra. Also, due to both the large number of players needed and the performative difficulty for Debussy’s large orchestral works, many collegiate music students are never given the opportunity to play this music and therefore are not receiving a complete education in their orchestral studies. Having the opportunity to be exposed to this stunning repertoire through their string ensembles will open a window into a colorful new world.