Claude Debussy
Arabesque 1

The first Arabesque, with its flowing, decorative lines, fuses salon music with the Baroque, which according to Debussy mirrored the movements and patterns of nature itself, following the “laws of beauty”.

ID: 1204
Key: E Major
Year: 1891
Level: 7
Period: Impressionism
piano sheet music Piano score: PS Urtext Download
piano sheet music Piano score: PS Urtext with fingering Download
Piano Music AST Audiovisual Study Tool Listen & View
piano music mp3 recording Arabesque 1 - FREE SAMPLE (mp3 file)

Timeless Waves

In Muslim architecture, arabesques are decorative carvings that have intertwined features. The rising and falling triplet lines in Debussy's first Arabesque emulate the curves and twirls of intricate carving. We enter the world of the arabesque midstream and toddle off the same way. But while the notes pass by quickly, the harmonic movement is more back and forth, sometimes alternating between only two chords for long stretches. This gives the piece a magical, timeless air, almost reminiscent of ocean waves on the shore.

Background

The Two Arabesques were probably composed shortly before their publication in 1891. Their popularity grew with the fame of their composer and the first Arabesque especially now has a firm place in the repertoire of both amateur and professional pianists. There are also numerous transcriptions for other instruments.


Forum posts about this piece:

defining student progress by juanpianista
hi, so its my first time here though I have read this forum in the past a lot. I am a professional (though more jazz based) and I feel that ...

Starting music conservatory this fall. Help picking rep ?? by bentleytheplant
Hello.  ;D I am a high school pianist who is graduating in less than a month (quite exciting!) I am going to be attending a music conse...

First Piano Concerto by adariation
I have been searching for a piano concerto to tackle and perform in a year or so. I haven't played a piano concerto before, and the only...

College Repertoire by chopinonions
Hello Everyone! I am looking to apply to colleges for a music major in performance. I Am a high school junior right now. The pieces I have ...

suggestions to fill gaps in repetoire? by cansteam
Hi, I've been a pianist since 2018 and over the last half year I've made a significant jump in the difficulty of pieces I'm play...

How to build up to difficult pieces? General Advice Appreciated by pope urban ii
Hello, first time posting here. I've been playing piano for a little less than a year but only taking it really seriously in the last 4...

Need new repertoire suggestion by tamaaa
Hi, im a beginner with less than 1 years of playing (9 months to be exact), below is my recent repertoire (from early 2020): Chopin Waltz in...

Should triplets be marked only on the first bar? by citizen_k
Hi Guys, a simple theory question: I came across Debussy's Arabesque #1  which contains 8th triplets on the first several bars, bu...

What etudes should I play? by mistralx
Hi guys, I would like to ask you for some advices about etudes. Currently I am working on: Debbusy's Arabesque no. 1 Chopin's no...

teacher says to give up! help! by olivialeonie
Hi! I am right now playing Mozarts Alla Turca and Debussys Arabesque 1 in E-major. I have been playing the piano for 6 years and i am 19 yea...

Searching for New Repertoire by markcohen1
Hello my name is Mark Cohen and I am looking to begin something different from my previous work. I have been thinking along the lines of Lis...

Searching for New Repertoire by markcohen1
Hello my name is Mark Cohen and I am looking to begin something different from my previous work. I have been thinking along the lines of Lis...

Debussy Arabesque #1. I need a lil help. by appassionata91
I can't seem to wrap my head around the fact that the left and right hands don't match up perfectly. I've played a song befor...

Need help with 2 against 3 by ccnokes
I'm learning Debussy's Arabesque 1 and am having a hard time with the triplet phrases in the right hand over the eights in the lef...


Member's recordings of piece:

Debussy Arabesque No. 1 by adanepst
Hello Everyone! I am making my debut on Pianostreet :) This is a recording of my performance of Debussy's Arabesque No. 1, from a conc...

[VIDEO] Arabesque No.1 - Debussy - More New Camera Angles by pianoroom
I’ve added in some new sheet music cuts but think it looks a bit cheesy. Any thoughts? youtu.be/AyNH0gs3zN4...

Arabesque 1 - feedback please :) by chopin4lyfe
Hello everybody!  :) My teacher assigned me Debbusy's Arabesque 1 as for this summer. I've just recorded my progress, and I&...

Arabesque #1 rehearsing. by venik
youtu.be/GXABkVctydk?hd=1 Use this link if you want to listen in HD. www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXABkVctydk I just got an iphone and I was tes...

Debussy, Arabesque No.1 by oliversadie
I haven't logged on for few days, so I was quite surprised to see a recording of Debussy's Arabesque so near the top of the thread...

Beginning of Debussy Arabesque #1 by horizontal
A bit hackneyed, but what the hey. There is a fairly major hiccup in the first two measures that I am aware of, but am too lazy to rerecord...

My YouTube Piano Contest Video (Chopin 10/1 and Debussy Arabesque 1) by violinist
Hello friends, www.risingpianofire.com/ My video is on the website and links to the other pianists entering this amateur competition on Yo...

Debussy Arabesque No. 1 [Video] by tradge
Hi there, I'm new to this site, and I thought I'd post a couple of my Piano videos from YouTube. I'm really sorry about the q...

Claude Debussy arabesques in E major. by zheer
   Sheesh, i recorded this over a year ago, about the same time that i started playing the piano again, it's not to bad so comments a...

Debussy Arabesque no 1 by ricpiano
Hello,         I am going to do grade 8 exam in the autumn, and would appreciate comments on this. NB In particular, is ...

Arabesque 1 (CAUTION: WORK IN PROGRESS) by hunterj
I have been working on the piece Arabesque by Debussy. I have only got the first page done, but I would like some feedback on how it sounds...

Debussy Arabesque #1 - a few weeks later!!! (practice practice practice) by violinist
Okay guys and gals, bear with me.  I'm posting this again because for the most part, I was disappointed with my previous posting o...

Yamaha P-200 Electronic Piano (Debussy Arabesque #1) by violinist
My first piano was the Yamaha P-200 electronic piano.  Now I have a steinway (going on 4 weeks now).  It's surprising how dif...

Debussy Arabesque #1 at 3:00 AM by violinist
Okay... I have a first performance on my piano (in almost 25 years) to try "today" at 2pm.  I've been practicing this th...

Debussy - Arabesque No.1 by jz_rach2
this was recorded way back about 1.5 years ago when i was preparing for my gr10 exam; i'm posting it up just to see how the audition ro...


Members who like this piece have also downloaded:

DOWNLOAD: Claude Debussy - Arabesque No. 1 in E Major ( from Two Arabesques by Debussy). Piano sheet music to print immediately or to view in mobile devices.
Claude Debussy, who was one of the prominent composers active in the Impressionism era, wrote this piece titled "Arabesque" No. 1 in E Major from Two Arabesques. The composition is categorized as "Piece" in the sheet music library and the level of difficulty in the piano music database is 7.