golliwog's cakewalk

[lea]

can nyone tell me more about le petit negre (the little negro) from debussy's cakewalk? or anyother pieces??

why is it named after those golliwog toys, and cake walk??? pretty random to me!!!!!!!!

but le petit negre is a really kool piece and i wud luv 2 know more about it and the whole cakewalk thing

thanx

lea

[amee]

Hi Lea!

Well Le Petit Negre and Golliwog's cakewalk are the only pieces that are similar in their style that Debussy wrote.  They both have the same rhythm and they same 'air' and feeling.

I think Golliwog was a doll but I'm not sure.

[10Fingers]

Hi lea,

I played both of them and they're very beautiful.  Debussy gives the impression of blacks working on fields in america. It's an allusion to the slavery that was on at that point of time. Some people tend to consider them only funny miniatures but as you may have noticed both pieces, particulary the cakewalk, have a rather sad and calm passage.

regards,

Thi

[natasha]

i used to have a golliwog doll
it was cute
it drank tea with my barbies..............
natasha

[Frizzler]

The series that these pieces are in is called the Childrens Corner.  I played then a few years back for competition pieces.  They're not that bad, but counting (as is traditional with Debussy is rough).  There are some boring ones (I don't like jumbo's lulaby), but Golliwog's cake walk and Dr. Gradus ad Parnassum are really fun to play.  But they all go together, and they are called these strange names (little shephard, golliwogg's, le petit negre, jumbo, gradus, and a few others) were written all together for Debussy's daughter.  Each piece in the series is named after a toy that his daughter had, and the music is supposed to conjur images of the specific toy.